NEW AREA OF CITY STILL WITHOUT CABLE TV

Despite a law requiring rapid cable television hookup in newly annexed areas, residents of Cape Girardeau's Stonebridge subdivision still are without the service.

Thomas R. Carnes lives at the subdivision, which is comprised of about 20 duplexes, with another 20 to be built.

Carnes, who also is a local attorney, has been hired by the developer of Stonebridge, Robert Penrod, to get the city to force TCI Cablevision of Missouri Inc. to extend cable TV service to the area.

"The city code of ordinances sets out that when a new area is annexed into the city, the cable company has to provide a plan within three months of how to wire the area for service," Carnes said. "It also says that within six months of the subdivision's platting, they're required to have service to the area.

"It's been about a year and a half. The subdivision has electric, water, gas, telephone -- every utility that you could want -- but we do not have cable TV."

Beyond connection of the service, Carnes contends that Stonebridge residents are entitled to reparation for the inconvenience of the delay, as well as for costs associated with erecting satellite dishes because there is no cable TV.

"This should have been done a long time ago," Carnes said. "Because we have been without service we were supposed to receive under the franchise agreement, we feel TCI owes the residents some type of compensation."

There are about 35 people living in the subdivision. Without a satellite dish, residents are able to pick up only the local CBS affiliate on Channel 12, and Channel 6 (NBC) and Channel 23 (Fox) are "fuzzy," Carnes said.

Roger Harms, manger of TCI's Cape Girardeau and Jackson offices, said the company was unable to secure subdivision plans in time to include the work in this year's budget. He said cable service will be extended to the subdivision in February.

"This has been a unique area," Harms said. "When it was annexed into the city, it was not right adjacent to the city limits, and the cable system didn't run out that way."

Harms said that before the work could be done, TCI had to secure permits to cross Interstate 55 and attach cable TV lines to Union Electric utility poles.

"I know the developer thought we should have had it out there sooner, but we never received plans for the subdivision in time to get it into this year's capital budget."

Harms said it's important for the cable company to be involved with the subdivision planning process to ensure that all the proper easements are acquired before homes are built and streets are installed.

"We need the specifics up front, instead of getting it at the last moment as an afterthought," he said. "It puts everybody in a bad position."

Harms said TCI has no plans to make reparations for the delay. He said that even though the franchise stipulates that cable TV service be provided within six months, the agreement is based on the "good faith" efforts of the cable company.

"The city has been very understanding to all the parties concerned," Harms said. "Ultimately, it's up the city saying, `You've got to get it out here real soon.' But they understood why there was a problem out there."

Harms said he was unable to secure the needed permits to cross I-55 until September, and he couldn't order the needed materials until he had the permits in hand, along with an acceptable route for cable lines.

Now Stonebridge residents must wait for the materials before the work is done.

But Carnes said the difficulty with securing permits is a ruse. He said the project was delayed simply because TCI refused to include it in their budget until next year.

"They had no problem hooking up Twin Lakes (another recently annexed subdivision situated west of the interstate)," Carnes said.

The attorney said he hopes the city can leverage TCI into making restitution as part of the current negotiations process for a new franchise agreement.

But City Attorney Warren Wells said federal law prohibits the city from taking much action related to cable TV rates and programming.

"That's not to say there can be no sanctions for failure to get service out there," Wells said. "But I would envision the city dealing more in the area of potential violations in the future -- taking measures to ensure that doesn't happen -- rather than trying to impose rates."