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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07 - Cable Television Franchise NegotiationsCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT Agenda Item No. 7 July 27, 2004 TO: MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: Dave Kiff, Assistant City Manager, 949 - 644 -3002 dkiff ()city.newport- beach.ca.us Robin L. Clauson, Assistant City Attorney, 949 - 644 -3131 rclau son (a)city. n ewport- beach. ca. us Marilee Jackson, Public Information Officer, 949 - 644 -3031 mviackson(a)city.newport- beach.ca.us SUBJECT: Update on Cable Television Franchise Negotiations ISSUE: Why has the City taken so long to re- negotiate franchise agreements with its two cable television providers? RECOMMENDATION: Receive and file report. DISCUSSION: The following paragraphs attempt to directly answer the question above (as asked by Council Member Heffernan on July 13th, 2004). For more detailed information about the cable franchise negotiations, the City's adoption of a new Cable Communications Franchises Ordinance, the new Wireless Telecommunications Ordinance, and the Public Rights -of -Way Ordinance, please see the City's archives. The Franchise Agreement(s). Since the adoption of the Cable Communications Franchises Ordinance (Chapter 5.44 of the NBMC), the staff team (Bill Marticorena of Rutan and Tucker, Assistant City Attorney Robin Clauson, Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff, and PIO Marilee Jackson) has entered into the final phase of its efforts: the negotiation of two new franchise agreements (which mirror each other) with Cox and Adelphia. The agreements will reflect a previously- approved "Statement of Minimum Goals" and Chapter 5.44. As of the date of this report: • We have issued a Draft Franchise Agreement to each company and asked them to respond to us in writing as to their concerns. Update on Cable Television Franchise Agreements July 27, 2004 Page 2 • We have met with each company twice and listened to their comments about the Draft Agreement: • We have responded to each comment verbally and have refined the draft Franchise Agreement accordingly — at this point in time, we believe that the Agreement is ready to be presented to the Telecom Committee absent two important components (PEG and I -Net); • We have instructed Adelphia and Cox to meet with our MIS people to determine how and where an Institutional Network (I -Net) would work in the City; • We have instructed Adelphia and Cox to meet together to propose a Public, Education, and Government (PEG) Channel solution to us. Such a solution will likely involve a capital grant or grants along with an ongoing payment to support production of community programming. We are down to weeks, not months, for the return of a formal document to the Telecom Committee and to City Council. All Telecom and Council meetings will be public and noticed. Why has it taken this long? Firstly, we had to amend or wholly re -vamp three different ordinances (Public Right -of -Way, Cable Communications Franchises, and Wireless Telecommunications) to lay a framework for the Agreements and for the overall industry's work in the area. Those tasks are now complete. Secondly, it's been challenging to coordinate the schedules of the people who must attend each meeting. Further, each time we meet we must go away from the meeting to research issues and, if appropriate, amend the draft Agreements. Finally, we have chosen not to combine our meetings so that both companies are not in the negotiating room at the same time — this makes for a more extended schedule than had we met with them together. About 95% of the Agreements are fairly standard versions of the ones that Mr. Marticorena's clients (cities and counties) have adopted. Both Cox and Adelphia companies have seen it time and time again and it is in its near final form. As noted above, the other 5% includes several important issues: How many channels will be dedicated for PEG -- now and in the future (in case our community programming grows). How much money might be forthcoming for a capital grant to enable us to install one- time projects like cameras in City Hall, a computer editing bay, and more. How many remote City facilities will be hooked up with a network (called the "Institutional" or "1 -Net" we talk about). How much will the companies provide on an ongoing basis per subscriber to support community programming. Not surprisingly, areawide research shows that Cox and Adelphia have given a variety of capital grants, a variety of sums per subscriber, and different I -Net services to different municipalities. The City has been fairly aggressive in stressing that we know what other cities have received and that we expect similar treatment by our cable providers. Update on Cable Television Franchise Agreements July 27, 2004 Page 3 About the Expired Franchise Agreements. Mr. Marticorena has opined that the Franchise Agreements which have been extended until July 25, 2004 do not need to be extended another time. As such, we recommend that the City Council receive and file this item and await the Telecom Committee's report out of a formal Franchise Agreement (there will be two agreements that mirror each other except for the name of the franchisee). Environmental Review: This Agenda Item does not require environmental review. Public Notice: This agenda item may be noticed according to the Ralph M. Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the public meeting at which the City Council considers the item). Funding Availability: Not applicable. Alternatives: Not applicable. Submitted by: Dave Kiff U Robin Clauson Marilee Jackson Assistant City Manager Assistant City Attorney Public Information Officer