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A public hearing on the application was held on March 5, 2015, and additional written comments from the public were accepted through March 13, 2015. Following the public hearing, staff prepared a Staff Report (“Report”), which recommended that the NSCC receive and file the Report and direct staff to negotiate a cable franchise with CenturyLink, consistent with the Report. On April 10, 2015, the NSCC adopted the recommendation. This action did not approve a franchise. The NSCC’s outside attorney, Mike Bradley, Bradley Hagen & Gullikson, LLC, in consultation with NSCC Executive Director, Coralie Wilson, engaged in cable franchise negotiations with CenturyLink. The attached cable franchise is the product of those negotiations. In reviewing the CenturyLink cable franchise, there are two primary issues to consider. The first is whether federal law preempts Minnesota’s 5-Year Build Statute. Minnesota Statues Section 238.084, subdivision 1(m) requires all initial franchises to have a provision that requires a cable operator build out its cable system at a rate of 50 plant miles per year and that its cable system be substantially complete within 5 years. As the Report indicated, CenturyLink claims that this 5-Year Build Statute is an unlawful barrier to entry and is preempted by federal law and an FCC decision referred to as the 621 Order. The Report also indicated that there is no case law in Minnesota directly addressing preemption of the 5-Year Build Statute. The Report concluded that CenturyLink has a good faith basis on its preemption claim and is willing to indemnify the NSCC and its Member Cities related to any litigation surrounding the grant of a franchise to CenturyLink. CenturyLink refused to incorporate the language of the 5-Year Build Statute in the proposed franchise, based on its preemption argument. As described below, the proposed CenturyLink franchise ordinance has provisions for a reasonable build-out of the City. The proposed franchise ordinance also has provision for defense and indemnification of the NSCC and the City regarding this issue. The next issue is whether the CenturyLink franchise contains a reasonable build-out schedule. The franchise ordinance recognizes that CenturyLink has already constructed a legacy communications system throughout the City, which is capable of providing telephone and internet service. The build-out provisions in the franchise are related to upgrades of the legacy system to make it capable of providing cable service to all area residents. The proposed CenturyLink Franchise addresses build-out as follows:  Complete Equitable Build-Out. Goal is to build-out the entire City over 5- year term, based on market success, with a significant investment targeted to areas below the median income in the City.  Initial Minimum Build-Out Commitment. 15% of the city over two years. o CenturyLink must make its best effort to complete the initial deployment in a shorter period of time. o Equitable Deployment to households in the City. o Must include a significant number of households below the medium income of the City.