Committee forwards 10-year franchise agreement with Frontier Communications to full council

The Mauldin Finance & Policy Committee voted unanimously Sept. 3 to forward a draft 10-year franchise agreement with Frontier Communications to the full City Council for final approval.

City staff told the committee that Frontier, an incumbent provider in the city, had been operating without a formal franchise agreement. Mr. Duncan said staff recently discovered the omission and developed a draft agreement to formalize the provider’s right to operate in city rights-of-way. The packet included the draft agreement and, later, legal comments with specific language adjustments.

Duncan said Frontier asked to extend certain notice periods from 30 days to 60 days; city legal staff preferred retaining the 30-day language to remain consistent with other franchise agreements. "We are still working with Frontier to finalize the verbiage," Duncan said, and presented a version staff considered close enough to send to full council.

The draft also sets a recurring franchise fee going forward: "as a condition of the franchise agreement Frontier Communications will pay $1,000 per year for the privilege of operating in the city," according to staff remarks to the committee. Staff said they were not seeking retroactive payments for the period Frontier operated without an agreement.

Councilmember Matney said while he is wary of late additions to meeting packets, the agreement appeared to be a standard form and he supported forwarding it with a recommendation for approval.

The committee vote to forward Ordinance 1045 was unanimous. The council will consider the ordinance and the finalized draft language at a future full-council meeting.

The committee did not take final action on the ordinance; forwarding it to full council was a recommendation only.