CC MINUTES 05081984 - Laserfiche WebLink

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- 3 - Al Kaeding, the City's representative on the North Suburban Cable Communi- cations Commission, reported the Commission had retained Cooper Associates, Inc. , a cable consulting firm to make an evaluation of the Commission's contract with Group W, following which,. a revised agreement with the cable firm had been developed under which only one, rather than the dual system originally agreed to, would be provided by Group W at this time. Mr. Kaeding indicated he personally believed that, with the programming avail- able, the 60 channels proposed by Group W would be sufficient for the present, as long as the Commission has the option of requiring the dual system be activated. He said the consulting firm had found Group W would only realize a 2% or 3% return on their investment under the original agreement, which would probably result in their not providing service at all. Under the revised- agreement, the Commission representative said, the consultants estimated Group W's-return would be between 12% and 13% where the national average is 15%. Under these conditions, Mr. Kaeding indicated he perceives it would be better for the City subscribers not to have to bear the $2.4 million cost of 120 channels until the demand warrants that many, since he perceives there would be little missing the subscribers would want and he assured Councilman Marks the institutional programming would not be affected at all . The biggest change would be the sharing of the channels such as the religious programming being consolidated to a single channel and the City's representative indicated he perceived the new agreement would be workable and would continue to be so in the future. When Councilman Ranallo indicated he had been told by persons who had attempted to replace antennas torn down by the storm that dealers had told them they would not be carrying that type of equipment much longer because • they perceived cable would make antennas unnecessary. Mr. Kaeding disputed the conclusion that reception through cable would necessarily be superior to antennas and he gave the costs for just installing cable, without the programming. He reported the cable lines had been strung over 35W and Highway 88 and said lines were being installed under the railroad tracks the last time he checked. However, the progress had been delayed by the tornado and the cable company is not sure how many lines in the City would have to be restrung. The revised ordinance should be ready for Council consideration at their next meeting, Mr. Kaeding said. Chuck Wiger and Judy Fletcher who represent the City on the Metropolitan Council and Metropolitan Waste Control Commission were present to respond to questions and concerns of the City related to the programs their agencies provide. In his May 8 memorandum, Mr. Childs had addressed the concerns the staff has with the process under which MWCC sets the 'sewer rates for the City and he also gave his perceptions of the various services provided the City by the Metro Council . Mr. Wiger said he had been assigned to the Environmental Resources and Strategic Planning Committees and through them hopes to aid the communities he serves ina better fashion. The Metro Council had been one of the agencies who had offered its services after the tornado and the Council representative reported a metro housing hotline had been set up to provide • a quicker response to development questions than in the past.