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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-12-17 Municipal Operations Committee MinutesMHNICIPAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 19, 1996 Councilors in attendance: Don Soucy, Mike Aube, Charlie Sullivan, Staff in attendance: Ed Barrett, Bob Farrar, Norm Heitman, Dan Wellington, John Hammer, Rod McKay, Erik stumpfel Committee Chair opened the meeting at 5:00 P.M. item al - Use of Sidewalk at 28 Harlow Street� Medical Care nevelopment, a group home located at 28 Harlow Street, requested permission to build a bench and planter 18 feet long against the front of the building and 16" wide and 1611 high. Approved. Item 42 - Bus Procurement: The State was unsuccessful in finding .alternate revenue sources for bus replacement out of programa that are either currently i place or that they might envision down the road. The good news e that the City did find an older federal grant with monies unexpended that were left over from the old Eastern Transportation operation. Those monies have been made available to municipalities for capital needs and we are in line aod. have been successful in getting approval to use these funds. The funding is a 75/25 formula, not the 80/20 that the Committee has been more used to hearing about. In knowing that orreplacement schedule is going to be difficult to fulfill because of limited federal funding, staff suggested to the Committee to appropriate money from two sources to make up the 25%. The City would take $20,000 from the Bus Reserve Account Balance and another $22,500 from the Equipment Reserve Account which has a balance of around $400,000 so that a commitment can be made to the State. The City will encumber that money at this point even though it will not be expended until the bus arrives. The appropriation would be made and set aside. Recommended. for approval. Item 43in 9oard of Aoveala: Suggestion was made to combine the Building Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Assessment Board of Review. -.Recommended for approval with the exception of the Welfare Appeals provision. The Committee felt that subject differed significantly from the remaining items proposed for the Committee. Skip Chapelle from Bangor Daily News Enterprises asked that the Council consider purchasing advertising in a guide that targets the Mid -Coast area which would include Bangor. The Committee was generally supportive of this effort as part of an overall marketing program. The Committee asked Rod McKay to coordinate this effort and to report back with further information. The.current franchise agreement with Cablevision expired at the end of June; the City Council extended it through December 31 to allow for further negotiations. The major issue is Cablevision's apparent unwillingness to commit to a major investment Of new funds to upgrade their infrastructure in the Bangor market area. Recently, Cablevisicn concluded negotiations with Lewiston and Auburn which essentially deferred that decision on their part for two years but obligated them to make that decision at some point. If they do not commit to an upgrade to fiber optics, their franchise agreement with those communities does not get extended any further. Our outside negotiators in Washington think that this agreement may provide a model for renewed discussions in the Bangor franchise area, and they are recommending that we extend the current franchise agreement through June 30, 1997. Erik Stump£el suggested that the franchise fee be increased, and that public comments be solicited and public hearings be held regarding cable needs in ourarea. Once this process is concluded, proposals can be written based on the needs which are identified. In general, we are one of the smaller market areas for Cablevision. In addition, we are probably in the lower half of their market areas in terms of market penetration as a percentage of possible subscribers. We are somewhere around 50 market penetration. They are usually 60$ or above. We also have a much lower number of subscribers per mile of cable than they do in most other franchise areas. When you combine this with national system's heavy debt load, it has made them reluctant to invest any capital in this market area to do rebuilds and upgrades to any new technology (including fiber optics). A Council Resolve was recommended that the Franchise Agreement be extended to June 30, 1997 with the two conditions suggested by the City Solicitor.