Posting Date:
September 16, 2005
NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING
BONDURANT CITY COUNCIL
September 21, 2005
NOTICE IS
HEREBY GIVEN that a Special
Meeting of the City Council will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September
21, 2005, in the
CITY OF
Wednesday,
September 21, 2005
6:00 p.m.
By
Patrick
Callahan
Local
Government Consultant
A.
General overview of the cable franchise renewal
process
1.
Section 626 of the Telecommunications Act
2.
Informal vs. formal process
3.
Review of various steps in the process
4.
Review of the proposed time table prepared by
Consultant
5.
Discussion regarding additional cable operators and
competition in the future
September 21, 2005
Page Two
B. Preliminary
reviews and analysis
1.
Compliance
audit of Mediacom’s performance – if needed.
2.
Franchise
fee audit – if needed
3.
Emergency
Alert System update
4.
Ascertainment
Study of future cable related needs and interest
C. Review of
Mediacom’s Past Actions and Upgrades
1.
Cable system
upgrade
2.
Cable rate
increase
3.
Addition of
new cable programming
4.
Customer
complaint procedures
5.
Mediacom’s
Records – Franchise Expiration Dates
·
Mitchellville
– April, 2006
·
Bondurant –
February, 2006
D. Discussion regarding important topics
concerning the next cable franchise agreement.
1.
Emergency
Alert System (EAS)
2.
Capital
equipment grant
3.
Access
equipment fee
4.
Live broadcast
sites
5.
Local access
channels
6.
Free cable
service to public buildings
7.
Free internet
services to public buildings
8.
Franchise Fees
9.
Compliance
measures
10.
Insurance and
bonds
September 21, 2005
Page Three
11.
Term of the
Franchise
12.
Concerns or
suggestions
E. Future Actions
1. Preparation
of Ascertainment Study of Cable Related Needs – (If needed)
2.
Preparation of
the Cable Franchise Regulatory Ordinance
3.
Access
equipment fee
4.
Negotiation of
the franchise renewal with Mediacom – Who, When, & Where
F. Discussion Regarding Consultant Fees
1.
General
Overview of the Fees
2.
Discussion
regarding the need for Phase I of the process
3.
Allocation of
costs between the two cities – 50/50 split
G. Comments and Observations
H. Adjournment
BONDURANT CITY
COUNCIL
SPECIAL
MEETING
Meeting No. 05-20
A special meeting of the City Council of the City of
Present: Mayor
Allen G. Ihde
Council Member Michele R. Bailey
Council
Member Bruce
Council Member James M. Valentine
City Administrator Darrel Steven Carlyle
Administrative
/ Utility Clerk Michelle Wells
Absent: City
Attorney Matthew S. Brick
Council
Member Jeffrey A. Kromrie
Council
Member Gregory
Accounting
Clerk Luane Baker
Notice of the meeting was posted
at the
Mayor Ihde called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Roll call was taken and a quorum was declared.
Mr. Patrick Callahan, Local Government Consultant, presented a general overview of the cable franchise renewal process. He defined Section 626 of the Telecommunications Act; informal versus formal process; various steps of the process and discussed additional cable operators and competition in the future.
Mr. Callahan gave a preliminary review and analysis of the
compliance audit of Mediacom’s performance and franchise fee audit; Emergency Alert System and Ascertainment Study of the City’s future cable related needs and
interest. He said the compliance audit
of Mediacom’s performance is usually put on hold, as long as there are no major
issues to address.
Mr. Callahan reviewed Mediacom’s cable system upgrade; cable
rate increases; additional cable programming; the handling of customer complaints
and Mediacom’s records, which included the franchise expiration dates for the
City of
Mr. Callahan highlighted important topics concerning the
next cable franchise agreement, which included the Emergency Alert System;
capital equipment grant; access equipment fee; live broadcast sites; local
access channels; free cable service to public buildings; free internet services
to public buildings; franchise fees; compliance measures; insurance and bonds;
term of the franchise and addressed concerns and suggestions of the Mayor and
Council. Mayor Ihde stated that he would
like to explore the addition of
institutional networking added to the agreement.
September 21, 2005
Page Two
Mr. Callahan listed what future actions should occur and the
timeline involved. A model ordinance
will be used to prepare The Cable Franchise Regulatory Ordinance and then
negotiated, followed by the preparation of an initial draft of the Franchise
Agreement with Mediacom. City
Administrator will represent the City of
Mr. Callahan stated the consultant fees would in all
probability not exceed $2700.00, which would be a fifty-fifty split between the
City of
The
meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m.
_____________________________
Allen
G. Ihde
Mayor
___________________________________
Michelle
Wells
Administrative
/ Utility Clerk
SEAL
I, the understated City Administrator of the City of Bondurant, Polk County, Iowa hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and accurate copy of proceedings had and done by the Mayor and City Council on September 21, 2005, that all of the subjects included in the foregoing proceedings were contained in the agenda for the meeting, kept continually current and readily available for public inspection at the Office of the City Clerk; that such subjects were contained in said agenda for at least twenty-four hours prior to said meeting, and the said minutes from which the foregoing proceedings have been extracted were written from and available for public inspection within ten business days and prior to the next convened meeting of said body.
__________________________________
Michelle
Wells
Administrative
/ Utility Clerk