PUD tables video equipment sale

EPHRATA — The Grant County Public Utility District commission delayed a scheduled vote for approval to sell a portion of the video head-end facility.

PUD General Manager Tim Culbertson said Monday the commission is seeking more information about the equipment and the sale before voting.

The PUD initially proposed hawking its video head-end equipment in March 2005, when a 3-2 commission vote brought fiber optic network build out to a halt and into "stand pat" mode.

The head-end equipment, currently not in operation, was used by the utility district to sell wholesale video to service providers. The providers would turn around and sell video to retail customers on the PUD's Zipp fiber optic network.

The head-end facility, which cost the PUD about $2 million, employs an antenna and multiple satellite receivers to capture video content. The facility's encoders then transfer the content into a digital format for transport on Zipp.

The commission last week discussed selling the antenna and encoders. The PUD received an offer of $3,000 from ATCi of Chandler, Ariz., for the antenna. Apex Communications Supply, Inc. of Hayden, Idaho, bid $37,725 for the encoders. The PUD's staff members accepted the two company's bids, but the sale needed commission approval by resolution.

Culbertson said the commission is re-considering sale of the antenna.

The PUD has tried three times to sell all the video head-end equipment together, but offers didn't equal the minimum bid of $276,000.

Once attempts to sell the equipment as a complete package failed, the district's telecommunications engineering staff recommended selling the facility in parts. The remainder of the equipment would be kept for the PUD's internal use, according to the staff proposal.

The commissioners, during their final meeting of the year next week, are scheduled to continue the discussion and vote on the resolution.