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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,August 25,2014 <br /> Page 4 <br /> their City Manager Terry Schwerm, a member of the Negotiating Subcommittee, no <br /> longer participating due to a probable conflict of interest. <br /> While the commission's focus is currently on the franchise renewal itself, Councilmem- <br /> ber Laliberte opined that, regardless of which City representatives or member cities <br /> stayed involved in the process, a conversation was needed on the future of the commis- <br /> sion and its focus moving forward. <br /> Mayor Roe concurred, noting that the future of video programming and new technologies <br /> would eventually negate delivery through cable television; and the term of a future fran- <br /> chise agreement would probably be no longer than ten years, if that; and language includ- <br /> ed in the agreement for devolving the franchise if it became no longer practical. Mayor <br /> Roe noted that the mission of cable access was also evolving, partly due to changes in <br /> funding, but also changes in media and delivery of video, which would also affect train- <br /> ing needs and affect the 2015 budget. Given the many unknowns at this time, Mayor Roe <br /> opined that it may be possible that the current franchise agreement may need to be ex- <br /> tended yet again, which would retain the status quo. Mayor Roe advised that he could <br /> continue to keep the public and City Council posted during the process. <br /> At the request of Councilmember McGehee, Mayor Roe reviewed the potential impact to <br /> subscribers and member cities as part of the proposed Time-Warner and Comcast merger <br /> and Comcast's intent to divest itself of subscribers in several areas, including the Twin <br /> Cities area with formation of a new cable company probably made up of Charter and <br /> Comcast entities as a separate and independent company. If that occurs, Mayor Roe ad- <br /> vised that a transfer of the franchise would need to be approved by member cities as part <br /> of any franchise agreement. While not a lot of information was yet available on the <br /> make-up of this new company, Mayor Roe advised that the cable company had already <br /> submitted preliminary paperwork to the commission for approval of a transfer, but due to <br /> the timeframe involved in the process, he anticipated a recommendation at the Commis- <br /> sion's September meeting to not approve the transfer due to the lack of information. <br /> Mayor Roe noted that, while those discussions were still internally focused given their <br /> preliminary nature, it added yet another interesting aspect to the overall picture. Mayor <br /> Roe noted that this was not unique to Roseville, but was also occurring in several other <br /> areas of the country as Comcast divested itself of those assets. <br /> 5. Recognitions,Donations and Communications <br /> a. Proclaim Golden K Kiwanis Peanut Day <br /> Mayor Roe invited representatives of the North Suburban Golden K Kiwanis <br /> Club, headquartered in Roseville, to share about their organization in general and <br /> this specific fundraiser. Representatives reported on the purpose of this $15,000 <br /> to $20,000 annual fundraiser, with funds going to the area food shelf and other <br /> programs to help community youth educationally and spiritually. <br />