Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 30, 1995 TAG: 9508300052
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
City Council took advantage of Stauss' presence on another matter to unload tales of complaining constituents who couldn't get through when their screens went fuzzy.
The company has 11,000 customers in Radford, Christiansburg and parts of Montgomery and Pulaski counties.
"I think we all were getting calls a couple of weeks ago," Councilwoman Polly Corn told Stauss, who was at the meeting to answer questions about a resolution of consent to transfer control over Scott Cable - American Cable's parent company - from the Simmons family to Bruce A. Armstrong.
Stauss told council the company's answering service, CSI, handles after-hours and weekend complaints and calls, and customers typically do not have to wait for an answer.
"Our standard policy is to answer all phone calls within three rings," he said. But during especially busy periods, customers might not get a prompt answer, he added. That's been the case recently, he said, with returning Radford University students and orders to view the recent Mike Tyson fight.
Corn said a Saturday call yielded no response. Mayor Tom Starnes had no luck either, when he tried to reach the cable company after three callers sounded off to him. The mayor said he let it ring eight or 10 times before giving up.
"There are problems, I think," he said.
Stauss conceded Tuesday that council members wound up "fielding some calls for the company, and I apologize for that."
Stauss said CSI has assured him there's no problem, but he told council, "if they're not meeting their commitment, by all means, I need to get with them."
Stauss said technicians are on call nights and weekends to handle problems, and usually, the system works well. After Monday's meeting, he gave it a try himself. "It didn't ring once" before it was picked up, he said. "I think we're headed in the right direction."
Council also dealt with more pressing matters Monday, including a revision to the ordinance dealing with impounding stray dogs and cats.
After considerable discussion, council voted unanimously to change its fee schedule to charge $10 plus $6 per day for an owner to pick up a pet that lands in the city's animal shelter. Animals normally are held at the shelter for up to 14 days.
The $6 figure was a compromise, up from the current $4, which Chief A.C. Earles said was cheaper than most local veterinarians or kennels charge to board pets.
Starnes and others thought $10 a day would be too high.
"There's not many people who would pay $80 to pick up a dog that's ... well, just a dog," the mayor allowed.
The adoption fee for unclaimed animals was set at $10. However, adoptive owners could charge up to $6 for board, should the original owner surface within 60 days to reclaim the pet.
Council also appropriated $5,000 in matching money to support the annual Septemberfest, set for Sept. 8 and 9. The festival's sponsor, Main Street Radford, has raised more than $7,000, said Bud Jeffries, a festival co-chairman.
Council also agreed to close Harvey Street between Central Depot and the Medicine Shoppe from 4 p.m. until midnight Sept. 8, and Norwood Street between Tyler Avenue and Harrison Street from 7 a.m. until midnight Sept. 9.
The East End street closing will block access to a service station, Jeffries admitted. Jeffries said the station's owner told him he wasn't happy about it but wouldn't fight it either.
He said Third Street between Grove and Norwood streets would be limited to traffic into and out of the municipal parking lot during the festival.
In other action, council:
Appropriated nearly $448,000 for Bisset Park paving and the purchase of new equipment for the Public Works Department. The money came from federal disaster relief reimbursements from 1994 ice storm damage.
Agreed to spend nearly $96,500 to repair the Plum Creek bridge on U.S. 11, just inside the city limits.
by CNB