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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 1999 0616 CC REG ITEM 11ETO: FROM DATE: MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Honorable City Council 338 _ ITEM 11• E• C1 FY OF MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA City Council Meeting Of _(o -/(o -qq ACTION: iA gr1)VP1-L BY: John E. Nowak, Assistant City Manager 04 June 1999 (Council Meeting of 06- 16 -99) SUBJECT: Consider Approval of Submittal of Single Cable Communication System Franchise Renewal Application from Century -TCI Communications Corp BACKGROUND: In January 1999 the City Council adopted Resolution No. 99 -1565 approving an extension of the Mountain Meadows Communications /Entertainment Express Ltd. cable franchise to December 20, 2000. This placed that franchise expiration date to the same date as the franchise held by TCI of Ventura County. The application deadline for franchise renewals is June 30, 1999. The current holder of both franchises is requesting that a single franchise renewal application be permitted for the City's review and processing. DISCUSSION: Until recently, the two cable communication system franchises granted by the City were held by two separate companies, Mountain Meadows Communications / Entertainment Express, Ltd (EEL) and TeleCommunications Inc. of Ventura County (TCI). The EEL franchise was to expire on June 30, 1999 and the TCI franchise was to expire on December 20, 2000. In January 1999 the City Council adopted a Resolution extending the EEL franchise to December 20, 2000 to coincide with the TCI franchise. By Council action on July 24, 1998, June 30, 1999 was established as the filing deadline for any franchise renewal application. 111.: Franchise Renewal Applications Meeting of 16 June 1999 Page 02 Subsequently, the ownership of both the EEL and the TCI franchises have changed hands to where both are operated by Century -TCI Communications, Corp. (subject to City Council approval of the transfer of the EEL franchise to this new entity). Century -TCI desires to have a single franchise approved by the City Council to cover all services within the City of Moorpark. This action will be part of any franchise renewal that the Council might consider. To facilitate the application and review process, Century - TCI is requesting that they be permitted to submit a single franchise renewal application covering both current franchises. A letter making that request is attached for the Council's information. Staff believes that a single application by the single owner for both franchises would facilitate the review and processing of the applications. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council approve the submittal of a single cable communication system franchise renewal application by Century -TCI Communications Corp. for both current franchises. Attached: Letter from Century -TCI Communications IIt,: CENTURY C COMMUNICATIONS Cable Dn isiat 2939 Nebraska A%enuc Santa Monica, CA 90404 Direct 310 -429 -7079 Fax 310 - 315 -4430 John E. Nowak Assistant City Manager City of Moorpark 799 Moorpark Avenue Moorpark, CA 93021 May 20, 1999 RECEIVED agg9 t ticpar.ment Re: 1) Franchise Renewal Applications for the Moorpark Century /TCI L.P., CA 0313, and Century Communications, CA 1425 Franchises, 2) Upcoming franchise transfer applications Dear John: As we discussed, I will plan to send one application for both of the current franchises in the City of Moorpark for the purpose of the renewal process. It is fully expected that at the time of completion of the franchise transfer for the Century/TCI L.P. to Adelphia (CA 0313) and the two additional transactions required to migrate t11e Century Communications franchise to Century/TCI and then to Adelphia (CA 1425), that we would be beginning franchise renewal meetings. With that in mind, it would make abundant sense to integrate these two existing franchises into one single franchise for the purpose of renewal discussion. The outcome of the finalized negotiations would be that the City of Moorpark and the franchisee would have one franchise agreement that represents the integration of the two existing franchises. I believe that we both agree that this would be the most efficient strategy for conducting our upcoming negotiations. In addition, I am in receipt of your letter dated May 8, 1999 regarding the transfer application for Adelphia. I will follow up to provide the additional copies of the application as you requested. In our discussion on 5/19/99, I have recorded the target date for appearing before the City Council will be July 7, 1999 for the purpose of a public hearing and Council vote on the Century/TCI L.P. transfer to Adelphia (CA 0313) and the two transactions necessary to transfer the current Century Communications franchise to Century/TCI and then to Adelphia (CA 1425). I understand that your office is expecting the delivery of the transfer applications for the Century Communications franchise (CA 1425) the week of May 24, 1999. Please feel free to contact my office if your have any questions or comments. Kindest Regards, Lee A. Perron Vice President, Corporate Affairs Cc: Thom Miller Bob Scott