BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON -- The city's cable project jumped another hurdle Wednesday.
The city and Time Warner Cable reached a tentative settlement in a lawsuit the cable giant filed last month. The suit claimed the city was violating the National Electrical Safety Code and placing utility workers and residents in danger.
The settlement hasn't been signed yet but is expected to be approved by both parties.
The two groups were to return to federal court in Cincinnati Tuesday for a preliminary injunction hearing. Instead, the settlement means construction on the municipal cable system will continue without delay. The city expects to offer cable service to about 500 residents by the end of the year.
The suit was the latest in a series of obstacles the city has faced in getting its $5 million telecommunications project off the ground. For months, the project was at a stalemate while council members debated its merits. Time Warner lobbied aggressively against the measure and requested the state auditor review the city's books and bidding procedures.
Jim Baldwin, Lebanon's telecommunications deputy director, considered the suit an effort by Time Warner to thwart competition. "The whole purpose of the lawsuit was to try and delay or derail the project altogether," Mr. Baldwin said. "And it simply wasn't successful."
Time Warner is the city's major cable supplier, with about half of the 6,500 customers in the area.
The cable company's only concern was for the safety of its workers and residents, said Jennifer Mooney, vice president of public affairs at Time Warner.
The settlement requires the city and Time Warner to work together, performing regular inspections of utility poles and informing each other of any major work to be done on the poles. The city also is to correct any violations of the National Electrical Safety Code.
