Minneapolis Telecommunications Network
Board of Directors Meeting
Thursday, February 14, 2008

Board Members Present: Marido Huber, Kevin Jenkins, Joel Rainville, Tom Cassidy, Andrew Hedden, Joan Higinbotham
Board Members Absent: Floyd Child, Robert Vose, Tamir Nolley
Ex-Officio Present: Lance Leupold, Edie French
Others Present: Pamela Colby, John Akre, Tom Borrup, Jim Derks

Huber called the discussion to order at 5:32 p.m.
Huber called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m. when Quorum was achieved.

I. Opening Business

A. Comments from public, staff and board – no comments

B. Approval of the agenda. MSP Rainville, Jenkins.

C. Approval of Minutes from the January board meeting. MSP Rainville, Higinbotham.


II. Reports

A. City of Minneapolis – Pam Colby reported for John Harrison
City Council re-appointed Board Member Andrew Hedden and appointed Barb Nye for the board seat formerly held by Higinbotham.
There was a delay in payment to MTN. Comcast residential customer number was 75,614 for Dec. 2007.
Colby presented Higinbotham a plaque to honor her for her eight years of service to MTN on the board.

B. Minneapolis Public Schools –Edie French presented
Schools presented live basketball game coverage for an internet audience, and the game is now playing on cable. The game was Henry vs. North. They have also featured clips and highlights of wrestling and hockey.

C. Comcast – Lance Leupold presented
Comcast has started carrying dating on demand and adopt-a-pet on demand, beginning today.

D. Executive Director's Report. Pam Colby presented
Colby went to the True Spin conference in Denver – dedicated to providing communication tools to non-profits.
Vera Allen had a baby girl on January 14th.
Colby is working on a server-based archival system and public photo sharing.
MTN Member's Meeting date needs to be set. Colby suggested it take place in July. Borrup suggested that the Commission's findings would be ready for presentation to the City Council by then.
Colby is joining the board of Twin Cities Media Alliance.

E. Treasurer's Report. Hedden presented.
December P & L handed out. This was the end of the year report. MTN had a $28,000 deficit. There was an extra payroll at the end of the year. Money will be taken out of the reserve to cover the deficit. Huber suggested that the Finance Committee review the 2008 budget to make any necessary adjustments based on this deficit.
Motion to accept the December P& L report. MSP Jenkins, Rainville.

F. Strategic Planning – Tom Borrup presented
The next Commission meeting will be at the Mayor's office. Borrup handed out an outline of key areas that will be under discussion. Areas include governance structure of MTN, channel identity strategies, mission-based initiatives, funding sources, partnerships, business/income, and new media delivery strategies. He asked for feedback on these areas. Huber said that the training component should be emphasized. Proposed purpose statements were discussed. Cassidy strongly encouraged a free speech component to the statement. Borrup said that the board has the ultimate say, and the purpose statement will come back with other iterations. Higinbotham suggested that the statements were wordy, and might be simplified.
Borrup asked for clarification on governance. Huber spoke about the importance of the board's independence. Other board models discussed, including the board's ability to appoint some members. Many of these would involve changing the bylaws, which will involve council decision. Borrup said that MTN's structure makes it difficult to apply for outside resources, but is more accountable to City interests. Channel identify was discussed. Cassidy suggested that something like "Hodge Podge" might be a classification. Colby suggested that certain times of the day might be set aside for specific language programming.

New board member Barb Nei, a mayoral appointee, will be approved this week. She is a video artist who has been an MTN Member for 15 years.

III. Adjourn
Meeting adjourned at 6:34 p.m. MSP Jenkin, Higinbotham.