Glendale Debates Latest Marcus Cable Proposal : Transfer: Burbank council is told negotiators have worked out problems in similar deal for that city.

The Glendale City Council on Tuesday debated whether to accept Marcus Cable’s latest bid to take over the city’s cable television system but council members said they believe their differences with the cable firm can be worked out.

At the same time, Burbank City Council members were told that city negotiators had worked out all problems with Marcus over a similar transfer, and officials there said they were confident that Marcus can carry out the job.

Since early summer, Glendale officials have been at odds with the Dallas-based cable company, which is in the process of buying more than 200 cable systems in several states from Sammons Communications in a $1-billion takeover.

Glendale officials have been concerned about Marcus’ ability and commitment to pay for a $15-million renovation of the city’s outmoded cable system, a project stipulated in Sammons’ recently approved franchise contract. The project would use fiber optics to increase the channel capacity from about 40 to 70.

Glendale council members said Tuesday that the firm has yet to prove it can pay for the project, which resulted from long franchise negotiations between the city and Sammons.

“I had hoped we would have things resolved by now,” Councilwoman Eileen Givens said. “We spent two years negotiating the new franchise agreement only to have the Marcus buyout pull the rug out from under us.”

Officials are worried that Marcus’ high debt, a result of its acquisitions of Sammons and other cable companies, will make it difficult for the company to commit capital to the Glendale project, which is slated for completion by 1997. In addition, Givens said council members are worried about the firm’s inexperience in urban markets and the possibility of rate hikes.

“We still have some serious concerns,” she said. “In Glendale, because of the terrain, a lot of people have to subscribe to cable just to get reception, so I think we have to be very protective of the customers.”

In Burbank, an ordinance reflecting the deal that has been struck was introduced Tuesday night at a council meeting, with a formal vote due in November. The package includes a new franchise agreement with Sammons, transferable to Marcus once its acquisition of Sammons is finalized, and calls for a transmission system overhaul that will greatly increase channel availability and picture quality, city officials said.

The project, estimated at about $10 million, is slated for completion within two years. In addition, the agreement stipulates that Marcus post a $750,000 letter of credit to guarantee construction of the project, and requires that it provide air time and facilities for a variety of community programs.

“I’m relatively satisfied with what we’ve worked out,” said Burbank Councilman Ted McConkey before Tuesday’s council meeting. “We’ve built into the agreement what we think are some prudent controls, and if everything goes as planned, in a few years we’ll have a first-class cable system.”