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Click Here 40 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, April 1, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend March 20, 2004 Consultant weighs in on Ashland Fiber Network ASHLAND — The City Council unanimously approved accepting a consultant’s recommendations for making Ashland Fiber Network solvent by 2009. At Thursday’s meeting, Nelson Hyde, representing Navigant Consulting which is headquartered in Chicago, laid out a plan for the council and members of the city budget committee. He said AFN’s situation compared favorably to other networks of similar size, but AFN’s initial performance projections proved too aggressive. Hyde said AFN is doing well in some areas, such as the use of high-speed Internet services. "I think it is a real feather in their cap," he told the council. "I think it is unusual and it kind of sets the benchmark. They have done quite well in that area and I think part of that is the local composition of customers here who want that service. And I think part of it is they have done a good job of providing a very high-speed alternative compared to some of their competitors." AFN Director Dick Wanderscheid said it’s like the city is climbing Mount Everest in making AFN viable. "And what we have done tonight is get to the base camp," he said at Thursday’s meeting. " We need to do a lot of work to implement those things and make this happen. We need to do some work on restructuring the debt." Advertisement Restructuring AFN’s debt, which was forecast to reach $14 million this year, would make the city utility more solvent. City Finance Director Lee Tuneberg said the city will look at that issue over the next several months. Councilman Don Laws said he had a much better feeling about AFN’s future after the meeting. "It’s by far the best plan we’ve had so far since we started AFN," Laws said. "I am very happy to support the adoption of (Navigant’s) report and look forward to (Tuneberg’s) report on how we can modify the way we pay our debt to put us in a better position." Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times