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Dillsboro officials pass first reading of Mediacom cable franchise agreement
By Justin Goble
Dillsboro town officials passed the first reading of their new cable franchise agreement Monday night (Sept. 12).
The agreement with Mediacom grants the town a 5 percent franchise fee, a raise from the 3 percent fee under the old franchise agreement.
This change arose from legislation approved by the General Assembly this past summer that levies the state’s 7 percent sales tax on cable and satellite companies as well as ticket sales at movie theaters.
Officials initially wanted to keep the franchise fee at its previous rate, but Maggie Blythe, Mediacom’s director of government and legal affairs, urged officials to raise the fee to keep some of the tax revenues in the town.
Blythe said that since cable companies have to pay franchise fees, the General Assembly has allowed them to use those fees to offset the sales tax. Because customers will see the 7 percent increase on their bills anyway, Blythe said that raising the franchise fee keeps 5 percent of that money in the town and only 2 percent goes to the state.
Dillsboro’s franchise renewal is concurrent with what other towns in Jackson County have been doing. According to Blythe, the company and the towns aimed to create uniform agreements.
“We’ve worked really hard to make the agreements identical,” she said. “Now the only thing that is different is the name on the agreement. We had a hard time explaining to customers why they were paying one rate while their neighbor across the road was paying a different one.”
The town has to pass the agreement on two readings held during regular meetings. The next reading will be Oct. 3.
In other business Sept. 12:
– Shelby Mayor Ted Alexander, who also directs the Southwest Regional Office of Preservation North Carolina, offered suggestions for what the town should do with the Monteith property.
Alexander spent Sunday (Sept. 11) and Monday touring the property along with the rest of Dillsboro before presenting his suggestions.
He said that the town has many options in preserving the property, citing numerous government plans and grants that officials can apply for. In turn, he said that, due to its proximity to Dillsboro and the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad, the property has the potential to become a tourist attraction and revenue source for the town.
“This property lends itself for whatever the town wants to pursue,” he said. “There’s walkability, so you can have things like a walking trail or a fitness trail. There’s the regional history, recreation, arts and crafts and the educational component. The imagination’s the limit.”
When asked what he thought of the planned amphitheater that may be built on the property, Alexander said that it was a good idea, but proposed one stipulation.
“That plan looks like what I would imagine (one use of the land would be),” he said. “But the house itself should be preserved.”
– A workshop meeting to discuss new zoning ordinances will be held Tuesday, Sept. 27. The new ordinances were on the agenda to be voted upon Monday, but town board member Emma Wertchberger said that officials received the planning committee’s report containing the new ordinances on Aug. 30 and have not had the time to thoroughly examine the document.
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