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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Council June 12 1986WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING June 12, 1986 HEARING TO RECONSIDER THE ACTION OF THE WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL The hearing was opened at 7:05 p.m. with Hansey, Hawley, and Warner present. Dan Warner, as a representative of the Finance Committee, chaired the hearing. Frank Travis of the Pt. Roberts Registered Voters' Association presented a packet of information and two letters to the Council concerning the cable rate issue. He read excerpts from the packet, referring to the fact that the charge for cable service to Delta residents is currently $9.50 Canadian, while Pt. Roberts residents pay $10.00 American; and suggesting that the same conditions imposed on Nationwide Cablevision by the City of Bellingham should apply to the franchise agreement between Delta Cable and Whatcom County. The Council members took a few minutes to review the information. Warner said the information would be entered into the record and duplicated for all Council members. Sid Wallace, a Pt. Roberts resident, stated his concerns about the process used in approving rate increases, saying that the Pt. Roberts increase had not received sufficient review by the Council. He also said that Pt. Roberts residents were paying more than Delta residents, while receiving programming which was of more interest to the Delta community. He stated that Pt. Roberts residents were paying over $1 per subscriber for a channel carrying local programming from Canada, as required by Canadian law, which was of no interest to Pt. Roberts residents. John Thomas, Vice President and General Manager of Delta, gave the Council members copies of programs describing the services provided by Delta Cable Television, Ltd., to Delta and Pt. Roberts residents. He.said that there was a difference in service between Delta and Pt. Roberts, since Pt. Roberts received four channels different from Delta's programming via a special antenna located in Pt. Roberts, which also provided Pt. Roberts subscribers the option of receiving HBO. He explained that in Pt. Roberts his company supplied 26 miles of cable to reach approximately 700 potential homes, of which 550 were actually subscribers, equating to approximately 21 subscribers per mile; while in Delta the company supplied 250 miles of cable to reach approximately 23,00 subscribers, or 95 per mile. He said that the cost per home in Delta was thus far less than that in Pt. Roberts. Public Hearing June 12, 1986 Page 2 In response to a question from Hawley, Mr. Thomas said that someone owning an older -style tv which received only channels 2 -13 would need an additional device such as a converter to receive the. extra channels. Gerry Mullen, accountant for Guinness Communications (of which Delta is a subsidiary), addressed the Council on the subject of the company's finances. He said that over the last five years, the company had lost approximately $46,000 U.S. on the Pt. Roberts operation, and that during the 1985 -86 year, during which the $10.00 U.S. rate was in effect, the company was projected to lose approxi- mately $12,700. He stated that to break even on the Pt. Roberts service would require a $12 U.S. monthly charge, and to achieve a 15% profit rate would require a $12.50 U.S. monthly charge. He referred to the franchise agreement containing a clause concerning the expectation of "a reasonable return on investment," and said that the company's books were open to review by a qualified accountant. A Pt. Roberts resident brought up the point that of the 12 stations provided by Delta's basic service, one is in French, one is a program schedule with background music, and only five of the remaining ten are American stations. Mr. Travis mentioned that costs associated with the special antenna in Pt. Roberts should be attributed to HBO and not to the basic programming service, since he believed that the antenna was installed primarily to receive HBO. Warner asked if the Pt. Roberts Registered Voters Association had a specific request concerning the cable rate. Mr. Travis said that their request had been for a public hearing by the Council, and that it was up to the Council to decide on specific action. He again suggested that there was a parallel between the City of Belling - ham's agreement for cable service and Whatcom County's agreement with Delta Cable. Hansey asked if Pt. Roberts residents were satisfied with the level of service they were receiving. The predominance of Canadian stations and the occasional substitution of Canadian programming on the American stations, in cases where it was required by Canadian law, was mentioned. A discussion then ensued concerning the reception problems on Channel 8 (.actually Channel 7 from Seattle), due to interference from Canadian stations. Mr. Thomas said that the cable company could correct the problem in most cases if sub- scribers would call for service. Warner said that the record would remain open until 5:00 p.m. on June 18, 1986 for written communications on the Delta Cable Television rate issue. The hearing was closed at 8:10 p.m.