Metro I-4 News

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Don’t read this story with the AC turned up high: With solar power, the electric bill is just $3 a month

Obviously things have changed since I went to school. Packing any learning would have been helpful then: Orange County schools will pack more learning into same amount of time

If you have an unpaid parking fine or toll ticket, you’ll want to read this story. If you wonder how the government spends your tax money, you’ll want to read this story. If you’re read this far, why not just read: City of Orlando, road agencies scramble to address backlog of unpaid toll and parking tickets

Today’s bonus coverage: Florida Among 6 States To Write Own School Formulas

It’s a slow Friday in the region ppers. Sex, drugs, and titillation all lead. Of course, we link to none of that. Instead we have Florida’s Gulf, Florida’s Teachers, and Florida’s Supreme Court Chief Justice.

Report: Florida Treats Gulf As a ‘Toilet’

Newest Teachers Hit Hard By Layoffs

New Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Peggy Quince makes history

Today’s grab bag of articles takes us from budget cuts to budget winners; from suing developers to green builders; from crime prevention to college promotion and the cherry on top is rate hikes for electric customers.

Not everyone felt the impact of budget cuts

Buyers sue Four Corners developer

Our position: Local and state government can fight crime by making prevention a priority

PCC Closer to 4-Year Programs

Tampa Gives Preliminary Approval To Building Green

Tampa Electric, Peoples Gas Plan To Seek Rate Increase

Yes - that headline says April 15. Your tax forms must be in the mail by midnight tonight.
Apopka Cops say that the house being used for a reality show was once used to broadcast live sex acts for an adult entertainment Web site. Can’t you imagine the idiots behind this? “Hey, [...]

The “Move Over” law in Florida states you must leave an empty lane between you and emergency vehicles or, if you can’t, slow down at least 20 MPH below the speed limit.

To help remind you of the law, the Lakeland Police Department will be out in force from 7:30 am to 3:00 pm today to help educate drivers in the following areas:

• The Polk County Parkway.

• Harden Blvd between Beacon Road and Lakeside Village Shopping Center.

• South Road 98 (Bartow Highway) between Edgewood Drive and South Crystal Lake Drive.

According to LPD, “Violators of this law will be stopped and given literature and anything from a verbal warning to a uniform traffic citation.”

Tuesday House Representative Seth McKeel introduced HB 1143. Simply entitled University of South Florida Lakeland, HB1143 states:

An act relating to the University of South Florida Lakeland; creating s. 1004.345, F.S.; establishing and designating the University of South Florida Lakeland campus; providing legislative intent; requiring the Board of Trustees to appoint a Campus Board; providing membership, powers, and duties of the Campus Board; providing that the university is administered by a Campus Executive Officer; requiring the President of the University of South Florida to consult with the Campus Board before hiring or terminating the Campus Executive Officer; providing duties and powers of the Campus Executive Officer; providing that students enrolled at a branch campus of the university have the same rights as other students; requiring the University of South Florida to provide for a system of student registration that meets certain conditions; providing an effective date.

That pretty much sums up the bill. You can read a PDF of the full bill here.

The work on South Florida between Highland and Ariana ended this morning. The barriers were removed and traffic is back to normal. There are a few pieces of equipment left in a parking lot or two, but I don’t think traffic will be affected come Monday.

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I made a mistake. At the Ledger forums I posted a comment in the discussion on their article City, Bright House Try To Resolve Fee Dispute. I thought I could slip in, add an important point, and slip out. I should have remembered it isn’t that easy.

One poster’s reply started with, “Your aggression is focused incorrectly at Bright House. The fact is that this is simply another tax by Lakeland Electric or the city of Lakeland.”

This what I wrote:

First, I feel no aggression toward Bright House, and I also don’t feel a city (and its citizens) should give away its resources.

The attachment fee is not a tax. It is a cost of doing business. I believe Bright House labeled it a tax hoping the word would shock citizens who didn’t study the situation.

We paid to put up those poles. We continue to pay for them. In order to allow cable and other companies to attach to the poles, we have to buy taller poles than the electric company needs.

I have a suggestion. Would you be amenable to Bright House putting up all their own poles? That way they would have to repair them when they’re damaged or old. Oh, and your bill would go way up to pay for all those poles.

