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• <br />Date: <br />July 28, 1999 <br />To: <br />Honorable Board of County Commissioners- <br />ommissionersThrough: <br />Through: <br />James E. Chandler <br />County Administrator <br />Through: <br />Thomas W. Frame <br />Department of General Services" <br />From: <br />Terry L. Smith, Telecommunications Manager <br />Department of General Services � <br />Subject: <br />Transfer of CATV Franchise from Falcon to Charter <br />BACKGROUND: <br />Charter Communications Holding Company, LLC. (Charter) has agreed to acquire the <br />controlling interest in the parent company of Falcon Cable Media (Falcon), a cable <br />television franchisee in Indian River County. Falcon and Charter have petitioned the <br />Board of County Commissioners to consent to this transaction A transfer package with <br />the required Federal Communications Commission Form 394 and related infoimation is <br />on file in the County Commission office. <br />No information found in the transfer package or from any other source indicates that <br />Charter would be unable to meet the requirements of the franchise agreement legally, <br />financially, or technically. Information from other franchising entities, who have had <br />experience with both the Falcon and the Charter management teams, indicates that <br />operations are better under Charter than they were under Falcon <br />A letter written by Staff to Ken Vickers, Regional Manager of the Falcon operation, <br />seeking clarification of some of the statements in the Charter transfer package is <br />attached. These questions can be addressed in the public hearing scheduled for this <br />matter. <br />RECOMMENDATION: <br />Since Indian River County Ordinance 82-7, providing for the licensing of CATV <br />Companies operating in the unincorporated county, states that approval of requests for <br />such transfers "may not be unreasonably withheld by the Commission", and since no <br />information has been found which would indicate a legal, financial, or technical reason <br />for Charter not being capable of meeting the conditions of the franchise, Staff <br />recommends that the attached Resolution be approved by Board of County <br />Commissioners. This approval would be contingent on the receipt of the required proofs <br />of insurance and performance bond as stated in the current franchise agreement. <br />AUGUST 24, 1999 <br />0 <br />-47-,:- <br />