HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-11-22 City Council (14)City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Report
TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT:ADMINISTRATIVE
SERVICES
DATE: NOVEMBER 22, 1999 CMR:423:99
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON CABLE FRANCHISE RENEWAL PROCESS
This is an informationalreport and no Council action is required.
BACKGROUND
This staff report is part of an ongoing effort to update the City Council regarding staff
efforts on the cable franchise renewal process.
The franchise agreement between the City of Palo Alto, representing the Joint Exercise of
Powers Agreement (JPA) communities, and Cable Co-op is set to expire on March 24,
2001. Cable Co-op has requested, and the City has a~eed, to begin proceedings to
determine whether or not to renew the cable franchise. Last summer, after a competitive
proposal process, the City selected The Buske Group, a cable communications consultant,
to assist with the cable franchise renewal process. The renewal process is divided into
three phases: 1) development of a timeline and education of City staff regarding the
process, laws, and regulations; 2) review of the status of the current cable television
system and franchise, and ascertainment of future cable television-related needs; and 3)
negotiation of an agreement.
DISCUSSION
Phase Two of the franchise renewal process, including a needs assessment process, has
begun. The needs assessment portion of the cable television renewal franchising process
is an important one that will culminate in a Needs Assessment Report, to be used by City
staff in the process of developing a model franchise agreement that addresses the
identified needs of the community. The needs assessment process includes the creation
of a Needs Assessment Task Force (Task Force) and a telephone survey.
The Task Force has representatives from all the JPA communities. Task Force members
will be asked to help plan and promote focus group meetings, to publicize focus group
meetings and be key participants, to help identify community and strategic planning
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documents, and to participate in public hearings. Given the number of communities in
the JPA, the Task Force was designed to have up to 30 members, with up to 15 members
from Palo Alto, 8 from Menlo Park, 3 from East Palo Alto, 2 from Atherton, and one
each from San Mateo County and Stanford. The Task Force Orientation meeting is
scheduled for the afternoon of December 1, 1999.
Staff sought participants through two methods: ads in local newspapers and almost 70
letters mailed to community groups, organizations, and individuals. When the response
was smaller than anticipated, staff followed with phone calls to certain key groups and
individuals. All told, seven letters of interest were received, and of these, five have been
selected to serve on the Task Force so far. In addition, a representative from the Palo
Alto Unified School District has also agreed to serve. Most of the JPA member
communities have chosen not to utilize all their slots on the Task Force. Outreach efforts
are still underway, and the membership of the Task Force will not be finalized until the
December 1 Orientation meeting.
It is important that the Task Force be balanced with as broad of representation of
community interests as possible. Since the Palo Alto community has not been very
responsive, the Task Force will be supplemented with City staff from areas that interface
with the public on a continuing basis. It is possible that staff with experience in the
following areas may be called upon: arts, libraries, nonprofits, youth groups, and
businesses. Staff from these areas are well qualified to assist in the outreach efforts that
the Task Force will undertake, helping to ensure that there is broad representation of
interests at the public hearings.
Another aspect of the needs assessment process is a telephone survey. The survey will be
conducted over the next several weeks by a firm that specializes in surveys. It will be a
statistically valid customer satisfaction survey. Current subscribers will be asked about
current levels of service provided by Cable Co-op, and what kind of additional or new
services they would liketo see. Non-subscribers will be asked why they don’t currently
subscribe to cable and what changes might cause them to subscribe in the future.
As a part of the effort to keep the Council and community informed, staff has created a
cable television web site at http://www.city.palo-alto.ca.us. It can also be reached from the
City’s homepage. It contains all previously distributed staff reports, copies of important
franchise-related documents, and suggestions for other sites that may be of interest.
PREPARED BY:
REVIEWED BY:
Melissa Cavall0, Assistant Director
Shannon Gaffney, Senior Financial Analyst
Grant Kolling, Senior Assistant City Attorney
CMR:423:99 Page 2 of 3
DEPARTMENT HEAD APPROVAL:
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
CARL YEATS
Director,Services
EMIi~Y HARRISON
Assistant City Manager
Mrl Russell Averhart, Director of Administrative Services,
City of East Palo Alto
Mr. Walter Callahan, Deputy Director, Public Works, San Mateo County
Ms. Uma Chokkalingam, Finance Director, City of Menlo Park
Ms. Jan Dolan, City Manager, City of Menlo Park
Mr. Don Guluzzy, City Manager, Town of Atherton
Ms. Monika Hudson, City Manager, City of East Palo Alto
Mr. John Maltbie, County Executive, County of San Mateo
Ms. Jan Thomson, Stanford University
Ms. Salani Wendt, City Clerk, City of East Palo Alto
Mr. David Wheaton, Asst. City Manager, City of Menlo Park
Mr. Richard Wittenberg, County Executive, County of Santa Clara
The Buske Group
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