[September 09, 2011] Derry Township OKs cable TV agreement Tweet BRADENVILLE, Sep 09, 2011 (The Blairsville Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Derry Township's supervisors on Tuesday approved a new 15-year franchise agreement with Comcast Cable covering cable television service throughout the township. Supervisors chairman Vince DeCario explained the new agreement consolidates previous separate agreements. One of the previous agreements covered a group of 88 homes along Route 981 that had been served by Comcast for a number of years. The other agreement applied to the remainder of the township -- where customers were served by Adelphia Cable until 2005, when parts of that system were taken over by Comcast. Since Comcast now is the designated cable provider for all areas of the township, it makes sense to have a single agreement, DeCario said. Otherwise, "Everything is the same as it was in the last agreement," he said. According to an e-mail message to the supervisors from township solicitor John Rushford, Comcast will pay Derry Township a franchise rate of 5 percent of the annual gross revenues received in the township service area. There is a provision that Comcast will not be forced to pay a higher rate than applies for any other cable provider in the area. Under the agreement, which can be renewed for three additional five-year terms, Comcast will provide one free basic cable service to each municipal building, fire department and volunteer ambulance location in the township and to the Derry Area K-12 schools as well as the Caldwell Memorial Library -- a public library that shares space with the Derry Area High School library. DeCario said the township makes use of the free Comcast cable TV service at its municipal building. But, he said, "They don't supply our Internet service for free. We have too many computers." Under the new agreement, Comcast indemnifies the township from any claims resulting from bodily injury or property damages arising from its cable operations. The cable company also must maintain workers' compensation insurance as well as $1 million in insurance each for property damages and for bodily injury or death. The township will have the right to audit Comcast records in order to calculate the franchise fee. What else they did The supervisors also approved $49,156 as the township's minimum municipal obligation for its employee pension plan for 2012. The board approved revision of a sewage facilities planning module for proposed construction of a new home in the Lowman subdivision off Kingston Club Road. DeCario noted the state Department of Environmental Protection also must review the plan for tapping into the Latrobe Municipal Authority sewage system. The supervisors also reviewed the following subdivisions: Smoker-Hainan No. 2 along Pandora Road; the Allman estate along Laughlin Farm Road; and Androstic No. 3 along Androstic Road. With public schools back in session, DeCario cautioned drivers to watch for children crossing roads to get to their school bus stops. Responding to a resident's complaint, Supervisor Dave Slifka said he intends to address a drainage problem on Richmond Street in Loyalhanna. Meanwhile, he said a township crew was sealing cracks as the final step in a major improvement project on nearby Oaklawn Drive. He explained the road's contour had to be reshaped and culvert improvements were made to address drainage on that street at an estimated cost of about $30,000. Before the improvements, he said, "The drainage was really bad." ___ (c)2011 The Blairsville Dispatch (Blairsville, Pa.) Visit The Blairsville Dispatch (Blairsville, Pa.) at www.pittsburghlive.com/x/blairsvilledispatch Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]