§ 26-10. Grant of a franchise.

(a)

The county may grant a franchise for a period not to exceed 15 years.

(b)

The county may make the grant of a franchise conditioned upon the completion of construction, upgrades, or rebuilds of a cable system or OVS within a reasonably prescribed time or upon the performance of other specific obligations which are to be set forth in the franchise agreement, specifying that failure to comply with the condition may cause the franchise to be terminated or may require the franchisee to pay liquidated damages to the county as specified in the franchise agreement.

(c)

In evaluating an application for an initial franchise, the county may consider, among other things, the following factors: the applicant's technical, financial, and legal qualifications to construct and operate the proposed system; the adequacy of the proposed construction methods, facilities, equipment, and Services based on the public convenience, safety, and welfare; the applicant's experience in constructing and operating cable systems and providing cable service in other communities, if any; the ability of public rights-of-way to accommodate the proposed system; the potential disruption to users of the public rights-of-way and any resultant inconvenience to the public; the applicant's Service under any existing franchise or prior experience with the county; whether approval may reduce competition in the delivery of cable Service in the county; and whether the proposal will meet reasonably anticipated needs, including adequate public, educational and government access channels and support, channel capacity, and will serve the public interest. Evaluation by the county shall not be based on the programming the applicant proposes to provide.

(d)

The board of county commissioners shall hold one or more public hearings to consider any application. The applicant shall be notified of the hearing and shall be given an opportunity to be heard. Based upon the application, the testimony presented at the public hearing, any recommendations of the county or staff, and any other information relevant to the application, the county shall decide by resolution whether to grant or deny a franchise application and decide the terms and conditions of any franchise granted. If the board of county commissioners denies a franchise, it shall issue a written decision setting forth its reasons.

(e)

After complying with the above requirements, the board of county commissioners shall approve or disapprove the proposed franchise agreement by resolution.

(f)

The franchisee shall reimburse the county for all reasonable expenses incurred by the county in considering and processing the application, including, but not limited to, consulting and legal costs, less only the amount of the application fee. The county shall bill the franchisee for the amount of the processing fee and describe its method of calculation, and the applicant shall pay such processing fee within 30 days of the date of the bill. If the fee is not received by the county within 30 days of the date of the bill, the county shall notify such franchisee and the franchisee shall pay a late fee at the rate of 18 percent per annum of the amount of the unpaid or underpaid fee provided, however, that such rate does not exceed the maximum amount allowed under applicable law. If the county does not receive said fee in total within 60 days of the date of the bill, the county shall notify such franchisee and the county may revoke the franchise or pursue other remedies as appropriate. This processing fee is intended to be a charge incidental to the awarding or enforcing of a franchise within the meaning of § 622(g)(2)(D) of the cable act, 47 U.S.C. § 542(g)(2)(D), and may not be deducted from the franchise fee imposed in a franchise agreement and shall not be passed through to subscribers. To the extent federal law authorizes a franchisee to deduct the processing fee from franchise fees, a franchisee shall deduct such over the entire term of the franchise.

(Ord. No. 02-18, § 2, 7-30-02)