The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My Public Portal About2001 County Reso R-410-01 Granting License Renewal Village-Adelphia 4-24-01MEMORANDUM Agenda Item No. 6(C) (1) (A) TO: _ onorable Chairperson and Members and of County Commissioners FROM. Steve Shiver County Manager DATE: SUBJECT: April 24, 2001 Resolution approving the renewal of the Non -Exclusive Cable License of Adelphia Cable Partners, L.P. and Key Biscayne Cablevision RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the Board approve the attached resolution which conditionally approves the renewal of the non-exclusive cable television license of Adelphia Cable Partners L.P. and Key Biscayne Cablevision (collectively referred to as "Adelphia") for a period beginning May 1, 2001, through October 17, 2007. The license expiration date coincides with the last license expiration of existing cable licenses so that in the future all licenses will expire and be subject to renewal simultaneously. The resolution contains language which settles an outstanding license fee dispute and whereby Adelphia will complete an upgrade of its cable system, including broadband services, in Liberty City by December 31, 2001. BACKGROUND In 1984, Congress adopted the Cable Communications Policy Act which redefined some of the relationships exiting between local governments and their cable operators. A key provision of the Cable Act establishes procedural guidelines and time frames to be followed for the renewal of cable licenses. The procedure includes a review of the past performance of the cable operator and an assessment of the future cable related needs and interests of the community. A community needs assessment was conducted by staff which consisted of conducting industry workshops, holding five (5) public meetings in Adelphia's license area, reviewing corporate information provided by Adelphia, conducting consumer surveys, and reviewing thousands of telephone calls and complaints taken from cable subscribers. As a result of staffs review of the above, Miami -Dade cable consumers have commented that they want (1) access to advanced cable services; (2) a reduction in telephone hold and busy times; (3) credit for outages lasting less than one day; (4) increased consumer protection standards, (5) concise and easy to understand billing; (6) credit and reduction in missed appointments, (7) notice pertaining to construction and additional programming choices. On March 8, 2001, the Board passed an ordinance amending Section 8AA of the Code of Miami -Dade County to address the needs of the communit as outlined above On January 23, 2001, the Board passed resolution #R-21-00 that extended the existing license of Adelphia from March 3, 2001 until April 30, 2001, to provide an opportunity for staff and Adelphia to resolve issues relating to Adelphia's license As a result of on -going discussions. Adelphia has agreed to a S290,000.00 payment to the County to settle a dispute stemming from Hon. Chairperson and Members Board of County Commissioners Page 2 license fee audits. Additionally, Adelphia will upgrade its cable system in the Liberty City area by December 31, 2001, thereby completing its system -wide upgrade of cable services. By the end of this calendar year, the Adelphia systems in Miami -Dade County will meet the new code requirements of channel capacity and advanced services by providing a minimum of 78 channels and offering broadband services throughout its license area. _ The Consumer Services Department has reviewed the past performance of Adelphia and has determined that they are in compliance with its cable license. Adelphia has previously been notified for its failure to theet the County telephone performance standards and was ordered to conduct a telephone traffic study. Adelphia has since installed a new telephone system. They are currently meeting the telephone standards. In addition, staff completed a review of Adelphia's legal, technical, financial, and character qualifications to operate a cable system and determined that Adelphia meets the criteria set forth under federal and local laws. Adelphia currently serves approximately 97,000 subscribers in the Tillage of Key Biscayne; Florida City, Homestead, Pinecrest, and Unincorporated Miami -Dade County. This approval is conditioned upon Adelphia's written acceptance within 30 days as required by Section 8AA-9 of the Code. Attachments TO: Hon. Chairperson and Members Board of County Commissioners FROM: Robert A. Ginsburg County Attorney DATE: April 24, 2001 SUBJECT: Agenda Item No. 6(C)(1) �1 Please note any items checked. "4 -Day Rule" (Applicable if raised) 6 weeks required between first reading and public hearing Decreases revenues or increases expenditures without balancing budget Budget required Statement of fiscal impact required Statement of private business sector impact required Bid waiver requiring County Manager's written recommendation Ordinance creating a new board requires a detailed County Manager's report for public hearing "Sunset" provision required Legislative findings necessary Approved Mayor Agenda Item No. 6 (C) (1) (A) 4-24-01 _ Veto Override a." , c p RESOLUTION NO. OF �UN7YC0 HE BCa�.