Adelphia Cable has always said that it listens to its customers.

The company proved it Thursday by announcing that WPBO was returned to the television lineup as channel 99.

The Ironton City Council also approved two property deals that could mean new jobs for the city in the future.

Adelphia representatives Tracee Tackett, operations manager for the Ashland-Ironton systems, and Larry Mathews, general manager of the Huntington-Ashland-Ironton area, attended Thursday's meeting to announce the good news about WPBO that came as a direct response to community concerns.

"We made a bad choice," Mathews said. "It needed corrected, so we did correct it."

The problem began last month when WPBO was replaced with WKAS, a public broadcast channel from Kentucky, as part of the channel adjustments that added nine channels, but removed WPBO and moved Turner Classic Movies to the digital service.

After learning that the Ironton School System uses the channel Tackett said the company would do what they could to fix the problem.

The Ohio Public Television station was added as channel 99, but is available to all cable subscribers even those who only get 2 through 25, Mathews said.

The station could be added in a lower position but another station would have to be sacrificed, he said.

The council expressed gratitude on behalf of the public and asked again if the Ohio News Network could be added as well.

Mathews said the offer to add ONN is still available but only if the community is willing to sacrifice WLWT, an ABC network out of Cincinnati that primarily shows only news and is blacked out about 70 percent of the time.

After the meeting, he did say that the company is looking at alternative ways to provide the news station that would keep the current lineup intact.

The city council has no direct power over Adelphia's decisions but simply acts as a voice for its Ironton constituents.

Ironton has a franchise agreement with Adelphia that expires in 2006 but it only mandates that the company act as a proper business within the city by maintaining liability insurance and other legal requirements. It does not give council or the city the ability to tell Adelphia how to run its business regarding prices and channel lineup.

Councilman Richard Price said he still believes that Portsmouth customers receive a better lineup for the same amount of money.

Two land deals may be the first step in creating jobs within the city.

Council renewed the lease of the former Norfolk & Western Passenger Depot building to the Greater Lawrence County Area Chamber of Commerce for two five-year terms.

The Lawrence Economic Development Corporation will oversee the lease for the Chamber.

The most immediate issue will be to get a new roof on it, fix the windows and other exterior issues and then look at the inside, Dr. Bill Dingus, executive director of the Chamber and the LEDC, said earlier Thursday.

Ideally, a tenant would be identified before the interior work so they can be a partner in it, he said.

"Hardly a day goes by that someone does not call about the depot," he said mentioning that he has had two calls in the past two days. "The demand is out there as soon as the roof is done."

More than $200,000 in Empowerment Zone funds is allocated for the project and the city included an additional $30,000 in the 2003 budget.

As far as Dingus is concerned, the three keys of the project are to find a development that will create jobs, benefit downtown Ironton and have the stability to ensure longevity.

"I would like for that building to some way be the centerpiece for Ironton's downtown community," he said. "It should serve as a draw. A restaurant is always a possibility but it should enhance the whole downtown."

Also, Council authorized Mayor Bob Cleary to advertise for sealed bids to sell a parking lot on the corner of 5th Street and Park Avenue. The 17,424 square foot lot that takes up about a quarter of the block will be sold to the highest bidder.

"We have talked to some real interested clients who would like to be able to move on this quickly," Cleary said.

Currently, the property is used for permitted, public parking, primarily courthouse employees, and only generates about $300 per month, which is less than it costs to maintain it, he said.

Several requirements will be outlined in the sealed bid package including a minimum bid of $210,000, a requirement that it can only be used for commercial development, it must have a total construction cost of at least $500,000 including the property and must be completed within two years, Cleary said.

If any of these are not met, the city will have first option to buy the lots back.