HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES CC 1986 363 1986 1222W -- -
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RESOLUTION NO. 86 -363
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF MOORPARK APPROVING: (1)"THE TRANSFER OF A
FRANCHISE FOR A CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEM FROM
STORER CABLE TV, INC., TO VENTURA COUNTY
CABLEVISION, INC., (2) THE ACQUISITION OF 'I`fIC
STOCK OF VENTURA COUNTY CABLEVISION, INC. By
WESTERN COMMUNICATIONS, INC. AND, (3) THE
EXTENSION OF THE FRANCHISE THROUGH JULY 7,
1987
WHEREAS, on December 6, 1966, pursuant to
Resolution No. 1.10.48, the Board of Supervisors of the
County of Ventura granted for a twenty year term, a non-
exclusive franchise for a cable television system
(hereinafter, the "Franchise ") to Storer Cable TV, Inc. �-
( "hereinafter, "SCTV ");
WHEREAS, the Franchise area was subsequently
incorporated into the City of Moorpark (hereinafter, the
"City ");
WHEREAS, Western Communications, :nc. (hereinafter
"WCI ") has requested that the City approve (i) the transfer
of the Franchise from Storer to Ventura County Cablevision,
Inc. (hereinafter, "VCC "), an affiliate of SCTV, and (ii)
the acquisition by WCI of the issued and outstanding stock
of VCC;
WHEREAS, in support of its transfer request., WCI
has submitted a Transfer Application, which is on file in
the office of the City Clerk;
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of
Moorpark, California, does resolve as Follows:
SECTION 1. The City Council of the City of
Moorpark finds that, based upon the representations
contaired the Transfer Application sub:r.itttd by WCI, which
is on file in the office of the City Clerk, WCI has the
financial ability to meet the obligations of the Franchise.
SECTION 2. The transfer of'the Franchise from SCTV
to VCC, an affiliate of SCTV and a wholly -owned subsidiary
of SCIPSCO, Inc., a further affiliate of SCTV, is hereby
approved subject to the conditions set forth in Section 4,
below.
SECTION 3. The acquisition from SCIPSCO, Inc. of
all of the issued and outstanding stock of VCC, by WCI is
hereby approved subject to the conditions set forth in
Section 4, below.
SECTION 4. The conditions of approval are as
follows:
A. That WCI consummate the transaction by which
it is to acquire all of the issued and
outstanding stock of VCC from SCIPSCO, Inc.
B. That VCC accept the current Federal
Communications Commission "technical
standards" of cable television performance,
including the requirement that VCC continue to
perform and provide the City with copies of
the annual proof of performance tests, as
those standards and tests are described at 47
Code of Federal Regulations Sec—or If ".601, et
sea.
C. That VCC execute the agreement for
reimbursement of administrative expenses in
connection with Franchise renewal, which is
contained in Exhibit A, attached ^eretc.
D. That WCI provide within th::ty (30) Jays of
its receipt, a copy of the final sales
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document reflecting the sale of :he Franchise
from SCTV to WCI.
E. That VCC execute the agreement for
reimbursement of administrative expenses
incurred to process WCI's Transfer
Application, which is contained in Exhibit- B,
attached hereto.
F. That VCC accept an increase of '_he franchise
fee to three percent (3 %) of gross revenues,
effective February 1, 1987. The term "gross
revenues" shall mean any and al'_ revenue or
compensation in any form derived directly or
indirectly by the Franchisee, is affiliates,
its subsidiaries, parents and any person in
which the Franchisee has a financial interest
from the operation of the Franchise,
including, but not limited to monthly
,
subscriber fees, basic cable service, pay
cable and pay -per -view fees, installation and
reconnection fees, leased channel fees, fees
paid for data transmission, ccrver-er rentals,
studio rental, production equipment and
personnel fees, advertising revenues and
copyright fees, provided, howe•.er, that this
term shall not include any taxes on services
fOrnished by the Franchisee imposed directly
on any subscriber or user by & c_ty, ccunty,
state or other governmental uri:t, and
collected by the Franchisee or: behalf of such
government entity, and provided further, '.:hat
the amount of gross revenues ~.ay be reduced by
t ^e amount of any bad deb,,s w: t, en off by the
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Franchisee or refunds returned to
subscriber. The Franchisee shall riot indicate
the franchise fee as a line item on its
monthly subscriber statements so long as the
franchise fee is three percr•:;t (3%) •oE gross
revenues. The City and the Franchisee shall
discuss indicating the franchise fee as a 'line
item on monthly subscriber statements prior to
the City increasing the franchise fee beyond
three percent (3 %) of gross revenues.
