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HomeMy WebLinkAbout99-27 (2) Resolution No. 99-27 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS, CONSENTING TO THE TRANSFER OF CONTROL OF THE CABLE TELEVISION FRANCHISEE FROM JONES INTERCABLE INC. TO TCI ILLINOIS HOLDINGS LP WHEREAS, Jones Cable TV Fund 15-A Ltd. (the "Franchisee" ) is the holder of a franchise (the "Franchise" ) to provide cable television service in the City of Elgin (the "Municipality" ) pursuant to a franchise agreement between the Municipality, dated December 10, 1969 (together with any amendments the "Franchise Agreement" ) and the Municipality' s Ordinance No. S-935 (the "Cable Ordinance" ) . The Franchise Agreement and the Cable Ordinance are collectively referred to as the "Franchise Documents" ; and WHEREAS, the Franchisee and TCI of West Virginia, Inc. together with Franchisee ( "Transfer Parties" ) jointly submitted to the Municipality their application on Federal Communications Commission ( "FCC" ) Form 394, dated September 30, 1998 (the "Application" ) , requesting that the Municipality approve the transfer of control of the Franchise from Franchisee to TCI as more fully described therein (the "Transfer of Control" ) ; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the information requests of the Municipality, the Transfer Parties supplemented the Application with additional documents and information; and WHEREAS, the Transfer Parties have made various representations in the Application and supplemental information thereto including that the Transfer, which will result in the transfer of the Franchise from the Franchisee to TCI, is not expected to result in an increase in cable television service rates or reduce the quality of cable television customer service of the quality of cable television service in the Municipality; and WHEREAS, the Municipality, and the Transfer Parties have negotiated an agreement regarding certain conditions of this consent (the "Transfer Agreement" ) , a copy of which is attached as Exhibit A and is incorporated by reference. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS, that in reliance upon the representations and information submitted in the Application and supplemental information thereto and subject to the conditions set forth in the transfer Agreement, the Municipality hereby consents to the Transfer of the Franchise from Franchisee to TCI as described in the Application and supplemental information thereto. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Municipality' s consent is subject to the Transfer Parties executing and delivering to the Municipality by no later than 30 days after closing which is scheduled to occur during the first quarter of 1999 a Transfer Agreement in the form of the attached Exhibit A. If the Transfer Parties fail to do so, the Municipality' s consent to the Transfer shall be null and void and the Application shall be denied. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, by consent, the Municipality does not agree to any renewal or extension of the Franchise. Any pending or future renewal or extension of the Franchise shall be subject to applicable federal, state and local laws, the Franchise Documents, and the Transfer Agreement . BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Kevin Kelly, Mayor, and Dolonna Mecum, City Clerk, be and are hereby authorized and directed to execute and deliver the Transfer Agreement in substantially the form of the attached Exhibit A, together with such mutually agreed upon changes as the Mayor may approve as necessary or desirable, such approval to be conclusively evidenced by the execution of the Transfer Agreement. s/ Robert Gilliam Robert Gilliam, Mayor Pro Tem Presented: January 27 , 1999 Adopted: January 27 , 1999 Vote: Yeas 5 Nays 0 Attest : s/ Dolonna Mecum Dolonna Mecum, City Clerk 1!0 /07/1999 22:36 847-362-5457 JONES INTERCABLE PAGE 02 II 1. Please detail any possible re plans to change the terms and conditions of service and operations. Include, , he extent possible, any likely effects resulting from the pending AT&T tran actin With regard to the terms and . ditions of service and operations, TCI is pledged to honor all lawful terms of the : chise. TCI intends to maintain, insofar as possible, the existing management, staff an mployees in the area. We may, after a thorough review and assessment,find that we • augment the customer service that is currently provided, but it is not our intention to m - changes simply for the sake of change. We intend to maintain the"local authority/1 .:1 responsibility"philosophy of Jones and assist in every way possible to insure the co ued success of the local operations. And we will do everything possible to effect • amless transition of ownership and continued operations. In that there are no firm plans i r specific changes at this time, we can only anticipate that the effect of the pending • &T transaction on service and operations would be beneficial to both customers : ' to the City, If, however, in the future,the acquisition of the cable system by TCI from nes and the merger of TCI and AT&T are both completed and AT&T desires offer services other than those currently authorized by the franchise agreement and : relevant laws,you may be assured that any necessary federal, state or local authoriz ins will be obtained prior to the introduction of such services over the cable syste 2. Please specify how WI p to consolidate its technical operations and customer service in the greater Chi. . region when it completes the acquisition of the MediaOne, Jones, Time •r and MultiMedia properties TCI has no current plans for t consolidation of technical operations and/or customer service in the greater Chicag• gion. Initially, customer service phones will continue to be handled as they arc today scally, by the same service personnel and in the same facilities that customers have '. own accustomed to, From all indications, Jones has done an outstanding job in this ar : is not our intention to divert the current efforts in any way. We are investing heavil j n local customer service operations for our own part and are still investigating what the ost effective way of providing customers with the best possible service and response ' ay be. You will be kept fully apprised of our thinking as it develops and will be consul a before any changes are made. et/07/1999 22:36 847-362-5457 JONES INTERCABLE PAGE 03 � I 3. Please provide specific i ' ' ation about technical management personnel, including identifying the l -ctor(s)of Engineering and Area Engineers. TCI engineering manage t personnel in the area are as follows: Mr. Dan Murphy Executive Director of Eng ering Mr. Levi Chandler TCI Great Lakes, Inc. Di en Director of Engineering Northwest Suburban Region Mr. Donny Fitzgerald Director of Engineering Mr. Craig Waggoner Chicago/South Suburbs R on Director of Engineering Northeast Suburbs 4_ Please explain how the tr, er will effect the timing of an upgrade to our community's system. As described earlier, TCI is • itted to honoring all lawful franchise obligations including those for upgrade o ' stems. It is our intention to move as quickly as possible to upgrade both the systems TCI currently owns as well as those that we acquire. S. Plea_a detail ICI'S plans upgrade the quality of its customer service in the Chicago region. How c'. I guarantee that the quality of customer service in our community does not deter { ate? In addition to what we have . ; .•y indicated in our response to Question Number 2 above,we are investing heavi 'n local customer service operations for our own part;we have made, and continue to ! e, substantial improvements in customer service in and around the Chicago area. As art of this overall improvement, we are taking concrete steps toward enhancing our p arming and technology and improving the way in which we interact with our i rtant business and franchising authorities. As evidence of this commitment to our co unities and customers: 1 I 01/-07/1999 22:36 847-362-5457 JONES INTERCABLE PAGE 04 • We have instituted a mana .1 ent approach that focuses primary responsibility and accountability at the local : 1:ger level. At the same time,we have augmented our system management throu •ut the area to insure that we have strong leadership at the system level. • As a part of our overall m= gement approach,we are implementing a zoned/local structure for service ope s. This will provide customers with faster,more efficient service by makin. ; stomer service more local, manageable and most importantly, accountable. • We have launched a three , $35 million fiber optic infrastructure upgrade program that will result in ' r customers having more channels and programming to enjoy,better quality pi and more dependable service. This upgraded interactive infrastructure will also s as a launching pad for new, advance services as they develop. • We have a new, $10 milli. call center in Cook County that provides customer service 24 hours a day, 7 • s a week. This center is designed to insure that customer calls are answered quickl d that concerns and problems are addressed with the first call. I • In August of this year,we • ened an additional, new call center facility in our Mt. Prospect office with more 100 representatives providing service to our customers in TCI's northwest suburb ' systems. • We have added significant ; to our operations staff and government affairs personnel on the local system level : are dedicating our efforts to provide a quick response to the concerns and issues o .t only our customers,but of our local franchising authorities as well. • We have launched a maj. blic communications initiative to insure that our customers, our franchisin.. thorities, and other interested parties are fully informed about issues and activities rrounding TCI and our services. � II � I ii 1 ATTORNEYS&COUNSELORS AT LAW 633 SEVENTEENTH STREET,SUITE 3000 DENVER,COLORADO 80202 Sherman & Howard L.L.C. TELEPHONE:303 297-2900 FAX:303 298-0940 OFFICES IN:COLORADO SPRINGS RENO•LAS VEGAS March 11, 1999 VIA FEDERAL EXPRESS Mr. Eric Stuckey Assistant City Manager City of Elgin 150 Dexter Elgin, IL 60120 Dear Mr. Stuckey: The transfer of the assets of the cable television system serving your community, including assignment of the franchise rights, from Cable TV Fund 15-A, Ltd. ("Jones") to TCI of West Virginia, Inc. ("TCI-WV") was completed on February 26, 1999. Enclosed is a fully executed original copy of the Transfer Agreement with respect to the transfer of the franchise from Jones to TCI. Also enclosed for your records is a copy of Resolution No. 99-27 approving the transfer of the franchise to TCI-WV. We have corrected the names of the parties on the Resolution and on the Transfer Agreement. Please do not hesitate to contact Jim Leach, TCI's Executive Director of Franchising/Local Government Relations for your community, who can be reached by telephone at 847-480-3335 or me at 303-299-8280 if you have any questions. Thank you for your courtesy and cooperation throughout this transaction. Sincerely, &hQ Eileen Barnhardt Legal Assistant Enclosures cc w/encs.: Mr. Jim Leach