City Beat: Council OKs cable deal

As expected, City Council in a resolution approved the sale of AT&T Broadband to Mediacom at its June 11 meeting. What wasn't expected was that the city wants to open cable to competition.

According to Mayor Tom Carlson, who offered new language to the resolution to allow competition, he wants the city manager staff to study the issue of competition. Mediacom reluctantly agreed to the changed language, Carlson said.

Union contract

Once again the issue of the union contract that AT&T agreed to with the Communication Workers of America was addressed. The Mediacom representative, Bill Fischer, declined to comment on what he termed a personnel issue.

Four CWA members attended the meeting, but didn't speak. They each received letters from Italia Commisso-Weiand, of Medicom's programming and human resources department. Mediacom hasn't agreed to assume the contract it took the union nine months to negotiate, said Bill Wildoner, CWA representative, but it was supposed to meet with the union shortly.

According to the letter, Mediacom is "still determining who will receive offers of employment. While we cannot guarantee that everyone will receive an offer, we are looking forward to a bright future "

Industrial Park West

The council discussed inserting language into the proposed contract for the development of the Partnership Industrial Center West. Councilwoman Teri Hacker suggested that current language might give City Utilities an exclusive right to provide fiber optics to businesses that locate in the new park. She urged council to make the language more specific on the issue.

Valley Paints

Citizens were on hand to speak on a first-reading ordinance that skipped Planning and Zoning on an emergency basis.

That ordinance concerned the move of Valley Paints, located in the Jordan Valley Park area, to a building to be constructed at 2457 N. Patterson.

In order to operate, a use permit must be issued to allow Valley Paints to have bulk storage of flammable liquids for wholesale in the general manufacturing district that abuts a residential area.

Two residents of the area were on hand to speak, but only one, Shirley Hanes, of 2342 E. Parkwood, spoke. Those who speak at the council meeting on the subject are prohibited from speaking at the public hearing set for June 25.

Hanes was concerned for the safety of the residential area. "I know at least 50 people who are dead-set against it," Hanes said. "This doesn't belong on top of houses where people are raising children."

She also was concerned that a paint spill could affect water quality because water from the detention area flows into the Fulbright and Brighton water systems that serve the city. "Look at this very, very carefully," Hanes said.

Gary Allen, owner of Valley Paint, said in an interview with SBJ that he purchased the property without knowing the law had changed to require a use permit. He will speak at the June 25 meeting. His company only mixes small amounts of paint, he said. Most of the paint is used as it comes from the manufacturer. He added that his trucks are equipped to quickly clean up any spills.

A buffer zone is to be created at the site, which already is being prepared. He said his business had to be moved out of the Jordan Valley area by the end of October.

Other Issues

In other matters, the city approved a 180-day halt on billboard permit applications so staff can review regulations already in place and propose changes.

The city passed these ordinances:

annexing 13.56 acres of property adjacent to the city limits, east of Farmers Branch Road and south of the Millwood subdivision;

annexing 130.1 acres adjacent to the city limits, at West Division Street and Haseltine Road;

approving a new pay plan for certain city employees to go into effect in 2002.

Bond issuance

Council also passed several bond issuing ordinances:

It authorized documents to loan $34,550,000 to the Public Building Corporation to pay for improvements to the Springfield-Branson Airport, including runway extension and renovation, construction of taxiways and an addition of an instrument landing system at the airport. It also authorized the refunding of an assumed lease which secures a loan of $1,150,000 on the Air Park South Airport.

The PBC also will issue $7,885,000 in leasehold revenue bonds and $4,005,000 leasehold revenue bonds to pay for capital improvements approved by the voters.

Stormwater improvements and sewer improvements were also funded through general obligation bonds of $4 million and $3 million, respectively.

Other first reading bills: the rezoning of 15 acres of land at Mulroy Road and Farm Road 116 from single family residence to a government and institution use.

Another bill to rezone 18 acres of land at the corner of Southview and Sussex from the county's agricultural zoning to the city's least restrictive single-family residential zoning also was read.