G. That VCC accept the Memorandum of Under-
standing, which is contained in Exhibit C,
attached hereto.
H. That by February 1, 1987, VCC begin, using its
character generator to list those portions of
the City Council agendas dealing with public
hearings over its local origination channel.
The City shall give VCC at least seven (7)
days notice of the agenda items to be
cablecast. The City may submit items after
that date, subject to avail,t:ility of the
Franchisee.
SECTION 5. The expiration of the Franchise is extended
through July 7, 1987.
SECTION 6. VCC shall within thi_'_y (30) days after
passage of this Resolution, file in the of_ice of the City
Clerk a written acceptance of this Resolution, executed by
VCC in a form. approved by the City Attorney. VCC, by
executing and filing the Acceptance, guarantees performance
of all obligations hereunder.
SECTION 7. The City Clerk shall certify the
adcotior of this Resolution.
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PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 22nd day of
December
, 19 86,
MAYOR
1 HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution was
duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Moorpark at
a regular meeting thereof, held on the '22nd day of.
December
Council:
, 19 86, by the following vote of the
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS Brown, Woolard, Galloway, Harper and
Mayor Ferguson
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS - None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS - None
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CONTENTS:
CITY ATTORNEY
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EXHIBIT A
AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF
ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES NECESSARY TO EVALUATE
AN APPLICATION TO RENEW'A CABLE TELEVISICN
FRANCHISE
THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into by and
between the CITY OF MOORPARK, a municipal corporation
(hereinafter referred to as "City "), and VENTURA COUNTY
CABLEVISION, INC., (hereinafter referred to as "VCC ");
WHEREAS, VCC has requested the renewal of its cable
television franchise; and
WHEREAS, City policy requires that before the City
may approve the renewal of a cable television franchise, the
City shall enter into an agreement with the Franchisee
providing for reimbursement of the City's administrative
expenses in connection with the renewa: request;
follows:
NOW, THEREFORE, City and VCC hereby agree as
VCC, shall, prior to or in conjunction with this
Agreement, deposit with the City a cash sum of Twenty
Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) to reimb.:rse the City for its
administrative expenses, including legal fees and consulting
services, in connection with the renewal request. This sum
shall be used for studying, investigating, preparing a cable
television ordinance and otherwise processing the renewal
request and shall be refundable only t..: the extent it
exceeds actual expenses incurred in processing tie
renewal. Should the City exceed the cash sum of Twenty
Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) in administrative expenses, it
may submit monthly bills to VCC for expenses incurred, which
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VCC shall pay in within thirty days of receipt. The City's
denial of the renewal request shall not be grounds for a
refund. The City shall provide itepized statements showing
incurrence of its administrative expenses on a periodic
basis.
DATED:
DATED: [1Cf� aU ZZA
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CITY OF MOORPARK
By: / r`
Mayor /
VENTURA COUNTY
CABLEVISION, INC.
EXHIBIT B
AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF
ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES NECESSARY TO
EVALUATE AN APPLICATION TO TRANSFER A
CABLE TELEVISION FRANCHISE
THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into by and
between the CITY OF MOORPARK, a municipal corporation
(hereinafter referred to as "City "), and VENTURA COUNTY
CABLEVISION, INC., (hereinafter referred to as "VCC ");
WHEREAS, Western Communications, Inc. ( "4ICI ") has
requested that the City approve (i) the transfer of a City
cable television franchise from Storer Cable TV, Inc.
(hereinafter referred to as "SCTV ") to VCC, a SCTV
affiliate, and (ii) the subsequent purchase by WCI of all
outstanding and issued stock of VCC from SCIPSCO, Inc. a
further affiliate of SCTV; and
WHEREAS, City policy requires that before the City
may approve the transfer of a cable rele•jision franchise,
the City shall enter into an agreement with the transferee
providing for reimbursement of the City's administrative
expenses in connection with the transfer request;
NOW, THEREVORE, City and VCC hereby agree as
follows:
VCC shall, prior to or in conjunction with this
Agreement, deposit with the City a cash sum of Fifteen
Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00) to reimburse the City for its
administrative expenses, including legal fees and consulting
services, in connection with the transfe: request. This sum
shall be used for studying, investigating and otherwise
processing the transfer request and shalt be refundable only
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to the extent it exceeds actual expenses incurred :n
processing the transfer. The City's denial of the transfer
request shall not be grounds for a'refund. The City shall
provide itemized statements showing tine incurrence of its
administrative expenses on a periodic basis. The City
acknowledges receipt of the $15,000.00 deposit is of
December 17, 1986.
