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Prattville council approves two cable franchises, hires consultant for fiber negotiations and authorizes settlement with Charter/Spectrum
Summary
The council granted franchise agreements to Spectrum (Charter) and WOW/Wow Internet, approved a $14,000 advisory contract to review fiber services and authorized a settlement to collect unpaid franchise fees from Spectrum/Charter.
The Prattville City Council voted May 6 to grant franchise agreements to Spectrum Southeast LLC (Charter Communications) and to Technology of Alabama Inc., doing business as WOW Internet, Cable & Phone, authorizing both companies to construct, operate and maintain cable systems in the city and specifying conditions for use of the public right of way.
The council also authorized the mayor to sign a settlement agreement with Spectrum Southeast LLC (Charter Communications) to resolve disputed unpaid franchise-fee payments, and it approved a $14,000 advisory contract with Local Government Services LLC to assist the city in negotiating fiber services and examining compliance and franchise-fee remittances from fiber providers.
Both cable franchise ordinances (for Spectrum/Charter and WOW) were introduced by council members, the council suspended rules to permit same-night votes and then adopted the ordinances. Councilor Chambers introduced the Spectrum franchise by title; Councilor Merrick introduced the WOW franchise. The settlement with Charter/Spectrum was presented to the council as a negotiated resolution after an audit by a consultant that identified underpaid franchise fees.
Resolution 11 directs the city to amend its FY25 budget to fund the Local Government Services LLC engagement ($14,000) and authorizes the mayor to execute the consultant agreement. The resolution cites state procurement code provisions allowing the city to hire consultants with particular expertise without competitive bidding. The settlement resolution authorizes the mayor to sign an agreement with Spectrum/Charter to collect unpaid franchise fees; the resolution does not state the settlement amount in the meeting record.
Council discussion of the franchise items was brief during the meeting. Councilors suspended the rules to take the votes the same night; roll-call votes suspending the rules and placing the ordinances before the council were recorded for the suspension motions earlier in each item, after which the final ordinances were adopted by voice/hand vote.
