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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/16/1988 IOW CITY COUNCIL TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS 26379 Fremont Road Los Altos Hills , California MINUTES OF AN ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING Wednesday, May 16 , 1988 cc: Reel 192, Tr . II , Side II , 001-end Mayor Tryon called the Adjourned Regular Meeting of the City Council to order at 7 : 35 p.m. A. ROLL CALL: Present: Mayor Tryon and Councilmembers Casey, Johnson, Siegel and van Tamelen Absent: None C Staff: City Manager George Scarborough, City Attorney Frank �/' Gillio and City Clerk Pat Dowd B. ADMINISTERING OF THE OATH OF AFFIRMATION AND SEATING OF NEWLY ELECTED COUNCILMEMBER TONI CASEY: The City Clerk administered the Oath of Office to newly elected Councilmember Toni Casey. C. PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF REVIEW OF SUN COUNTY CABLE, INC. DRAFT CABLE TELEVISION FRANCHISE AGREEMENT BY TELECOMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT CORPORATION: Mr. Carl Pilnick, Telecommunications Management Corporation, presented a brief overview of the cable industry in general . He commented on the state of flux in cable legislation, the Policy Act of 1984, State and Federal Laws and FCC standards. Mr. Pilnick noted that cities could not regulate rates or specify services but they could regulate services . As of a recent Supreme Court decision, FCC standards applied to cities . He noted that it was almost impossible not to renew a franchise agreement that was in place and it was also almost impossible to go back and change a franchise agreement even if the regulations changed. In addition to the review of Sun Country Cable ' s draft cable television franchise agreement dated 4/88 , the City Council also had received a revised draft from Sun Country Cable dated 5/5/88 which L addressed several of the issues raised by Mr. Pilnick and also a revised exhibit A dated 5/16/88 . The City Manager in his report dated 5/16/88 addressed the changes made by Sun Country Cable in their revised draft and Mr. Pilnick went over the revisions with Council . In part the following issues were discussed: liability insurance, emergency alert, standby power, trigger mechanisms , listing of items on billings , customer service objectives, scheduling of project, underground service plan and line extension policy. Lyn Simpson, Sun Country Cable, commented that they had been discussing a 400 MHz , 54-60 channel system for several months now. She also referred to their financial projections and stated that they were realistic figures and they had financial support for what they proposed. Referring to the City Manager' s report dated 5/16/88, Ms . Simpson noted that they had not included emergency alert because they felt it was something that may never be used and if there were a disaster how many people would have their television set turned on. David Kinley, Sun Country Cable, discussed the cost sharing formulas for those areas that did not meet certain standards , average aerial costs and one-time installation costs. D. PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF EVALUATION OF CABLE TELEVISION 4111 FRANCHISE PROPOSALS FROM SUN COUNTRY CABLE, INC. AND VIDEO ENGINEERING, INC. BY TELECOMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT CORPORATION: Council had before them an evaluation of cable television franchise proposals dated 4/88. This report included the following summary of category ratings with the comment from Mr. Pilnick that how one evaluates this summary depends on what one ' s priorities are. Sun Country and Video Engineering equal in the following: experience and support for local programming. Sun Country considered stronger in financial projections and Video Engineering considered stronger in system design, construction and service plan and programming. Financial Resources and Rates were not rated. Ken Daniel , Video Engineering, commented that he was pleased they were rated higher in three areas. They planned to serve more miles and therefore would be serving more houses. His proposal also included standby power since he knew how many outages there were in the Town and he thought it important to have. Mr. Daniel stated that he planned to open a marketing office in the near future for one to two months for a potential sales campaign. If he did not get a certain percentage of the residents interested, then he would withdraw his proposal . In response to a question from Siegel concerning guarantees for their work, Mr. Daniel stated that either a letter of credit or performance bond was agreeable with him although a letter of credit would be for less money than a performance bond. Mr. Daniel stated that he would be -2- 5/16/88 ibr agreeable to the Town holding the franchise fee and paying it back to the cable company. In response to a question from Council , Mr. Daniel stated that he was quite familiar with the statistics; he had measured the streets himself and his cost estimates were less because they owned their own equipment and it was already depreciated. Lyn Simpson, Sun Country Cable, reiterated their statements that they were working from the strand maps and their numbers were correct. She stated they would be willing to share these maps with Video Engineering if they would share in the cost and whoever got the franchise agreement would pay the balance. Ms . Simpson also referred to their letter of credit and the provisions for liquidated damages in their draft agreement. Jim Plummer, Citizens for Better Cable TV Alternatives, stated that he thought Mr. Pilnick had done an excellent job. Mr. Plummer commented that he questioned the statement by Sun Country that they would have 85% done in four years and noted that Ken Daniels lived in Town and would have very upset neighbors if he did not deliver what he promised. Mr. Plummer stated that their group would remain active no matter which company got the franchise agreement to see that the promises to the residents were kept. Mr. Plummer also expressed his objections to the Mayor ' s comments regarding Sun Country Cable. Sun Country Cable had not responded to a competitive bid process and the Town had agreed to enter into negotiations with Sun Country Cable. 41110 Dick Jones , 12660 La Cresta, referred to the telephone company, common carrier options and a single physical plant. Mr. Pilnick responded that present rules prohibited the telephone company from providing cable in cities in which they provided phone service. E. PRESENTATION BY GEORGE BEERS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - RADIO AND TELEVISION COMMUNICATIONS - FOOTHILL COLLEGE, ON ACCESS T.V. : Mr. George Beers , Foothill College , referred to his 12/87 letter to the City Manager on the subject of access tv in the Town and also referred to a document dated 5/16/88 on ' funding for access television in Los Altos Hills ' . In addition to this document which Mr. Beers distributed to the Council , he presented a video showing what access tv had to offer the residents of the Town and he noted that in his opinion access tv could work with either Sun Country Cable or Video Engineering. -3- 5/16/88 1v F . ADJOURNMENT: There being no further new or old business to discuss, the City Council adjourned at 10 : 35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Patricia Dowd, City Clerk L -4- 5/16/88