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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.f. Notice of Intent to Franchise Cable ServicesA f CITY OF ROSEMOUNT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR ACTION CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: JULY 18, 2000 AGENDA ITEM: NOTICE OF INTENT TO FRANCHISE CABLE SERVICES AGENDA SECTION: CONSENT COUNCIL ACTION: PREPARED BY: PAULA GRAFF, AGEND # F HUMAN RESOURCES/ COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR ATTACHMENTS : NOTICE OF INTENT TO FRANCHISE & APPROVED BY: POLICIES AND PROCEDURES GOVERNING APPLICATION OF COMPETITIVE CABLE FRANCHISES At the June 6, 2000 meeting, the City Council approved a Competitive Cable Franchise Policy of this policy resulted from interest expressed by Wide Open West (WOW) in constructing a b system among the joint power cities of Apple Valley, Farmington, and Rosemount. The next step in the process is to advertise for competitive bids through publication of the Notice of Franchise. Interested companies will be required to provide a detailed application including informm as: plans for analog and digital capacity, a description of the proposed system design, a schedule of rates, a construction timeline, and details of financing and ownership, etc. (See attached Policies an Procedures). Applicants will also be required to submit a $20,000 application fee to cover any expe incurred by the City during the application review process. Applications that are received will be thoroughly reviewed City staff and the Cable Commission's Creighton, Bradley and Guzzetta. This firm has already begun a review of Wide Open West (WO another potential applicant, Everest Communications, due to the firm's involvement with other me commissions who have already received applications from Everest and WOW. A public hearing with then be held on September 5, 2000 to allow all franchise applicants a reasi opportunity to be heard. Following a seven day waiting period after the public hearing, the City choose to approve a franchise, if they find any of the applications to be acceptable. adoption nd cable I to such ;al counsel, and -area cable may RECOMMENDED ACTION: MOTION TO APPROVE THE PUBLICATION OF THE NOTICE INTENT TO FRANCHISE. OF COUNCIL ACTION: N To be Published July, 21 and July 28 2000 NOTICE OF INTENT TO FRANCHISE CITY OF ROSEMOUNT, MINNESOTA The City of Rosemount, Minnesota (the "City ") is hereby soliciting applications from qualified entities that are interested in constructing a cable system and providing cable service within the territorial limits of the City. Notarized applications that contain all of the information required by Minn. Stat. § 238.081, Subd. 4 and local policies and procedures, and that comply with all state and local requirements must be received by 4 :00 p.m. on August 18, 2000 at City of Rosemount, 2875 —145 Street West, Rosemount, MN 550684997. Each franchise application must be accompanied by an application fee in the amount of $20,000. This fee shall be paid to the City via a certified check made payable to the City of Rosemount. Every franchise proposal submitted by an applicant must include a design for a state -of- the -art cable system that is capable of reliably providing a panoply of cable services to subscribers. In reviewing each applicant's franchise application, the City will consider all relevant factors, including, but not limited to: (i) comparisons of the level, quality and nature of cable services proposed by the applicant to that provided by the incumbent cable system operator; (ii) the cable- related needs and interests of the community, as identified solely by the City; and (iii) information regarding industry trends, state -of -the -art technologies, modern cable services and other related information. The City will hold a public hearing to consider any franchise applications it receives at 8:00 p.m. on September 5, 2000 at Rosemount City Hall, 2875 —145 Street West, Rosemount, MN 55068. All questions concerning the franchising process and any requests for information should be directed to Tom Burt, City Administrator, City of Rosemount, 2875 —145 Street West, Rosemount, MN 55068, (651) 322 -2002. ISSUED BY THE CITY OF ROSEMOUNT, MINNESOTA July 10, 2000 THE CITY OF ROSEMOUNT, MINNESOTA POLICIES AND PROCEDURES GOVERNING APPLICATION, REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING GRANT OF COMPETITIVE CABLE FRANCHISES Section 5. Information Required in Application. An Application for a competitive Franchise must be signed by an authorized officer or principle of the Cable Company and be notarized and must include at least the following: (1) A statement that the Applicant seeks to construct a Cable System and to provide Cable Services within the City; (2) The name, street address, e-mail address and telephone number of the individuals who are authorized to provide and certify information on behalf of the Applicant; (3) Plans for analog and digital channel capacity, including both the total number of analog and digital channels capable of being energized in the system and the number of analog and digital channels to be energized immediately; (4) A statement of the television and radio signals for which permission to carry will be requested from the Federal Communications Commission, or any other required regulatory agency; (5) A description of the proposed system design and planned operation, including at least the following items: (i) The general area for location of antennae and the head end, or description of programming delivery plan if otherwise; (ii) The schedule for activating two -way capacity and any other system capacity to be activated in conjunction with the Cable System; (iii) The type of automated services to be provided; (iv) The minimum number of video channels, other Cable Services, and other kinds of services to be made available to residents; (v) The number of channels and services to be made available for community /access programming; and (vi) A plan for funding of facilities and staff for community /access programming and/or a plan for interconnection and provision of such programming in cooperation with the incumbent Cable Company. (5) Plans for the provision of Institutional Network capacity and services or other "in- kind" services and the terms, conditions and technical standards under which particular service is to be provided to governmental, educational, and other institutional entities; (7) A list of all institutions receiving Institutional Network service; (8) A schedule of proposed rates in relation to the services to be provided, and a proposed policy regarding unusual or difficult connection of services; I' (9) A time schedule for construction of the entire system with the time sequence for wiring the various parts of the area to be served; (10) Information supporting and indicating the applicant's financial, technical and legal qualifications and experience in the cable communications field, if any; (11) An identification of the municipalities in which the applicant either owns or operates a Cable System, directly or indirectly, or has outstanding Franchises for which no system has been built; (12) Detailed plans for financing of the proposed system, which must indicate every significant anticipated source of capital and significant limitations or conditions with respect to the availability of the indicated sources of capital; (13) A statement of ownership detailing the corporate organization of the applicant, if any, including the names and addresses of officers and directors and the number of shares held by each officer or director, and intracompany relationship including a parent, subsidiary or affiliated company; (14) A statement of a form and substance acceptable to the City indemnifying the City fully against any claims or liabilities alleged as the result of City's exercise of these Policies and Procedures including any such claims or liabilities alleged or asserted by the incumbent Cable Company; (15) An agreement to pay the City a Franchise fee in the same percentage of gross revenues as the incumbent providers; (16) A notation and explanation of omissions or other variations with respect to the requirements of the Application; and (17) Submission of an Application Fee in the amount of $20,000.00 Authority: Minn. Stat. § 238.081, Subd. 2 and 4. 1, Approximately $20,000.00 if a City will be reviewing a franchise application, or $50,000 if a Commission will be receiving and reviewing one or more applications on behalf of its member cities. 2