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SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING - JANUARY 25, 1978 - RE: CABLEVISION RECEPTION
MEETING WAS CALLED TO ORDER BY MAYOR PAT FLOOD, JR., AT 7:00 P.M.
PRESENT: MAYOR PAT FLOOD JR., VICE MAYOR LEWIS GRAY, COUNCILMEN EVERETT GASS, J. RANDY
JOACHIM, CLIFFORD HOOSE.
THERE WERE APPROXIMATELY 86 PEOPLE AT THIS MEETING. MAYOR FLOOD SAID THAT ANY ONE ASKING
QUESTIONS SHOULD COME UP AND GIVE NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD. HE ALSO STATED THAT BEFORE
ANY QUESTIONS WERE HEARD, RALPH HAINOWITZ OF INDIAN RIVER CABLEVISION WOULD GIVE HIS PRESENTA-
TION AND PERHAPS MANY QUESTIONS WOULD BE ANSWERED.
MR. HAIMOWITZ SAID ONE OF THE MAIN PROBLEMS THEY SEEM TO HAVE WITH RESIDENTS IS A MISUNDER-
STANDING OF WHAT CABLE TV IS. HE THEN GAVE A GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION, WITH THE AID OF THE BLACK-
BOARD, AND CHARTS, JUST HOW CABLE TV WORKS AND THE THINGS THAT CAUSE INTERFERENCE, SUCH AS
DISTANCE, STRONGER TOWER SIGNALS, WEATHER, AND CB'ERS. THESE ARE PROBLEMS THAT THEY HAVE TO
CONTEND WITH AND OVER WHICH THEY DO NOT HAVE MUCH CONTROL. THEY ARE CONSTANTLY WORKING TO
IMPROVE RECEPTION AND KEEP EQUIPMENT IN GOOD CONDITION AND ARE IN THE PROCESS OF REPLACING
ALL EQUIPMENT ON TOWER. THE CB PROBLEM IS CAUSED MOSTLY BY ILLEGAL OPERATORS. IF THE NAME
AND ADDRESS OF SUCH A PERSON IS KNOWN A LETTER SHOULD BE WRITTEN TO THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION IN MIAMI WHO WILL TAKE ACTION. MR. HAIMOWITZ ALSO STATED THAT SOMETIMES IT IS THE
TV SET ITSELF THAT iS AT FAULT. SOME MANUFACTURERS DO NOT PROPERLY SHIELD THE TUNER. SOME
SMALL PIECES OF METAL AROUND THE TUNER ARE NOT GROUNDED. MR. HAIMOWITZ STATED THAT INDIAN
RIVER CABLEVISION DOES NOT IGNORE COMPLAINTS; THEY TRY TO IMPROVE.
MR. HAiMOWITZ THEN ANSWERED QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC. MOST OF THE PROBLEMS WERE CAUSED BY THE
SAME CONDITIONS AS EXPLAINED IN MR. HAIMOWITZ'S PRESENTATION, AND NOT MUCH MORE CAN BE DONE
TO IMPROVE SERVICE.
PUBLIC JUST WHAT IS GOING ON. MR. HAIMOWIT~ SAID ~H~T CHANNEL 34 HAS HAD ENGINEERING AND
TECHNICAL PROBLEMS CAUSING THEM T~--~P~RATE BELOW FCCIMINIMALS. BECAUSE OF ALL THE COMPLAINTS
THE FCC IS HOLDING A HEARING F~R~H~ CWAERS TO SHOW ~AUSE BY CHANNEL 34 SHOULD NOT BE TURNED
OFF AND HAVE LICENSE REVOKED. ~--~'AS~WGGES~iq~D THA~PEOPLE SHOULD WRITE TO THE FCC OR ATTEND
THE MEETING BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONLY CHANNEL THAT REALLY SERVES OUR AREA WITH LOCAL NEWS, WEATHER,
ADVERTISING, ETC. IT WAS SUGGESTED B~6~NC~M~ GASS THAT THIS MEETING SHOULD BE PUBLICIZED ON
CHANNEL 7 SO THAT PEOPLE CAN GO AND BRO'I%~OT rH~I~ INTERESTS.
COUNCILMAN GASS WANTED TO KNOW IF ANYTFIVG COU~ BE DONE ABOUT THE CLOCK ON CHANNEL 7 HAVING
THE CORRECT TiME ON WEEK-ENDS. MR. EA~.~WtTZ ~TATED THAT THE CLOCK IS INCORRECT ONLY IF A
POWER FAILURE OCCURS AND HE CANNOT A~_~TOP_~Y SOMEONE TO RUN DOWN TO MAKE ADJUSTMENT. HE
HAS SERVICEMAN ON DUTY FOR EMERGENCY CALLS ONLY.
COUNCILMAN G;~SF,'WAN~O~ HOW~RE~PTIOW-'IS SA~f-UP FOR~ Mf~ETI'M~S fROM-THE COUNCIL ROOM,
SINCE SERVICE HAS BEEN TERRIBLE. MR. HAIMOWITZ STATED THAT UNTIL THE CITY SWITCHED TO THEIR
NEW EQUIPMENT THERE WAS NO PROBLEM. THEY ARE WORKING TO PUT IN AN ISOLATION TRANSFORMER.
BEFORE LAST MEETING, THE HOOK-UP WAS CHECKED OUT AS OPERATIONAL, BUT THE CITY'S TAPE RECORDER
STOPPED. THE CONNECTION WAS BROKEN AND THE TV MAN MONITORING THOUGHT MEETING WAS OVER.
THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED BY MAYOR FLOOD AT 8:50 P.M.
CITY CLERK MAYOR