City OKs Agreements With Cable Firms

Oxnard has resolved its long-running dispute with Jones Intercable, a move that could mean improved programming on the city’s public access channel.

The city has reached new franchise agreements with Jones and rival GTE Media Ventures, which has launched a competing cable service in the city. The agreement with Jones enables the city to collect $687,000 in franchise fees the company had withheld since January 1997.

The City Council approved the agreements Tuesday, bringing to an end two years of negotiations that at one point included Jones filing a lawsuit against the city. The suit was subsequently dismissed.

The major sticking point was Jones’ disagreement with the city over what constituted fair compensation for the educational network linking the city’s schools. The company had constructed and operated the network before GTE entered the market.

The city solution: create a public access corporation and ask both companies to pay for its operation. The corporation will produce programming out of a new studio at Oxnard College. Currently programming for such city shows as the police-oriented “Street Beat” and fire safety program “Fire Line” is now produced at Jones’ offices.

“It will be more accessible to the public,” city spokesman Dennis Scala, said of the new studio.

City officials hope to introduce a new show on municipal issues titled “City Beat.”