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CITY OF LAKE ELMO WASHINGTON COUNTY, MINNESOTA RESOLUTION 2020-025 PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT THAT THE COMCAST OF MINNESOTA, INC. CABLE FRANCHISE SHOULD NOT BE RENEWED WHEREAS, The City of Lake Elmo is a member of the Ramsey/Washington Counties Suburban Cable Communications Commission II (hereinafter "RWSCC") a Joint Powers Commission organized pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 471.59, as amended, and includes the municipalities of Birchwood, Dellwood, Grant, Lake Elmo, Mahtomedi, North St. Paul, Oakdale, White Bear Lake, White Bear Township and Willernie, Minnesota ("Member Municipalities"); WHEREAS, the Member Municipalities enacted separate ordinances and entered into individual agreements authorizing MediaOne North Central Communications Corp. to provide cable service (collectively, the "Franchises"); WHEREAS, as a result of several transfers of the Franchises, Comcast of Minnesota, Inc., ("Comcast") currently holds the Franchises in the Member Municipalities; WHEREAS, Section 626(a)(1) of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, as amended (the "Cable Act"), 47 U.S.C. § 546(a)(1), provides that if a written renewal request is submitted by a cable operator during the 6-month period which begins with the 36th month before franchise expiration and ends with the 30th month prior to franchise expiration, a franchising authority shall, within six months of the request, commence formal proceedings to identify the future cable -related community needs and interests and to review the performance of the cable operator under its franchise during the then current franchise term; WHEREAS, Comcast involved the formal renewal procedures set forth in Section 626 of the Cable Act, 47 U.S.C. § 546; WHEREAS, the Joint Powers Agreement empowers the Commission and/or its designee(s) to conduct the Section 626 formal franchise renewal process on the Member Cities' behalf and to take such other steps and actions as are needed or required to carry out the formal franchise renewal process; WHEREAS, the Commission commenced formal franchise renewal proceedings under Section 626(a) of the Cable Act, 47 U.S.C. § 546(a), and authorizing the Commission or its designee(s) to take certain actions to conduct those Section 626(a) proceedings; WHEREAS, RWSCC performed a needs assessment of the Member Municipalities' and their communities' present and future cable -related needs and interests and has evaluated and continues to evaluate Comcast's past performance under the Franchises and applicable laws and regulations, all as required by Section 626(a) of the Cable Act, 47 U.S.C. § 546(a); WHEREAS, the Commission's needs ascertainment and past performance review included the