Purpose

The creation, design, and responsibilities of the Newport News Cable Television Advisory Commission are described in Chapter 2, Article XXX, Sections 2-664 through 2-667 of the City’s Municipal Code. The purpose of the Newport News Cable Television Advisory Commission is to serve as an advisory body to City Council to ensure full compliance with the cable franchise and that the franchise is interpreted and applied equitably to the benefit of all City residents. The Commission has the authority to conduct hearings open to the public to inquire into the merits of any complaints, criticisms or recommendations made to it by subscribers, users, or patrons of the service or by any citizen of Newport News, whether or not they subscribe to the service. The Commission’s goal is to protect the public interest on all matters related to the cable services delivery system.

Membership

The Commission is comprised of 10 members including the City Manager, City Attorney, and Superintendent of Schools or authorized representatives who serve as non-voting ex-officio members. The terms of the nonvoting ex officio members correspond to their respective official tenures.

Seven members are considered voting members and are General Public Representatives. The terms of appointed voting members are three (3) years each. Appointed members hold office during their respective terms and until their successors is appointed. All appointed member vacancies on the board are filled by the City Council for the unexpired portion of the term. Any member of the board may be removed by the city council at any time if Council finds the best interests of the City would be served by such action.

The Commission elects annually a chairman and a vice-chairman who serve terms of one (1) year each, not to exceed two (2) consecutive terms. A majority of the voting members of the Commission constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business.

The current voting members of the Cable Commission are:

Mr. Michael Korb, Chairman
Ms. Judith Amdal, Vice-Chair
Mr. Gerald DeForge
Mr. Charles Harper
Mr. James Jarvis
Ms. Courtney Sickafoose
Reverend Lawrence Willis
 

The current non-voting, ex-officio members are:

Ms. Pamela Bates, Office of the City Attorney
Mr. Ray Price, Newport News Public Schools
Ms. Jerri Wilson, Office of the City Manager

The current non-voting cable franchise representatives are:

Mr. Steve Goad, Cox Communications
Mr. Paul Miller, Verizon
 

Meetings

The Commission meets on the fourth (4th) Monday of January, March, June, and September. In 2009, the Commission moved its meetings from their previous location on Minton Drive to the York Room at City Center. The meeting space at City Center is somewhat larger and is specifically designed to accommodate a meeting such as the Cable Commission. The meetings were also rescheduled to 5:00 PM instead of 5:30 PM to accommodate restrictions at the City Center location and avoid the necessity of paying for after-hours security.

Summary of 2009 Commission Activity

The Commission granted no audiences to the public in 2009 because none were requested.

Cox reported the following items of interest to the Commission:

• Cox launched the Community Programming on Channel 11 for 30 minutes each week with no cost associated (January)
• Cox planned to complete a network upgrade and update HD channels (June)
• Cox’s request for a variance is being considered by the FCC but all requests have been delayed due to the FCC’s appointment of new directors (June)
• Channel moves and changes will continue for the next few years (September)
• Verizon and Cox stated that they were forming a team to investigate city and school transmissions over the Cox network. (March)

Verizon reported the following items of interest to the Commission:

• There are no plans for a customer service center on the Peninsula. Verizon does have a service center in Virginia Beach and a technical service center in Hampton. (March)
• The Hallmark channel moved from 740 to 739 (June)
• Notification was forthcoming that 1 of 3 providers in the Arabic package had dropped out; the Arabic package now offers only 2 channels. (June)
• Changes were made to the Korean and Chinese International package (September)
• TV Guide Channel – channel 48 – was purchased by another company; it is moving towards a documentary format (September)
• Verizon and Cox stated that they were forming a team to investigate city and school transmissions over the Cox network. (March)

Commission members raised the following items for consideration:

• The handling of customer complaints
• The need to include announcements of coverage of City Council, Planning Commission and School board meetings on the TV Guide
• The time table for the expiration of Cox’s current franchise agreement, the schedule for negotiating the new franchise agreement, and the role the Commission will play in this process
• The legal employment status of Verizon contractors at Ashton Greene
• Cox and Verizon were asked to notify Board members when customer service issues of interest to the Board are resolved
• The need for the Commission to conduct a customer satisfaction survey and to develop standards and benchmarks that could be used in future franchise agreements
• Developing a web page for the Commission that includes a hit-counter
• Does the City have the authority to impose performance standards on the Cable providers?

Summary

The Commission continues to serve as a forum for issues of interest to the City regarding the existing franchise agreements. The Cox franchise expires in December 2010 and the Commission plans to serve as a resource for the City Attorney’s office as the City and Cox negotiate a new franchise agreement. The Commission will also work towards developing a list of issues to address and goals to achieve in the future.