6.a1 Staff Report-cable franchise applicationSCA►NDIA.
Staff Report
Date of Meeting: November 15, 2016
To: City Council
From: Neil Soltis, Administrator
Re: issuance of a competitive cable communications franchise
Background: At the October 18, 2016 meeting, the Council approved seeking applications for
competitive cable communications franchises. A Notice of Intent to Consider Issuance of a
competitive cable communications franchise was published in the Forest Lake Times on
October 27 and November 3, 2016 with a deadline for submittals of 4:00 p.m. on November 8,
2016. All applicants were requested to be present at a public hearing before the City Council at
the Council meeting on November 15 and to post an application fee to reimburse the City for all
necessary costs of processing a cable communications franchise.
Citizens Telecommunications Company of Minnesota, LLC ("Frontier) filed an application on
November 3 and was the only company to file an application for a franchise.
Issue: Based on the presentation at the public hearing, should the City approve Frontier's
application and proceed with negotiations on the cable franchise agreement?
Proposal Details: The minimum system design and services to be offered are reflected in
Minnesota Statutes, Section 238.081, Subdivision 4. The services to be offered by the Applicant
include but are not limited to a system providing public, educational and governmental access
channels consistent with Minnesota law; a mix, level and quality of programs and services
comparable to other systems in the region serving similar sized communities and customer
service and maintenance plans to ensure quality service to the subscriber.
The criteria for evaluating the applications and priorities for selection for a cable
communications franchise are as follows:
• The completeness of applications based upon the requirements of state law;
• Customer service policies and system testing;
• The legal, technical, and financial qualifications of the Applicant; and
• The proposal for community services, including public, educational, and governmental
access in accordance with state law.
Applications which meet the above criteria in the opinion of the City shall be considered for a
cable communications franchise. Upon review of the applications and completion of the public
hearing, the City will make a recommendation regarding award of franchises. Such
recommendation shall be based on applicable law and the record including the application,
information provided by the Applicant, and other relevant information received by the City
including the results of any negotiations with the Applicant and any information submitted by
the incumbent franchise company.
Fiscal Impact: All costs related to the agreement will be covered by the application fee and
subsequent invoices for costs incurred.
Options:
1. Approve the franchise application from Frontier and authorize negotiations on a final
agreement,
2. Request additional information from Frontier, or
3. Take no action on the application.
Recommendation: Option 1