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Home My WebLink About1983 01-03~- Y R AGENDA MERIDIAN CITY COUNCIL January 3, 1983 Item: Minutes of Previous Meeting Held Decenber 20,1982 1. Rate Increase United Cable Television of Treasure Valley 2. Update on~Sewer and Water Rate Study 3. Bills 4. Trip to Pocatello by Mayor & Council APPROVED APPROVED Il~UT APPROVED APPROVED Meridian City Council January 3,1983 Meeting called to order by Mayor Joseph Glaisyer at 7:30 p.m. Councilmen Present: Grant Kingsford; Ron Tolsma., Rick Orton Jr. Councilmen Absent: Bill Brewer Others Present: Robert Giesler; Earl Ward, Roger Welker; Bruce Stuart; Gary Smith; Marnell Chenowi_th; Bob Spencer; Wayne Crookston; Tom Murphy en~~ Minutes of the previous meeting held December 20, 1982 were approved as written. p'g-1~" Rate increase request by United Cable Television of Treasure Valley Mayor Glaisyer announced. that United Cable Television of Treasure Valley was requesting a rate increase of approximately 6.8%. There were no caYanents from the Council. The N.btion was made by Kingsford and seconded by Tolsma to approve United Cable Television of Treasure Valley request for approximately a 6.8~ rate increase. Motion Carried: Kingsford; yea; Tolsma; yea; Orton; yea Agenda. 2 Update on Sewer Water Rate Study Earl Ward & Bruce Stuart advised Council how they were progressing on study (Tape on File) Mayor Glaisyer: ,My opinion is that the City needs some expertise to take into account the financial problems in relation to actual water-sewer monthly fees, hookup fees and depreciation. These are things that will have to be taken into consideration for a five year plan. City has to make projection for the future and keep hookup fees and user fees in line with reality of whats going on in the world. Gary Smith's letter was indicative of the fact if we don't reconize early in our growth we are going to have problems later. Grant Kingsford cca~unented that Boise City had raised tha3,r sewer hookup fees $125.00 The cost of this study is unknown at this time and Gary Smith is to investigate his firms policy and advise if possible to incur expense for study over two fiscal years rather than the outlay at one time. Mayor Glaisyer recommended Council get serious about this study and establish a good Plan, that Plan be updated on a yearly basis, sane expertise be brought in from outside to assist, study would have to be a joint effort between Water-Sewer Department and the expertise brought in. Sane time next year consider a Computer Program to record fees and lines contributed to City, as well as depreciation. This would make possible to know what obligations were going to be on a yearly basis. Grant Kingsford & Rick Orton to give this study serious consideration To be brought before the Council at next regular meeting. Agenda 3 Bills The Bills were read The Motion made by Kingsford and seconded by Tolsma to approve the Bills: Motion carried: Kingsford, yea; Tolsma, yea; Orton, yea Agenda 4 Trip to Pocatello Mayor and Council had made a caranitment to go to Pocatello on Friday January 7,1983 There was discussion as to the expense and time involved; driving versus chartering a plane. (Tape on File) The Motion was made by Tolsma and seconded by Orton to authorize the Mayor to negotiate the rental of a five passenger plane for the Mayor & the Council and make the arrangement appropriate fo fly down and back to Pocatello in the investigation of the impact of a Shopping Center in our Con4rnuzity. Motion carried: Kingsford, yea; Tolsma., yea; Orton, yea Mayor Glaisyer: "Is there any other business to cane before the Council this egening?" There was no response. I The Motion was made by Kingsford and seconded by Tolsma to ajourn at 7:50 p.m.: Motion carried: Kingsford, yea; Tolsma, yea; Orton, yea Regular meeting of the Meridian City Council January 3,1983, adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Meridian Ci Council 2 January 3,_ 1983 APP J L. GLAI ATl'E.ST pc: Mayor & Council (5) Bruce Stuart, Earl Ward Vern Schoen, Roger Welker Police, City Attorney Gary Smith, City Treasurer Valley ~ws Statesman Press Tribune Gus Hein City Clerk Ada. County Comm. ACHD, Ada County Zoning Dir. Central District Health APA, Naha N~xidian Irrigation I \, PAYEE CHECK NO. AMOUNT ABC Stamp Co. 3040 36.68 Boise Fire Depart. 3042 381.00 Western World InsuranceCo. 