06-13-1984 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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LAW OFFICES STERN, LEVINE, SCHWARTZ, LIFSON & CREIGHTON A PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION 5005 OLD CEDAR LAKE ROAD ST. LOUIS PARK. MINNESOTA 55416 (6121 377 -8620 SAMUEL L. STERN ROBERT M. LEVINE MICHAEL. 0. SCHWARTZ SCOTT A. LIFSON THOMAS D. CREIGHTON JOHN F. WAGNER BRIAN F. COREY MEMORANDUM DATE: Nay 22, 1984 TO: City Administrators -- North Suburban Cable Communications Commission FROM: Thomas D. Creighton, Legal Counsel of Commission RE: Franchise Amendments, Settlement with Group W, and /Change in Rates d As you know, Group W Cable of'the North Suburbs is constructing a cable com- munications system in the ten cities of the North Suburban area. As you may also know, in the Fall of 1983, the Commission and Group W were in dispute regarding the construction timetable, rates, changing the system from an acti- vated dual cable system to an activated single cable, and various issues regarding the providing of local origination and access services and equipment. For the last eight months, Group W and the North Suburban Cable Communications Commission on your behalf have been negotiating a settlement of the dispute from the Fall of 1983. Please find enclosed for your review and action a Cable Communications Offering Amendment Agreement No. 1 incorporating all of the terms of the agreement bet- ween the Commission and Group W Cable. The Commission at its last meeting adopted this Amendment Agreement and recommended it be sent on to its City Councils with a request for approval. Also included and resulting from the negotiations is a proposed Ordinance Amendment. The proposed changes occur in the Ordinance section regarding rate change procedures, access channel allocations, system design, subscriber rates, and construction timetable. Originally, any rate changes were required to be brought to the Cable Commission and the member cities with the cities having 30 days to approve or deny any rate changes. Since the time of the adoption of the original Franchise Ordinance, the rate regulatory climate has considerably changed nationwide. Particularly, the federal government has preempted the regulation of any premium service rates for any services such as Home Box Office and Showtime. Additionally, city governments have found that within certain limits, it is easier to adopt a "passive rate regulation" as opposed to an active rate regulation climate. In other cords, Group W would still follow the same procedures by bringing proposed rate chan e he City Council. However, tigITM 4A6.) MAY 29 1964 CITY OF Lfl LE CANADA