When cable first started the companies were given discount rates to attach to the poles because they were “new.” Not just in Lakeland, but all over the US. The rates have not risen with the costs. The attachment fees in Lakeland and other municipalities are fair fee for the burden the cable companies put on our resources.

I surely believe the same people would complain if the headline was “Lakeland Gives Free Ride to Bright House.” I’d read, “How dare they not charge that company. No wonder my taxes are so high!”

As I mentioned in my personal statement about Lakeland Local, I’ll try to keep everything as transparent as possible. For those who ask, I’ve never had a single problem with Bright House service other than expected equipment failures. No problems with bills, no over (or under) charges, no rude technicians or sales staff. On the other side, except for a single instance, I’ve found the members of our city government very open, forthcoming, and helpful. In order words, I don’t have a special like or dislike for either entity.

I believe the attachment fee is fair. I believe the company management at Bright House made a mistake by not reporting every pole where their techs attached cable leads. I also feel they dealt in a little propaganda by calling the fee “a tax” and using an inflated number when reporting the fee to their customers. I really hope the attention on this issue will help the two sides sit down and quickly reach an agreement.

I urge all Bright House customers to study the pole fee attachment issue as it relates to cable companies. Don’t settle for what I, or the Ledger, reports. Especially don’t settle for what Bright House and Lakeland Electric puts on a single slip of paper in your monthly bill.

If you’ve been near your email reader anytime in the last few days, you’ve probably been forwarded a copy of an email written by Ghassan Zebdaoui, a county employee making serious allegations against County Manager Mike Herr and some members of the County staff.

If you haven’t, read the only main stream media mention of the email at the Polk County News Blog. Tampa Tribune reporter sums up the most damaging allegations and starts the investigation into the matter.

I’m not going to publish the full email here. There are a few citizens mentioned, and I think it would be unfair to them if I published without contacting each for their statements. I’m not going to spend that kind of time on this story. I’ll wait to see what the Tribune, and hopefully, the Ledger uncover.

However, Zebdaoui mentions in his email a October 23, 2001 incident where his was arrested in a case of mistaken identity. I thought it interesting to research that point. You can read it at the Tahoe Tribune’s online archive: City official victim of mistaken identity in post-attack suspicions

As you read the article, remember the state of the country those few weeks after the 911 attack. I remember taking a flight not long after and watching airport security follow a man around simply because he looked “middle eastern.” I wouldn’t be surprised if there are not many men like Zebdaoui who have similar “arrest” stories.

I was asked this evening if the Pole Attachment Fee story wasn’t old news. It is in a way, the controversy first erupted in September. You might want to read Lonnie Brown’s humorous take to get a sense of the story.

It isn’t even Bright House’s first Pole Attachment Fee problem with a local electric company. In April 2006, Tampa Electric sued Bright House over the fees. In September 2007 Bright House complained about the fee structure to the Federal Communication Commission.

There is actually a FCC formula for that covers setting annual rates for pole attachments, providing the cable company doesn’t provide telecommunications services:

Maximum rate = space factor x net cost of bare pole x carrying charge rate

The space factor is the space consumed by the attachment, out of total usable space on a pole. Generally speaking, a pole is 37.5 feet high, the amount of usable space is 13.5 feet and the amount of space allowed for the attachment is one foot. That means the “space factor” is one foot out of 13.5 feet, or 7.41 percent of that portion of the pole that can generate revenue.

Or, as telecommunications attorney Paul Glist this pencils it out, that means the space allotted to a cable attachment should cover 7.41% of the cost of a pole.

If, however, a pole user also provides telecommunications services, the formula changes.

The definition of space factor becomes space occupied plus two-thirds of the unusable space, with unusable space divided by the number of companies attaching wires to the pole.

The resulting number is divided by the pole height. — Multichannel News

I asked Kevin Cook, Director of Communications for the City of Lakeland, for the city’s cost for a pole. Cook wrote that the city’s cost for a pole and installation is $370. He added that the city arrived at their Pole Attachment Fee using the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) formula to establish pole attachment fees.

