4.3. SR 02-25-2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Service Area Charter has provided us with a rough map that outlines the current areas of Elk River that they serve. A finalized map will be provided to us in the early summer months. The franchise agreement held between the City of Elk River and Charter Communications details a density requirement that requires Charter to build any place that has a minimum of a 40 home density per plant mile of construction. This point is determined from the nearest practical tie-in. Historically, Charter has been more aggressive than the requirements dictate. As of January 2002, Charter Communications was capable of servicing approximately 80 - 90% of Elk River. Charter's penetration rate for this area is over 50%. Competition There have been three cable companies in the past year or two that aggressively sought franchise agreements in and around the Twin City area to compete with existing cable companies. It seems that due to the fall in the market with technology stocks and venture capital, substantial funding was not available. These companies have withdrawn their applications and it seems they have dropped out of the competition market. At this time it appears the most potential cities have for cable service competition will come from phone companies that have decided to compete and provide cable service through their existing phone lines. If a company wished to compete with Charter in our city they would be required to also hold a franchise and any application fees and franchise fees would be paid to our cable commission. Franchise Fees A franchise fee is payable to a city as compensation for costs incurred in regulating said franchise. In accordance with Federal Communication Commission policies, a city is able to charge up to 5% of a cable company's gross revenues and in turn the cable company can pass that through to their customers. Our 5% franchise fee is collected by Charter Communications and paid to the Sherburne/Wright Counties Cable Commission. The cable commission then administers the fees and uses them to buy different items to support public, educational, and governmental television in all of the member cities. Our member cities include: Big Lake, Big Lake Township, Buffalo, Cokato, Dassel, Delano, Elk River, Maple Lake, Monticello, Rockford, and Watertown. The City ofElkRiver has received franchisefee payments as follows: 1998 $46,410.25 1999 $51,246.64 2000 $53,181.46 The 2001 paymenttotalwill be available the night ofthemeeting. Cable Commission funds have provided us with equipment along with technical and legal support. The following is a list of equipment we have received during the last couple of years: · Sony Mini DV Digital Camcorder with 3 battery packs and a tripod with hand control · Portable Light Kit