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There are also a couple of important funding mechanisms that would come out of the <br />Triangle J agreement with Time Warner. One would provide a capital access fee and <br />another would be an operating subsidy that would allow the County Commissioners to <br />impose up to 60 cents per month for operating subsidies for public and educational <br />access channels and also a capital access fee. Triangle J negotiated an arrangement a <br />few years ago, and now Time Warner said that it does not want to have anything like <br />that. <br />Finally, there were negotiations between Triangle J and Time Warner regarding data <br />transport and some access to Internet data transport for the governmental authorities. <br />Time Warner took the position that it has already built its system and Triangle J was <br />under the assumption that there would be further construction. They suggested that the <br />County be given a discounted rate to allow the Raad Runner system. The committee <br />thought that this was a good idea and adopted this suggestion. <br />The bottom line is that the committee is confident that what Time Warner wants is <br />not what the Board of County Commissioners would want. They are proposing to go <br />back to something very similar to the Triangle J proposal that Time Warner said that it <br />could live with a few years ago. They are asking the Board to adopt this proposal. He <br />does not think that any informal negotiations would be useful. <br />Commissioner Carey said that he thinks that the committee is doing right by forcing <br />the issue. He said that the only way that we can get Time Warner to publicly state <br />where it wants to go is to approve this document on first reading and have a public <br />hearing and consider it again next month. He encouraged the Board to approve the <br />second part of the recommendation, which would result in televising meetings on both <br />ends of the County permanently. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis thanked Michael Patrick for his work. He is ready to move <br />on with this. <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked what was meant by an "informal negotiation" versus a <br />"formal negotiation." Michael Patrick said that an informal negotiation is that the County <br />and Time Warner try to meet and work out their differences. This is what Triangle J did. <br />This is where you "strike a deal" over the re-franchise. There is a federal regulatory <br />system for formal negotiations where there are public hearings and other formal factors. <br />The County will probably engage in formal negotiations if Time Warner does not agree <br />with what the County needs in this situation. <br />Commissioner Jacobs agrees with making it a formal process. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis <br />ta: <br />1}Approve the first reading of the Cable Television Franchise Ordinance as <br />proposed by the negotiating team and approved by the Cable Advisory Committee. A <br />second reading and formal adoption of the cable television franchise ordinance would <br />then be scheduled for the Board next meeting on September 16t" <br />The County Attorney has advised that the Board may elect to conduct a public <br />hearing before it takes action on the second reading of the ordinance. If the Board <br />elects to da so, the procedure on September 16t" would be to conduct a public hearing <br />first, and then consider second reading with possible adoption of the <br />ordinance/agreement as the following step. <br />2) Appoint a special technical consulting committee to review and provide <br />recommendations to the Board on a video production plan to equip both meeting rooms <br />- Hillsborough and Chapel Hill -far live public telecasts. <br />John Link suggested that the Board hold open the option of having the public hearing <br />on September 16t" or, if necessary, October 15t, based on the content of the agendas. <br />