96-1384 Council File # � ° �O y
Green Sheet # 3 S� �l 5
RESOLUTION
CITY OF SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA � �� 3�
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Presented By �--- � ��\
Referred To _ \� Committee: Date
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2 WHEREAS,the City has granted a non-exclusive cable franchise to Conti ntal
3 Cablevision of Saint Paul, Inc., as provided in Appendix H of the Legislative C de, as amended
4 by the Settlement Agreement of September 15, 1992, (hereinafter referred to the Franchise);
5 and
6 WHEREAS, Continenta.l Cablevision of Saint Paul is a wholly ed subsidiary of
7 Continental Cablevision Inc., which fact was known to the City and ied upon by it in granting
8 the Franchise; and
9 WHEREAS, on May 3, 1996, Continental Cablevision o Saint Paul, requested the
10 consent of the City to a transfer of corporate control from Co inental Cablevision Inc. to U.S.
11 West; and
12 WHEREAS,the Franchise provides that every c ge,transfer or acquisition of control
13 of Continenta.l Cablevision of Saint Paul shall make t Franchise subject to cancellation unless
14 and until the Council shall have consented thereto, 'ch consent will not be unreasonably
15 withheld; and
16 WHEREAS, sta.te and federallaw requi City consent for said transfer to be effective;
17 and
18 WHEREAS, state law requires noti e and public hearing, where approval of such a
19 transfer may adversely effect the public ' terest; and
20 WHEREAS, public notice of s d hearing was duly published as required by law; and
21 WHEREAS, a hearing was d before the Council on Wednesday,November 6, 1996,
22 and the testimony and documen evidence, including that submitted by Continental
23 Cablevision of Saint Paul, was nsidered by the Council;now therefore
24 BE IT RESOLVED,t at based upon the testimony and evidence presented at the public
25 hearing, the Council hereb adopts the following Findings of Fact:
26 1. Legal req rements of notice and hearing have been met.
27 2. The Fe ral Communications Commission has granted Special Relief from legal
28 cross-ownership of b y out restrictions allowing U.S. West to acquire the interest of Continental
29 Cablevision Inc. in ontinental Cablevision of Saint Paul Inc., subject to the condition that by
30 August 15, 1997 .S. West will enter into definitive agreements for the divesture of Continental
31 Cablevision of aint Paul Inc. and to apply for all necessary governmental approvals.
32 3. The Franchise expires on May 11, 1999. Its renewal process commences 30 to 36
33 months pri thereto. The orderly renewal e€�e process, allowing sufficient time to assess
34 needs, ev uate performance, and to other wise consider the renewal, is in the public interest.
35 . The transfer of control to U.S. West at this time, along with the contemplated
36 subs uent transfer from U.S. West in 1997, substantially impairs the City's right to conduct the
37 re wal process by reducing the amount of time to conduct a community needs analysis,to
38 evaluate performance and negotiate new terms. In particular,the City would have little or no
39 experience with the subsequent transferee upon which to evaluate performance.
1 5. As a result of the application for consent to the transfer, the City has incurred in
2 excess of$30,000.00 in unforeseen expenses. ��,(� ��
3 6. There is reason to believe that Continental Cablevision of Sain t Pa ul I n c. i s n o t
4 currently in compliance with the terms of the Franchise with regard to the Institutional Network
5 obligations. Those reasons include:
6 A. Substantial outages on the Institutional Network in the winter of 1995-9
7 and performance problems continue..
8 B. A 1996 professional investigation and report commissioned by the ublic
9 Libraries concerning options for electronic data transfer concluded, among othe things,
10 that due to its unreliability, the Institutional Network was not an acceptable o ion for
11 meeting the Public Libraries electronic data transfer needs.
12 C. In October of 1996, a qualified engineer retained by the O ice of Cable
13 Communications, reviewed available documentation concerning the In rtutional
14 Network. The documentation was insufficient to allow a final concl ion. The qualified
15 engineer states that the documentation is sufficient to conclude th rt is probable that the
16 Institutional Network was not constructed in compliance with t terms of the Franchise
17 and that the actual construction is inherently unreliable.
18 D. In October of 1996,the City asked for, and ontinental Cablevision of
19 Saint Paul Inc. refused to provide, access to the Instituti al Network for the purposes of
20 determining its status.
21 E. In October of 1996, authorized repre ntatives of Continental Cablevision
22 Inc. admitted that the Institutional Network was n built"precisely as planned" as
23 required under the Franchise.
