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Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners Meeting <br />March 7, 1996 <br /> <br />Cable Franchise Negotiations Update <br /> <br />Primary Issues: <br /> <br />Service. <br /> Current ordinance requires that franchisee will provide service to areas <br /> with a minimum density of 45 residential units per cable mile. Actual <br /> practice today is a minimum of 20 units. Time Warner is reluctant to reduce <br /> the minimum density requirement below 20. <br /> <br />2. Local Programming. <br /> Time Warner agrees to continue to provide local programming equal to or greater <br /> than its current level of service on TV 12. <br /> <br />3. Institutional Service. <br /> Time Warner has tentatively agreed to provide one channel for governmental <br /> access and one channel for educational access. Educational access could include a <br /> studio at the new Rowan-Cabarrus Community College building to be constructed <br /> at the South Campus. Also, fiber optic cable connections between the high <br /> schools, RCCC and UNC-Charlotte could be provided to allow for distance <br /> learning. Discussion of governmental access is still in the preliminary stage. <br /> <br />4. Franchise Fee. <br /> <br />The current franchise fee is 3% of gross receipts, which raised $106,000 last year. <br />Many new franchise agreements have increased the fee to 5%, however, it is <br />important to remember this fee is passed directly to the customers. <br /> <br />The next meeting with Time Warner is scheduled for March 27. Negotiations should be <br />completed within 2 to 3 months. <br /> <br /> <br />