Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Aprilll,200l <br />Council Meeting Minutes <br /> <br />5. Cable Franchise Update <br /> <br />Mr. March reported he and Council Member Capra had attended a joint meeting to find <br />out the status of franchise negotiations and found out that AT&T Broadband has halted <br />all negotiations. He noted the attorneys that serve the seven-city Cable Commission were <br />dealing with AT&T Broadband and two other companies, Everest and Wide Open West <br />who had expressed an interest in overbuilding the area. Both of those companies have <br />backed off and the Cable Commission has no choice but to deal with AT&T Broadband. <br />He noted one of the sticking points goes back to a memorandum of understanding from <br />1996 regarding PEG fees. <br /> <br />Council Member Capra commented that whatever is agreed to is a 15 year commitment <br />for the City. <br /> <br />Mr. March explained the Cable Commission has been in an informal review and now <br />wants to go to the formal process that could be very expensive. The Cable Commission <br />would need to prove that AT&T Broadband has not been responsive and has not met the <br />needs for service in all areas ofthe communities involved. The Cable Commission voted <br />unanimously to present a resolution to the cities for approval. Council Member Capra <br />noted she would like it reviewed and voted on at the next Council meeting to bring it <br />back to the board the first Wednesday in May. <br /> <br />Mr. March explained the Cable Commission is investigating having the cities take over <br />the cable system. <br /> <br />Council Member Broussard Vickers asked how the Cable Commission could force <br />AT&T Broadband to accept the terms the Cable Commission wants. <br /> <br />Mayor Swedberg explained that this is a federal FCC process that is an umbrella over all <br />of the cable operations. <br /> <br />Mr. Sweeney noted the way he understands it is that cable is something that has to be <br />provided and AT&T Broadband cannot just pullout and not provide cable. <br /> <br />Council Member Broussard Vickers asked who benefits by extending the franchise. Mr. <br />Sweeney stated he did not feel anyone benefited as there are advertisements for <br />Broadband but it is not really available to Centerville or Lino Lakes. He then noted the <br />Commission wants Broadband accelerated into all areas that are being served as part of <br />the franchise agreement. Mr. Sweeney noted another issue is internet access as the Cable <br />Commission wants PEG fees from internet access and AT&T Broadband disagrees. <br /> <br />Council Member Broussard Vickers questioned if going through the formal process and <br />spending extra money would bring this to a conclusion. <br /> <br />Page 10 of 14 <br />