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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 06.h Date: Item No. Notice of Intent to Consider a Cable Communications Franchise Proposed Action Staff recommends approving a notice of the intent of the City Council to consider the application for a franchise for the purpose of operating a cable communications system to serve the City of Lakeville. Overview Approval of this notice will allow submittal of applications for providing cable services to be accepted by the City for review and consideration. Primary Issues to Consider • Does this mean the City will get another cable services provider? This action allows another provider to submit an application and proposal for the City Council’s consideration. There is a statutory process that follows that allows the City to assess qualifications and consider a resolution regarding the qualification of the applicant. Supporting Information • Notice of Intent to consider an application for a cable communications franchise • Request for Proposal application form Financial Impact: $ Budgeted: Y☒ N☐ Source: Related Documents: (CIP, ERP, etc.): Envision Lakeville Community Values: Good Value for Public Services Report Completed by: Sue Palm, Communications Manager 4-18-2016 unknown RFP, Notice of Intent 1 3199769v1 NOTICE BY THE CITY OF LAKEVILLE, MINNESOTA OF ITS INTENT TO CONSIDER AN APPLICATION FOR A CABLE COMMUNICATIONS FRANCHISE Notice is hereby given that it is the intent of the City Council of the City of Lakeville, Minnesota, to consider the application for a franchise for the purpose of operating a cable communications system to serve the City of Lakeville, Minnesota. This notice is given in accordance with the requirements of Minn. Stat. § 238.081. Applications shall be submitted in response to this Notice and the Request for Proposals, available upon request in the office of the Communications Manager, Susanna Palm at 20195 Holyoke Avenue, Lakeville, MN 55044-8339. A. The deadline for submitting applications is May 16, 2016. B. Applications shall be in writing, notarized, in a format consistent with the Request for Proposals, and sealed with three (3) copies enclosed. Applications shall be delivered to the attention of Susanna Palm, Communications Manager at 20195 Holyoke Avenue, Lakeville, MN 55044-8339. Two (2) additional copies shall be simultaneously submitted to the City’s outside legal counsel, Brian Grogan, Moss & Barnett at 150 South Fifth Street, Suite 1200, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402. C. Pursuant to Minn. Stat. 238.081 subd. 8, applicants will be required to reimburse the City for all necessary costs of processing a cable communications franchise. Each application shall include an application fee of Twenty-five Thousand and No/100 Dollars ($25,000) in the form of a check made payable to the City of Lakeville, Minnesota. Any unused portion of the application fee shall be returned to the applicant and any additional fees, required to process the application and cable communications franchise beyond the application fee, shall be assessed to the Applicant. D. Applicants are requested to be present at a public hearing before the City Council that is presently scheduled to be held at City Hall, beginning at 7:00 p.m. on June 6, 2016. Each applicant will be given time to summarize its application. E. The Request for Proposals sets forth in detail the expectations of the City of Lakeville, Minnesota and the requirements of the content of the cable communications franchise proposal and are made in conformance to the requirements of Minn. Stat. § 238.081, subd. 4. F. The services to be offered are identified in the Request for Proposals and include a system providing public, educational and governmental access channels consistent with state law; a mix, level and quality of programs and services comparable to other cable systems in the region serving similar sized communities and customer services and maintenance plans to ensure quality service to the subscriber. The Request for Proposals provides further details of the services to be offered. G. Applicants are advised that the City may, in its sole discretion, limit the number of franchises granted, based upon, but not necessarily limited to, the requirements of applicable laws and specific local considerations as set forth in Section 3-11-14 of the Lakeville City Code. The criteria for evaluating the applications and priorities for selection shall be as follows: 2 3199769v1 1. The completeness of applications and conformance to Request for Proposals; 2. The legal, technical, and financial qualifications of the applicant; and 3. The proposal for community services, including public, educational, and governmental access in accordance with state law. H. Applications which meet the above criteria in the opinion of the City Council shall be considered for a franchise. I. The applicant(s) selected by the City Council will be required to accept the cable communications franchise documents granted within thirty (30) days after adoption. J. All questions concerning this request should