DATED:
DATED:!�„%,¢c,
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CITY OF MOORPARK
By:
Mayor
VENTURA COUNTY
CABLEVISION, INC.
1, 1
EXHIBIT C
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
This Memorandum of Understanding :s an Exhibit to
Resolution No,BCil6of the City Council of ,he City of
Moorpark. The purpose of this Memorandum :s to set forth
the minimum standards which the Franchisee, VCC, agrees to
in order to obtain renewal of its cable television
_franchise.
As explained in the Resolution, t're cable
television franchise expires January 5, 1987. it is
contemplated by the City that any Franchise renewal will be
pursuant to a new franchise ordinance. In order to give the
City and the Franchisee an opportunity to resolve the terms
of a new franchise ordinance, the Resolution extends the
Franchise term through and including July :, 1987. However,
VCC agrees and accepts that at a minimum, _he City may
include the following provisions in any new franchise
ordinance:
1. The franchise fee shall be five percent (5 %)
of gross revenues. The City shall have the right to reduce
the franchise fee by resolution without further amendment of
the franchise ordinance. The City shall also have the right
to 'increase the franchise fee to the maxim-,x. permitted by
state and federal law without further amendment of ttie
franchise ordinance. The City shall give the Franchisee at
least sixty (60) days notice of any increase or decrease of
the franchise fee.
2. The term "gross revenues" shall mean any and
all revenue or compensation in any form derived directly or
indirectly by the Franchisee, its affiliate subsid'aries,
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parents and any person in which the Franchisee has a
financial interest, from the operation of the Franchise,
including, but not limited to monthly subscriber fees for
basic cable service, pay cable, and pay - per -view fees,
installation and reconnection fees, leased channel fees,
fees paid for data transmission, converter rentals, studio
rental, production equipment and personnel fees, advertising
revenues and copyright fees, provided, however, that this
term, shall not include any taxes on services furnished by
the Franchisee imposed directly on any subscriber or lser by
a city, county, state or other government ,snit, and
collected by Franchisee on behalf of such governmental
entity, and provided further, that the amount of gross
revenues may be reduced by the amount of any bad debts
written off by the Franchisee or refunds returned to
subscriber.
3. The franchise fee shall be payable within
sixty (60) days after the expiration of each quarter of the
Franchisee's fiscal year. The City shall have the right to
inspect and audit the Franchisee's fiscal records concerning
gross revenues. If an independent audit c`_ the Pranchisee's
records, directed by the City, shows a franchise fee
underpayment of four percent (4 %) or more, the Franchisee
shall bear all costs of said audit. Accep,ance of �i
franchise fee payment for more than three '3) years after
its receipt shall amount to a release and accord and
satisfaction as to any claim the City may gave for
additiona'_ sums payable. The Franchisee s,al_ maintain
gross receipt records for a minimum of t:nr,.3 (3) years.
:. The Franchisee will establis a ay statior.
within t ^e City thrcugh an arrangement wit`. a lcca`_ merchant
or financial instit,tion for the payment c subscribers'
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statements by July 7, 1987. The Franchisee shall provide a
procedure for subscribers to obtain insta:_ation and
disconnection of cable television service sithout the
necessity of visiting an office outside o: City liRits.
5. The Franchisee shall accept in art)ltta�Lon
procedure for the resolution of consumer :,,omplaints and
material breaches of the Franchise compar,iole to the one
contained at Government Code §53066.1';n). The arbitration
procedure shall also provide that before ., may be invoked
by a subscriber or the City, the Franchisee nusl be notified
of the complaint or the breach and be given a reasonable
time period to cure the complaint or breach.
6. The Franchisee shall make reasonable efforts
_ to secure the consent of cable systems operated elsewhere
within the City for purposes of sharing locally originated
subscriber and institutional services through an electrical
interconnection. Within a reasonable time, as set by the
City, the Franchisee shall contact all other franchise
operators within the City for the purpose of exploring and
securing a mutually acceptable system interconnect agreement
and report the results of said activity tc the City Manager.
7. The Franchisee shall provide a local
origination production studio equipped so as to allow high -
quality production of both live and edited videotaped
programming.
