As November comes to a close, the city is gearing up for Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month, which will be proclaimed at tonight’s City Council meeting.

The tentative date to kick off Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month is Nov. 25, and throughout the month red ribbons will be distributed by the police department and other city departments.

A new 15-year cable contract may be approved tonight by the council with Mediacom Cable Company. Before approving the franchise agreement, the city discussed several concerns they had with the quality of cable.

Mayor Dan Cougill said although the cable has improved a little, the company has said once the transfer from old equipment to new takes place in early December, the reception should be restored.

A new item to the cable agreement is customer service standards, Cougill said. The city added about three and a half pages of Federal Communications Commission standards regarding customer service. The standards address how long the cable can be out for before being restored, a mandatory toll free telephone number open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and installation standards among others.

Also on its agenda, the council will be allocating $850 in tourism funds to put up a billboard on Route 16 coming into town advertising the city’s square and stores it offers, Cougill said.

The council will also allocate $2, 422 in tourism funds to the Lincoln Log Cabin Historic Site, which had 130,00 visitors last year, for promotion, Cougill said. Also tonight, more than $4,000 in tourism funds will be expended for three marketing projects. The projects include brochures for stops on Interstate 57, regional tourism office and for the 2003 Charleston tourism guide.

Council meetings are at 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers in the city’s municipal building located at Sixth Street and Jackson Avenue. The meetings are open to the public.