HomeMy WebLinkAbout1973-0313 ADJOURNEDMINUTES FOR THE ADJOURNED MEETING
ASHLAND CITY COUNCIL
March 13, 1973
ROLL CALL
PUBLIC HEARING
Cable T.V.
The adjourned meeting was called to order by Mayor Fries on
the above date at 7:30 p.m. All members present.
Mayor Fries called on Councilman Roble for opening statement.
Roble said over the past six to eight months he has heard numer-
ous complaints regarding the service given by Southern Oregon
Cable T.V., in the Ashland area and therefore asked for a public
hearing to discuss the issue.
Mayor Fries then asked for comments from the audience. First
to speak was Robert Reinholdt of 270 Sky Crest Drive, who read
a statement of his complaint. He felt the people of Ashland were
"victimized" by Ordinance 1S17 (the Cable TV franchise), and
that now is the time to be analyzing the Cable TV service in view
of the expiration of the franchise in July of 1977. His specific
complaint was regarding his request for cable service at his res-
idence. He had written to Everett Faber, president of S.O. Cable
TV, but received no written answer. However, three weeks after
the letter, Faber telephoned Reinholdt and arranged to meet with
him and A1 Meyer of 440 Granite Street., who was also seeking
Cable TV service. At that meeting in October, 1972, Fabor pro-
mised he would have someone check their residence for cable ser-
vice, but neither Reinholdt nor Meyer have had any response from
Cable TV since that time. Reinholdt pointed out that the Cable
TV grossed about $100,000 in Ashland in 1972, and that they may
He charged that Ashland Cable is discriminatory in their service.
Mr. John Simmons of ?66 Palmer then reported that he bought a new
home at the corner of Palmer and Windsor which was wired for
cable TV during the course of construction. He said the Cable TV
lineman came out to make the connection and found there was no
cable on the street within a block of Simmons' house. He said
he was told that he could be connected by paying one dollar per
foot for the cable from the nearest pole now serviced.
Mr. Leonard Hannon of 268 Sixth Street, who is connected to the
cable, complained of poor reception on numerous ocassions, and
at the suggestion of Cable TV had a technician check his set, but
found the set was alright. He said he also has an antenna, and
by switching from cable to antenna, he can tell if it is a cable
problem or station problem.
Craig Lewis, College dorms, complained of picture disappearing
and another program replacing it.
Mrs. Theresa Dyer of 2234 Siskiyou Blvd., complained of Door
reception and also stated that at the suggestion of Cable TV she
had her set checked by a technician who told her that her problem
was with the cable. She also complained of programs being term-
inated before completed and that while advertising was on
the picture continued so that those segments of the program are
lost, especially the wrestling from Channel ? on Saturday. She
mid she had written to S.O. Cable TV and received no answer.
John Connors, 772 Indiana, reported that he has been on cable
for one and a half months, and felt cable TV was stalling in mak-
ing repairs to the lines, and asked if Council can discount the
cable rate proportionate to the discount in service.
Linda ttanson,521 Henley Way, said she submitted a petition to
Cable TV from at least 30 people in Stratford-on-Avon Subdivision
but still no service in the area.
Adjourned Meeting Ashland City douncil Page 2
Everett Faber then introduced Dell Cantrail, managing engineer
of S.O. Cable in Central Point. They both stressed that their
desire is to serve Ashland and serve it well. Cantrall explained
that the longer their cable is and the more connects mode to it,
the weaker the signal becomes thus requiring amplifiers,on line.
He said poles must be analyzed to see if there is sufficient space
for amplifier. He pointed out the high cost of long runs of
cable along with the necessary amplifiers, saying it is not econ-
omically feasible to make.some of the connections requested.
Councilman Prickerr asked if the greater cost of some lines to
individual residences would not be offset by the vast amount
of connections in multiple dwelling units.
Canttall said they do not reject any area, and since 1969 they
have extended service to 80% of Ashland, and added six miles of
cable in 1972.
Mrs. Jeffrey Lewis, 415 Granite Street, said they have called
many times to request service, and were told in October that they
were the seventh area on the list and may have service in a
couple of months.
Cantrail said they plan most of their construction for after the
rainy season because water in the cable is their greatest problem
Councilman Conklin commented that Canttall obviously did not know
the answer to Prickett's question relative to the cost to connect
a single dwelling as opposed to the total cost-profit picture in
the city, and asked Cantrall why they did not answer questions
and requests from the people of Ashland. Canttall said many
questions require an answer that is too technical, or referto
programming and advertising that is out of their control, and
explained that their program swit~h~n~ ig ~t ~n ~ t~m~ c]nc~
based on station programs a week in advance, and are not able to
change the programming manually at the time of broadcast, but tha
they are now in the process of acquiring a switching system to
permit flexibility in switching. He explained that the FCC con-
trols them, and that the Rogue Valley now has more stations on
Cable than most areas have available.
Conklin asked if there is a tax added to their customers' bills
in Ashland which is not billed in Medford. Contrall said he
thought the charges were identical, but did not work on the rate
structure. Councilman Roble criticized Mr. Faber for not bring-
ing their sales manager with them. Cantrall asked to have rate
discussions deferred until the sales manager could meet with
Council, but Roble objected to deferral of any part of the dis-
cussion. Roble went on to say that he pays $14.06 per month for
cable service to two sets, or $7.03 per month per set, and object
to the tax being passed on to the customer.
Roble then summed up the nature of complaints regarding poor ser-
vice and lack of service to many areas, and stressed that the
corporation had not "pursued with due diligence" as the franchise
provides, but had only skimmed off the cream. He also read part
of the permit used by Cable TV to gain access through private
property, and suggested that the permit should also be an agree-
ment by Cable TV to leave the property in as good a condition as
it was before running its lines.
Canttall said they want to be notified by builders and developers
when a ditch is open so that their lines can be installed. He sa
in subdivisions like Stratford-on-Avon, where the streets are
already paved and electricity and telephone lines are underground
there is a real problem in putting cable underground without doin
damage to streets and existing wires, and that they prefer the
backyard approach in such areas, which necessitatcsa permi~ from
the property owners. lle indicated the}' are giving consideration
to re-wording their permit. tie also pointed out that the co~t of
undergroundh~g is five times the cost of pole wiring.
Adjourned Meeting Ashland City CoLncil .p~ge 3
Bob Strowbridge, 565 Henley Way, said he. has had cable TV in two
other communities before coming to Ashland, and the most they
had paid previously was $4.75 per month. Mrs. Lee Strowbridge
pointed out that the $4.7S fee was for a house with four sets in
it.
Mayor Fries said the present rate in AShland is $5.80 her month
for first set, an additional $1.00 for second set; plus the tax.
Cantrall said many cable co'mpanies can operate at lower cost
because they need fewer relayi to bring the signal to their plant.
Mayor Fries then closed the public hearing and set a study session
for March 27th at 7:30 p.m. , at which time he asked that S.O.
Cable present their books to show their financial status. Conklin
asked that the tax on cable TV service be discussed at that meetin:
and Prickerr asked that S. O. Cable submit its plans for future
growth.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
~ose~h M. Butler
~Recorder
Council Chai~nman