Franchise review and modification

(a)

It shall be the policy of the city to amend a franchise, upon application of the grantee, when necessary to enable the grantee to take advantage of advancements in the state of the art which will afford it an opportunity to more effectively, efficiently or economically serve its subscribers; provided that this section shall not be construed to require the city to make any amendment.

(b)

Within the term of the franchise, the city council may, upon its own motion or upon the request of the mayor or upon the request of the designee, give notice to the grantee that the council will hold a special public meeting, the purpose of which will be to consider the adoption of reasonable and appropriate modifications to a franchise awarded hereunder.

(c)

Review procedures:

(1)

In its review of the existing franchise, the city council may consider any relevant factors, including, but not limited to:

a.

The current performance of the grantee's system as compared to cable communication systems of comparable size and age in other communities in the United States;

b.

The grantee's system design as compared to cable communication systems of comparable size and age in other communities in the United States;

c.

The services offered by the grantee's system as compared to cable communication systems of comparable size and age in other communities in the United States.

(2)

During the franchise review sessions, the grantee shall fully cooperate with the mayor and/or city council as may be needed to reasonably perform their duties.

(3)

Based upon the information and testimony presented at the special public meeting, the mayor with the approval of the city council, after providing a reasonable opportunity to be heard, may adopt such reasonable and appropriate modifications to the franchise as they find necessary in order to protect the interests of the subscribers and users; provided that the city shall not require any modifications which would:

a.

Detrimentally affect the economic feasibility of the grantee's cable communications systems; or

b.

Result in the termination of the franchise.

(Code 1971, § 52-33; Ord. No. 7864-A, § 1(Art. IV, § 3), 1-28-82)