Minimum public notice of any public meeting relating to this chapter
or the franchise shall be by publication at least in a newspaper of general
circulation in the area at least seven days prior to the meeting, posting
at Town Hall, by announcement on at least one local origination channel of
the grantee's cable communications system between the hours of 11:00
a.m. and 9:00 p.m. for five consecutive days prior to the meeting.
The captions to sections throughout this chapter are intended solely
to facilitate reading and reference to the sections and provisions of this
chapter. Such captions shall not affect the meaning or interpretation of this
chapter.
A.
Invitation of any applications for a franchise, public
notice of request for proposals. The town may invite applications for a cable
television franchise by means of a public notice advertising the availability
of its request for proposals.
(1)
The public notice shall contain, but need not be limited
to:
(a)
A description of the franchise area which is sought.
(b)
A statement that a formal request for proposals is available
to prospective applicants from a town official whose name, address and telephone
number are specified.
(c)
A statement that applications for the franchise must
be submitted in writing in the form and manner specified in the request for
proposals no later than a day certain.
(d)
A statement that all applications will be made available
for public inspection during normal business hours at a specified location.
B.
Request for proposals. Prior to inviting any applications
for any television franchise, the town shall prepare a request for proposals
that shall contain, but need not be limited to, the following:
(1)
A description of the cable television system and services
desired by the town, including any system specifications established by the
town.
(2)
A statement specifying the form that all applications
shall follow.
(3)
A statement indicating the amount of the application
fee (if any) to be submitted with the application and the manner in which
such fee is to be submitted.
(4)
A statement that all applications must contain the information
required by the request for proposal.
(5)
The closing date for the submission of applications.
(6)
The name, address and telephone number of the town official(s)
who may be contacted for further information.
C.
Requirement for public hearing on reasonable notice.
The town shall conduct a public hearing prior to awarding any cable television
franchise. The hearing shall be preceded by reasonable notice to each of the
franchise applicants and to the public and shall be conducted by the Town
Council in accordance with the following procedures:
(1)
There shall be an agenda for the hearing which shall
specify the proposal(s) to be considered at the hearing.
(2)
Every person who has applied for a cable television franchise
shall appear at the hearing either in person or by authorized representative.
The application of any applicant not so appearing shall not be further considered,
except for good cause shown.
(3)
All persons shall be given an opportunity to participate
in the hearing, but nothing contained herein shall limit the power of the
presiding officer to establish reasonable time limits and otherwise limit
repetitive statements or questions.
(4)
The notice of hearing shall:
D.
Town discretion. The town, at its discretion,
may reject any application for a franchise. In awarding a franchise, the town
shall allow the applicant's cable system a reasonable period of time
to become capable of providing cable service to all households in the franchise
area; may require adequate assurance that the cable operator will provide
adequate public, educational and governmental access channel capacity, facilities
or financial support; and may require adequate assurance that the cable operator
has the financial, technical or legal qualifications to provide cable service.
