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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1974/10/10 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular M LN l,PJ'E S SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 10 , 1974 �eetit�g was cal Led to order r b . , - The .r Ma , or Flectham dt 7 ; p 1 p . m . .e following Councilmen were. present : Seymour Druskin Lyle Hanks Richard Graves Rose - Mary Griak Keith Mela.n. d leopard Thiel Frank F 1 ee tham Also present were Robert Brooks , Telcom Engineering Inc . , the City Manager and Acting Secretary . PROJECT 6842 ' FREIDHEIM PROPERTIES - It was moved by Councilman Thiel , seconded _ o by Coun.eilman Hanks , to reconsider the assessment of Project 68 - 02 . After. a �r aQ ruling by the Acting City Attorney regarding the correct parliamentary procedure . the motion passed unanimously . .5 - g wv"40 iqs. �• orp"J Q Councilman Thiel stated that following a Further review of the market value of the various lands owned by Mr . Charles Freidheim which have been given. as easements or permitted for City use , he feels th. a. r. a reduction of $ 7 , 000 , rather than $ 10 , 000 is warranted in the assessment as originally a. pprovedu It was moved by Councilman Druskin , seconded by Councilman Melan.d , to amend. of the reduction on the Charles the resolution. to reduce the total amount Freidheim ' s property assessed in Pryor oject 68 - 02 , tozdOt �a rhe is . ntent of Fleetham ruled the motion out of order as being contrary the orm the. Attorney iginal motions Following a request for an opinoutli.ned the procedure g o the Cit Attorney regarding parliamentary procedure , Y sed to reconsi. dera. t: ion . RESOLUTION NO * 5151 to waive wasuncilman. Thiel , seconded by -CouAdjusting Special It ws then moved by Co Resoltfon Adjusting 5151 entitled , reading and adopt Resolu. ti. on. N © , Locat4 d iii 0112 South Assessments in Improvement No * 68 - O .Z , Storm Sewer ,tion carriE'• d 5 - 2 , Councilmen Dr1zsli, in and. Central Area of. the Co ty" ' o The motion Mel.and voting nay . m �Ln �itey show c; h.at 11e: dues nl:i, ara ��o .r. any el Councilman Druskin requ.es tied that: theand. .f ��. r. c:11c� r , Sessme ». t f. or the Freidhe" m pr opE: ;r_ t y , sented to the Council reduction. in as shoe1 d have been Pre or, tunL ty feels consideration of th15 change .her stated th.a. 4 1�a. r� lie, '+li c1 t me ma. y in advance of the meet Ing . H. c . further'` r lar tn� the �nt , c to consider this assessment modif. ication. p have come to a different conclusion • 27P Cit Council Minutes , October 10 , 197 -1+ Special Y It wa. s moved by Counc: ilznan Grim , seconded by Councilman p_OppSED BOND SALE following actionsas Meland , to authorize the issuance of $ 1 . 5 million special assessment bonds and $ . 5 1 . Park Improvement ) bonds with million G % neral Obligation fifteen years maturity . 1 the firm of T G Evenson and Associates , Inc . to 2 . Engaging act as financial consultants for the proposed sale . 3 . Engaging the firm of Hcward , LeFevere , Lefler , Hamilton and Pearson to render the required legal opinions . 4 . Securing current credit ratings froIt m Moedyts Investor Service Inc . and Standard and Poors Corporation . that he is opposed to the bend sale for the following Mayor Fleetham stated reasons : it is not necessary to sell bonds for park improvements at this time due to the availability of other funds ; a bond sale at this time does not represent good fiscal planning and may present cash flow problems in the future ; this type of bond sale could affect the City ' s bond credit rating ; and finally , a public hearing should be held prior to the sale of park improvement bonds . Mayor Fleetham also noted that he will carefully consider the City ' s financial situation prior to voting on future capital improvement programs . The motion passed 6 - 1 (Mayor Fleetham voting opposed ) . CATV FRANCHISE - The following persons were present to discuss with the Council the proposed franchise transfer : Louis F . Hribar , President of Cable Media Corporation ; J . Robert Bird , Vice President - Engineering ; and Donald L . Guthrie , Vice - President - Marketing of Cable Media ; Jerry Polinsky ; Martin L . Blatt , attorney for franchisee . Councilman Griak left at 7 : 30 p . m . 1 . Financing - Louis Hribar , President of Cable Media , Inc . , gave a presentation regarding the proposed method of financing the St . Louis Park CATV system and explained the responsibilities and rights of the lessor and lessee in this proposed structure . He noted that Cable Media does not want to be locked into building or purchasing equipment materials from the Anaconda Company . Cable Media would intend to accept the lowest bid for construction and materials for this system . Mr . Hribar noted that a bank yet to be selected will be the lessor in the St . Louis Park CATV system , not AnacOuda and that subscribers will still have the same protection for loss of service . Cable Media has a separate corporation for each franchise it holds , and , therefore , the St . Louis Park system would not be tied to the other systems being constructed car operated by Cable Media . In response to a question from Mr . Robert Brooke , Mr , Hribar noted that the supplier will post a bond of $ 125 million during construction as a performaftce bond to remain in effect during the entire construction period . Mr . Hribar is to ted that he had no ob j ec t ion to f i 1 ing a copy of this bond with the City Clerk . 