City selects 11 blocks for ’04 paving project

The Clarendon Board of Aldermen unanimously selected 11 blocks of streets it wants paved and curbed this year during last Tuesday’s city meeting.

City engineer Che Shadle of OJD Engineering addressed the conditions of city streets, and officials decided on two streets to pave based on water flow and traffic.

Aldermen voted to authorize Shadle to start doing survey and design work and to take soil samples in preparation to pave and install curb and gutter on Fourth Street between Koogle Street and Jefferson Street and on Seventh Street from Cottage Street to Sims Street.

Mayor Pro-tem Mark White said the city wants the improvements to be a sign of things to come.

“Hopefully this is just the first step toward many more blocks that need to be curbed and paved,” White said. “We hope this is something that will be ongoing from year to year.”

The new street plan comes six months after Clarendon voters defeated a $2.5 million bond proposal to pave 152 blocks. City aldermen responded to that vote by increasing city fees and taxes in order to pave a few streets every year, and White said last Tuesday’s vote was made possible by that increased revenue.

“This is exactly what the tax increase and the fee increases were for,” he said.

Aldermen chose Fourth Street because it is a major thoroughfare connecting downtown to the public schools and because it is in very poor condition.

Seventh Street was chosen due to the amount of runoff water that collects on that avenue from all over the west end of town, which results in severe erosion and lots of debris being washed down onto streets downstream.

In other city business, Ray Greenwood spoke to the board on behalf of Cebridge Communications (formerly Classic Cable) regarding that company’s franchise agreement. Aldermen voted to accept a ten-year contract with franchise tax payments to be made quarterly to the city.

The board had a lengthy discussion regarding keeping a local channel, operated by the First Baptist Church, on the cable system. Greenwood said his company could provide a leased channel to the church for a set fee, or it could provide a Public Education and Government (PEG) Access channel, which would be regulated by the city.

The PEG channel would allow local churches to continue to broadcast their services locally through the Baptist church. However, the Family Net Channel currently on the air could not be aired unless Cebridge can reach a contractual agreement with that broadcaster. Greenwood said his company does have agreements with several religious oriented networks that could be aired in place of Family Net.

Jean Ledbetter, recalling past dealings with Classic Cable, cautioned against allowing the cable company to have too much control over the local channel and spoke out in favor of trying to keep Family Net on the cable system.

“We should not sign [this agreement] until it says ‘leave this channel alone,’” she said.

But Alderman Michael Tibbets said he thought it would be best to get the channel under the city’s control.

“You’ll be dealing with the city not the cable company,” he said. “The best long term solution is an agreement where you’re dealing with the city.”

The board voted to approve the franchise agreement with a corrected copy to be presented to the city in 30 days and to vote on the second and final reading of the ordinance in 60 days.

Clarendon Economic Development Corporation President Will Thompson addressed the board concerning the possible donation of the Mulkey Theatre to the city. The board agreed to pay for an appraisal of the building out of the Motel Bed Tax Fund.