Fremont City Council Meeting: 07/08/25 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: City Manager's Office
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Agreements and Contracts
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 5488) DOC ID: 5488
Updated: 7/3/2025 8:26 AM by Dina Lewis Page 1
CHABOT- LAS POSITAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT AGREEMENT REGARDING PEG ACCESS PRODUCTION AND PROGRAMMING - Authorize the City Manager, or Designee, to execute, an Agreement with Chabot- Las Positas Community College for PEG Access Production and Programming through August 31, 2029 in an Amount of $150,000 per year; Appropriate $1,050,000 in the Outside Sources Capital Projects Fund (Fund 502)
Contact Persons:
Name: Geneva Bosques
Title: Director of Communications and
Legislative Affairs
Div/Dept: City Manager's Office
Phone: 510-284-4094
E-Mail: [email protected]
Executive Summary: Since 2014, the City of Fremont (City) has contracted with Chabot College to provide production and playback services, including use of the studio, for the City’s public access Channel 29. In exchange, the City has paid $150,000 per year to fund capital replacements for outdated and aging systems.
The City’s payments have been made from a 1% PEG (public, educational, and governmental access) franchise fee established by the City Council. These 1% PEG fees are restricted by federal law and can only be used for capital expenditures such as equipment and facilities.
The current agreement with Chabot College expires June 30, 2023, and staff is requesting that the City Council authorize the City Manager, or designee, to enter into a new agreement for a four-year initial term, September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2029, with three one-year renewal options, for an annual amount of $150,000 per year, not-to-exceed a total amount of $1,050,000.
BACKGROUND: The Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006 (DIVCA) went into effect on January 1, 2007, establishing the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) as the sole franchising authority for video service (cable television) providers. In April 2007, AT&T notified the City that it received a state video franchise and began providing video services within the City. The City’s franchise agreement with Comcast expired on March 20, 2009, at which time Comcast began providing video services under a state-issued franchise.
In July 2009, the City Council adopted an ordinance establishing a 1% PEG fee, which is in addition to the 5% franchise fee that video service providers pay to use the public rights-of-way. In February 2017, the City Council adopted a new ordinance to preserve the City’s right to continue to collect the 1% PEG fee. Both the franchise and PEG fees are passed through to subscribers and then remitted to the City. The 1% PEG fee is deposited into the Outside Sources Capital Projects Fund (Fund 502) since the fee can currently only Council Staff Report (ID # 5488) Meeting of July 8, 2025 Updated: 7/3/2025 8:26 AM by Dina Lewis Page 2
be used for capital expenditures, such as equipment and facilities, related to the programming, production, and broadcasting of PEG channels.
Under the City-issued franchise, Comcast provided four video channels: Channel 26 used by the Fremont Unified School District, Channel 27 for governmental programming (City Council and Planning Commission meetings), Channel 28 used by Ohlone College, and Channel 29 for public access programming. Under the City-issued franchise that expired in March 2009, Comcast was also required to provide a studio for public access programming and the services to play the programs on Channel 29. The state-issued franchise does not include these requirements and, therefore, Comcast closed its Fremont studio in October 2009.
In 2014, the City entered into an agreement with Chabot College to provide annual funding in the amount of $150,000 for capital improvements to the studio used to provide programming for Channel 29. This agreement was extended for two additional years, and a new agreement was executed in July 2017, with the option for two additional one-year extensions. Due to a change to Chabot College Board of Trustee’s procedures that required a new agreement to be executed annually, a new agreement was executed in 2018, for a one-year contract, with two one-year renewal options and again in 2021, for a two-year term, with three one-year renewal options.
With this report, staff requests authorization to enter into a new agreement for the services of Chabot College for an initial four-year term, September 1, 2025, through August 31, 2029, and three one-year renewal options, for an annual amount of $150,000 and a total amount not to exceed $1,050,000.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: The use of PEG funds is currently restricted under the federal Telecommunications Act regulations to capital expenditures and PEG funds cannot be used for operating expenses. City staff continues to monitor federal and state legislation related to PEG fee reforms.
Chabot College operated the City’s public access Channel 29 from 2009 to 2014 at no cost to the City. However, Chabot College uses equipment for production and playback purposes with a fair market value of over $1 million. The equipment is capital in nature and needs to be replaced to keep pace with replacement schedules and current technology. To date, the City has provided $1,500,000 in PEG funds to Chabot College for capital improvements in the studio since 2014. Additionally, the PEG funds have helped the City upgrade the audio-visual equipment in the Council Chamber with the latest technology and have also contributed to improvements in the Downtown Event Center's audio-visual equipment.
Chabot College allows Fremont producers to use its studio to produce programs for Channel 29. In addition, City staff will have access to the studio to produce videos of special events and for training City staff members on the equipment and technology. DIVCA requires that video service providers designate the same number of PEG access channels that were provided under the terms of a franchise agreement in effect as of January 1, 2007. Therefore, the City retained the four PEG access Channels 26, 27, 28, an d 29 under the state-issued franchise to Comcast. A PEG channel must be utilized with local programming by the City for at least eight hours per day. If the City elects not to enter into a new agreement with Chabot College, there is no facility to maintain the local programming broadcast on Channel 29, and Comcast may recover the channel to program for other Council Staff Report (ID # 5488) Meeting of July 8, 2025 Updated: 7/3/2025 8:26 AM by Dina Lewis Page 3
purposes. If the channel goes away, it is very unlikely that the City will be able to receive a new channel if it decides to reinstate public access programming in the future.
FISCAL IMPACT: Staff is requesting that the City Council appropriate $1,050,000 of the $2,755,840 of uncommitted PEG franchise fees in the Outside Sources Capital Projects Fund (Fund 502) to pay for the full term of the recommended agreement with the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District for PEG Access production and programming services, including the three one-year renewal options.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: Not Applicable.
ATTACHMENTS: None.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Appropriate $1,050,000 for PEG access production and programming services in the Outside Sources Capital Projects Fund (Fund 502) to PWC8857-502.
2. Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute an agreement with Chabot Las Positas Community College District for PEG access production and programming services for a four-year term, September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2029, in the amount of $150,000 per year, with three one-year renewal options, not-to-exceed a total amount of $1,050,000.