` RESOLUTION CONDITIONALLY GRANTING ADELPHIA CABLE PARTNERS, L.P. AND KEY BISCAYNE CABLEVISION RENEWAL OF A NON-EXCLUSIVE CABLE LICENSE; GRANTING ADELPHIA CABLE PARTNERS, L.P. AND KEY BISCAYNE CABLEVISION A NON-EXCLUSIVE LICENSE AREA; GRANTING CERTAIN RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES WITHIN SAID AREA TO ADELPHIA CABLE PARTNERS, L.P. AND KEY BISCAYNE CABLEVISION; PROVIDING FOR TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE LICENSE RENEWAL; AND PROVIDING FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS BY THE COUNTY COMMISSION R-410-01 WHEREAS, on July 24. 1990, by Resolution No. R-706-90, the Board granted Adelphia Cable Partners, L.P. renewal of a non-exclusive cable television license for a period of ten (10) years; and WHEREAS, Miami -Dade County and Adelphia Cable Partners, L.P. have negotiated tei His and conditions that meet the needs and interests of the community, which terms and conditions, known as the "Miami -Dade County Cable Ordinance" shall govern the renewal license and shall be included in the Code of Miami -Dade County, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that : Section 1 Adelphia Cable Partners, L.P and Key Biscayne Cablevision (collectively referred to herein as "Adelphia") are hereby granted renewal of a non-exclusive cable license for a period beginning 1av 1. 2001 and ending October 17 2007 The teluris and conditions of :he Agenda Item No. 6 (C) (1) (A ) Page No. 2 license are set forth in the "Miami -Dade County Cable Ordinance," Chapter 8AA, Article I, Miami -Dade County Code, as amended. Section 2. The non-exclusive license area of Adelphia shall be the unincorporated areas of Miami -Dade County and the incorporated areas consisting of Florida City, Homestead, Pinecrest and the Village of Key Biscayne. Section 3. Adelphia shall have the right and privilege to install and operate a cable system within the above described license area providing that Adelphia complies with the Miami -Dade County Cable Ordinance, all other applicable provisions of the Code of Miami - Dade County, and all rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of the Code. Section 4. Adelphia will pay to Miami -Dade County and Miami -Dade County will agree to accept the amount of $290,700 (in addition to amounts already paid) as full and complete satisfaction of all claims of Miami -Dade County for unpaid cable license fees for years 1991 through and including December 31, 1998, including all issues currently in litigation between Miami -Dade County and Adelphia and all issues relating to cable license fees and pager revenues raised in the Miami -Dade County January 10, 1995 and July 19. 2000 audits. This amount shall be paid on or before the date that Adelphia accepts this rene« al license. All other violations of the license terms shall remain the responsibility of Adelphia. its successors and assigns Section 5. Adelphia shall upgrade its system to provide a consistent and comparable le\ el of service, including all broadband services, throughout its license area in the area known as Liberty City pursuant to the following schedule Agenda Item No. 6(C) (1) (A) Page No. 3 • May 1, 2001: Commence construction, • September 30, 2001: Completion of fiber hub, • December 31, 2001: Completion of upgrade. This upgrade shall include but not be limited to the following area: That area bounded on the north by NT.W. 79 Street, on the east and south by the city limits of the City of Miami, on the west by a line commencing at N.W. 42 Avenue (Le Jeune Road) and the City of Miami and running generally south to north along N.W. 42 Avenue to N.W. 36 Street, along N.W. 36 Street to the eastern boundary of the City of Hialeah, continuing north along the eastern boundary of the City of Hialeah and ending at N.W. 79 Street Adelphia will meet with Miami -Dade County staff and provide the County with a monthly report detailing the progress of its construction commencing May 1, 2001 to meet the level of service above. The parties realize that this projected completion date may be delayed due to Acts