HomeMy WebLinkAbout05(C) - Ordinance Amendment to Extend the Cable Television Franchise with Mediacom Report
ITEM: 5C
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: March 10, 2026
PREPARED BY: Jason Wedel, City Manager
PRESENTED BY: Jason Wedel
AGENDA ITEM: Ordinance Amendment to Extend the Cable Television Franchise
with Mediacom
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Approve the adoption of an ordinance amendment to extend the cable television franchise with
Mediacom.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Prior Lake currently has an ordinance, Chapter 4, Article VII, which outlines the
requirement for cable television providers to enter into a franchise agreement with the City. The
City currently has two cable franchise agreements; one with Mediacom and the other is with
Nuvera. A third agreement is anticipated later this year for City Council consideration to approve
a franchise agreement Comcast which would be a brand new agreement.
The current agreement with Mediacom was last extended on December 10, 2024, for one year
and is set to expire on April 1, 2026.
Current State franchise laws date back to the 1980's and only address cable television service.
Bills have been introduced in recent years at the legislature to amend those laws to include broad
band/internet service providers as they are also significant users of public rights of way for their
infrastructure. It was anticipated that those laws would be updated by now, but unfortunately the
State has yet to enact any changes. There is not any expectation that change is forthcoming in
the near future so it is necessary to proceed with another extension. The proposed extension is
for 5 years.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The terms of the agreements will remain the same and state that the cable providers pay quarterly
to the City a Franchise Fee in an amount equal to 5% of its quarterly gross revenues. Revenue
from Mediacom's franchise fees totaled $82,704.04 in 2025. The amount received from franchise
fees continues to decrease each year as resident usage of cable services continues to decline.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Motion and second as part of the consent agenda to approve the adoption of an
ordinance amendment to extend the cable television franchise with Mediacom.
2. Motion and second to remove this item from the consent agenda for separate
discussion.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Ordinance Amendment to Extend the Cable Television Franchise with Mediacom
City of Prior Lake | 4646 Dakota Street SE | Prior Lake MN 55372
CITY OF PRIOR LAKE
ORDINANCE NO. _______
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE MEDIACOM MINNESOTA LLC
FRANCHISE TO EXTEND THE TERM THROUGH APRIL 1, 2031
The City Council of the City of Prior Lake ordains as follows:
Section 1: Background.
(a) Mediacom Minnesota LLC (“Grantee”) holds a cable communications franchise,
Ordinance No. 115-09, adopted on March 23, 2015, with an Effective Date of April 3,
2015 (“Franchise”), for the construction and operation of a cable communications system
in the city of Prior Lake, Minnesota (“Grantor”).
(b) The term of the Franchise was extended by Ordinance No. 124-07 to April 1, 2026.
(c) The Franchise provides for a five (5) year extension to April 1, 2031.
Section 2: Extension of Franchise.
(a) The term of the Franchise is hereby amended to expire on April 1, 2031.
(b) The City reserves and does not waive the right to enforce the Franchise with respect
to any violations or breaches thereof, whether arising before or after the effective date of
this Ordinance.
(c) Except as amended herein, all other terms and conditions of the Franchise shall
remain in full force and effect and neither party waives any rights it may have pursuant to
applicable law.
Section 3: Effective Date. This Ordinance shall be effective upon its passage and publication in
accordance with applicable law and written acceptance by Grantee.
Adopted this ____day of December 2025.
BY THE CITY COUNCIL
_____________________________
Kirt Briggs, Mayor
ATTEST:
_________________________________
Jason Wedel, City Manager
GRANTEE ACCEPTANCE:
The Ordinance is accepted, and Grantee agrees to be bound by its terms and conditions.
MEDIACOM MINNESOTA LLC
By: ____________________________
Its: _____________________________
Dated: __________________________