CC Minutes - 05/22/02 Work Session

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Mr. Farr also congratulated the successful candidates and indicated he too would serve out his term. He anticipated that he would continue to work closely with his successor, Jennifer Solomon, as she transitioned to office. Ms. Nathanson acknowledged the difficult economic times that faced residents and the difficult decisions now being addressed by the Budget Committee even as the vote occurred. She was pleased that the voters supported the library levy and the fire bond measure. She hoped the council could demonstrate the City's services could be delivered efficiently and economically and that City projects could be something everyone was proud of, whether they supported them or not. City Manager Jim Carlson indicated a 50 percent voter turnout had been achieved locally. He said that at this time, the fire bond measure was still too close to call; if the current numbers hold up, the measure will pass. He too thanked Eugene voters for passing the City's money measures, saying that they were a significant achievement for the council and community. The passage of the library levy gave the council four years to seek a permanent funding source. A.WORK SESSION and ACTION: Resolution 4720 Consenting to Change in Control of TCI Cablevision of Oregon, Inc., from AT&T to AT&T Comcast Pam Berrian, Franchise Manager, Information Services Division, introduced Milo Mecham of the Lane Council of Governments and Sanford Inouye, AT&T Broadband Manager for Oregon. She said that City Attorney Jerome Lidz was also present, and noted that he had participated in the negotiations between Eugene, Springfield, Lane County, and AT&T. Ms. Berrian circulated a copy of the current franchise agreement. The franchise outlines the conditions under which AT&T Broadband had the City's permission to use the City's right-of-way. The conditions were governed by the City and federal law. Currently, there are about 35,000 cable subscribers in the city. Ms. Berrian provided background on the issue, noting the current agreement was negotiated in 1991 with TCI Cablevision. It stipulated that any transfer of the franchise be brought to the council for consideration and concurrence. Ms. Berrian recalled that in 1998, the City Council went through a similar process when the franchise control shifted from TCI to AT&T. The council approved the transfer at that time with specific conditions. Those conditions provided that the transfer not negatively impact the scheduled network upgrade, and that the corporation comply with court decisions related to Ordinance 20083 litigation (related to the use of the rights-of-way). Ms. Berrian reported that the scheduled upgrade was not completed on time and the ordinance was still in litigation. In responding to City concerns, AT&T refused to concede that the transfer of the franchise from TCI to AT&T had anything do with the interrupted upgrade, and cited the problem as the recent downturn in the economy, which reduced its available capital resources. She said that AT&T moved quickly to reach a financial settlement with the City and adopted a renewed upgrade schedule in 2001; that, so far, was on schedule. Ms. Berrian said that in relationship to the resolution before the council, AT&T Broadband will exist as a corporate entity, but would share control with Comcast. Negotiations between local governments and the corporation commenced in March 2002, and staff provided updates to the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC), acting as the Cable Commission, in March and April 2002. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 22, 2002 Page 2 Work Session