ORDINANCE NO. 99-1195 - "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF HERMOSA BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING ORDINANCE NO 94-1117, WHICH GRANTED A NONEXCLUSIVE FRANCHISE FOR THE OPERATION OF A CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEM WITHIN THE CITY."

 

Submitted for adoption and waiver of full reading is Ordinance No. 99-1195 , relating to the above subject.

 

At the meeting of October 12, 1999, the ordinance was presented to Council for consideration and introduced by the following vote:

 

AYES: Benz, Edgerton, Reviczky, Mayor Oakes

NOES: None

ABSENT: None

ABSTAIN: Bowler

 

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ORDINANCE NO. 99-1195

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF HERMOSA BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 94-1117, WHICH GRANTED A NONEXCLUSIVE FRANCHISE FOR THE OPERATION OF A CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEM WITHIN THE CITY

THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HERMOSA BEACH DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. This ordinance is adopted in consideration of the following facts and circumstances:

 

A. Ordinance No. 94-1117, as adopted by the City Council of the City of Hermosa Beach on September 27, 1994, authorized a cable television franchise renewal between the City and ML Media Partners, L.P. That franchise authorizes the construction, operation, and maintenance of a cable television system within the City.

B. On July 25, 1995, the City Council of the City of Hermosa Beach adopted Resolution No. 95-5761, which authorized and approved the assignment and transfer of the cable television franchise by ML Media Partners, L.P. to Century Valley Cable Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Century Communications Corp., a New Jersey corporation.

C. On May 25, 1999, the City Council of the City of Hermosa Beach adopted Resolution No. 99-5992, which authorized and approved the assignment and transfer of the cable television franchise by Century Valley Cable Corp. to Century-TCI California, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership. That transaction has not been consummated as of September 28, 1999.

D. On April 21, 1999, the City received from Century Communications Corp., as the proposed transferor, and from Adelphia Communications Corporation, as the proposed transferee, an application for a transfer of control of the cable television franchise that may become effective either before or after the assignment and transfer of the franchise to Century-TCI California, L.P., which transaction is referenced above in paragraph C.

E. The City and Century Valley Cable Corp. have negotiated certain amendments to the cable television franchise agreement for the purpose of clarifying and modifying certain rights and obligations of the parties relating to the operation and maintenance of the cable television system within the City, as previously authorized by Ordinance No. 94-1117.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HERMOSA BEACH DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:

 

SECTION 1. Paragraph (b) of Section 3 of Ordinance No. 94-1117 is amended as follows:

 

A. By redesignating paragraph (b), entitled "Construction Time Schedule," as paragraph (b)(1).

B. By adding a new subsection (2) to paragraph (b) to read as follows:

"(2) Following the GRANTEE'S completion of the Phase II rebuild/upgrade, GRANTEE must perform a comprehensive technical audit of that Phase II work to ensure that all applicable technical standards have been met and that the work complies with all applicable federal requirements and City codes and regulations. GRANTEE must provide to the City a written report that documents the results of this audit no later than six months following the transfer of control of the franchise from GRANTEE'S parent company to Adelphia Communications Corporation."

 

SECTION 2. Section 3 of Ordinance No. 94-1117 is amended by adding a new paragraph (h) to read as follows:

 

"(h) During the course of the Phase II rebuild/upgrade, GRANTEE will commence an audit of all subscriber service drops within the City, and this audit will be completed no later than 180 days after the transfer of control of the franchise from GRANTEE'S parent company to Adelphia Communications Corporation, subject to the granting of access by owners of private property. If such access is denied or delayed, GRANTEE will continue to seek owner consent to access beyond the 180-day period and until all subscriber service drops have been inspected. GRANTEE's audit and inspection obligations will include the following:

(1) The inspection of 100% of all aerial and underground physical plant and 100% of all subscriber service drops.

(2) All active subscriber service drops will be certified by GRANTEE to be code compliant, and inactive subscriber service drops will be removed if necessary.

(3) All safety code defects and deficiencies in the physical plant and in the subscriber service drops that are disclosed in the inspection will be corrected by the GRANTEE.

(4) GRANTEE will submit to the City monthly progress reports that will identify the results of the physical plant inspections and the corrective actions taken. These monthly reports will specify the addresses of the subscriber service drops and physical plant that have been inspected and the nature of the corrective actions that have been taken.

 

SECTION 3. Paragraph (j) of Section 4 of Ordinance No. 94-1117 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following language:

 

"In addition to the free basic cable service that is referenced above in this paragraph (j), GRANTEE will provide, at such time as that service is offered on a commercial basis to residential subscribers to the cable television system, and upon the City's request, the installation of cable modems that provide Internet access service. These cable modems and their installation will be without cost to the City and without offset to the franchise fees paid to the City under the franchise, and will be limited to an aggregate of 20 cable modems and related installation services at City-owned or other public buildings within the franchise service area. The City is authorized to select from programs that are offered to consumers and to institutions the type of service to be provided by these 20 cable modems. If the City requests more than one cable modem installation at any one location, or if the City requests additional installations beyond the 20 allocated by GRANTEE, then City will reimburse GRANTEE for the costs of labor and materials associated with (i) the wiring installation of the multiple modem-site configuration, and (ii) additional cable modems that are requested by the City. Notwithstanding the references above to an aggregate of 20 cable modems, if either the City of Redondo Beach or the City of Manhattan Beach is provided by GRANTEE, or by any authorized transferee, or affiliate or parent company of GRANTEE, with a number of free cable modems in excess of 20, then City will also be entitled to receive that number of cable modems without charge and subject to the provisions of this paragraph (j)."

 

SECTION 4. Attached to this ordinance in the form presented to the City Council is the "Franchisee's Acceptance" of this ordinance amending Ordinance No. 94-1117, which document will be signed by an authorized representative of Century Valley Cable Corp. within 30 days after the effective date of this ordinance.

 

SECTION 5. The City Clerk is directed to certify to the passage and adoption of this ordinance and to cause it to be published or posted as required by law.

 

PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 26th day of October, 1999, by the following vote:

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