Residents press for credits after Premiere Cable outages; council asks for committee research

Residents pressed the Culbertson Town Council for relief at a January meeting after a series of cable outages, asking the operator to compensate subscribers for the November and New Year's service interruptions.

Councilman Larry Reitz told the council that participants at a December 28, 1989 public meeting felt "one month of cable service should be credited to all Culbertson accounts for the past break in service and the outage we experienced in November." Reitz read a Jan. 4 letter from Darrell Bye, senior vice president of Premiere Cable Two Ltd., which offered to issue a credit equal to half of the monthly service charge and an additional credit for the New Year's weekend outage. Bye's letter also discussed technician availability, a replacement-equipment clearing house and a customer questionnaire to be included with a future invoice.

Council members said the local cable committee should research a service change and that any franchise change should be accompanied by a petition from electors. Ken Forbredg was named chair of the town's cable committee; council asked the committee to gather information and report back before pursuing a formal franchise change. The minutes record the council's view that it is not solely the council's decision to replace a franchise and that elector input is appropriate.

Later in the year the council recorded receipt of a letter from Cable Management Group, Inc. stating that it had assumed management responsibility for Premiere Cable, indicating ongoing operational transitions.

Next steps recorded in the minutes included committee research, follow-up meetings with the operator if requested, and public-notice steps the committee should take if it pursues petitioning for a franchise change.