PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
FRANCHISE RENEWAL
CALIFORNIA: Cities of Santa Rosa, Monterey, Fresno, Clovis, Gilroy, Hollister, San Juan Bautista, Oceanside, Lompoc, Santa Maria, Napa, American Canyon, Healdsburg, Auburn, Petaluma, Palo Alto, Palm Springs, Carpinteria, Pacific Grove, Seaside, Gonzales, Greenfield, King City, Soledad, Nevada City, Grass Valley, Sonora, Arcata, Blue Lake, Eureka, Ferndale, Fortuna, Rio Dell, Pacifica and Colma; and the Counties of Monterey, Nevada, Napa, Humboldt, and Tuolumne
ILLINOIS: City of Evanston
KANSAS: City of Salina
MASSACHUSETTS: City of Cambridge
MISSOURI: City of Columbia
OHIO: City of Brunswick
WASHINGTON: Cities of Pasco, Richland, and Port Angeles
The Buske Group was retained by these jurisdictions to provide consulting assistance during the franchise renewal process. Our duties included the following:
- Devise reasonable and cost-effective renewal procedures that are consistent with federal, state, and local law as well as strategies for the implementation of the franchise renewal plan;
- Conduct a technical audit of the cable system;
- Evaluate the past performance of the cable operator (including a review of the operator's compliance with the existing franchise, a financial review of the system to ascertain whether the cable operator has paid franchise fees properly and to ascertain the general financial condition of the cable system, a review of customer satisfaction surveys, and a review of current PEG access channels, equipment, facilities, and services);
- Conduct extensive ascertainments of community needs and interests;
- Develop goals for the negotiating process;
- Participate in franchise negotiations; and
- Draft the final franchise agreement and the enabling ordinance.
Our work also included cable company transfer of ownership assistance for Pasco, Richland, Washington; Arcata, Eureka, Blue Lake, Ferndale, Fortuna, Rio Dell, Humboldt County, Monterey County, Monterey, Gilroy, Hollister, San Juan Bautista, Pacific Grove, Lompoc, Santa Maria, California; and Evanston, Illinois. These transfers occurred during the franchise renewal process.
The Buske Group also provided assistance in the establishment of new nonprofit PEG access management organizations, including the search for and hiring of the initial Executive Director, for many of these communities.