(A) Applications. Applications for construction, operation, and maintenance of CATV systems shall be submitted to the Board of Commissioners.
(B) Hearing. The Board shall have a full and complete public hearing affording all interested parties, including members of the public, the right to be heard. The Board may, at the conclusion of the hearing or some subsequent time, grant a franchise to the applicant whose proposed system is in the best interest of the public and the potential subscribers within the area covered by the franchise.
(C) Authority. The Board may accept applications for an area less than the whole of the unincorporated area within the county.
(D) Contents of application.
(1) The application, filed by a person seeking issuance of a franchise, shall contain:
(a) The name and address of the applicant. If the applicant is a partnership, the name and address of each partner must be submitted. If the applicant is a corporation, the application shall state the names and addresses of its directors, officers, parent, and subsidiary companies and of all shareholders owning as much as 5% of the outstanding stock of any class, and shall include a certified copy of its articles of incorporation together with all amendments thereto. The application shall state the names and address of all persons whose beneficial interest in the applicant amounts to 5% or more, regardless of how said interest is held;
(b) A statement demonstrating the applicant’s experience and expertise, if any, in establishing a cable television system and in providing a CATV service, including the names and locations of any other CATV systems currently or formerly constructed, operated, or maintained by the applicant;
(c) If applicant had prepared by a certified public accountant, an audit for the fiscal year next preceding the application date, a copy of that audit. In any event an income statement and balance sheet for the fiscal quarter next preceding the application which may be either audited or unaudited, which shall show the applicant’s financial status and its financial ability to complete the construction of the proposed CATV system and to provide the CATV service. Any additional financial information which applicant feels would further evidence his or her ability to construct the proposed system and provide CATV service may also be submitted. Information with respect to financial projections of the proposed system, including methods of financing, shall be submitted as part of the application. All financial and ownership information relating to the applicant submitted in compliance with this chapter shall be confidential and shall not be regarded as public information to the extent provided by law;
(d) To the extent permitted by law, a statement containing a description of the CATV system proposed to be constructed, installed, maintained, and operated by the applicant, the technical specifications of the materials to be used, the services to be provided to subscribers, the services, material, and equipment to be provided without cost to local government units, qualified under the FCC regulations, the facilities, material, and equipment to be made available for access cablecasting, the manner in which the applicant proposes to construct, install, maintain, and operate the system, and the extent and manner in which existing or future poles or other facilities of other public utilities will be used for such system. The statement required by this division (D)(4) shall include all information above, relative to the full term of the franchise and not merely the initial system;
(e) A statement setting forth all agreements and understandings, whether written or oral, or implied, existing between the applicant and any person or entity with respect to the ownership, control, or transfer of the proposed franchise or the proposed CATV system and service. If a franchise is granted to a person who is an agent or representative of another person, and such relationship is not disclosed in the original application, such franchise shall be void and of no force and effect;
(f) A statement or schedule of proposed rates and charges to subscribers for installation and service, and a list of those services to be provided to subscribers; and
(g) A map of the area which the applicant will agree to serve within 12 months of the effective date of the franchise and a statement of applicant’s plans for future expansion of service. The map shall clearly delineate areas which will not be served, if any.
(2) The applicant shall provide to the Board any additional information which the Board deems necessary. A request by the Board for such additional information shall be made in writing after the opening of applications and before the public hearing.
(E) Reservation of rights. The county expressly reserves the right or privilege to grant by franchise to any other person the right to construct, operate, and maintain a CATV system within the same area during the same period of time granted to any other franchisee.
(F) Findings. If the Board determines that no system proposed by any applicant is in the best interest of the public, no franchise will be granted. The franchise, if granted, shall contain recitations that demonstrate that the Board has examined and approved the franchisee’s legal, financial, and technical qualifications, as well as the adequacy and feasibility of franchisee’s construction arrangements.
(Ord. passed 10-18-1982)