HomeMy WebLinkAbout53-16 RESOLUTION 53-16
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS ADOPTING A COST SHARING POLICY FOR THE
CONSTRUCTION OF COMCAST CABLE SYSTEM INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN
PUBLIC WAYS
WHEREAS, in exchange for a non-exclusive franchise in the Town to construct, operate and
maintain a Cable System, Comcast Corp is obligated to make cable service available to every
residential dwelling unit within the Franchise Area where the number of dwelling units meet
minimum density requirements; and
WHEREAS, access to Comcast cable services is not presently available to residences on Public
Ways within the Franchise Area which do not meet the minimum density requirements as defined
in Section 4.1 of the Franchise Agreement unless they contribute substantially to the construction
cost of such service; and
WHEREAS,residents have requested supporting funds from the Town to assist with payment of
the customer contribution for the cable system construction cost; and
WHEREAS, the,City Council designated funds in the FY2016/17 Budget for this express
purpose; and
WHEREAS, the City Council believes that it is in the public's interest to have cable service
available to all residents for better access to public safety information, more opportunity for civic
engagement, and enhancing public education and digital literacy.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the Town of Los Altos
Hills does hereby adopt the Cost Sharing Policy for the construction of Comcast Cable System
infrastructure and its provisions, attached hereto as Exhibit A.
The above and foregoing resolution was passed and adopted by the City Council of the Town
of Los Altos Hills at a regular meeting held on the 18th day of August, 2016 by the following
vote:
AYES: Harpootlian,Waldeck, Corrigan, Radford, Spreen
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: None
ABSENT: None
(John Harpootlian, ayor
ATTEST:
Deborah Padovan, City Clerk
Resolution 53-16 Page 1
TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS LOSALT08HILLS
26379 Fremont Road
-Los Altos Hills, CA 94022
Phone: (650) 941-7222
r
www.losaltoshills.ca.gov CALIFORNIA
COST SHARING POLICY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF COMCAST CABLE
SYSTEM INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN PUBLIC WAYS
Approved by City Council 8/18/2016
Town of Los Altos Hills (hereinafter "Town")
Background
In accordance with Section 4 of the Cable System Franchise Agreement("Franchise
Agreement")between the Town and Comcast, dated November 18, 2004, in exchange for a non-
exclusive franchise in the Town to construct, maintain and operate a cable system, Comcast is
obligated to make cable service available to every residential dwelling unit in the areas where the
number of dwelling units meet minimum density requirements. Currently, most Town residents
have access to Comcast cable service. However, certain residences within the Franchise Area do
not meet the minimum density requirements as defined in Section 4.1 of the Franchise
Agreement and do not presently have access to Comcast cable services, nor do they have access
to reliable alternative service providers. Per the terms of the Franchise Agreement, residents
must contribute to the cost to construct the infrastructure necessary to deliver services on their
street. Consequently, some homeowners /residents have requested Town assistance including
supporting construction funds for Comcast cable services for their residences.
Purpose
The City Council believes that it is in the public's interest to have adequate cable services
available to all residents for better access to public safety information, more opportunity for civic
engagement, and enhancing education and digital literacy. The purpose of this policy is to
establish a means by which the Town can provide limited financial support for the construction
of Comcast cable system equipment within public ways as defined in Section 1.12 of the
Franchise Agreement.
Eligibility
This program applies only to the installation of Comcast cable system equipment within public
ways. This program applies only to areas where residential dwelling units do not meet minimum
density requirements established under Section 4.1 "General Service Obligation" of the
Franchise Agreement and to Section 4.1.2 of the Franchise Agreement regarding residences that
are located along private streets.
Cable system construction must be completed by Comcast-approved contractors and construction
and maintenance of the system must conform to the provisions of Section 3 of the Franchise
Agreement.
