Friday, July 13, 2012 - 8:31am
Wilmington City Council denies Comcast renewal, talks violence
Updated Friday, July 13, 2012 - 1:53pm
Video player now loading; please wait...
The clock is ticking for Comcast and the City of Wilmington to negotiate a franchise agreement.
Click here to listen
Wilmington City Council has voted to preliminarily deny an application of renewal for their franchise agreement with Comcast, the city's sole cable provider.
The move was unanimously approved Thursday night, which placed a deadline of August 23 for both sides to come to an agreement or the city will set procedures into motion that could lead to legal action.
Click here to listen
"We are hoping that Comcast is going to be able to meet weekly with address some of the concerns that we have and hopefully we we'll find some middle ground. If not, come August 23rd we'll move forward with our plan," says Kevin Kelley, the resolution's sponsor.
If the case goes to court, he says it could get costly.
Click here to listen
"If we go to litigation, it's gonna get expensive. But again, they've had two years to come to the table with an agreement, if you can't come to agreement we to go to court and going to cost money and I think that's the road council is ready to take if we need to," he says.
A Comcast representative who spoke at the meeting says the company will try to meet with city officials on a weekly basis to discuss the matter.
Council members also met for their last time until August 23rd as they break for the summer. Many members took time to recognize the recent outbreak of violent crime in the city.
Councilman Paul Ignudo says there's still a lot of work to be done and encourages residents to be mindful of their surroundings.
Click here to listen
"We all need to push the panic button in our city and I don't mean 'go crazy and it's the end of the world' but we all need to view it as the serious situation that it is," he says.
Kelley, who just missed the deadly shooting at Eden Park Sunday, says local groups like churches or non-profit programs can make a big difference in keeping children safe.
Click here to listen
"We have some safe haven programs opening up. We can always do more. I think the churches and the non-profits really need to ask themselves, 'What am I doing to make the lives of children in this city better?"
However, Councilwoman Loretta Walsh says the Public Safety Committee will still be at work, saying that she hopes to speak with police at a meeting next week.
Click here to listen
"I don't think we should take a summer break because these issues aren't going to be taking a break," she says.
Copyright © May 21, 2013, WDEL/Delmarva Broadcasting Company. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|
 |
|
