Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Residents Complain About Cable TV

Complaints concerning Prescott's cable television service were levied at the regular monthly meeting of the Prescott City Council Monday, April 19.

A public hearing was held prior to the meeting to give residents the opportunity to voice their concerns about the system.

Representatives of WEHCO Media, the parent company of the cable franchise, were on hand to respond.

Most of the complaints centered around the loss of signal during power fluctuations, poor reception on certain stations and the price being charged for services.

The company is looking to upgrade its system in Prescott and add more channels for its subscribers.

Jim Dickerson, with Prescott Video, said the company does have a small portable generator it uses when the power is down, but the generator won't carry as many channels as will normal current.

The generator, he said, is not three-phase, but is a 110-volt system.

The cable representatives, though, were on hand to seek an extension of the company's contract with the city. The company was asking for a 15-year agreement so it can complete the upgrades planned.

Paul Morbeck said the problems of standby power could be solved with the rebuilding of the system if the council approved the contract.

Dickerson said the system has never been down more than 24 hours when things the company can control affect the signal.

In discussing the poor reception of KARK-TV, he said its signal is picked up from an antenna for Prescott, while the signal in Hope comes from microwave transmission from Little Rock.

Morbeck said it's a problem of economics. Hope has three times the subscribers as Prescott, yet the company does all possible to keep the rates the same. For the Prescott system to get a microwave relay setup, he added, it would cost the subscribers an additional $2 per month each.

Under the upgrade plans, Morbeck continued, all the equipment will be replaced. This will allow the bandwidth to be increased so more channels can be added.

When questioned about going to a fiberoptic transmission method, he said it would be of no advantage to Prescott customers.

This is because the company would have to install its own fiberoptic lines as those in the area are owned by other companies.

The new equipment the company plans to install will include a 550 megahertz transmitter with the ability to carry up to 78 channels. When signals begin to be digitally transmitted, Morbeck said, several can be placed where one exists.

"We appreciate customer input on the channels they want," he said. "We're here to provide service to everyone."

When asked about channels the company plans to add in the future, Morbeck was reluctant because of the many factors involved. He did say if channels were added at this time they would include ESPN 2, CSPAN 2 and the Home and Garden channel. "We're only successful if we add the popular channels," he said.

With small satellite dishes available at low rates, he said, the cable industry has more competition than ever. The company's rate, Morbeck said, is determined by the market and the market is more competitive than ever.

One advantage cable currently has over satellite systems, he added, is cable can and does provide local networks while satellite system's can't.

Councilman Danny Beavert said the company is asking for a 15-year commitment from Prescott but will give Hope's system a better upgrade while the customers here are charged the same paid in Hope.

Morbeck said fiberoptics is a more viable solution in Hope as the lines stretch further there, and its system isn't as outdated as the one in Prescott.

He said with representatives coming before the council though there is a year left on the contact is a sign of the company's good faith and intentions.

"We're here to provide satisfactory services," he said, "and do what we can today. If the technology doesn't last 15 years, we'll come back."

The cable industry, he continued, expects to carry digital signals, but the standards have yet to be established at the federal level. Full conversion to digital signals should be accomplished by 2006.

Once the public hearing ended, the council went into regular session to further debate the issue, along with conducting other business.

Councilman Howard Austin recommended a 10 year contract with a five year option.

Morbeck said if the city did this the company wouldn't be able to install all new equipment and would have to put in a used 450 MHz transmitter.

The system would run out of channel space in 10 years and the equipment would be inferior to what Hope's system would be getting.

The 450 MHz system, Morbeck said, wouldn't have the capacity for digital signals, nor could it handle Web TV when it become more affordable to cable customers.

When Hope renewed its agreement with the company, he said, it gave a 25-year franchise contract.

However, Morbeck said the company could take the 10-year deal with the five-year option if it could write the terms so it could have a total of 15 years.

Prescott Video doesn't have an exclusive contract with the City of Prescott and the city leaders, if they so chose, could seek other cable companies to provide services.

Or, if the city chose, it could operate and maintain a cable system itself.

Morbeck said the upgrades will be completed within a year of the contract's approval.

Councilman Karen Ward saw no advantage in not giving Prescott Video the 15-year deal as the company has been providing a quality service to the community.

The council's committee on cable television announced a 10-minute break to further discuss the matter, but was informed this would be a violation of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

After more discussion, the council agreed to go with the 15-year deal with WEHCO Media and Prescott Video.

In other business, the council voted to purchase a new backhoe for the street department.

Three bids were examined with the council voting to go with a JCB for $48,284. This was not the lowest bid submitted, but did appear to be the better buy as it is a heavier duty piece of equipment.

Walt Denton, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office gave the council his report.

Denton said the information from Prescott on recertification as an Arkansas Community of Excellence (ACE) has been turned in and the city could well be the first to be certified under the new guidelines set forth by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC).

Beavert called Taylor to task concerning the Prescott Street Department.

He said Joe Heath, street superintendent, is unable to begin working until he gets the mayor's go-ahead. Heath, he continued, i