Using the FCC formula, and assuming the average pole height, the pole attachment charge would be $26.417 (7.41% * $370.00) per pole. That’s $6.717 per pole more than the city calculated using the APPA formula.

The city contends Bright House has not paid certain fees and costs:

Currently Bright House Networks is behind on their License Application fee in the amount of $ 163,768. This fee is based on 40,942 Attachments at $4.00/pole for existing Attachments (as of September 17th, 2007). The License Application and fee were due to the City on December 31, 2007.

In addition, License Fees for FY 2007-2008 are $20.70/pole and have been billed to Bright House Networks but this fee has not been paid.

A License Application is required for new attachments, renewals, modifications, transfers, or requests for relief. Said License Applications are $100 each and in addition to any other License Fees or amounts that may be due.

To date, Lakeland has not received any of the requested permits, applications, or monies due from Bright House per the Ordinance. T&D Engineering informs me that Bright House has not paid any monies for attachments since September, 2007. It is my understanding that Bright House has not requested any type meeting from the City Attorney’s Office or Lakeland Electric to discuss the Ordinance before or after approval of the ordinance. — Kevin Cook 1/30/08 email

Cook also wrote that Bright House will be in non-compliance if they fail to make a payment by Friday:

Failure by Bright House to make payment of $163,768 by February 1, 2007 will cause Bright House to be in non-compliance per Section 23 of Ordinance 4899 (the “Ordinance’) and subject Bright House to additional charges of $500 plus $1.00 per attachment per day. Lakeland will also begin assessing late charges at the rate of one percent per month on the amount of $ 163,768. In addition, since Bright House has not responded to Lakeland as to whether or not to be billed on a monthly basis, Lakeland can only assume that Bright House owes the City of Lakeland $ 847,499.40 for the FY08 pole attachment fees as laid out in the ordinance. — Kevin Cook 1/30/08 email

I am sure we’ll hear more about this controversy. Cook told me the Ledger also has a story in the works. I expect that Bright House will give the main stream media an answer or two. I look forward to reading the cable company’s response.

Every so often, I watch Bright House techs climb the utility pole in the alley. There always seems to be someone with snow, or needing new service, or canceling service.

Like you, I have cable and I have an interest in not wasting money. So I check my bill. You might want to check yours. You’ll notice Bright House charges you $1.47 a month for “City of Lakeland Pole Attachment Fee”. That’s $17.64 a year.

Before September 2007 Bright House was charged a $20.28 per pole fee. That month the City of Lakeland raised the fee to $20.70 for 2008. Bright House immediately started charging customers the $1.47. But, according to the city, Bright House has neither paid what was due for 2007, nor the amount due for 2008.

Let a customer neglect to pay their cable bill for a year and see what happens.

You may ask, why isn’t Bright House charging $1.725 per month? (That’s the yearly $20.70 divided by 12.) I’d reply, well, that’s because they’re charging $3.16 per month.

Wait, didn’t I say $1.47 a month? That’s the new fee. We can be sure that we were already paying the $20.28 a year. It just wasn’t a line item. That was $1.69 a month. Add the $1.47 and $1.69 and you get…$3.16.

Bright House attaches to 40,942 poles in Lakeland. That means they owe the city $847,499.40 for 2008. Our next question is: how much do they collect?

There are a reported 60,150 Bright House subscribers whose service is attached to Lakeland poles. That means Bright House collected $1,219,842 in pole attachment fees in 2007. They’ll collect that much plus an additional $1,061,046 with the additional $1.47 per month fee. That means $2,280,888 for both fees for the year.

So they owe the city $847,499.40 and they collect $2,280,888.00 That means, um, two, carry the one, uh, Bright House will make $1,433,388.60 profit on pole attachment fees alone! Thats 23.83 a year profit on each and every subscriber.

With that kind of profit, I better get my MTV.

I called Bright House for their comment. I am still on hold. I’ll update when I get an answer.

Meanwhile, I’ll anticipate one comment. “We were eating the cost of the poles for 2007. The $1.47 per month is all we charge customers for pole fees.”

Well, they’ll still make a profit. 60,150 customers at 1.47 per month for 12 months is $1,061,046.00 per year. They owe the city $847,499.40. That is $213,546.60 profit per year.

Press “B” if you consider that gross profit.