Sec. 894.7. Public hearing

The municipality shall conduct a public hearing prior to awarding any cable television franchise. The hearing shall be preceded by reasonable notice to each of the franchise applicants, to the public, and to each person that holds a franchise from, or provides cable service in the municipality, to be franchised, and shall be conducted by the legislative body of the municipality or other duly authorized body in accordance with the following procedures:

(a) There shall be an agenda for the hearing which shall specify the proposal(s) to be considered at the hearing.

(b) Every person who has applied for a cable television franchise shall appear at the hearing either in person or by authorized representative. The application of any applicant not so appearing shall not be further considered, except for good cause shown.

(c) All persons, entitled to notice pursuant to this section, shall be given full opportunity to participate in the hearing and to ask questions of any applicant or participant in the hearing, but nothing contained herein shall limit the power of the presiding officer to establish reasonable time limits and otherwise limit repetitive statements or questions.

(d) The notice of hearing shall:

(1) conform to all relevant State and local laws and ordinances;

(2) describe the agenda to be considered at the public hearing; and

(3) indicate that copies of all franchise applications are available for public inspection during normal business hours at a place to be specified in the notice.

(e) Notwithstanding the number of applications for a cable television franchise which have been received, the hearing required by this section shall be convened within 60 days of the later of the following dates:

(1) the date upon which the application to be considered was filed or, if multiple franchise applications are pending, the last date upon which a pending application was filed;

(2) the closing date specified in a request for proposals for the filing of such applications; or

(3) the earliest date upon which the municipality may convene such a hearing pursuant to local law or charter;

(4) notwithstanding paragraphs (1)-(3) of this subdivision, if the municipality has received a single application for a second or additional franchise and the applicant has stated its willingness to provide cable service on the same terms and conditions as those contained in an existing franchise, the hearing shall be held within 30 days of the receipt of the application and the municipality may grant the franchise upon conclusion of such hearing.