Sec. 5-93. Selection of licensee under an initial license.
A. The granting or denial of a cable license is a legislative function invested exclusively in the discretion of the City Council.
B. Upon the request of the City Council expressed by resolution, the City Manager shall solicit applications for a cable license by advertisement requesting the submission of applications. Such notice for applications shall be published at least once in an official newspaper.
C. The City may determine and fix any date upon or after which the same shall be received by the City, or the date before which such applications shall be received, or the date after which the same shall not be received, and may make any other determinations and specify any other times, terms, conditions, or limitations respecting the soliciting, calling for, making and receiving of such applications. The terms and conditions for application shall be described in a document called "Request for Proposals."
D. The City upon receipt of an unsolicited application for an initial license may by advertising or other means solicit and call for competing applications pursuant to subsection C of this section or may, in its sole discretion, reject such application as untimely.
E. Any person, firm or corporation submitting a proposal for an initial license to operate a cable system in response to the City’s request for proposals shall provide all information required by this chapter and all other information requested by City’s request for proposals or otherwise required by the City. Each proposal shall be responsive to the questions soliciting the information, and shall completely, accurately and materially supply all of the information so solicited. Any misrepresentation, failure, neglect or refusal to provide any of such information may, at the option of the City, render a proposal invalid. The requested information must be complete and verified as true by the applicant.
F. All proposals received by the City from an applicant shall become the sole property of the City.
G. Before submitting a proposal, each applicant shall be solely responsible for and must:
1. Examine all regulatory chapters and the request for proposals documents thoroughly;
2. Be familiar with local conditions which may in any manner affect performance under the license, including, but in no event limited to, community and institutional telecommunication needs, relevant demographics, topographies, pole attachment policies of appropriate utility authorities, undergrounding, and subscriber desires;
3. Be familiar with all applicable Federal, State and local laws, chapters, rules and regulations affecting performance under the license; and
4. Carefully correlate all observations with the requirements of this chapter and the request for proposals documents.
H. Upon receipt of any application for an initial license, the City shall prepare or cause to be prepared a report, including recommendations respecting such application, and cause the same to be completed and filed with the City Council. The City will evaluate all proposals that are submitted. All applicants that have met the City’s qualifications in the request for proposals and have submitted proposals on the required forms will be offered the opportunity to make a formal presentation to the City Council in support of their applications.
I. The City may make such investigations as it deems necessary to determine the ability of the applicant to perform under the license, and the applicant shall furnish to the City all such information and data for this purpose as the City may request.
J. The City reserves the right to waive all formalities where the best interest of the City may be served, and may, if it so desires, request new or additional proposals.
K. If, upon receiving the City Manager’s report, the City Council shall determine to further consider the applications, it shall pass a resolution setting a public hearing for the consideration of applications.
L. Notice of such hearing shall be published in accordance with the requirements of State law. At the public hearing each applicant and its proposal may be examined and the public and all interested parties afforded a reasonable opportunity to be heard. (Ord. No. G-6034, 2015)