The 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 and 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. The public notice shall
contain but need not be limited to:
(1)
A description of the franchise area which is sought.
(2)
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.
(3)
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 certain day specified.
(4)
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 Board 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 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.