8. The Franchisee shall provide reliable
transmission facilities, equipment, and services which meet
industry -wide standards and which meet the "technical
guidelines" of the Federal Communications :ommission's
( "FCC ") established pursuant to Section 52;(e) of the Cable
Communications Policy Act of 1984 as conta.-ied in 4"' CFR
76.01 et -sea. in addition, if it is deter; -,fined that
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franchising authorities may enforce higher technical
standards than the FCC's "technical guidelines ", then the
City may notice a public hearing to,determine if new, more
stringent technical standards are needed. On the basis of
the evidence presented at the public hearing, the City may
establish new technical standards comparable to industry-
wide standards, which exceed the FCC's previous technical
guidelines, and which are consistent with statutory and case
law.
9. (a) The Franchisee shall extend installation
and completion of its cable television system throughout the
designated Franchise area with reasonable diligence. The
Franchisee shall extend cable television service to any
existing and new development or group of residences at its
standard rates if the existing or new development or group
of residences to be served has a density of at least fifty
(50) residences per strand mile or trunk line cable
installed.
(b) The Franchisee shall extend cable
television services to any isolated residence requiring more
than a standard one hundred fifty (150) foot drop at a
premium installation rate if such service has been requested
by the resident directly or through the City Manager. The
premium installation rate charged shall be the actual cost
for the distance exceeding one hundred fifty (150) feet.
The Franchisee-may request advance payment or such
installation. If any additional residences are subsequently
connected to the system using this same cable extension,
there shall be a prorated return of this installation fee in
accordance with a reimbursement agreement.
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10. The cable system shall be placed underground
in localities where both telephone and power lines dre
underground. The Franchisee shall Ceplace aerial facilities
with underground facilities concurrently and in cooperation
with similar programs of the telephone and power
utilities. At no time shall the cable television system be
the only aerial facility where other utilities are
present. Where undergrounding is required, the Franchisee
shall have the option of sharing or not sharing utility
trenches.
11. The Franchisee shall limit system outages to
minimum time duration by locating and correcting the
malfunction promptly. Absent catastrophic circumstances,
outages shall be corrected within twenty -four (24) hours
after the occurrence, irrespective of holidays or other non -
business hours. The Franchisee shall be deemed to be in
compliance with this provision if system outages are
corrected within twenty four hours, eighty percent (80 %) of
the time.
12. If service is interrupted to any subscriber as
a result of malfunction or repairs for more than twenty -four
(24) consecutive hours, or if multiple disruptions of
service to a given subscriber total twenty -four (24) or more
hours in any 30 -day period, the Franchisee . 3hall rebate to
the subscriber, upon request, a pro rata amount of that
subscriber's monthly fee for the service c: services
interrupted proportionate to the length of the disruption;
such rebate may be in the form of a credit ::o the
subscriber's account which may be applied :D future fees.
13. The Franchisee shall, upon substantial
complaint by subscribers and request of the City Manager,
make a demonstration satisfactory to the Ci,y Manage: that a
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signal is being delivered which is of sufficient strength
and quality to meet the technical standards set forth in the
Franchise.
14. The Franchisee shall render efficient service,
making repairs promptly and interrupting service only for
good cause and for the shortest time possible. Planned
interruptions insofar as possible, shall be preceded by
notice given to subscribers twenty -four (24) hours in
advance and shall occur during periods of minimum use of the
system.
15. (a) The Franchisee shall provide a toll -free
telephone service so that subscribers may call in complaints
and requests for repairs at any time, day or night, seven
days a week. All complaints shall be acknowledged within
the next business day. The toll -free telephone number shall
be listed in the telephone directories serving the City.
The Franchisee shall advise all new subscribers of this
complaint process.
(b) The City Manager or his designated
representative shall be responsible for assisting in the
resolution of any consumer complaints. Citizens or the
Franchisee may call upon this service.
(c) The Franchisee shall designate a
"government Liaison person" who shall be responsible for
working with the City Manager or his designated
representative to resolve consumer complaints.
16. (a) The Franchisee shall maintain records
listing the date of customer complaints, identifying Lhe
subscriber and describing the nature of the complaint, and
indicating when and what action was taken by the Pranchisee
in response thereto. A separate record sha.1 identify
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system outages. These records shall be kept on file at the
Franchisee's local office for a period of two (2) years and
shall be available for inspection during regular business
hours, without further notice or demand, by the City
Manager.
