HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12131994 - 1.88 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 5 Contra
Phil Batchelor, County Administrator Costa
FROM: }<
December. 2, 1994 County
DATE:
SUBJECT: FORFEITURE OF SONIC CABLE TELEVISION'S CATV LICENSE IN PORT COSTA
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION:
1 . Pursuant to Section 6404 of Ordinance No. 1980, DECLARE a
forfeiture of the CATV license held by Sonic Cable Television
Company because of the licensee's neglect, failure and refusal
to comply with various ordinance requirements after
appropriate notice, EXCLUDE the licensee from further use or
acts thereunder, and DECLARE that the licensee shall be deemed
to have surrendered all rights under the license and Ordinance
No. 1980 .
2 . DIRECT the Cable TV Administrator to give notice to the
licensee to remove any property of the licensee pursuant to
Section 6422 (a) of Ordinance No. 1980 .
3 . DECLARE that any property of the licensee remaining in place
sixty days after the date of this Order shall be considered
permanently abandoned pursuant to Section 6422 (b) of Ordinance
No. 1980 .
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
None.
BACKGROUND:
On August 3, 1976 , the Board granted a CATV license to Golden West
T.V. Systems to install and operate a cable TV system serving the
community of Port Costa. By Board Order dated June 7, 1983, the
license was transferred to Sonic Cable Television Company (also
known as Sonic Communications) .
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CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURES :
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ACTION OF BOARD ON AEC APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
i
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
ATTESTED DEC 13 1994
Contact: PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
CC: SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
BY�,w DEPUTY
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Sonic has not been operating the Port Costa system since 1985 .
Instead, the system has been operated by other companies or persons
who have not obtained consent to transfer from the County.
However, Sonic remains the licensee of record.
After receiving complaints about the Port Costa system, the Cable
TV Administrator, on May 6 , 1994 , sent written notices to Sonic and
Mr. and Mrs . James Walters (purported operators of the system) to
correct numerous ordinance violations . These violations include
failure to maintain the system properly and to provide continuous
service, failure to file and maintain proper bonds and insurance,
failure to pay license fees and failure to obtain proper consent to
transfer. Despite these notices, the violations have not been
. corrected.
Section 6404 of Ordinance No. 1980 provides for forfeiture of a
CATV license when ordinance violations have not been corrected
within sixty days following notice. Given the longstanding
problems with the Port Costa system and the lack of adequate
protection to the County, forfeiture of Sonic ' s license is in the
best interest both of the County and the Port Costa community.
Another cable operator, Tele-Vue Systems, Inc. (Viacom Cable) , has
requested an expansion of their existing license to enable them to
provide cable service to Port Costa. Therefore, the forfeiture of
Sonic ' s license would not result in loss of cable service to the
residents of Port Costa. Rather, it is anticipated that cable
service in Port Costa will improve.
CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If Sonic ' s license is not forfeited, the current problems with the
Port Costa system would remain. Since no bonds or insurance are on
file, the continued presence of the system within County rights-of-
way could expose the County to potential liability.
cc: Sonic Communications
James Walters
Viacom Cable
County Counsel
Cable TV Administrator