passed ordinance

*Amend grant agreement with Portland Community Media, dba Open Signal, to extend term and increase funding in an amount not to exceed $1,010,000 (amend Contract No. 32001990)

technology data
grant
procurement

Department: Planning and Sustainability (BPS)
Introduced by: Former Commissioner Carmen Rubio
Status: Passed

Impact statement

Purpose & background

The City approved a grant agreement with Portland Community Media (PCM) in June 2019, which is due to expire on June 30, 2022. The agreement provides funds to PCM (dba Open Signal) for the management of certain resources under cable services franchise agreements and for the provision of media and digital literacy services to the community. Under the City’s grant agreement with PCM, the City has delegated responsibility to the Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission (MHCRC) for monitoring and administering PCM’s compliance with the terms and conditions of the Grant Agreement. Due to an extended cable services franchise renewal period, additional time has become necessary to complete a Grant Agreement renewal process with Grantee. This extension would provide additional time to conduct a more inclusive process to determine services and provisions to be included in a renewal agreement. An extension of the Grant Agreement would also ensure that funded services continue to serve current and emerging community needs. The MHCRC is recommending that the Council authorize the Director for the Office for Community Technology to amend Contract No. 32001990 with Portland Community Media (dba Open Signal) in an amount not to exceed $1,010,000, by a term of one year. This grant extension: Extends the agreement by one year to June 30, 2023, from the original three-year agreement. Will not negatively impact the provision of community media services to the public or the City. Will not change any City policies.

Financial impacts

The proposed City budget for FY2022-23 identifies sufficient funds for an extension of the grant agreement. This grant agreement extension will not have any negative impacts on the City budget for either the short or long term. This action does not change or amend the current FY2022-23 budget or current and future staffing levels associated with the approved budget.

Community impacts

This ordinance extends the term of the current grant agreement with no other changes. The Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission, at its publicly-noticed meeting on March 21, 2022, recommended the adoption of the contract amendment. In addition, the PCM leadership and Board of Directors endorsed this extension recommendation. PCM and the MHCRC agree this amendment will allow sufficient time to determine terms for a multi-year renewal agreement after franchise negotiations are concluded. PCM has successfully provided community media and digital literacy services for the City and to the community for over 30 years and is uniquely qualified to continue providing these services. PCM programs currently prioritize people who identify as Black, Indigenous and people of color; English language learners; and people living with dis/abilities and/or low incomes. They partner with nonprofits who actively support these communities. Persons representing the MHCRC and PCM (abn Open Signal) will be available for questions.

▸ Full text (the legislation as adopted)

The City of Portland ordains: Section 1. The Council finds: The City of Portland has entered into cable services franchise agreements with cable operators, which, among other things, require the companies to provide certain resources, system capacity and facilities for public, educational, and governmental (“PEG”) access programming. Since 1981, the City has contracted with Portland Community Media (PCM) to manage PEG access resources, including access channels, provided under the cable services franchise agreements and to provide community media and PEG services on a city-wide basis. PCM has successfully provided community media and PEG access services for the City and is uniquely qualified to continue providing these services. On June 19, 2019, by Ordinance No. 189579, City Council approved Grant Agreement No. 32001990 (“Grant Agreement”) for the purpose of managing PEG access resources and providing community media and digital literacy services to residents and organizations throughout the City. The current Grant Agreement with PCM is due to expire on June 30, 2022. Under the Grant Agreement, the City has delegated responsibility to the Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission (“MHCRC”) for monitoring and administering PCM’s compliance with the terms and conditions of the Grant Agreement. Due to an extended cable services franchise renewal period, additional time has become necessary to complete a Grant Agreement renewal process with Grantee. The MHCRC requests that the Council extend the Grant Agreement term by one year through June 30, 2023. This extension would provide additional time to conduct a more inclusive process to determine services and provisions to be included in a renewal agreement. An extension of the Grant Agreement would also ensure that funded services continue to serve current and emerging community needs. The proposed City budget for FY2022-23 identifies sufficient funds for an extension of the grant agreement. NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs: The Director for the Office for Community Technology is authorized to execute an amendment to Grant Agreement No. 32001990 in an amount not to exceed $1,010,000 and in a form substantially similar to the amendment attached to this Ordinance as Exhibit A. Section 2. The Council declares that an emergency exists because a delay in amending the current Grant Agreement may cause harmful delay regarding the resolution of certain pending fiscal and compliance issues; therefore, this Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by the Council.

Tally

5 yea 0 nay