6. Rejoining the Forest Lake Cable CommissionPage 1 of 1
City of Scandia
14727 209 th St. N. PO Box 128, Scandia, Minnesota 55073
Phone (651) 433 -2274 Fax (651) 433 -5112 http://www.ci.scandia.mn.us
DATE: December 31, 2020
FROM: Ken Cammilleri, City Administrator
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
RE: Consideration of Rejoining the Forest Lake Cable Commission
Several years ago, the City of Scandia opted to dissolve its membership in the Forest Lake
Cable Commission (LATV10) due to operational issues and concerns about
mismanagement. Since that time, the Commission and its staff have instituted many reforms
that have now eliminated the justifiable concerns that the City once had.
Rejoining the Cable Commission is now something we may be able to reconsider. Renewing
this partnership could be beneficial by improving the viability of community meetings by
broadcasting meetings on their cable channels. There is also potential we could work more
closely with the agency to produce promotional content for tourism.
It is important to note that the City never fully severed its relationship with the
Commission. The City has regularly retained Commission’s services for the filming
meetings, particularly prior to the pandemic. And, in additionn the City continues to
provide back office bookkeeping and financial oversight services for the Commission.
At this time, staff is just curious to see if the City Council is willing to consider establishing
this relationship. There is still much more that we will need to consider, including the
contractual conditions of new contract and how this will impact the City’s franchise fee
revenue. The city currently collects these fees and uses them for the cost of audio visual
equipment and internet streaming. It is important to note as both Midco and Frontier
expand cable TV services in the City, particularly in relation to internet expansion, these
revenues will see growth. So, there remains more to consider if we want to move forward.
Please let me know if you have any questions.