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41.11111. <br /> ....■■■•1111110•01. <br /> f <br /> , <br /> . on <br /> .. . I <br /> Board and the reasons for its recommendation that the Board award a <br /> franchise to Village. Finally, the Board awarded a franchise to Village <br /> Cabl4 to serve the unincorporated areas of the County and a franchise <br /> to Alert to serve those areas of the County that it had previously <br /> serveld. A copy of the recommendations from the Cable Television <br /> Advisiory Committee regarding the franchise award are also enclosed <br /> for yOiir information. It was the opinion of the Board as reflected in <br /> . its decision that the committment by Village to construct 160 miles of <br /> cable plant to be completed within eighteen months of the franchise <br /> award together with its extension policy of thirty homes per mile of <br /> new plant construction, twenty petitioners per mile. of new plant <br /> construction or less than twenty petitioners per mile of new plant <br /> construction with cost-sharing by the petitioners was superior to <br /> Alerts committment of no guarantee of plant construction in the first <br /> eighteen months, an extension policy of serving areas with thirty-five <br /> homes per mile of new plant construction or serving those areas where <br /> there I are seventeen petitioners per new plant construction with no <br /> specific cost sharing proposal where there are less than seventeen <br /> petitioners per mile. Other technical reasons were cited for awarding <br /> a franchise to Village and not awarding a franchise to Alert.. <br /> .Subsequent to the franchise award process Alert has made <br /> no offer to provide cable television on the same basis as the franchise <br /> to Village requires it to do. The County, to date, has not sought such <br /> an offering, having no indication from Alert that, it is willing to <br /> provide cable television on that basis. In this regard there is a <br /> provision in the franchise granted Village as follows: <br /> HI. Non-exclusive. <br /> The right herein granted to construct and operate a <br /> cable television system and service shall be non-exclusive, <br /> and Orange County reserves the right to grant similar <br /> franchises to any person or persons at any period during the <br /> present franchise or any extension thereof. <br /> it is mY opinion that this provision authorizes the County to now or at <br /> any other time award a franchise similar to the one awarded Village <br /> to any number of qualified applicants. Based on the proposal <br /> submitted by Alert in 1980, it is, in all likelihood, a qualified <br /> applicaint. The issue in this regard is the award of a similar <br /> franchise. Should the County award a franchise to another cable <br /> company that is not similar to the one awarded Village it may <br /> jeopardize its ability to enforce its franchise to Village and may <br /> subject itself to liability for damages to Village because of an <br /> unsimilar award. Another franchise awarded would not, however, have <br /> to be id .ntical to the one existing with Village. 11 is my opinion that <br /> c2. <br />