To: Board of Supervisors
From: County Administrative Office
Agenda Section: Consent
SUBJECT:
title
Access Humboldt Service Agreement
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Approve and authorize the County Administrative Officer to sign the attached Service Agreement with Access Humboldt for cable and video services between the cities of Arcata, Eureka, Blue Lake, Fortuna, Ferndale, Rio Dell and the County of Humboldt (Attachment 1); and
2. Authorize the County Administrative Officer, or designee thereof, to execute any and all amendments to the service agreement, following approval by County Counsel and Risk Management.
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
General Fund (1100)
DISCUSSION:
Access Humboldt was formed in 2006 through a community-based effort that included diverse stakeholders and best practice design, to develop and provide public, educational and governmental (PEG) access services and to build sustainable community media and broadband access for Humboldt County and the region. Access Humboldt was designated to manage the Community Media Center and those PEG access channels and resources that were the outcome of franchise renewal process between the county, the cities of Arcata, Blue Lake, Eureka, Ferndale, Fortuna and Rio Dell and Cox Cable, now Suddenlink. The most recent agreement (Attachment 2), entered into by the county and six cities, was approved by your Board on April 15, 2014, with a term ending May 9, 2019.
Access Humboldt is designated to operate the Community Media Center, to provide PEG access programming and to provide nondiscriminatory access to the equipment, facilities, channels, and other services, as outlined in the attached service agreement, to all residents of the cities and county. Upon approval, the agreement will be effective as of May 9, 2019 through May 8, 2024. This service agreement comes to your Board after the effective date due to delays caused by the contract negotiation process.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The cities and county shall provide Access Humboldt a flat rate of $36,000 annually during the term of this agreement. Each of the cities and county shall be responsible to pay a share of the total annual cost. The county’s cost share is $18,840 annually and is included in the adopted budget for fiscal year 2021-22 in the County Administrative Office - Management and Budget Team budget unit (1100-103).
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK:
This action supports your Board’s Strategic Framework by providing community-appropriate levels of service and facilitating public/private partnerships to solve problems
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Access Humboldt
Cities of Arcata, Blue Lake, Eureka, Ferndale, Fortuna and Rio Dell
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Board could choose not to enter into a new contract with Access Humboldt and seek to use resources provided to the county under a video service franchise to fund a different Access Management Operator. This alternative is not recommended, as Access Humboldt has successfully performed these services since 2006 and the agreement represents a significant ongoing partnership with local cities.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Agreement between the Cities of Arcata, Eureka, Blue Lake, Fortuna, Ferndale, Rio Dell and the County of Humboldt and Access Humboldt
2. Access Humboldt Franchise Agreement Contract with Jurisdictions 2014-2019
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: C-4
Meeting of: 4/15/2014
File No.: 16-0233