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AFN gets new push in Ashland By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings Ashland Fiber Network supporters are coming out of the woodwork to brainstorm ways to make the venture work. "Part of this was just about lighting fires," Ashland City Councilor Cate Hartzell said. Hartzell earlier this month organized an unofficial meeting of city officials and local experts in the private technology and business communities to discuss possibilities for AFN. "One of the things that was really exciting was having a whole team of people in the community willing to put in time to make it work," Hartzell said. "We're rebuilding the social infrastructure by re-engaging our business and community partners." The session included representatives of Ashland-based Internet Service Providers, AFN subscribers in both the residential and business communities, and others concerned with the fate of AFN. "They're willing to bring in ideas, they're willing to help - that was probably the best thing about the meeting," Ashland Budget Committee member Russ Silbiger said. The cable television and Internet venture has been criticized by some since its inception in the late 1990s, and doubts resurfaced again in May when the Ashland Citizens Budget Committee took a hard look at AFN's growing debt. City interfund and capital loans to pay for AFN are expected to hit about $14 million by June 2004. Also, some have predicted that technological changes will make the system out of date before it's even finished, saddling the city with huge debt payments without offsetting revenue. Such predictions often come with a recommendation that the city sell AFN before the it goes into even more debt. "Truly, that was on the table, but we wanted to spend the time looking for constructive solutions," Hartzell said. "We're not going into this Polly Anna-ish. The (AFN debt) numbers are on the table." Repeated changes in the AFN business plan have consistently lowered revenue expectations, increased borrowing and moved out the break-even point for the publicly funded venture. Early AFN plans had predicted the network would start making a profit by the 2003-2004 fiscal year, but a series of missed projections capsized those expectations. A follow-up plan then projected a positive income by 2006-2007. A new business plan is expected to be finished by August, at which time the committee will reconvene to consider an AFN budget update. While the unofficial advisory group is not meant to replace the efforts of city employees to revamp the business plan, ideas which come out from the process could likely be useful. "They need all the help they can get," Silbiger said. "We want to get this thing cash-flow positive as soon as we can." The group may meet again, or smaller sub-groups might continue conversations, generating ideas in specific areas, according to Hartzell. "It may evolve into something a little more formal or it may not," Hartzell said, adding that keeping the gatherings informal relieves city staff from extra hours of work and leads to a more free exchange of ideas. "This is the heart of doing something that's community-owned," Hartzell said. "People are doing this because they love the program and they want to see it grow and thrive." "AFN was innovative and AFN was forward thinking. It's important we stay in that forward thinking mode. Having community buy-in at this level will help really expand AFN and help people continue to see it as something we build on." Ashland City Administrator Gino Grimaldi said the meeting had been useful. "This does give us information as we head into revising the business plan," Grimaldi said "It helps keep the momentum going. There's an amazing amount of talent out there in the community." The new business plan will likely go to the budget committee by October, according to Grimaldi. "This (unofficial meeting process) can run happily parallel (to city AFN process)," Hartzell said. "I think it will continue because people want to engage. "I believe you have far more supporters of AFN than critics." LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -