The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About03-154 Resolution No. 03-154 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF A FRANCHISE EXTENSION AGREEMENT WITH COMCAST OF ILLINOIS/WEST VIRGINIA, LLC BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS, that David M. Dorgan, City Manager, and Dolonna Mecum, City Clerk, be and are hereby authorized and directed to execute a Franchise Extension Agreement on behalf of the City of Elgin with Comcast of Illinois/West Virginia, LLC to extend the term of the franchise to October 24 , 2003 , a copy of which is attached hereto and made a part hereof by reference . s/Ed Schock Ed Schock, Mayor Presented: May 28 , 2003 Adopted: May 28 , 2003 Vote : Yeas : 6 Nays : 0 Attest : s/Dolonna Mecum Dolonna Mecum, City Clerk FRANCHISE EXTENSION AGREEMENT The undersigned duly authorized agents of the City of Elgin, an Illinois municipal corporation (the "City"), and Comcast of Illinois/West Virginia, LLC, including its successors and assigns (the "Franchisee"), having the authority to make the representations and agreement contained herein, do hereby stipulate and agree as follows: 1. A cable television franchise was granted by the City to Consolidated Cable Utilities, Inc. pursuant to Ordinance No. S-935 (the "Franchise"), as amended by Ordinance No. S6-84, which among other things transferred the Franchise to Centel Cable Television Com- pany of Illinois, and as further amended by Ordinance No. S5-94, providing for the con- struction, operation and maintenance of an institutional cable network in the City. By Resolution adopted 27 September 1989 (the "Resolution"), the City authorized the trans- fer of the Franchise to Jones Intercable, Inc. ("Jones") or to any affiliate of Jones, as that term is defined in the 27 September 1989 Resolution. By notice provided to the City dated 19 December 1989,Jones transferred the Franchise to Cable TV Fund 15-A, Ltd., an affiliate of Jones. The Franchise expired on or about 9 December 1999, and on 25 Sep- tember 1999, the City and Cable TV Fund 15-A, Ltd. extended the term of the Franchise until 9 December 2002. The City, pursuant to Resolution No. 99-27, consented to the transfer of the Franchise by Cable TV Fund 15-A, Ltd. to TCI of West Virginia, Inc. on 27 January 1999. And by notice on 31 July 2001, the City was advised that TCI of West Vir- ginia, Inc. a subsidiary of AT&T Broadband, LLC, was transferred to another subsidiary of AT&T, AT&T Broadband of West Virginia, LLC. AT&T Broadband of West Virginia, LLC has since transferred its interest in the Franchise to Comcast of Illinois/West Vir- ginia, LLC. The current Franchisee is Comcast of Illinois/West Virginia, LLC. 2. The City and Franchisee have been engaged in informal renewal negotiations in accor- dance with Section 626(h) of Title VI of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47 USC 521, et seq.). The amount of time required to conclude negotiations and allow for public review will extend beyond the 9 December 2002 franchise expiration date and it is in the public interest to extend the current franchise for an additional period of time so that cable service to the public will not be interrupted. The City and Franchisee agreed to extend the term of the Franchise until 9 June 2003 pursuant to a Franchise Extension Agreement dated 4 December 2002, however, additional time will be required to con- clude negotiations and allow for public review. The City and Franchisee desire to and do hereby agree to extend the term of the Franchise until 24 October 2003. 3. During the extension period, the City and Franchisee shall work together in good faith and diligently continue their informal Franchise renewal negotiations pursuant to the procedures contained in Section 626 of Title VI of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47 USC 521, et seq.). 4. Notwithstanding the foregoing, by entering into this Agreement, the City and Franchi- see continue to reserve all rights under Title VI of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and do not waive any rights related thereto. The undersigned hereby agree to an extension of the Franchise under the terms and subject to the stipulations as set forth above. Dated this AJO day of u N 6 , 2003. City of Elgin Comcast of Illinois/W•st Virginia, LLC 4' By: City Manager i / ATTEST: 011, 0 City Clerk <.i OF EtC o�`{ � City of Elgin Agenda Item No. r,! ,fir+ �i i1 , ("�j TEDFE�,: E w ttt . 11 � ltE . G i it tt E May 23 , 2003 i�� - sue ji ! I; �1$il N 1'4 tl TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council FINANCIALLY STABLE IENE SERVICES EF FIC TENT SERVIC ES. AND DUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE FROM: David M. Dorgan, City Manager 1 ` `Ferri Folarin, Assistant City anager Sean R. Stegall, Assistant City Manager SUBJECT: Extension of the Franchise Agreement with Comcast, Inc . PURPOSE The purpose of this memorandum is to provide the Mayor and members of the City Council with information to consider an extension of the franchise agreement by and between the City of Elgin and Comcast, Inc . BACKGROUND The City has begun preliminary discussions with AT&T Broadband regarding the renewal of the cable franchise that expires on December 9, 2002 . During this time, and over the past several years, issues relating to the renewal process have become increasingly complex due to the customer service performance of AT&T, the technical aspects of Elgin' s aging cable infrastructure, and the lack of cable internet services . Due to the aforementioned, the City retained the services of Stuart Chapman of Municipal Services Associates, Inc . , (MSA) . Along with Mr. Chapman, Assistant City Manager Stegall and Assistant Corporation Counsel Kozal have been working on the renewal process . The City and Franchisee agreed to extend the term of the Franchise until 9 June 2003 , however, additional time will be required to conclude negotiations and allow for public review. The City and Franchisee desire to extend the term of the Franchise until 24 October 2003 . This will give the City and Comcast the appropriate amount of time to come to a resolution r ... r- Cable Franchise Professional Services May 23 , 2003 Page 2 on several complex topics, such as customer service, local programming and the replacement of the current cable plant . GROUPS/INTERESTED PERSONS CONTACTED The City has worked very closely with several neighborhood groups and other units of governments to discuss concerns regarding local programming. Furthermore, two (2) public hearings have been held regarding the matter. r 9 . "(FINANC IMPACT The 2003 Budget includes $465, 000 (account number 010-0000- 604 . 03-13) in franchise fees from Comcast . It is estimated that the entire 2003 budget amount will be collected by the end of the year. The 2002 actual amount received totaled $475, 818 . Extending the franchise agreement for the additional six months should have no adverse effect on the franchise fees budgeted in the next year. 47 v a EGAL IMPACT A renewal agreement with AT&T extending the term an additional four (4) months will need to be prepared. ALTERNATIVES 1 . To not extend the contract and enter into Comcast' s proposed agreement which is, at this point , inadequate. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council authorize a four (4) additional month extension of the current agreement by and between the City and AT&T Broadband. Respectfully submitted for City Council consideration. Attachment t