ORD-2003-112 First Reading - Ordinance Granting Franchise to Time Warner Entertainment/Advance-Newhouse Partnership, to Own, Operate and Maintain Cable System in Unincorporated Orange County

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REVISED 09/02/03 capital equipment funds, the cost of which can either be absorbed by the operator or passed on to its customers. Sets forth the County's option to approve an operating expense support fee for PEG Access of up to a maximum of $2.00 per month per subscriber. Under this provision, the Board would have the opportunity, if it chose, to have the grantee collect a monthly fee from its customers that would be used to contract with a non profit such as The People's Channel, as does the Town of Chapel Hill, to provide pubic access television programs. Time Warner has been disinclined to include any subscriber "pass through" fee in an Orange County franchise agreement. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial cost to the County for the implementation of this franchise agreement. Cable franchise revenues are calculated as an "annual fee of five percent (5 %) of the grantee's gross revenues ". The proposed agreement does not adversely affect future franchise fee revenues. In Fiscal Year 2002 -03, Orange County received a total of $223,447 in franchise fees from Time Warner Cable; a cost it has passed on to its customers since 1993. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board: 1) Approve the first reading of the Cable Television Franchise Ordinance as proposed by the negotiating team and approved by the Cable Advisory Committee. A second reading and formal adoption of the cable television franchise ordinance would then be scheduled for the Board next meeting on September 16tH The County Attorney has advised that the Board may elect to conduct a public hearing before it takes action on the second reading of the ordinance. If the Board elects to do so, the procedure on September 16th would be to conduct a public hearing first, and then consider second reading with possible adoption of the ordinance /agreement as the following step. 2) Appoint a special technical consulting committee to review and provide recommendations to the Board on a video production plan to equip both meeting rooms — Hillsborough and Chapel Hill — for live public telecasts.