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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday, March 11, 2013 <br />7:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br />  <br />Page 23 of 27  <br />  <br />(17. FRANCHISE RENEWAL, Continued) <br /> <br />Koenecke stated they would like it accomplished in five years for all five years and that Mediacom will <br />have to submit a plan for how that can be accomplished and the different phases. <br /> <br />McMillan asked if the LMCC would leave that up to Mediacom. <br /> <br />Koenecke stated the LMCC has given Mediacom its priorities and that Mediacom would then need to <br />submit a plan detailing how that build-out would be accomplished. If it is not acceptable to the cities, the <br />LMCC would need to ask Mediacom to change it. <br /> <br />Koennecke stated her understanding is that Orono and Medina are looking at build-outs and that the other <br />cities will not want to be last on the list. When the LMCC traded the battery backup power, Mediacom <br />identified all the areas in the city that they were going to substitute to make it equitable. Koenecke stated <br />in her opinion parts of the build-out should be done in all of the cities each year. <br /> <br />Printup asked when the City of Orono will be able to see Mediacom’s proposal. <br /> <br />Koenecke stated she can send the minutes from the three meetings but that the LMCC has not seen any <br />proposal from Mediacom yet. Mediacom is required to come back by the end of March with a proposal <br />and then the LMCC will review that to see how much of the priority list is included in their proposal. <br /> <br />The LMCC has a number of improvements that need to be done and we do not want to lose what we <br />already have. The prior franchise agreement did not require Mediacom to report certain things and the <br />LMCC is attempting to put in place more of a reporting system so we can get better information on their <br />service standards. Koenecke indicated the LMCC went around and around with them on call wait time <br />and finally Mediacom provided statistics that said they were in compliance. The survey shows they are <br />not in compliance. The reason the LMCC did the consultant’s report was to compile data to approach <br />Mediacom with. <br /> <br />Printup commented that typically there is strength in numbers and asked how that would benefit Orono <br />and get its residents what they have wanted for decades. <br /> <br />Koenecke stated her understanding is that Medina was given the prerogative by Mediacom that if the <br />LMCC gets a better deal, they would be offered the same deal. Koenecke stated in her view Mediacom is <br />attempting to work deals with the cities in an effort to try and stall the LMCC. <br /> <br />Joe Huber stated he wants the City Council to understand the nature of the negotiations and that it only <br />relates to cable service. If next week there is a change in technology and they can now send cable over <br />the electric wires that is all the negotiations deal with. The City Council needs to understand and be very <br />careful of its assumptions as well as be well represented because this is a very difficult arena to work in. <br />The LMCC values Orono’s membership and welcomes its participation at all of the LMCC meetings. <br /> <br />Anderson commented she is still hung up on the two-tier system since it appears the LMCC does have the <br />ability to create its own tiered system and escalate fees. The LMCC is able to negotiate with Mound and <br />other cities and it is not something that Orono is dictating to the LMCC. <br /> <br /> <br />Item #02 - CC Agenda - 03/25/2013 <br />Approval of Council Minutes 03/11/2013 [Page 23 of 27]