of God and other circumstances beyond the control of Adelphia, including but not limited to shortages of fiber optic cable in the fiber optic market and the inability to obtain permits and/or contractor/qualifier certification when such circumstances are beyond the control of Adelphia. In the event of any delay outside of its control, Adelphia will notify Miami -Dade County in writing of the reason for the delay, the circumstances under which the delay is outside of its control, and the new projected completion date which will reflect only that delay necessary to resolve the reason for the delay stated in the written notice. This notice shall be given within thirty days of the date that Adelphia realizes it cannot meet the projected completion date and in any event no later than November 1, 2001, except to the extent such circumstances arse after October 15, 2001, in which case Adelphia will notify Miami -Dade County \ Ithin two weeks of such circumstances Nothing herein Agenda Item No. 6 (C) (1) (A) Page No. 4 shall prohibit Adelphia from testing or test -Marketing new technologies or services in selected areas of its license. Section 6. Nothing contained herein shall in any way preclude the County Commission from taking any actions in accordance with the power, authority, and jurisdiction provided the Commission as prescribed within the Code of Miami -Dade County, Florida, including but not limited to granting new licenses, amending existing licenses, and/or repealing existing licenses. Section 7. This License is contingent upon Adelphia's compliance with 8AA-9 including a written acceptance of this license within thirty (30) calendar days of this resolution. The foregoing resolution was offered by Commissioner Dorrin D. Rolle who moved its adoption. The motion was seconded by Commissioner and upon being put to a vote, the vote was as follows: Dr. Miriam Alonso Dr. Barbara M. Carey-Shuler G`A en Margolis Jimmy L. Morales Pedro Reboredo Natacha Seijas dye aYe aye aye absent aye Javier D. Souto aye Gwen Margolis Bruno A. Barreiro Betty T. Ferguson Joe A. Martinez Dennis C. Moss Dorrin D. Rolle Katy Sorenson dye aye aye dye aye dye The Chairperson thereupon declared the resolution duly passed and adopted this 24th day of April, 2001 This resolution shall become effective ten (10) days after the date of its adoption unless vetoed by the Mayor, and if vetoed, shall become effective only upon an override by this Agenda Item No. 6 (C) (1) (A) Page No. 5 MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA BY ITS BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ja CO Ni J _ ` (COUNTY j i a •= C-- 0` (71 • Approved by County Attorney as to foiui and legal sufficiency HARVEY RUVIN, CLERK By: Deputy Clerk STATE OF FLORIDA SS. COUNTY OF MIAMI-DADE I, HARVEY RUVIN, Clerk of the Circuit Court in and for Miami -Dade County, Florida and Ex -Officio Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners of Said County, Do Hereby Certify that the above and foregoing is a true and correct copy of Resolution No. R-410-01 adopted by said board of County Commissioners at its meeting held on April 24, 2001. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and official seal on this 4th day of May, A.D. 2001 L r SEAL HARVEY RUVIN, Clerk Board of County Commissioners Dade County, Florida Deputy Clerk Board of County Commissioners Miami -Dade County, Florida ADELPHIA CABLE CO.MMUN•I•G•A•L•I.O-N-S August 22, 1990 Mr. Joaquin Avino, P.E., P.L.S. County Manager Metropolitan Dade County Suite 2910 111 N.W. let Street Miami, Florida 33128-1994 Dear Mr. Avino: The purpose of this letter is to accept the non-exclusive cable television license granted to Adelphia Cable Partners, L.P. by Resolution No. R-706-90 which was passed by the Board of Commissioners of Dade County on July 24, 1990. In accordance with the requirements of Section 8AA-9 of the "Dade County 1990 Cable T.V. Ordinance," which was also passed by the Board of Commissioners of Dade County on July 24, 1990, Adelphia Cable Partners, L.P. does hereby accept the license granted to it by Resolution No. R-706-90, and does hereby agree to be bound by and comply with all requirements pursuant to the provisions of the "Dade County 1990 Cable T.V. Ordinance" and the license granted to Adelphia Cable Partners, L.P. ADELPHIA CABLE PARTNERS, L.P. a Delaware limited partnership By its General Partner: OLYMPUS COMMUNICATIONS, L.P. a Delaware limited partnership By its General Partners: DORELLENIC CABLE PARTNERS, a Pennsylvania general `partnership By: ner and ACP HOLDINGS, INC. West Third Street. Coudersport, Pennsylvania 16915 • Office 814 • 274.9830