2ee Special City CounciL Minutes , October 10 , 1974 Mr , Hribar also stated that he believes St similar to Alton , L° uIS Park is a. good communication techniques , the system willlbenviablend with the proper `ate and marketing • He feel ; the � Y rake approximately six months to construct and that Cable Mediamwill 1begiz connecting subscribers as soon as the first phase of the j stem is completed . mpleted . In response to a question from Councilman Druskin , Mr . Hribar stated that Cable Media believes the system will be profitable some time during the fourth year and that if Cable Media were to default on the St . Louis Park franchise , the bank backing the franchise would be anxious to recover its investment and would seek a new company to operate the system . 2 . Other Franchises - Mr . Robert Bird discussed the status of the franchise in Alton , Illinois , and in Rochester , New York . He discussed at lf. ngth the various channels included in the Alton system . Mr . Polinsky informed the Council that the Warner Corporation has agreed to assist the St . Louis Park CATV system in obtaining movie films , etc . Mr . Hribar also stated that Cable Media will be willing to assist the City in obtaining approval from the Federal Communications Commission for a 5% gross subscriber revenue . Mr . Brooks noted that he has contacted a staff attorney for the FCC who has agreed to forward copies of the justification used by other cities for receiving a 5% gross subscriber revenue . 3 . Proposed Franchise and Ordinance Changes m In Section 9 , Paragraph e ( noted on Page 2 of the consultant ' s comments ) ) Mr . Bird requested that in some cases in lieu of installing a standby cable , that the company be allowed to install empty conduit . This would avoid streets having to be torn up for future installations . Mr . Bird referred to Pag2e _ 6 of the consultant ' s comments ( d ) ( 2 ) requiring that the franchisee provide for live remote broadcasting from no more than five select locations within the City , to be designated by the City . He noted that the franchisee prefers to install three locationsfor live remote broadcasting and possibly five at a later date when the entire system is completed . He noted that it is difficult technically to locate these sites until the system has been fully designed . It was suggested by Mr . Brooks that the ordinance reworded to require three locations initially with the capability of five s and that ether locations may be re nested broadcasting in each of the quadrantQ sitive cash flow . Mr . Bird agreed that this change after the system reaches a po was acceptable . Councilman kin stated that he felt it was extr'em� te ��iginationortant ha. tT�ee nci. lman Drus for mobile live rum City be provided with a facility C ` at the public had been infcrmed on that mobile capability City Manager noted that Of the CATV s stem and agreed with. Councilman D .rusk� y • involved in local affairs and w��videdlwhen thenet utilize citizens were extremely Equipment . Mr . Brooks suggested that a mobile van be p 281 Special City Council Minutes , October 102 1974 before taxes , is P c� sitl. ve or whenever ( tn approximately stem , or saturation rate. of d� �/„ income from the sy 000 sutibscr ibe; r. s , year 4 ) the system has either. 7 , Cable Media would be required mobile van is not Provided at that time , If a _ blit hearing to state w��y it had. not been provided . ear at a Council pet; to app Mr . Hribar agreed with this proposal * Cable Media has no other ob -jecticns to the proposed Mr . Bird stated that franchise and ordinance . 000 bond would be provided through the construction Mr . Hribar agreed that a $ 250 , 000 bond would be maintained by phase and that following construction a $ 50 , Cable Media during the term of the franchise . 4 . Rates - Mr . Hribar noted that the proposed rates are $ 7 . 50 per month for for the first hook - up and $ 1 . 75 for additional hookups . Mr . Brooks stated that in reviewing rates charged for other systems through the nation , this rate a peared to be in Hribar line with rates being charged elsewhere .are • includednoted P that in the proposed financial projection no rate in.c 5 . Council Action - Mr . Brooks stated that prior to asking Cable Media for additional information , the Council should decif it wants to proceed with further consideration of the transfer of thefranchisee The Council adjourned briefly to confer with the City Attorney on specific legal questions involved with a stock transfer of the CATV franchise . It was moved by Councilman Graves , seconded by Councilman Druskin. , to approve the transfer of the franchise subject to successful negotiation of various concerns in the franchise and ordinance . Following the request of several Councilmen to obtain additional information , the motion was withdrawn . It was moved by Councilman Meland , seconded by Councilman Hanks , to authorize staff to prepare the appropriate documents to enable the Council to consider the question of approving the transfer of stock at the Council meeting of October 21 , 1974 . The motion passed 4 � 1 - 1 ( Counci nan Thiel opposed ; Mayor Fleetham abstaining , Councilman Griak was not pre ent ) . The meeting was adjourned at 11 ; 59 p . m . J i FraV G . Fleetham , Jr . , Mayor r Atte st:, i""" S -ac. an Workman , Wctge Secretary :282