HomeMy WebLinkAbout1620RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION of the C1ty Council of the
C1ty of Kent, Washmgton, relatmg to consent of TCI
CablevlSlon of Washmgton, Inc change of control
WHEREAS, AT&T Corporatwn (AT&T) holds, as 1ts md1rect
subs1d1ary TCI CablevJsJOn of Washmgton, Inc a/k/a AT&T Broadband,
("Franclusee") m the C1ty of Kent (the "Francluse Authonty") , and
WHEREAS, AT&T mtends to merge w1th Corneas! CorporatiOn
("Corneas!") to create a new company to be known as AT&T Corneas! CorporatiOn
("AT&T Corneas!") pursuant to the terms of an Agreement and Plan of Merger dated
December 19, 2001 by and among AT&T, AT&T Broadband Corp, Corneas! and
certam of the1r respective affiliates, and a Separatwn and D1stnbutwn Agreement
dated December 19, 2001 by and between AT&T and AT&T Broadband Corp (the
"Merger"), and
WHEREAS, pnor to the Merger, pursuant to an mtemal corporate
restructunng, the cable franchises or stock of the Franclusee, or md1rect ownerslup of
the Franchisee, may be transferred through one or more mtemal transfers or mergers
to another d1rect or mdirect subsidiary of AT&T, or the Franchisee may elect as
permitted by law to convert or reorgamze 1ts legal form to a hm1ted company (together
With the Merger, the "Transactwns"), and
1 AT&T/Comcast Merger
WHEREAS, followmg the Transactwns, the resultmg entity Will be
controlled by AT&T Corneas! but Will contmue to operate the cable systems and
contmue to hold and be responsible for performance of the cable franchises, and
WHEREAS, on March 4, 2002, the companies gave notice to the
Franchise Authonty of the proposed change m control that would result from the
merger of AT&T Broadband and Corneas! by filmg an FCC Form 394, together with
attached exhibits, and requested that the Franchise Authonty consent to the
Transactwns m accordance with the reqmrements of the cable franchise and applicable
federal law, and
WHEREAS, the franchise provides that AT&T Corneas! must show
financial responsibility as determmed by the Franchise Authonty, and that consent of
the Franchise Authonty will not be unreasonably withheld, and
WHEREAS, AT&T Corneas! has stated that the Franchisee will
contmue to comply With the lawful terms and provisions of the existmg franchise and
agreements followmg the Merger; and
WHEREAS, Franchisee has, m a separate agreement (attached hereto
as Exhibit A), documented the existence of certam relevant Issues concermng the
Franchisee's performance under the Franchise, and the Franchisee has committed to
exercise good faith efforts to resolve such Issues separate and apart from the consent
process, and
WHEREAS, the Franchise Authonty has reviewed the Apphcatwn, has
exammed the legal, fmanc~al and technical quahficatwns of AT&T Corneas!, and has
followed all reqmred procedures m order to consider and act upon the Apphcatwn,
and
2 AT & T/Comcast Merger
WHEREAS, the Franchise Authonty IS w11lmg to consent to the
Transacttons, as set forth below, NOW THEREFORE,
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENT, WASHINGTON
DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS
SECTION 1. The Franchise Authonty hereby consents to the
Transacttons m accordance With the terms of the franchise and apphcable law, subject
to the followmg condi!tons
A That Franch1see comphes w1th all vahd local laws, franchise requrrements and
agreements consistent w1th apphcable federal, state and local law, and
B That the Franch1se Authonty's consent to the Transacttons shall not be
construed to constitute a wmver or release of any nghts the Franchise Authonty has
under the franch1se and any separate wntten agreements w1th the Franchisee, whether
those nghts anse before or after the change m control to AT&T Comcast, and
C That the Franch1se w1ll contmue to comply w1th the lawful terms and
prov!Slons of the ex1stmg Franchise and agreements followmg the merger, and
Franchise w11l, m good fa1th, resolve 1ts ex1stmg Franch1se performance 1ssues w1th
the Franchismg Authonty
D The merger transachon between AT&T Corp and Corneas! Corporatton shall
close consistent w1th the terms 1dent1fied m the Form 394 and the supplemental
mformatwn prov1ded by the Franch1see through the request for mformatwn process
undertaken by the C1ty
SECTION 2. Th1s Resolutton shall have the force of a contmumg
agreement w1th the Franch1see and AT&T Comcast, and Franchise Authonty shall not
mnend or otherw1se alter th1s Resolutwn w1thout the consent of the Franchisee and
AT&T Comcast
3 AT&T/Comcast Merger
SECTION 3. Severab1hty If any sectiOn, subsectiOn, paragraph,
sentence, clause, or phrase of this resolution is declared unconstitutional or mvahd for
any reason, such decisiOn shall not affect the vahd1ty of the remammg portwns of this
resolutiOn.
