United Cable TV Seeks 4th Delay for Installation in East Valley

United Cable Television of Los Angeles asked a City Council committee Thursday to extend--to the end of 1988--the deadline for completing the long-delayed East San Fernando Valley cable TV system.

The Industry and Economic Development Committee is expected to approve the extension, which would be the fourth since the company won the cable franchise in 1983, on the promise that it would complete the system by December, 1985.

The latest extension request has been supported by Susan Herman, head of the city Department of Telecommunications. Herman, whose department regulates cable TV in the city, said the extension should be approved to give residents a “reasonable expectation” of when they can get cable service.

The three-member committee, however, delayed a vote on the extension because it could not agree on a separate but related issue of whether to fine United, and if so by how much, for failing to meet earlier deadlines for completing segments of the system.

600 Miles Installed

United has installed about 600 miles of the 935-mile system and is serving 26,200 out of a potential 185,000 homes in the East Valley, company president William Cullen said Thursday.

The last approved deadline for completion of the system was June 30.

Cullen said another extension is needed because of problems encountered with the city Department of Water and Power over the stringing of cable on utility poles. United was forced to re-string the cable on hundreds of utility poles because DWP inspectors believed the cable was strung unsafely. Cullen said the company has worked out its problems with the DWP.

until the system is completed.

United is liable for $440,900 in fines for failing to meet the earlier deadlines, but the committee was considering Thursday whether to impose as much as $186,200 of that amount. A decision on whether the company should have to pay more has been put off until the system is completed.

Committee chairwoman Joan Milke Flores argued that United should pay half of the $186,200 fine now and the rest if it fails to complete the system by Dec. 31. She said the fine would show other cable companies that the city will require them to live up to their promises.

United officials, arguing that they should not be fined, said the delays have been beyond the company’s control. Cullen said the company has a strong financial incentive to finish the $65-million system as soon as possible. He said the company loses $1 million a month in income from delays.

Committee members Robert Farrell and Gilbert W. Lindsay indicated that they would oppose the fines. The committee, however, delayed a vote until Feb. 2 at the request of Farrell, who wanted to study the matter further.

It will make a recommendation to the full council, which will make the final decision on the extension and fines. Without the extension, more fines could be levied against United.

City officials have acknowledged that they have little choice but to grant United extensions. It would take even longer for the cable system to be completed if the city had to find another company to finish the job, they said.