be directed to Susanna Palm, Communications Manager at 20195 Holyoke Avenue, Lakeville, MN 55044-8339; phone (952) 985-4407. Date: April 18, 2016 CITY OF LAKEVILLE, MINNESOTA By: __ Its: Mayor _____________________________ City Clerk 1 3199772v1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Official Application Form Applicants interested in submitting a proposal for a cable communications franchise shall submit the following information as required by Minnesota Statutes Section 238.081 (subd. 4) to the City of Lakeville, Minnesota (“City”) on or before May 16, 2016. A. Plans for channel capacity, including both the total number of channels capable of being energized in the system and the number of channels to be energized immediately. B. A statement of the television and radio broadcast signals for which permission to carry will be requested from the Federal Communications Commission. C. A description of the proposed system design and planned operation, including at least the following items: 1. The general area for location of antenna and headend, if known; 2. The schedule for activating cable and two-way capacity; 3. The type of automated services to be provided; 4. The number of channels and services to be made available for access cable broadcasting; and 5. A schedule of charges for facilities and staff assistance for access cable broadcasting. D. Terms and conditions under which particular service is to be provided to governmental and educational entities. E. A schedule of proposed rates in relation to the services to be provided and a proposed policy regarding unusual or difficult connection of services. F. A time schedule for construction of the entire system with the time sequence for wiring the various parts of the area requested to be served. G. A statement indicating the applicant’s qualifications and experience in the cable communications field, if any. H. An identification of the municipalities (including contact information for the municipal officials in each community) in which the applicant either owns or operates a cable communications system, directly or indirectly, or has outstanding franchises for which no system has been built. I. Plans for financing the proposed system, which must indicate every significant anticipated source of capital and significant limitations or conditions with respect to the availability of the indicated sources of capital as well as any other information that applicant determines would be useful in evaluating its financial qualifications. J. A statement of ownership detailing the corporate organization of the applicant, if any, including the names and addresses of officers and directors and the number of shares held by each officer or director, and intercompany relationship, including the parent, subsidiary or affiliated company. 2 3199772v1 K. A notation and explanation of omissions or other variations with respect to the requirements of the proposal. In addition, the Lakeville City Code at Section 3-11-15 B further requires that an application for an initial franchise for a cable television system shall respond to the below questions : 1. A statement as to the proposed service area; 2. A resume of prior history of applicant, including the legal, technical and financial expertise of applicant in the cable television field; 3. A list of the general and limited partners of the applicant, if a partnership, or the shareholders, if a corporation; 4. The percentage ownership of the applicant of each of its partners, shareholders or other equity owners; 5. A list of officers, directors and managing employees of applicant or its general partner, as applicable, together with a description of the background of each such person; 6. The names and addresses of any parent or subsidiary of applicant or any other business entity owning or controlling applicant in whole or in part, or owned or controlled in whole or in part by applicant; 7. A current financial statement of applicant verified by an audit or otherwise certified to be true, complete and correct to the reasonable satisfaction of the City; 8. Proposed construction and service schedule; and 9. Any additional information that the City deems applicable. Substantive amendments may be made to a proposal after a proposal has been submitted only upon approval of the City and before the award of a cable communications franchise. All proposals must be notarized and must include responses to the above information requests, as well as the information requested in the Notice by the City of its Intent to Franchise a Cable Communications System, available from the City upon request. Applicants are advised that Charter Communications (Charter) currently provides cable television service throughout the City pursuant to a cable franchise and Charter has requested renewal of it franchise. The City reserves its right to request additional information of any applicant at any time during this process. Any questions regarding this Request for Proposals may be directed in writing to Susanna Palm, Communications Manager at 20195 Holyoke Avenue, Lakeville, MN 55044-8339; phone (952) 985-4407.