SECTION 4. RatificatiOn Any act consistent with the authonty and
pnor to the effective date oftlus resolution IS hereby ratified and affirmed
SECTION 5. Effective Date This resolutiOn shall take effect and be
m force unmedmtely upon Its passage
PASSED at a regular openpubhc meetmg by the City Council of the C1ty
of Kent, Washington, tlus If day of ~ , 2002
CONCURRED m by the Mayor of the C1ty of Kent tlus ( f1 day of
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ATTEST
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APPROVED AS TO FORM
TOM BRUBAKER, CITY ATTORNEY
4 AT&T/Comcast Merger
I I 1 81 I hereby cerhzy that tlus IS a true and correct copy of ResolutiOn No
,_:f.R:::_::_olV:::_ passed by the City Council of the City of Kent, Washmgton, the I ff day
of r ,2002
P IC1VIl1Resolulion\AT &T CoJOCastMerger doc
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CITY CLERK
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AT & T/Comcast Merger
Mr Tom Brubaker, City Attorney
CityofKent
220 Fourth Avenue South
Kent, WA 98032-5895
June 18, 2002
RE FCC Form 394 Filed March 4, 2002-City of Kent
AT&T CorporatiOn Merger TransactiOn
Dear Mr Brubaker
We understand that the City of Kent ("FranchlSlng Authonty") has several concerns
relatmg to certam compliance matters under the franchise held by TCI CablevlSlon of
Washmgton, Inc. alk/a AT&T Broadband (the "Franclnsee") The Franchising Authonty has
notified the Franchisee of possible or alleged franclnse vwlatwns concernmg the followmg
Issues winch are m no particular order (collectively "Identified Issues")
(1) Franchisee's arb1tratwn polic1es and procedures relatmg to d1sputes between the
subscnber and Franchisee,
(2) Franch1see's notificatiOn of non-collection and payment of franclnse fees based
on revenues denved from 1ts cable modem Internet serv1ce as of Apnl 1, 2002,
(3) Franchisee's compliance w1th 1ts franchise obligations, mcludmg but not !muted
to
(a) Ownership of certam portwns of fiber of the Instttut10nal Network
provided by the Franchisee for C1ty use (The C1ty patd the mcremental
cost of constructiOn for fiber to some Inshtut10nal Network s1tes F1ber to
the rest of the s1tes was constructed at no cost to the C1ty as a condtt10n of
the C1ty's grantmg Franclusee's request for an extens10n of certam
franclnse obligatiOns);
(b) Mandatory relocat10n of fact11ttes underground as d1rected by the City
pursuant to Ordmance 3107 Sec 7 12 190,
(c) Customer Serv1ce reqmrements of Ordmance 3107 Sec 7 12 220 and
telephone response reports and reqmrements of Ordmance 3107 Sec
7 12 230, and
EXHIBIT "A"
Tom Brubaker, City Attorney
City of Kent
June 18, 2002
Page 2
( 4) Payment of C1ty Ul!hty tax on cable modem service.
In order to successfully complete the consent process currently taking place by the
Franch1smg Authonty on the merger of AT&T Broadband and Comcast CorporatiOn ("Merger")
by July 4, 2002, the Franchise Authonty and the companies agree to discuss the Identified Issues
towards reachmg mutually satisfactory resolutiOns, separate and mdependent from the consent
process. The parties agree to meet w1thm 120 days from June 18, 2002, and make good faith
efforts to resolve the Identified Issues w1thm six (6) months
It IS understood that the Franch1smg Authonty's consent to the change of control of the
franchise shall not extmgmsh the Franch!Slng Authonty's nght and ability to pursue agamst
Franclnsee any remedy available under the franchise with respect to any Identified Issues not
mutually resolved This letter may be referenced m any actiOn taken by the FranchlSlng
Authonty concemmg the proposed change of control or franchise compliance
It IS also understood and agreed that the Franclnsmg Authonty and Franchisee shall not
be deemed or construed to have waived any clmms, actwns, or defenses with respect to
Identified Issues or other possible or alleged franchise vwlatwns duly noticed to Franchisee that
remam umesolved
By s1gomg below the parties acknowledge and agree to the matters descnbed
heremabove
CITY OF KENT
By· Its ----------
P ICntli\FILES\OpenFJies\0656\Kem call.'ient letter agrecmenl doc
TCI CABLEVISION OF WASHINGTON, INC
By
Its
LeAnn Talbot
Semor VICe President