BY SHERRY CONOHAN
Staff Writer
SHREWSBURY — The mayor and members of the Shrewsbury Borough Council want residents to know they are not at fault if Red Bank Regional High School does not get a television studio, gratis, from Comcast at this time.
Mayor Emilia M. Siciliano pointed out at the council’s Oct. 20 meeting that the borough’s franchise renewal with Comcast is not due until 2005. She said the borough had just started the process of preparing for renewal, with the appointment of a committee to consider all aspects of a new contract. According to Siciliano, the process will include a survey of cable customers regarding their satisfaction or displeasure with the service they have been getting from Comcast.
The Little Silver Borough Council just introduced an ordinance to renew its franchise with Comcast for a period of 15 years. A public hearing on it will be held at that council’s Nov. 3 meeting.
Little Silver Borough Administrator Michael D. Biehl said Comcast would provide a one-time grant of $70,000 to Red Bank Regional High School for a television studio, and cable access, if the three towns that the high school serves agree to a 15-year extension of their franchises. The other two towns feeding into the high school are Shrewsbury and Red Bank.
Little Silver Councilman Jonathan H. Bitman has noted that Red Bank had verbally committed to a 15-year extension, but he didn’t know Shrewsbury’s plans.
Shrewsbury Council President Terel Cooperhouse said he didn’t appreciate that it looked like the plans for a TV studio were waiting on Shrewsbury to act. He said he contacted two representatives on the high school’s board of education and they knew nothing about the agreement. He said he understood the school superintendent didn’t even know about it.
Siciliano said there had been no discussion yet in the borough about whether it would extend for 10 or 15 years. She said it had entered a 15-year contract sometime in the past, but had a complaint about Comcast during that period, so it was renewed for only a 10-year period last time.
The mayor said customers were going to be surprised, and many will be angry, to receive notice any day now that Comcast, at some date in November, will no longer offer all HBO channels as part of its analog service. Instead, all channels will be offered only as part of the company’s newer, more expensive, digital cable service.
The borough’s cable franchise committee was to hold its first meeting on Monday of this week. Councilwoman Marlene Hotaling is chairing the committee.
In other action, the council passed a resolution, 4-0, agreeing to send a letter to a bank indicating the borough’s backing for payment of the preliminary "soft costs" for plans to either improve the current firehouse of Shrewsbury Hose Co. No. 1 on Route 35 or build a new one.
Councilman William Moss said the request was for a temporary line of credit of $150,000 to $200,000. He said the fire department would have a presentation soon for the council and mayor. He didn’t know now what the total cost — or "end point" — would be for the project as it would consist of either modifying the existing building, which has structural issues, or building a new one, and that decision has not been made. He said architectural fees already are $6,000.
The council gave final passage to an ordinance extending the hours of liquor sales on Sunday to 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Sales on other days of the week are allowed from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m.
The council also gave final passage to an ordinance raising the license fee for cats to $10 for a neutered animal and $13 for one that is not neutered.
In another action, the council authorized the advertising for bids for solid waste collection. The borough’s current three-year contract with Marpal expires on Jan. 31, 2004.
The resolution adopted by the council said the bidding will open on Jan. 8 and the accepted contract will begin Feb. 1 and extend until Jan. 31, 2007. In response to a question, Borough Administrator Constance Lauffer said she had received only one complaint about the garbage pickup since coming to the borough nearly two years ago and that was quickly corrected.