Turner letter puts kibosh on PUD provider's plans

EPHRATA — The Grant County Public Utility District will not be able to add any new video service providers to its signals, but PUD authorities say current subscribers to two Grant County service providers are not in danger of losing CNN, TNT and the Cartoon Network.

A letter brought in during the PUD commission meeting Monday states that the PUD is distributing at least one of the Turner networks without authorization from Turner Network Sales, Inc. TNS states that the it will allow Grant County to continue to distribute the services on its receivers, but it must notify TNS of any other affiliates of which the PUD is distributing any of the Turner Networks within 30 days of the date of the letter. The letter is dated Oct. 13.

PUD Fiber Account Manager Eric Briggs said the letter states basically that the PUD cannot turn on any new service providers to the Turner networks, but can continue to provide service to two video service providers.

He added that the PUD does have one provider who wants to start providing video service and this will slow them down. The PUD currently provides service to Donobi, Inc., and Video Internet Broadcasting Corporation. Briggs said the PUD owns the receiver, but doesn't have the contracts to provide service.

Briggs referred to the situation as a highway, saying that PUD owns the road but the operators have the drivers licenses to provide service.

"If they felt we were doing something wrong," Briggs said, "they would just turn off the box."

Briggs said the PUD does not have a contractual transportation agreement with Turner, but only because Turner does not have transportation agreements.

After speaking with the author of the letter, Briggs said he found out that Turner had sent out about 100 of these letters to groups like the PUD who have more than one provider on a receiver.

TNS Contracts Administration Director Thomas Rhee was the author of the letter and could not be reached for comment at press time.

The PUD commission also came out against one motion and for another Monday that would require the commission to receive managerial reports on commission-approved contracts.

The commission voted three to one against the first motion, which would have required a written report signed by the manager for every contract or change order that is provided to the commission or action.

Some referred to the motion as a "accountability motion," but some on the commission labeled the motion as a "micromanagement" motion, saying it is something that is already done at the PUD.

Vera Clausen was one who called the motion a "micromanagement" motion.

Clausen joined PUD commission president Tom Flint and commission vice president Mike Conley in voting against the motion, with commission assistant secretary Randy Allred voting for it. Commission secretary Bill Bjork was not present at Monday's meeting.

"To me, why not do it?" Allred said before the vote. "Save financial problems down the road."

Flint said he trusted the staff and the managers and the assistant managers of the PUD, saying that the PUD has also had access where they've never had before.

Conley said after the vote that the right work is being done, and didn't understand the need for a motion to ratify actions already in progress.

"It's unfortunate that this has been politicized as an accountability motion," Flint said, "It is not."

Allred said after the vote that if the motion had passed it would put more responsibility on management and keep them more accountable to the rate payers of Grant County.

PUD Manager Tim Culbertson said that he is accountable to the commission either way.

Culberston also said that another motion the commission passed would be a good procedure for closing out contracts at the PUD.

A second motion was passed unanimously by the commission and requires that the manager submit a written report to the commission within 30 days of the completion of any commission contract that has required the commission's approval. The report template asks the managers to answer a number of questions, including the actual total cost of the contract, and if the contract was completed on time.