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Hazelwood To Hear AT&T Plans For Cable Service March 7
BY JEANETTE EBERLIN-RIZZELLO
The Hazelwood City Council was somewhat surprised and disappointed when Charter Communications showed up at a recent public hearing, but AT&T did not due to some confusion on the hearing date. The hearing had been requested by AT&T for a franchise to provide video services over the phone lines.
The public hearing has been rescheduled for the March 7th city council meeting and AT&T representatives plan to attend.
Officials expressed interest in hearing details of the request. Mayor T. R. Carr said after the meeting, “My desire is that all of the residents of Hazelwood have access to the highest quality and most economical internet and video service that can be provided. AT&T says they can provide those types of services and we hope they will attend the March 7 meeting to present their plan for our consideration.”
“It is my opinion we need to have more information,” Councilwoman Peg Lampert said as she listed her concerns in an interview. “Would residents in all areas have access?
Where would they start? What about the remittance of compensation of 5 percent of the gross revenues collected from each subscriber? Why would this ‘city fee’ be passed on to each subscriber?
“We hope to communicate these and other concerns at our March meeting,” she concluded.
Charter’s spokesman, Neal J. Gilb, government relations manager, told the city council, “We are stating that in no way do we not want competition but we don’t agree that this competition is fair and equitable.”
He pointed out that AT&T’s proposed ordinance is 8 pages whereas Charter’s is 20 pages and AT&T’s does not include a regulatory code.
After the meeting he expressed concern that if the Missouri Senate’s bill, SB284, passes “anything the city has done could be opted out of. Of course, this could be done by our organization or AT&T’s.”
Information sent to municipal officials by the Missouri Municipal League states,
“AT&T was successful in lobbying the FCC to control local franchising by passing a new order that gives cities just 90 days to negotiate a franchise. However the order and the accompanying rules will not be written for months. AT&T and the cable companies have been asked to find agreeable terms for statewide franchises instead of local franchises in 2007.”
In other matters, a public hearing was held at the request of the St. Louis Mills for a change in its plan district ordinance and plan district map to allow for a wall sign the size of 798 square feet on the side of the new Cabella’s building that faces I-370. The facility is a nation wide camping, hunting, fishing and sports outfitter. The building is 125.000 to 130.000 square feet. Construction has begun and plans call for its opening in April. The council gave approval for the change and first reading was held.
A public hearing for Bommarito Auto dealership was continued until the March 7 city council meeting. The Feb. 21 meeting has been canceled.
Bommarito’s Nissan dealership is located on Dunn Road and the firm plans on opening Honda and Volkswagon dealerships in addition to a body shop and repair building in the Trade Center area on Brookes Drive.
