Minutes 10/31/1996 - Laserfiche WebLink

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1996 Council considered a request by W. H. Yeaman to comment on the City's cablevision franchise renewal. Mr. Yeaman, in a prepared statement, reviewed the events surrounding the 1987 and 1992 cable franchise renewals and suggested the following for the new franchise agreement: "(1) provide in the upcoming new agreement that no franchise fee is being imposed, (2) by separate ordinance, impose what would be tantamount to a utility tax of 5% on every in-City subscriber's monthly cable service bill, and (3) require the cable operator to charge and collect such "tax" and DEPOSIT SAME DAILY IN A SPECIAL ACCOUNT IN THE CITY'S NAME." Mr. Yeaman noted that in the 1987 and 1992 agreements, Adelphia Cable had essentially paid no franchise fee as a company as a cost of doing business, but instead had been allowed to pass on a franchise fee of 5% to its customers as a separate line item on each cable bill. Assistant City Manager Dewey Cashwell provided an update on the negotiations for a new franchise agreement, as the current agreement will expire in January 1997. Council considered adoption of a Resolution requesting the Virginia General Assembly to designate South Boston Virginia as Virginia's Racing Region. Steve Sheppard, representing the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce and the Martinsville Speedway, spoke in support of the Resolution, which was an initiative of the South Boston and Martinsville Speedways and the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce's Travel and Tourism Bureau. The effort had been expanded to include the Martinsville-Henry County, Halifax, Patrick, and Pittsylvania County Chambers, as well as the Counties of Halifax, Henry, Patrick and Pittsylvania, the Cities of Danville and Martinsville, and the Towns of South Boston and Stuart. In response to a question from Council Member Dallas, Mr. Sheppard stated that Franklin County had not been included