A resolution to extend the franchise agreement between the city of Urbana and Comcast, a cable provider, will be voted on in the Urbana City Council’s Monday night meeting.

This resolution will extend the agreement between the city and the company to Aug. 1 of this year. Since March 1994, Comcast has been providing cable and television services to the city. However, the agreement expired on Feb. 28, after almost 16 years of service. Upon renewing this contract, Urbana and Comcast have been unable to reach an agreement regarding the new terms of the franchise. The resolution indicated the city does not wish Urbana residents to experience a gap in cable services.

Robert Lewis, Ward 3, said the city council will have a discussion regarding the resolution followed by a vote.

“I don’t think it’s going to be an issue,” Lewis said. “We need to finalize our situation with Comcast. We need to do it (as) expedientially as possible.”

Brandon Bowersox, Ward 4, said Comcast is a monopoly as the only cable and television provider in the city.

“It’s an agreement that lets them provide cable services to the city,” he said. “They provide service to all of Urbana. It would simply renew (the contract) for the next few months. When it ended, we were unable to reach a new contract.”

The city has asked Comcast to keep current fees and provide an additional public access channel, Bowersox added. The current fee Comcast placed on customers’ cable bills was a 7 percent tax that pays for the operation of Channel 6, Urbana public television. Channel 6 brings local government programming to Urbana residents. Bowersox said the channel shows governmental meetings happening in the city, such as city council and school board meetings and public television shows as well.

“There are a lot of different possibilities,” he said. “I think the choices are that the city and Comcast agree or the city finds a new cable provider.”

The initial search for a new cable provider was made with an open request for proposal to other cable companies interested in providing service to Urbana, Bowersox said.

He said he would ask Comcast to agree to a new franchise agreement, continue the 7 percent tax for Channel 6 operations and provide an additional public access channel.

Bowersox urges the residents to voice their opinions about their cable television provider.

“If residents of Urbana want their public television to grow, they have to speak up for it,” Bowersox said. “And hopefully, Comcast will hear it.”