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Cost Sharing Policy for the Construction of Comcast Cable System Infrastructure Within Public Ways
Approved by City Council 8/18/2016
Resolution 53-16 Page 2
Cost Sharing
If an application for supporting funds is approved by the Town, the Town will contribute a
maximum of one dollar(25%) for every three dollars (75%) contributed by residents toward the
customer contribution cost of constructing new cable system infrastructure established in
accordance with Franchise Agreement Section 4 "Service Obligations." The Town's maximum
contribution for any single project shall be $15,000, except as otherwise approved by the City
Council. For this purpose, "project" shall mean cable system infrastructure constructed in public
ways for the benefit of the public residing within the franchise area. Customer contribution shall
mean that portion of the project construction cost which is the payment obligation of the
resident-customer.
Procedure
One or more residents of a particular eligible street desiring cable broadband service may request
that the Town Public Works Department obtain a project construction cost estimate in writing
from Comcast. Usually this takes Comcast four to six weeks from date of request to provide this
estimate to the Town. The Town will forward a copy of the cost estimate to residents.
Upon receipt of the Comcast-prepared project cost estimate, which will specify the customer
contribution amount, residents may request supporting funds from the Town and shall submit
their request for such funds to the Town on a Town-approved application form. Supporting fund
requests are subject to availability of budgeted funds and will be disbursed on a first-come, first-
served basis.
The City Manager of the Town shall review and consider for approval supporting funds requests
within 30 days and may request any relevant supporting documentation as necessary. Supporting
funds requests of$15,000 or less may be approved by the City Manager. However, any funds
request may be forwarded to the City Council for review and consideration and all supporting
funds requests in excess of$15,000 shall require City Council review and approval.
The Town's supporting funds amount shall not exceed 25% of the residents customer
contribution cost for construction of the cable system based on the project construction cost
estimate prepared by Comcast.
If the supporting funds request is approved, applicants shall have ten (10) business days from
date of approval by the Town to deposit their 75% share of the required customer contribution
with Comcast. The City Manager and Public Works Department staff will work with residents in
facilitating communications with Comcast. The Town shall remit its share of the customer
contribution to Comcast upon receipt of invoice from Comcast and notification that the 75%
resident customer contribution has been received.
Ineligibility
For this program, eligible contribution costs for supporting funds shall be amounts paid directly
to Comcast for cable system construction and shall NOT include: 1) cable service installation
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Cost Sharing Policy for the Constriction of Comcast Cable System Infrastructure Within Public Ways
Approved by City Council 8/18/2016
Resolution 53-16 Page 3
costs from the Public Way to any residence, 2) costs or expenses incurred directly by property
owner residents beyond the customer contribution cost, 3) reimbursements of similar costs
previously incurred by other property owner residents, 4) costs for extended warranty, future
maintenance, or future enhancements to the cable service or system infrastructure, or 5) other
costs deemed ineligible by the Town's City Manager.
Miscellaneous Provisions
Exceptions to this policy shall be subject to review and approval of the City Council.
The Town reserves the right to terminate or make changes to the provisions of this policy at any
time.
If all budgeted supporting funds are committed prior to the end of a given fiscal year, the City
Council may approve an additional contribution of supporting funds at its discretion.
The Town is not responsible for cable system project design, project cost estimates, project
construction, project management and billing services, warranty, future enhancements or any
other costs billed directly to the property owner resident by the cable service provider.
Pursuant to Section 4.5 of the Franchise Agreement, no property owner resident may resell the
cable broadband internet service enabled by this agreement without prior written consent of
Comcast.
It is possible that a resident may gain access to the Comcast cable system although they did not
contribute to the initial cost of constructing the related infrastructure in the Public Way. Such
residents have no obligation to pay or reimburse either the property owner, residents or the Town
for the original construction cost of this infrastructure.
Any questions or concerns can be directed to the Town's City Manager or Public Works
Department.
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Cost Sharing Policy for the Construction of Comcast Cable System Infrastructure Within Public Ways
Approved by City Council 8/18/2016
Resolution 53-16 Page 4