3046 500.00 Xerox Corporation 3047 357.85 Zee Medical Center 3048 78.92 Jerry & Bill's Foodtown 3049 1209.04 Zed Medical 3050 67.80 City of Meridian 3054 79.05 Gary Smith 3055 1.00 Q.R.U. 3056 570.00 U.S. Post Office 3057 310.08 Office of State Commission 3059 1402.86 State Auditor 3060 5506.18 Association of Idaho Cities 3061 3947.91 Colonial Insurance 3062 910.10 Public Employees Retirement System 3063 5882.83 L.T.D. Commodities 3064 99.26 Meridian Insurance 3065 175.00 Water Engineering Mgmt. 3066 38.00 Prentice - Hall Inc. 3067 32.45 CCRT 3068 23.00 Idaho Power Co. 3069 8048.19 Mountain Bell Telephone Co, 3070 795.35 Sav-Mor Drug #2 3073 1.92 Van Gas 3074 608.30 ABC Stamp Co. 102 5.37 Ada County Data Processing 103 64.00 Ambrose, Fitzgeral & Crookston 104 2261.25 American Scientific Prod. 105 474.90 Baird Oil Co. 106 13.90 Bodine Oil Co., Inc. 107 1992.00 Boise Cascade 108 38.56 Boise Western Corp. 109 41.86 Capitol Computer Corp. 110 657.00 City of Boise 111 136.25 City of Meridian 112 115.60 Co-op Oil Association Inc. 113 41.88 Cop Shop Etc. 114 21.00 Culligan 115 57.00 Deckers Inc. 116 20.40 Dyna Systema 117 141.34 Farmers Bros. Coffee 118 173.84 Frontier-Tire 119 32.76 G&B Ready Mix 120 127.33 Giesler's Auto Repair 121 396.78 PAYEE CHECK NO. AMOUNT Gem-Breakaway 122 78.50 Hach Co. 123 132.19 Harold's Electric 124 490.81 Idaho Crime Prevention 125 15.00 Idaho Industrial Supply Co. 126 11.52 Idaho Medical Oxygen Supply 127 10.00 Idaho Paging 128 81.06 Intermountain Arms 129 26.49 Intermountain Gas Co. 130 916.50 JUB Engineers 131 1239.48 Kalbus 132 69.75 Lawson Products Inc. 137 67.46 Lewis & Clark Paper Supply 138 192.47 Meridian brug 139 42.38 Meridian Ford Sales Inc. 140 74.13 Meridian Office Supply 141 5.56 Missman Electric 142 57.16 Modern Printers 143 239.45 NCR Corporation 144 224.06 Nelson Rent All 145 25.84 Paul's Conoco 146 50.40 Pay & Sav 147 78.41 Radio Paging Serv. 148 46.00 S & E Auto Parts 149 194.07 Schmidt Construction 150 1534.87 Share Co-Op 151 131.27 Sheehan's 152 6.50 She11 Service (Don't) 153 344.70 Star Photo Service 154 10.64 State of Idaho Electrical Board 155 1239.54 Statesman 156 54.43 Steve's Radiator 157 20.00 Storey Feed Seed 158 46.40 Technichem 159 105.70 Tolsma Welding 160 423.95 Valley News 161 185.05 Water & Wastewater Equipment 163 520.32 Western Aircraft Main. 164 60.00 Zellerbach Paper Co. 165 71.53 o ~_ • united cable tQlavision of trQasura valley A United Cable Teleirision Corteration System ~9~~~~ /~3f~'Z-- ~o~~~~ December 22, 1982 {~~".~Pa ~~ City Clerk City of A?eridian 728 Meridian St. Meridian, ID 83642 Four years ago, United Cable Television began to implement its commitment to the Treasure Valley to provide a first-class cable television system. During the intervening four years, we have worked hard to fulfill that promise. We have constructed over a thousand miles of cable. ?toughly one-third of the homes in our service area have been connected to the United Cable network. We have constructed the necessary cen- tral facilities, including the satellite-earth receiving stations, necessary to bring a wide variety of programming services to our customers. We have also strived to regularly expand the services which we provide to our customers. Since we outlined the basic service package to you four years ago, we have added a number of important new features. The Cable News Networks 1 and 2 (24-hour news services), The Weather Channel (24-hour weather information), WGN (the Chicago independent), ABC's Daytime, MTV (24-hour video music programming), and KTRV (Nampa independent station) have all been added to the basic service package. In addition, a number of our original services have been expanded. The U.S.A. Network (sports and family entertainment programming) and C-SPAN (public affairs programming) were originally broadcast on a part-time basis, and both occupied a single channel. Both services have been expanded, and now each service occupies its own channel. ESPN (24-hour sports programming) has become an institutional force in the world of,tele- vision sports; this year, a number of post-season football games will be broadcast on ESPN. WTBS, the Atlanta independent channel is aggressively pursuing new broadcast opportunitites, including a number of important national college football games. For example, the Idaho-Eastern Kentucky NCAA 1-AA quarterfinal championship game was recently broadcast on HITBS. 8400 WestparkStreet Boise, Idaho 83704 208/377-2491 + e 2 Pag These services have been added without additional charge to our customers. TnTe hope in the future to be able to continue to improve our product. We have not proposed a rate change in the four years that have elapsed since the present franchise ordinance was adopted. During that same period, the rate of inflation has exceeded 35 percent. Most businesses have raised their prices commensurately to try to keep pace. We have kept our prices at the same level during these years in order to give the maximum number of people in this area the opportunity to experience cable television at our original rates. At this juncture, however, we are no longer able to absorb our rising business costs. Our most recent financial statement, which was filed with the city earlier this year, clearly shows that we continue to experience financial losses in the operation of the system. We are attempting to improve this situation by attracting new customers. Even the most optismistic projections of subscriber growth, however, will not be enough to completely stem the losses. Unfortunately, we must make up the di~ference with increased rates. Accordingly, I am enclosing and filing herewith our revised schedule .of rates and fees. Under section 10 of our franchise ordinance, these rates and fees may take effect in 60 days if the