March 10, 2008
More Than One Cable Franchise Possible But Unlikely
Insurance Issues Loom
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
and Tony Seaton
Huntingtonnews.net City Editor
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Although the administration hopes to have a Comcast cable representative in attendance at the Monday night city council meeting, don’t get your hopes up that another cable competitor will step up to the plate.
“One thing people get confused about,” Huntington Mayor David Felinton told HNN last week, “we could have franchise agreements with ten cable companies. Our agreement does not give (Comcast) monopoly power.”
He added, “I'm not a fan of Comcast, and nobody is,” Felinton said. “They're not a responsible corporate citizen. “ But he pointed out that no other company is likely to come in and “overbuild” the existing lines.
“They [Comcast] own the lines; we could not give the lines to someone else,” the mayor explained. Century Communications (of which former WWHY general manager Richard Hustead was one of the principles) made the existing agreement with the city. When Century sold to Adelphia and in turn Adelphia went bankrupt, Comcast acquired all the assets. The city receives about $400,000 annually under the current agreement which goes into the general fund.
The contract expiration, whether in April 2008 or later would not give Comcast, “any additional leverage.” Under the agreement the cable company, like other utilities, is allowed to do certain types of work without having to come in and get a permit each time. Should the contract expire without a new agreement in place, Felinton said, the cable operator would have to come and get permits for each instance of work they want to do that the contract covers. “That’s the bulk of what the agreement stipulates."
The March 10 council agenda also includes second reading of an ordinance allowing the mayor to contract for architectural and engineering services for the downtown upgrade, Reappointment of John J. Klim, Jr. to the Sanitary Board, and confirmation of Nate Randolph as an appointee to the Huntington Urban Renewal Authority.
Council will likely hold an executive session this week to discuss the health insurance issue with representatives of Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield. Their bids range from $6.6 to $8 million per year, which is over the $5.6 million budgetary cap stipulated in a council resolution.
Mayor Felinton said that he allocated $5.6 million for insurance in the proposed budget, and “we do not intend to budget anymore.”
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More Than One Cable Franchise Possible But Unlikely
Insurance Issues Loom
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
and Tony Seaton
Huntingtonnews.net City Editor
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Although the administration hopes to have a Comcast cable representative in attendance at the Monday night city council meeting, don’t get your hopes up that another cable competitor will step up to the plate.
“One thing people get confused about,” Huntington Mayor David Felinton told HNN last week, “we could have franchise agreements with ten cable companies. Our agreement does not give (Comcast) monopoly power.”
He added, “I'm not a fan of Comcast, and nobody is,” Felinton said. “They're not a responsible corporate citizen. “ But he pointed out that no other company is likely to come in and “overbuild” the existing lines.
“They [Comcast] own the lines; we could not give the lines to someone else,” the mayor explained. Century Communications (of which former WWHY general manager Richard Hustead was one of the principles) made the existing agreement with the city. When Century sold to Adelphia and in turn Adelphia went bankrupt, Comcast acquired all the assets. The city receives about $400,000 annually under the current agreement which goes into the general fund.
The contract expiration, whether in April 2008 or later would not give Comcast, “any additional leverage.” Under the agreement the cable company, like other utilities, is allowed to do certain types of work without having to come in and get a permit each time. Should the contract expire without a new agreement in place, Felinton said, the cable operator would have to come and get permits for each instance of work they want to do that the contract covers. “That’s the bulk of what the agreement stipulates."
The March 10 council agenda also includes second reading of an ordinance allowing the mayor to contract for architectural and engineering services for the downtown upgrade, Reappointment of John J. Klim, Jr. to the Sanitary Board, and confirmation of Nate Randolph as an appointee to the Huntington Urban Renewal Authority.
Council will likely hold an executive session this week to discuss the health insurance issue with representatives of Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield. Their bids range from $6.6 to $8 million per year, which is over the $5.6 million budgetary cap stipulated in a council resolution.
Mayor Felinton said that he allocated $5.6 million for insurance in the proposed budget, and “we do not intend to budget anymore.”
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