A car turns near a temporary plate installed at Sixth and Ann streets in Parkersburg on Friday. The city made temporary repairs to a sinkhole on what is a state route, officials said. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

PARKERSBURG — Members of Parkersburg City Council on Tuesday will consider implementing a cable franchise fee and asking the West Virginia Division of Highways to correct issues with its maintenance of roadways in the city limits.

The first regular council meeting of October is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in council chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building.

At the Sept. 23 meeting, council voted 7-1, with one member absent, to approve cable franchise agreements with CAS Cable and Cebridge Acquisition LLC. Each is for a period of five years instead of the 10-year period of previous agreements.

“It was the view of the administration given the rapid changes in technology, that it was more appropriate to limit the primary term to five years than 10,” City Attorney Blaine Myers wrote in a memo to council members. “However, you will note that each of the agreements have language which enables the same to be extended for an additional five years by mutual agreement of both parties.”

The agreements also impose a 5% cable franchise fee which Parkersburg has not charged in years past, unlike many other municipalities in the state, officials said. The fees, which will be passed along to cable customers, are expected to raise about $250,000 a year.

The final readings of both franchise agreements are on Tuesday’s agenda, along with public hearings on each. An ordinance on first reading would formally enact the franchise fee.

A resolution for council’s consideration says the state Division of Highways “has failed and neglected its obligations” with regard to mowing and weed control, maintaining stormwater infrastructure and the sequencing of traffic lights at downtown intersections.

“Now therefore be it resolved that the Council of the City of Parkersburg hereby demands that the West Virginia Division of Highways adequately address its maintenance obligations of State roads and highways,” it says.

The resolution says mowing and weed control along state routes in the city are not performed in a timely manner and when they are done “large volumes of grass and weeds have been deposited within streets and highways within the City, resulting in clogging of storm drains and other maintenance issues.” It says sequencing of traffic lights has been “deficient, resulting in unnecessary traffic congestion, reduced efficiency of traffic flow, and thereby creating more hazardous driving conditions.”

On the subject of stormwater infrastructure, it says state officials claim there is no obligation to maintain stormwater infrastructure it did not build within state roads and rights of way, despite that infrastructure existing to serve their routes. A memo by City Engineer Adam Stout cites recent efforts by the city, including repairing drainage facilities serving the intersection of Camden Avenue and Division Street, despite Division being part of West Virginia 14 and Camden a portion of West Virginia 95.The city addressed sinkholes at Fifth and Juliana and Sixth and Ann streets, although those are also state routes.

“The WVDOT has historically had a positive and productive partnership with the City of Parkersburg, and we look forward to continuing that partnership in the future,” a spokesman for the department said when asked about the proposed resolution. “We also look forward to continuing our open dialogue to address any specific issues they have.”

Also on the agenda is a resolution reappointing Warren Bigley and Mike Vierheller to the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.