08/03/1987 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Obie asked whether the review would be funded by cable fees. Mr. Long said fee revenues were put into the General Fund, and any expenses of the e special study would require renegotiation of existing budget priorities or council approval through contingency. He said the maximum City of Eugene expense for the entire review was listed in the staff notes as about $16,000. Ms. Wooten asked how the feasibility analysis would be coordinated with that to be conducted by the Springfield Utility Board. Mr. Long said he had discussed the possibility of the two cities doing the review together and he thought that should be explored. Ms. Wooten said she agreed. Mr. Long said the Metropolitan Policy Committee had expressed interest in coordinating cable activities. Ms. Wooten said she thought pooling resources would be wise and could result in more thorough information. Responding to Ms. Bascom's question, Mr. Long said the franchise would be renegotiated in 1992. He said the City during its tri-annual review had an opportunity to reopen and discuss limited areas of the franchise. He added that if no analysis was done now, no grounds would exist in 1992 to discuss performance problems. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. Holmer, to request the Metropolitan Policy Committee conduct a comprehensive review and update of the local cable television franchise and that the MPC prepare for the franchise update by conducting a community needs assessment, financial analysis of TCI, industry comparisons, and an exploration of alternatives. Mr. Rutan said TCI services had been good and had been provided at a e reasonable price. He said he was hesitant about the expense of the review, but he thought its objectives were reasonable and he did not have an effective a lternat i ve. He said he was not interested in a "witch hunt" against TCl; however, he thought the study could help to identify other telecommunication and cable-related opportunities for the community. Mr. Rutan said he would support the motion. Ms. Ehrman said MPC had discussed the issue at its two previous meetings, a fter a County Commi s s i oner had ra i sed the issue. She said the City's proposal had been discussed at the last meeting, and one County Commissioner had expressed concern that the review "went too far." She said the council could request that the MPC conduct a review, but she noted that a problem could arise if the item were vetoed by a commissioner. She asked whether, if that occurred, the council would want to make an individual commitment. Ms. Ehrman said combining information with the Springfield Utility Board's review had been and was being discussed, but no guarantees existed that information had to be shared. Ms. Ehrman said she supported the proposal, but she wanted to point out that action by MPC was uncertain. Ms. Wooten sa i d she agreed wi th Mr. Rutan that the study should be of sufficient breadth to make it worth the time and effort. She said she also would appreciate more aggressive communication with SUB about collaborating on a feasibility analysis. Ms. Wooten added that she supported the review because telecommunications was "a sunrise industry" and the future, and the e MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 3, 1987 Page 13