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Medford considers network contract By JESSICA SMITH Speedier Internet access would be at the fingertips of Medford City Hall workers under a proposed contract with the financially troubled Ashland Fiber Network. The City Council will consider Thursday whether to connect to AFN - a municipal cable TV and Internet venture that's spending money faster than it's taking it in - once the network builds a fiber line to Medford's downtown core. In other council business The Medford City Council has plenty to do Thursday. At two meetings, the council will take up nine ordinances and hold five public hearings. Items before the council include: Medford police labor contract - Among other things, the contract would boost base salaries 3.4 percent by July 1 and allow police officers to cash in up to two weeks of vacation rather than take the time. North Phoenix Road extension - One ordinance would authorize the city to spend $373,600 for rights of way needed south of Hillcrest Road. A second ordinance would allow the city to take another piece of land for the extension by initiating eminent domain proceedings. The city and owners of the second parcel have yet to come to terms on a purchase price. Drive-in coffee stands - The council will hold a public hearing on proposed amendments to codes regulating the niche business. Technically, the stands are temporary, portable structures. That excuses owners from paying certain fees, including system development charges and property taxes. Critics say the rub comes when the "mobile food units" stay in one location, typically a parking lot, for years. The code amendments address that loophole, requiring owners of coffee drive-ins to pay some city fees. All stands would be required to comply with the new rules within a year. An Ashland official said the fiber link to Medford could put nearly $35,000 back in the coffers at AFN, which needed $4.5 million in loans from Ashland departments to stay afloat this year. "It's going to save us money in the long run," said Dick Wanderscheid, administrative services director. Wanderscheid said a direct fiber link to Medford would eliminate AFN's need to use Qwest lines to connect to Medford's "point of presence" - the region's main gateway to the World Wide Web. That direct link would translate to $34,800 in savings from fees now paid to Qwest, Wanderscheid said. Under the proposed contract, AFN would provide a fiber link to city hall to offset some of the fees it would pay Medford for use of public rights of way. For use of AFN, Medford would subtract up to $80,000 a year from such fees, said City Attorney Ron Doyle. Though the city won't be collecting as much in fees, Doyle said the upside of the deal means faster Internet connections at City Hall. "It's a good service," he added. "It's kind of a no-brainer that if the service is right there running through town, we'd want to connect to it." The council will take up the proposal at its noon meeting Thursday at City Hall, 411 W. Eighth St. According to Wanderscheid, AFN does not plan to provide Internet access commercially in Medford. If asked, however, AFN would work with economic development officials to provide services to some Medford businesses in the downtown core, Wandersheid said. "That's not something we're going to pursue," he added. "We're not going to be out promoting anything. We have no intention of being out there actively soliciting for business." Also Thursday, the council at its 7 p.m. meeting will hold a public hearing on the proposed budget for the 2001-02 fiscal year, which begins July 1. As approved by a citizen's budget committee, the spending plan puts 2001-02 expenditures at $89.3 million. The budget also outlines spending for 2002-03, but the city can't formally adopt that portion of the document until next year. The 2001-02 budget includes $23 million for capital improvements, including road construction, $3.2 million for a City Hall renovation, and $1.2 million for parks acquisition and development. The city is expected to collect about $18.1 million in property taxes next year. Council members will be asked Thursday to approve an ordinance setting the permanent tax rate at $5.30 per $1,000 of assessed value. That means the owner of a $100,000 home would pay $530 in taxes a year. Reach reporter Jessica Smith at 776-4481, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.