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HomeMy Public PortalAbout12-11-1980 BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS & SAFETY OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND, INDIANA, DECEMBER 11, 1980 1 The Board of Public Works and Safety of the City of Richmond, Indiana, met 2 in regular session December 4, 1980 at the hour of 9:00 a.m. in the Municipal 3 Building in said City. Mr. Meredith presided with Mr. Anderson and Mr. Webb 4 present. The following business was had, to-wit: 5 6 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF DECEMBER 4, 1980 7 :111/ 8 Mr. Webb moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting as prepared, 9 seconded by Mr. Anderson and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried. 10 11 PRESENTATION OF MUNICIPAL CODE TO CITY CLERK 12 13 Mr. Anderson stated we have the new Municipal Code and to make it official 14 under the law one must be presented to the Clerk to be placed in her. office. 15 The law requires that two (2) weeks after it is presented;to the Clerk it 16 becomes the law. The effective date will be December 25, 1980. Mr. Anderson 17 also presented a copy tb the Mayor, Mr. Meredith and Mr. Webb. Department 18 Heads will receive their copies .at.;the;,Staf,f Meeting and Council will receive 19 theirs December 15, . This is a complete recodification. 20 21 RIVER COURT DEDICATION 22 23 Mr. Anderson presented the dedication document to the Board. He noted Mr. Webb 24 has worked out the legal description. Mr. Webb noted records indicate that the 25 original intent was to dedicate forty (40) feet. Years ago the Board of Works 26 minutes show the dedication had been accepted but from that point on there is 27 no record that it was recorded or finalized. By being dedicated it is the same 28 under priorities as any other street as far as the funds available. 29 30 Mr. Anderson moved to dedicate the street and that we accept the dedication, 31 seconded by Mr. Webb and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried. 32 33 DRIVEWAY PETITION 34 35 Mr. Webb presented a driveway petition for 30-40 South 12th from George Reid 36 of Transmissions Unlimited. This has,:been reviewed by Traffic, Planning and 37 Engineering Departments and all recommend approval. 38 39 Mr. Webb moved for approval of the subject driveway, seconded by Mr. Anderson 40 and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried. 41 42 REQUEST FOR SALVATION ARMY BELL RINGERS 43 44 Fire Chief Paul Mullin requested approval for the fire trucks and firemen to. 45 assist the Salvation Army with their.,Christmas:,collections at 8th and the 46 Promenade on December 16, 17 and 18, 1980 from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. 47 48 Mr. Anderson moved to accept the recommendation of the Chief, seconded by Mr. 49 Webb and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried. 50 51 AGREEMENT WITH STATE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT FOR LIGHTING AT INTERSTATE INTERSECTIONS 52 53 Mr. Meredith stated that the City of Richmond has come to an agreement with the 54 State Highway Department and has taken over the responsibility of interstate 55 interchange lightings. 56 III57 CABLE TV FRANCHISE HEARING 58 59 Mr. Meredith noted we are meeting for the purpose of the request of Clearview 60 Cable TV to grant a franchise agreement with the City of Richmond. We are doing 61 this under Indiana Code 18-5-4 which permits granting of franchises by 62 municipalities. 63 64 Mr. Anderson examined proof of publication and moved it be accepted, seconded 65 by Mr. Webb and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried. Board of Works Minutes Cont'd. December 11, 1980 Page 2 1 Mr. Meredith noted the original franchise agreement was dated December 28, 1966 2 and was confirmed and approved by the Common Council on February 20, 1967, which 3 became the effective date of the franchise running for fifteen (15) years. The 4 fifteen (15) years has not yet expired so we are still operating under the old 5 franchise agreement. There are some changes in the new contract and he asked 6 representatives of Cable TV to explain the changes. 7 8 Attorney Andrew Cecere noted there was a more recent agreement dated July 12, 1979 9 dealing with the charges that were to be made by the company for the services 1111 10 rendered. Since that time changes have occurred with regard to the regulation 11 of the cable TV industry by the FCC and through interpretations of the courts. 12 He noted that the purpose for wanting the agreement signed early is that sur- 13 rounding communities have requested similar service and, since Richmond is the 14 base, it is necessary for an assurance that this community will be served by 15 this company. 16 17 One of the changes is relative to the pay that is to be made to the City of Rich- 18 mond. Under the new franchise the Company agrees to pay annually to the City 3% 19 of the gross revenues derived from its subscribers. This includes the regular 20 service afforded to the subscriber and the pay cable TV which is not included 21 in the present contract. It is estimated these funds should exceed the present 22 amount which will provide a greater amount of revenue. The FCC has ruled the 23 maximum franchise fee is this 3%. Another change is the question of proposed 24 changes of the rates that can be charged to subscribers under the new contract. 25 Rather than coming back each time to the regulatory body, Cable TV will file 26 with the City Clerk a schedule of its proposed rates for any changes that might 27 occur. Nothing will happen for sixty (60) days and the Board will then determine 28 if it should be reviewed. If the Board finds the changes are excessive and un- 29 fair and will give the Company a high rate of return, then the Board within 30 thirty (30) days will call a public meeting. Any increase in the monthly service 31 rates which do not total more than fifty (50%) percent of the annual percentage 32 increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined and published by the Bureau 33 of Labor Statistics or other appropriate federal agency, for the period since 34 such monthly service rates were last determined and approved by this City in 35 July, 1979, shall be deemed to be just and reasonable and in compliance with this 36 ordinance and not subject to review as hereinabove provided. Any installation 37 charge which represents a total increase of no more than the total annual per- 38 centage increase in the Consumer Price Index shall be deemed to be in com- 39 pliance with this ordinance. 40 41 Mr. Kevin Rice of Clearview Cable stated their expansion will increase their 42 efficiency. He checked with the Department of Labor today on the CPI and it 43 was 218.9 in July of 1979 and 253.9 in October of 1980, which reflects a 15.9% 44 increase. They have asked for a maximum of one-half the increase in the CPI. 45 Mr. James Lahey, Managing Partner of Clearview noted there is no money going from 46 Richmond to subsidize the other communities. 47 48 Mr. Terry Seabright, Director of Learning Resources of I.U. East, requested I. U. 49 be included in the contract to have access to cable and perhaps access to a 50 channel. ,f0 rl JO ter: 51 52 Mr. Kenneth Goodwell, 206 Henley Road South, an original applicant for Cable TV 53 franchise, noted it was the original intent to make the service available to 54 any type education institution at no charge. Mr. Goodwell questioned if the 55 franchisee had lived up to the terms of the original agreement in that it provided 56 for a local channel for public service. Mr. Goodwell questioned why it is neces- 57 sary to renew this franchise so early as the technology in this industry is changing 58 very rapidly and why the franchisee needs to show a need for a franchise, as there 59 is now no new business risk. If the franchisee is prudent their investment has 60 been depreciated and the original system costs have been recovered. The City 61 should maintain some control to assure the franchisee is going to give us new 62 technology and maintainence. An early renewal of the franchise could leave the 63 citizens short changed due to so many changes taking place. Deregulation 64 would put more of the burden on local government. Mr. Goodwell questioned the 9'7 Board of Works Minutes Cont'd. December 11, 1980 Page 3 1 base on which the franchisee will pay the City, and if the fees from HBO and 2 other auxiliary services will be included. He feels it is an automatic in- 3 crease without review and should not be based on the CPI. 4 5 Mr. Kenneth Weber, speaking as a citizen and user of Cable TV, praised Cable 6 for their service to the community. 7 8 Mr. Jim Johnson, RP&L, pointed out fifteen (15) years is a long period of time. 9 He discussed the working relationship between RP&L and Cable, and noted RP&L 10 will grant pole attachments when feasible. The Company enjoys the benefits 11 of operating both as a public utility and a private business and should be 12 required to operate in as responsible manner as the utilities. He congratulated 13 Kevin Rice for the job he has done. 14 15 Following much discussion and many questions, Mr. Anderson moved that this be 16 taken under advisement, seconded by Mr. Webb and on unanimous voice vote the 17 motion was carried. 18 19 ADJOURNMENT 20 21 There being no further business the meeting was adjourned. 22 23 Donald E. Meredith 24 President 25 26 ATTEST: JoEllen Trimble 27 Clerk of the Board