SECTION 6. ACCESS CHANNEL(S) PROVISIONS
1. Public, Educational and Government Access.
a. City or its designee is hereby designated to operate, administer, promote, and manage access (public, education, and government programming) (hereinafter "PEG access") programming on the Cable System.
b. Grantee shall dedicate and make available for use by the City ten (10), six (6) MHz channels in the System. The Grantee agrees that the PEG access channels shall be received by all Subscribers in the system channel(s) for PEG access and community programming use in accordance with the Proposal. All residential Subscribers who receive all or any part of the total services offered on the System shall be eligible to receive such channels at no additional charge. The channel(s) shall be activated upon the effective date of this Franchise and thereafter maintained. City may rename, reprogram, or otherwise change the use of these channels in its sole discretion, provided such use is non-commercial, lawful, and retains the general purpose of the provision of community programming. Nothing herein shall diminish the City's rights to secure additional channels pursuant to Minn. Stat. ß 238.084, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference. City shall provide ninety (90) days prior written notice to Grantee of City's intent to activate access channels.
c. The PEG access channels are initially numbered and used as follows:
Channel 10 Public Access
Channel 15 Community Programming
Channel 16 Government Access
Channel 61 Educational Access
Channel 52 (loaned to Grantee)
Channel 35 Library Access
Channel 60 Private Educational Access
Channel 57 Religious Access
Channel 58 Higher Educational Access
Channel 62 (loaned to Grantee)
These 6 MHz channels are characterized and numbered in their current use for illustrative purposes only. The PEG access channels may be renumbered and moved by the Grantee upon thirty (30) days notice to Subscribers, the City and the Commission; provided, that in such event Grantee shall pay all reasonable costs or expenses arising out of the renumbering and moving of any of the above-listed channels including, but not limited to, equipment necessary to effect the change at the programmer's production or receiving facility (school frequency routing equipment, etc.) except when such change is necessitated by changes made to the Grantee's channel lineup by programmer (i.e., educational institution or government) at its facility, signage, letterhead, business cards, and reasonable marketing or other constituency notification costs; further provided, that Channels 15 and 16 shall remain in their current channel locations; and provided, that it is anticipated that current Channel 10 will be renumbered and moved, and if so, moved only to channel 19, which move must be accomplished within sixty (60) days of completion of the System upgrade as required herein. Said Channels 15, 16 and 19 may not thereafter be renumbered or moved without the City's written consent. This paragraph shall not apply to Regional Channel 6.
d. The Grantee may continue to use two PEG access channels, currently identified for illustrative purposes only as Channels 52 and 62 for cablecast of programming for any lawful purpose until the City gives written notice requesting return of control and use of either or both channels. Such notice shall be given at least twelve (12) months prior to the date for actual and effective return of control and use of either or both of Channels 52 and 62. Notice for the return of one channel shall not construed as a waiver of the right to require the return of the second channel at a later date. Grantee agrees its obligation to return use and control of Channels 52 and 62 is otherwise unconditional, and not dependent on any showing of need or cause. The Grantee further agrees that when one or both of these channels are returned for use by the City, such channels shall be received by all Subscribers.
e. Notwithstanding the foregoing, those PEG access channels cablecast on the universal service tier pursuant to the MOU shall remain on the universal service tier.
2. Charges for Use. Channel time and playback of prerecorded programming on the PEG access and community program channel(s) must be provided without charge to City and the public.
3. Access Rules. City, or its designee, shall implement rules for use of any access channel(s).
4. Access Support.
a. Grantee shall continue to be obligated to provide access support pursuant to the MOU.
b. Grantee shall provide an equipment grant to the Commission at the commencement of each year of the first four years of the renewed franchise in following amounts:
Year 1--$833.333.00
Year 2--$833,333.00
Year 3--$833,333.00
Year 4--$250,000.00
The Grantee may adjust the PEG Fee to recover the above payments (plus 11.25%) over a period of not less than eight (8) years.
c. Grantee shall provide the Commission two (2) 30-second ad avails each day, free of charge, during the term of the Franchise, on a run of schedule basis. The ad avails shall be produced by the City to announce, identify, or promote community television.
Grantee shall annually produce at its expense, in cooperation with the Commission, a black and white bill stuffer promoting community television. The bill stuffer shall be produced and mailed with the Subscriber billing statements at least once each calendar year during the Franchise term. Should billing formats not provide for stuffers, Grantee and Commission will use best efforts to institute a mutually acceptable co-promotion of community television.
Grantee shall ensure that Commission has access free of charge to all satellite services available to the Grantee, subject to the following conditions:
i. the satellite services are received through existing equipment currently in place, and shall not disrupt the Grantee's use of the equipment;
ii. the service to be cablecast by the Commission is not being cablecast by the Grantee;
iii. the services are not commercial in nature; and
iv. the Commission has acquired any required the legal permissions to cablecast such programming.
5. Studio Locations. Grantee will lease studio space to the Commission in accordance with those leases attached hereto as Exhibit D. The Grantee agrees that the Commission may, for no charge, have use of any other studio at any of the Grantee's facilities in the System, so long as the Grantee operates such facilities in the System. Use of the studio facility by the Commission will be permitted, if not otherwise in use by the Grantee, subject to reasonable rules established by the Grantee. Grantee shall have no obligation to incur additional costs, in terms of staff or equipment, because of the Commission's use of a studio facility.
6. Regional Channel 6. Grantee shall designate standard VHF Channel 6 for uniform regional channel usage to the extent required by state law.
7. State and Federal Law Compliance. Satisfaction of the requirements of this Section 6 satisfies any and all of Grantee's state and federal law requirements of Grantee with respect to PEG access.
8. Government Access Capital Grant. Grantee will provide to Commission within 180 days after the effective date of the Franchise a capital grant of Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00) for use towards the purchase of equipment for the municipal data network, government access programming or such other capital needs as may be determined by Commission. This grant shall be over and above the grants set forth in Section 6.4 of the Franchise and shall not be recovered from the PEG fee referenced in such Section 6.4 or otherwise separately itemized on Subscriber's bills.