(a) Applicants for a franchise, for the purpose of promoting improvements in cable services to the community and influencing the motivation of the County to select the particular applicant as the grantee, may include within their applications the commitment of services, resources, or other benefits (including, but not limited to, on-going financial support, channels or broadcast time thereon, personnel resources, or facilities or equipment) to specifically identified parties other than the County. The application shall contain an identification of any such commitments, including a specific description of the nature and extent of all services, resources, or benefits committed, the names and addresses of all parties to whom the commitments are made, all terms and conditions of the commitments, and copies of the legal instruments, such as contracts, leases, memoranda of understanding, or other documents, by which the commitments, when accepted, and the documents executed by the recipients would be evidenced. Each such legal instrument shall contain provisions requiring that such services, resources, or benefits be utilized exclusively for cultural, educational, scientific, character-building, recreational, or public service purposes and prohibiting the utilization thereof for commercial purposes.
(b) During the hearing conducted pursuant to the provisions of subsection (e)of Section 11-1.602 of Article 6 of this chapter, the Board shall:
(1) Order such changes in the legal instruments by which the commitment of such services, resources, or benefits are to be evidenced as are found necessary in order to fulfill the objectives and purposes of the application submitted by the tentative selectee without altering the nature or scope of the commitments made, or direct the proposed recipients and tentative selectees to meet separately for the purpose of developing mutually acceptable changes in the legal instruments for later review and approval by the Board;
(2) Approve as to form all legal instruments determined to be sufficient to adequately express the commitments and terms and conditions thereof; and
(3) Determine which, if any, of such legal instruments are to be incorporated into the franchise documents made a part of the terms and conditions of the franchise and order such incorporation by reference to the instrument in the ordinance offering the franchise.
(c) With respect to any legal instrument which is made a part of the franchise documents by reference in the ordinance offering the franchise, the violation and breach by the grantee of the obligations therein shall be deemed to constitute a material violation and breach of the franchise documents. The obligations and prohibitions assumed by the recipient under such legal instruments by either the execution of the instruments or the acceptance of the services, resources, or benefits committed shall be enforceable either by the grantee or the County. A violation and breach of the franchise documents by reference in the ordinance offering the franchise shall not be deemed to constitute a violation or breach of the franchise documents. The incorporation of such a legal instrument into the franchise of any legal instrument which is made a part of the franchise documents by reference in the ordinance offering the franchise shall not be deemed to obligate the County to fulfill any promise contained therein. Services, resources, or benefits committed to specifically identified parties, other than the County, which are not evidenced by separate legal instruments included with the application shall not be considered in the selection process.
(d) An applicant who chooses not to commit services, resources, or benefits as authorized by this section shall not be disqualified from bidding or consideration in the selection of the grantee. It is expressly declared that the factors upon which selection will be based are so numerous and subjective as to make it impossible to know in advance the relative importance of a determination by an applicant to either make or not to make such proposals in relation to other factors upon which an award of a franchise will be based. (§ 1, Ord. 961, eff. October 27, 1983)