Wyoming city council cuts resident a break on replacing fence; new cable television agreement finalized

Staff

It never hurts to ask. Last week a request from a Wyoming taxpayer for special consideration on his fence project resulted in the Wyoming City Council approving the request.

The resident of 26494 Goodview said he "lost considerable property" when County Road 22 and Goodview Avenue improvements were done. The resident built a new fence, a six foot tall wood privacy fence, to shield his property from the new foot trail that was also constructed on the edge of his lot as part of the road work. On a corner lot in Wyoming, however, the maximum is a four-foot tall fence.
The resident asked for the city council A. to grant him a variance for the extra height and B. waive the $200 fee charged for variance applications. He got both on a 4-1 vote with Council member Linda Nanko-Yeager opposed. She said this sets a bad precedent opening the door for "others to ask for the same special considerations."

Mayor Sheldon Anderson, who made the motion, said the resident was a victim of circumstances set in motion partly by the city. It was "beyond his control" and so the fee should be waived and the taller fence okayed.

Wyoming has a cable television franchise ordinance.

City Administrator Craig Mattson presented the documents describing the franchise arrangement (currently with US Cable) and council was informed that the old agreement expired in 2004 and the city negotiate terms and renewals since.

The contract is for 15 years but is non-exclusive so Wyoming could grant additional franchises. Other highlights include: once housing density reaches 25 households per mile (measured from nearest tap to cable system) the cable service area is extended; the city hall, police department and Wyoming Elementary School receive cable service at no charge (excluding non-basic offerings like pay per view); franchise fee the city receives is five percent of subscription sales in Wyoming; the company is to publish a phone number for complaints and there's timelines in the agreement wherein maintenance /repair complaints must be resolved or US Cable starts reducing the bill charged to the subscriber on a formula.

In other matters the council declined to contribute to the elementary school calendar. The school sells calendar space at $250 and the city was being asked to sponsor two spaces at $500. Council members felt the expense was unwarranted.

The final payment was approved to Rosenbauer/General Safety Equipment LLC for the new fire rig. The final pricetag was $485,792, including changes to the original order that started at $483,742.

Gaughan Properties will market the industrial/business parcel known as the Bingham property for the city. The asking price is $808,000 and terms include the five percent broker fee, etc.