24 F. The City never agreed, by ord' ance or otherwise,to this modification of
25 the Institutional Network. City staff,prior October of 1996,was unaware that the
26 Institutional Network was not constructe in accordance with the Franchise.
27 G. As a result of the forego' g,the Cable Communication Officer will be
28 sending a notice of violation to Conti ental Cablevision of Saint Paul Inc.
29 7. Continental Cablevision of aint Paul Inc. has refused to commit to correct the
30 objections identified in paragraphs 4, 5, d 6 of this resolution.
31 8. The transfer of control m Continental Cablevision Inc. to U.S. West,under the
32 circumstances, is detrimental to the p lic interest, and to the contractual and legal rights of the
33 City.
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2 Based on the foregoing, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,that the City hereby refuses to
3 consent to the transfer of control of Continental Cablevision of Saint Paul Inc. from Continental
4 Cablevision Inc. to U.S. West.
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Yeas Nays Absent
B a ey Requested by Department of:
Bostrom
Guerin
,
Megara
et n
T une
--------------- ------- ------ ------ -- BY'
Adopted by Council: Date
Form Approve by City Attorney
Adoption Certified by Council Sec etary �
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By.
By:
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Approved by Mayor: Date Approved by Mayor for Submission to
Council
By:
By:
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'ty �" �REEN SHEET _N° 3 3 69 5
i 8575 �oe�r►arMeNr oiRECroR�ruuonTe �cmr awwcw. _-- �m,►vo�►�
� � ' ��M Q CITY AT�C)RNEY �CITY CLPRK
( ) �� ��lDOET DIRECPOR �FMI.3 AM3T.8LRVK:EB OIR.
OVC111�! , OII�R �MAYbR(OR AbSIBTANT) �
TOTAL#F OF sIONRTURE P�GES (CUP A�L LOCATIONS FOR BKiNATURE)
ACTION REGUESTED:
, Denying consent to the tra�sfer of control of Con�inentaI Cablevision$aint Paul from Continental Cablevision, Inc. to US WEST, -
Inc. .
RffCO�MAd�DU►TIOt�:APP�w U►)a Ry�(R) • PERSONAI SERVICE CONTRACTS MUST ANBWER TME FOLLOWINO QUES�IONS:
_PlA41NN10 C01AIM8810N _CIVIL SERVICE COMAMS810N 1. Nes this psroonRirm enner work�d under a contrad for this dp�tqTMM'T -
.._CIS OOMMRTEE _ YE3 �NO
2. Haa Mis psraon/Ifrm sver been e cMy smplayee?
—8� — YES NO ,
_D�TRIGTCOURT _ 3. Doea this psrsoNffrm pOSeess a skill not normeUY.po�d bY arry ou►tant dEY�pby�e�
suPPOfiT8 vMiK�i cbuNCN.oeJECm�E4 YES NO
� Expisin aQ yu answKS on s�p�nb sM�t and�theh M qtwn�t
�iruuTU+c�w+oe�.�.�.o�oFrruNmr(wno.wnn.wr�.wns►..vuny):
Continental Cablevision is seeking City consent to the transfer of control of Continental Cablevision Saint Paul to U 5 WEST, Inc.
ADYANTIK�ES IF ArPRONED:
The City will protect the public interest with respect to the Saint Paul cable television franchise.
�s�►oer�rr�s��o:
The Ciiy will be subject to legal challenges from Conti�ntal Cablevision, Inc. with respxt to withholding conseat to tl�e proposed
u�ansfer of control to U5 WEST.
as�owwr�oes���o:
The pmposed transfer of control will be approved by default.
TOTAL AMOUNT OF TRAN�ACTION � COST/REVENUE BUDOETED(CIHC6E OME) YL8 NO
FUNDIFki SOURCE ACTIVITY NUMBER
FIwwCIAI INFORMATWN:(ExPLAIN) .
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City of Saint Paul
Office of the City Council
310 City Hall
Saint Paul, MN 55102
(612) 266-8575
INTER-DEPARTMENTAL MEMORANDUM
DATE: October 31, 1996
TO: Council President Dave Thune
Councilmember Jerry Blakey
Councilmember Dan Bostrom
Councilmember Dino Guerin
Councilmember Mike Harris
Councilmember Roberta Megar
Councilmember Janice Rett n
FROM: Gerry Strathman, Director
SUBJECT: Official Record
The Official Record supporting the actions in Council Resolution # 96- �38�1 is not
included in this packet because of its size. However, complete copies of the record are
being prepared for public inspection and are available for your review. If you wish to
review the complete official record on this matter, please contact either Holly Hansen or
myself and a copy will be provided.
I have already sent you copies of most of the materials in the public record.
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