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Item 1.C.
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| City Council Regular | |
| Date: | 07/08/2024 |
| Title: | City of Billings Agreement with Community 7 |
| Presented by: | Kevin Iffland, Assistant City Administrator |
| Department: | City Hall Administration |
| Presentation: | No |
| Legal Review: | Yes |
| Project Number: | N/A |
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the approval of this agreement with Community 7.
BACKGROUND (Consistency with Adopted Plans and Policies, if applicable)
The City Council is being asked to execute a new five-year agreement with Billings Community Cable Corporation (Community 7) to provide services to the City and its residents. The City entered into an agreement with Community 7 in 2018 to provide services to City residents on news, events, and activities of the City of Billings. The City continues to have an interest in Community 7 providing services to City staff and City residents through programs, meeting coverage, event notices, special event coverage, and application of new technology that may create a very useful interface with Community 7 programming and City events, meetings and activities. The City has provided financial support to Community 7 under the past agreement by using revenues from its nonexclusive franchise agreement with Spectrum Pacific West, LLC Spectrum Pacific West, LLC, through its manager, Charter Communications, Inc. to provide cable television services to residents of the City. The franchise agreement provides that Charter must make available public, education and governmental channels for use as the City desires. This agreement provides fees to the City from Charter collected from Charter cable subscribers.
The Community 7 Board of Directors is supportive of the draft agreement. In review of the past Community 7 Agreement, other agreements between other community cable channels and other Montana communities, City staff’s recommendation is for a five-year agreement with a fixed annual amount to be paid to Community 7, including an annual escalator over the life of the five-year agreement. This approach is easier to track, account for, and makes the payment process very clear between Community 7 and the City. This approach is also, more importantly, in alignment with the past history of service use and a gradual increase in use of Community 7 services by the City in the next five (5) years.
The Community 7 Board of Directors is supportive of the draft agreement. In review of the past Community 7 Agreement, other agreements between other community cable channels and other Montana communities, City staff’s recommendation is for a five-year agreement with a fixed annual amount to be paid to Community 7, including an annual escalator over the life of the five-year agreement. This approach is easier to track, account for, and makes the payment process very clear between Community 7 and the City. This approach is also, more importantly, in alignment with the past history of service use and a gradual increase in use of Community 7 services by the City in the next five (5) years.
STAKEHOLDERS
Community 7 and the City of Billings, on behalf of City residents, are the stakeholders in this process. The Community 7 Board of Directors is in support of the attached agreement as drafted. No public hearing is scheduled for this item. However, the public may comment on this agreement during the public comment process at the start of this meeting.
ALTERNATIVES
City Council may:
Approve of the Five-Year Agreement between the City of Billings and Community 7 Television as recommended by City staff; or
Not Approve of the Five-Year Agreement between the City of Billings and Community 7 Television; or
Make amendments and then approve the Five-Year Agreement between the City of Billings and Community 7 Television. Making amendments may require the Agreement to be taken back to the Community 7 Board of Directors and City staff for further review.
Approve of the Five-Year Agreement between the City of Billings and Community 7 Television as recommended by City staff; or
Not Approve of the Five-Year Agreement between the City of Billings and Community 7 Television; or
Make amendments and then approve the Five-Year Agreement between the City of Billings and Community 7 Television. Making amendments may require the Agreement to be taken back to the Community 7 Board of Directors and City staff for further review.
FISCAL EFFECTS
The 2018 Agreement between the City and Community 7 was set for a five year period and had a clause that renewed it for one year increments. The new Agreement proposes an annual flat rate payment to Community 7 from the City for each of the years in the five-year agreement with an annual escalator of 3%. The City would pay $214,929 in FY2024 and gradually increase its payments to $241,905 in FY2028. This graduated funding plan reflects the City's interest in gradually utilizing more of the services described in Section 3.j. of the attached Agreement over the five-year life of the Agreement. The funding to Community 7 during the Agreement would come from the City's Franchise Fee revenue paid from Charter.