(b) The Franchisee shall maintain monthly
summaries indicating the number of consumer complaints
received that month, the category of the complaint, and the —` - -y—
resolution of the complaint; said summaries shall be
available monthly and delivered quarterly to the City
Manager or his designated representative. (This provision
does not represent an exclusive list of the records the City
may require.)
17. The Franchisee shall provide itemized bills to
subscribers, distinctly showing charges for all
classifications and tiers of programming and other services,
including the charges for late payment, and for
installation, disconnection, reconnection, or modification
of equipment.
18. Any physical damage caused by employees or
subcontractors of the Franchisee to proper, -y shall repaired
or replaced, provided, however, this provision shall not be
construed to expand the scope of the Franchisee's liability
for property damage.
19. The Franchisee shall be directly responsible
for the actions of all its subcontractors it connection with
their performance of the Franchisee's obligations under the
Franchise and shall take positive steps to insure that all
applicable Franchise provisions are met.
20• (a) The Franchisee shall provide channel
capacity for public, educational and governmental ( "PEG ")
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meetings, School Board meetings, and special events as
designated by the City. The Franchisee shall provide,
operate and maintain the video equipment for said
programming, until July 1, 1989, at which time the City and
the Franchisee shall discuss the possiblity of dedicating
the equipment to the City. The Franchisee shall provide,
free of charge, the labor for the first 268 hours per year
of said programming. (The Country Days Parade, or an
equivalent, shall not be credited against said 288 hours per
year of programming.) The City shall pay the labor charges
for additional programming at the Franchisee's cost. The
City shall give the Franchisee at least five days notice of
all meetings to be programmed. The Franchisee shall provide
to the City archival copies of all meetings cablecast on
3/4" videotape. The Franchisee shall provide to the City a
new 3/4" video tape playback unit, which meets the City's
approval.
24. The Franchisee shall provide the technical
capability for the origination of live and videotaped
programming from City Hall by July 1, 1989. Prior to the
time the City requests that live capabilit} become
operational, the City and the Franchisee will discuss the
possibility of dedicating to the City the equipment
necessary for live programming.
25. The Franchisee shall conduct , a,_ least
annually, a subscriber satisfaction survey. The City may
add to this survey reasonable, cable - related questions. The
Franchisee shall provide the City with copies of the survey
results.
26. Section 631 of the Cable Communications Policy
Act of 1984 (47 CSC 551(c)), prohibits the Franchisee from
marketing mailing lists with the names and addresses of
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programming and for local origination programming. The
Franchisee shall provide PEG use ip the lowest Basic Service
tier. Such PEG channel capacity shall be made available
free of charge for use by PEG programmers. The 'ranchisee
initially may provide PEG programming over its local
origination channel. The City requires a separate PEG
channel no later than July 1, 1989. The Franchisee shall
make a second, separate PEG channel available pursuant to
the usage criteria contained at Governmen, Code Section
53066.1(f)(1)(A).
(b) The City, or its designated
representative, such as a non - profit entity, shall exercise
editorial control of its programming on the PEG channels.
21. The Franchisee shall provide use of its public
access equipment and studio facilities, free of charge, to
PEG programmers on a non - discriminatory basis. The
Franchisee may establish reasonable limitations on the
scheduling of equipment availability and total studio time
available to PEG programmers; rules establishing such
limitations, if any, shall be submitted Ecr approval by the
City, which approval the City shall not unreasonably
withhold.
22. The Franchisee shall provide video production
training for all categories of PEG programmers free of
charge, subject to reasonable limitations :':n the total time
and resources to be committed by the Franchisee to such
training; rules establishing such limitations shall be
submitted by the Franchisee for approval by the City, which
approval the City shall not unreasonably withhold.
23. Beginning July 1, 1987, the ::anchisee shall
cablecast, on a taped -delay basis, and free of charge, City
Council meetings, and, upon request, Plar.n :••.g CDm ;r.ission
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subscribers unless the subscribers have been provided the
opportunity to prohibit or limit such disclosure. ':he
Franchisee shall provide a form which-permits the subscriber
to check a box and mail in the form to delete his or her
name from the mailing list. The Pranchisec shall. provide
such a form on at least an annual basis. The format of the
form shall be subject to the reasonable approval of the City
Manager.
27. The Franchisee shall provide to the City
written notice at least sixty (60) days in advance -f the
implementation of changes in any of its rates and ci:arges
which are not subject to regulation by the City. The notice
shall include a statement of the reasons E�,- the rate
increase.
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