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Thursday, September 02, 2010
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| | Email this article • Print this article | Council OKs transfer of cable franchise
By Rich Glennie
On a 4-0 vote Monday night, Glencoe City Council approved a resolution to transfer its cable franchise to Mid-Continent Communications of Sioux Falls, S.D.
But the city will negotiate with the new company on a new franchise contract three years earlier than the current contract. The current contract expires in 2013.
The council members were seeking assurances that the frustrations experienced with Charter Communications are not repeated.
Charter Communication currently holds the cable TV franchise in Glencoe. Mid-Continent is purchasing 26 other Minnesota cable systems from Charter Communications as well.
Bob Bose of Kennedy & Graven is representing the city in its negotiations. He called the transfer of the franchise "unusual" because it often occurs when one company buys out another. This involves one company purchasing a portion of another.
Bose said the city normally has 120 days to review the franchise transfer request, but Mid-Continent has asked the city to waive that so the deal can be closed by the end of the year "for tax purposes."
Bose said the real issue is whether Mid-Continent is in a financial position to run the cable system, and is the company "doing what it's supposed to do?"
He said that would require Mid-Continent to keep up with quality offered by neighboring cable systems, "something not provided by Charter."
Bose said Mid-Continent could deal with the quality and service issues once the new franchise is in place.
The new franchise contract would be for one year and then the renegotiations for a new 15-year contract would take place.
Bose said he has heard a lot of good things about Mid-Continent from its customers.
Mayor Randy Wilson said Glencoe customers have been extremely frustrated with Charter's offerings, service and quality over the years, and the company's lack of concern. He also said dealing with Charter on improvements has not been very successful.
Bose said one problem is that Glencoe was never "interconnected to a larger regional system," and that needs to be resolved by Mid-Continent. That will likely require an upgraded cable system.
Tom Simmons, senior vice president of Mid-Continent, said the company is painfully aware of Glencoe's frustrations after meeting with city officials and the city's cable advisory board.
He said Mid-Continent is in "the business of satisfying customers, not dissatisfying customers."
He said the aim "is to provide the best service we can. We want our customer base to grow."
But he warned it will not happen overnight, and it will require building a working relationship. "That is my hope."
Simmons said Mid-Continent services 200 communities in North Dakota and South Dakota with some border communities in Minnesota. Glencoe will be its farthest system inside Minnesota.
Wilson said he is encouraged by what he has heard from Mid-Continent.
Simmons said he would like to see the transition go as smoothly as possible in order to not disrupt customer service. "We have a lot to do in the next months."
Simmons said the negotiations on a new franchise contract will discuss how to make the system better and how to do it incrementally.
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