On Jan. 23, the City of Kenmore notified Frontier Communications that the company must pay liquidated damages totaling $30,000 for failing to build out facilities and offer cable television service to all residential areas within the city, according to a Feb. 7 press release from the City of Kenmore.

Building out facilities and offering service across Kenmore is required by Frontier’s franchise agreement with the city, according to the release. When Frontier petitioned cities in Washington to transfer their Verizon Cable Franchises in 2009, Frontier took on the responsibilities of each local franchise agreement, including, in Kenmore’s case, offering cable services to all residential areas in the entire city by August 2011.

Verizon had built out most of the north end of Kenmore by the time the franchise was transferred to Frontier, leaving more than 2,000 Kenmore households south of the Sammamish River with one choice for cable television service (Comcast).

This is not the first time the city has assessed liquidated damages against Frontier, as the company paid Kenmore $45,000 for not meeting its build out obligation in 2014. The 2017 $30,000 assessment is due to the city in March.

Though Frontier staff verbally informed the city that the company has recently installed wiring that can serve the south side of Kenmore, their new video platform is not expected to be available in Washington until 2018 at the earliest, because the company has made commitments to new service areas in California, Texas and Florida, according to the city’s release.

“When a company signs a franchise agreement, they need to follow through and offer consumers a choice in cable service providers,” Kenmore Mayor David Baker said in a statement. “Frontier has left half of our city without that choice, and we’re holding them to their commitments.”

In response to the city’s assessment, Frontier Public Relations Director Javier Mendoza sent the following statement to the Reporter: “Frontier is reviewing the city’s correspondence. We are committed to serving our customers in Washington.”