2002-11-27 CC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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,- current 15-year franchise will greatly reduce the operational overhead of the Media Center, making financial survival of the organization through alternate funding scenarios more probable. . Select a Site The Media Center will be a very valuable asset to any community. (Obviously, wherever it is located it will be owned by all seven cities.) If we are to build a new facility if would be most beneficial to locate it in an area frequented by the general public, convenient to reach, and most importantly for us, as close to the current I-Net infrastructure as possible. This means that the most suitable locations would be very near a city hall or school. It would also be most cost effective for the organization to have the land donated. Understanding that this scenario is very unlikely, we would look for the most reasonable deal. . Take Steps to Allow the Commission to own Real Estate The current Joint Powers Agreement requires that the Commission get prior authorization from the cities to purchase real estate. The Quad Cities Cable Communications Corp. recently went through the process of changing their Joint Powers Agreement to allow them to issue revenue bonds for the purchase of property and the construction of a new facility. They also modified the process for a Member City to withdraw from the Joint Powers Commission, that would allow the Member City to retain any equity that may have accumulated in the building, while also ensuring that any withdrawing Municipality remained responsible for its proportionate share of any remaining bond debt. The Commission attorney is in the process of writing that resolution for us. I have, however, attached a copy of the Quad Cities resolution to serve as an example. Our resolution will be very similar. . Do RFP for Media Center Architect We already have a very good idea of what our space needs are, based on the facility needs assessment already performed by our consultants. As the City of Coon Rapids, the Quad Cities Cable Commission, and the Northern Dakota County Community Television Corporation have just recently built new studios we have the benefit of examining their experiences with architects. As the Media Center design will determine the cost of the facility, and therefore, the funding required to build it, we should waste no time in locating and hiring an architect. . Obtain Funding Media Center staff have been working with Paul Donna, previously of Juran & Moody, but now at Northland Securities, to develop a payment scenario. The original plan was based on a 15-year repayment schedule. Mr. Donna is currently developing a 14-year payment plan. The Media Center facility would be paid for through revenue bonds. The collateral for these bonds would be the 5% franchise fee guaranteed in the current AT&T Broadband franchise document. To better demonstrate the loan repayment scenario, I have attached the 15-year payment and bonding qualification information provided, as an example, by Mr. Donna. It was noted by Mr. Donna, at our November 13th Commission Executive Committee P.4