03-11-2013 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE � - ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING , " , Monday,March 11,2013 7:00 o'clock p.m. (4. LMCC UPDATE, Continued) Huber stated the LMCC needs to look at it not as a punitive issue but that there are costs involved with providing service. LMCC's lawyer,who is also helping with the negotiations, is not coming out here for free. Huber stated the cities need to have an understanding that without contribution,a lot of the services will fall away and programming may cease to exist. Huber indicated the LMCC does not know how many cities are negotiating separately with Mediacom,which is a matter of trust. Huber indicated he has asked their lawyer how the LMCC can engage in negotiations without knowing what cities will be with them. Huber indicated it is a difficult spot to be in for the LMCC but that they do respect Orono's position. McMillan pointed out that Orono has been one of the top two contributors to the LMCC over the years, which amounts to one-sixth of the LMCC budget or approximately$100,000 a year in franchise fees and PEG fees. Orono has not taken anything until the last two years when our council meetings have been taped. McMillan noted it is not the LMCC's fault that Orono has not taped its meetings earlier but that they have contributed substantially in the past without receiving much in the way of services. McMillan stated the general environment is different now than when the LMCC was created 30 years ago. In addition,the franchise fees are a lot bigger. Orono has citizens that are underserved and have been underserved for quite a long time. In year one of the franchise negotiations, Orono ended up talking about fiber optics for eight or nine months. We are now in year three of the agreement and there has not been any build-out. McMillan stated she appreciate the focus on the build-out currently, but in looking at the priorities list,the LMCC also has a lot of other capital improvements they are requesting. McMillan asked at what point the build-out will be the top priority. McMillan stated she sees a lot of other expenditures that Mediacom will have to make to satisfy what the LMCC is asking. McMillan noted Orono has not been talking to Mediacom in secret. Mediacom did come to the last City Council work session and Orono has been very open about the process. McMillan noted she started attending the LMCC meetings back in late August, early September, and has been providing updates to the Council. McMillan stated she does have an issue with citizens who do not have internet connection or broadband connection and at the present time it is the biggest concern that the City Council is attempting to focus on. Koenecke noted both the executive committee and the consultants have identified the build-out as the number one priority. The consultant's report was to compile the data to bring to Mediacom during the negotiations and point out the areas where Mediacom has not lived up to expectations. Koenecke noted in the past there was a requirement of 30 homes per mile. Had Mediacom been good neighbors,they would have tried to build out this area but they did not. As a result,the LMCC has to get tough in negotiations and they are asking for full build-out. Mediacom has been in business for 15 years and their financial statements look pretty good. The LMCC can ask for full build-out without the subscribers subsidizing the build-out. If Mediacom has the dollars and the LMCC has the data to show that this should be their responsibility. Levang stated she is concerned with the last point in the document that Mediacom will discontinue delivery of LMCC programming. Page 6 of 27