council does not act to disapprove. We believe that the rate increases are not only necessary, but are extremely fair. The key change is a 6.3 percent increase in our monthly rate for basic services, from $7.95 to $8.45. Most of our customers also need a converter terminal to receive all of the basic channels, and the monthly rate for rental and maintenance of this unit is likewise to increase 7.5 percent from $2.00 to $2.15. The total monthly rate for most basic subscribers will therefore increase from $9.95 to $10.60, or 6.5 percent. Our other monthly rates are scheduled to increase propor- tionately. In addition, our one-time installation charges are increasing to more closely match our actual installation costs. You will notice that the new schedule of rates and charges does not include rates for special premium services (those for which we make an additional charge beyond the basic service charge). This is because of a federal court of appeal's ruling that "FCC preemption has rendered invalid price regulation on special pay cable programming "Brookhaven Cable TV, Inc. v. Kelly, 573 F.2d 765 (1978). ~~ s ~ Page 3 The fact is that we are in a decidedly competitive business. With 5 good-quality TV stations in the area broadcasting over the air, plus dozens of movie theaters, several newspapers and magazines, and regular performances in the Pavilion and other halls, the consumer has a wide variety of entertainment and infor- mation at his disposal. It is likewise true that, since we are hooked up to only about one-third of the homes in the valley, two-thirds of the people have decided that those other media outlets satisfy them well enough. We are well aware that we must not raise our rates too high, or even our limited market will not continue to buy from us. In such an environment, the wisest and most effective deter- mination of prices for a product or service is made in the market, by the business that provides the product or service. We look forward to a continuing and successful relationship with the people of the Treasure Valley, and we renew our pledge to strive to provide your citizens with a first-class cable television network. Sincerely, ct.,y= ~! ~ rt ~ David M. Reynol s General Manager i ~ uN1TEn CABLE TELEVISION OF TREASURE VALLEY Maxinnmi Rates and Fees to Subscribers I. Single Residential Maxinnml Rates and Charges A. Installation Charges within established service area. (1) Installation of new primary TV or FM outlet through outside wall or crawl space $ 35.00 a) Additional charge to fish cable through an interior wall $ 20.00 (2) Reconnection of existing outlet $ 25.00 (3) Additional outlet (TV, FM, or VTR) a) Installed at the same time as other work for which an installation charge is made $ 10.00 b) Installed alone $ 20.00 (4) Relocate an outlet a) At the same time as other work for which an installation charge is made $ 10.00 b) Relocation only $ 20.00 (5) Change from one level of service to another $ 20.00 (6) Transfer from one address to another $ 25.00 (7) Converter terminal deposit $ 25.00 B. t'.~nthly Rates - Basic (non-premituYt} Service (1) Primary TV or FT4 Outlet $ 8.45 (2) Additional Outlet (TV, FNt, or VTR) $ 2.65 (3) Basic converter terminal rental and maintenance $ 2.15 (4) TV dealer or licensed service shop One drop to feed all shop outlets Free .. ~ " r 1 Maximtun Rates and Fees to Subscribers Page 2 II. Multiple LZuelling Unit Rates - where a complex contains at least 10 units, all of which are served, and service charges are billed to the oomplex owner under a service contract. A. Installation Charges Time & Materials (Cable remains property of cable company) B. Monthly Rates - Basic (non-premium) Service (1) Apartments (monthly unit rentals) 10-49 outlets (each) $ 5.75 50-99 outlets (each) $ 5.50 100 outlets and above (each) $ 5.25 (2) Hotels and D!btels (daily room rentals) 10-49 outlets (each) $ 2.50 50-99 outlets (each) $ 2.25 100 outlets and above (each) $ 2.00 (3) Converter terminal rental and maintenance (each) $ 2.15 (Owner of complex is responsible for safe- keeping of converter terminals) III. City Goverrut~.nt and Educational Institutions - within established service area, one outlet at each building Free IV. Premium Television Service and other services not other- wise specified herein. Not regulated by City V. Lost or Damaged Converter Terminal A. Repair of a converter terminal damaged through neglect or abuse by the customer, normal wear excepted $ 50.00 B. Replacement of lost or stolen converter terminal $200.00 VI. Miscellaneous Charges and Credits A. Late Fee if payment is not received by date shown on the customer's statement 50 of Balance B. Returned Check $ 10.00 C. Collection Fee if disconnection for non-payment of a bill has been ordered and the servicemen receives payment of the outstanding balance in lieu of actual disconnection. $ 15.00 D. Unwarranted Service Calls, in the event a service- man is called to a customer's house and can show that the conplaint is not related to cable TV service $ 15.00 E. Prepayment of 1 Year's Service Charges 10% full Credit