[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
East Allen 10-11-1990 by Ord. No. 90-8.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 208.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Township
of East Allen Cable Television Franchise Ordinance.”
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words
and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein. When not inconsistent
with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words
in the plural number include the singular number, words in the singular number
include the plural number, and words in the masculine gender shall include
the feminine gender. The word “shall” is always mandatory and
not merely directory.
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of East Allen, Northampton
County, Pennsylvania.
A system of antennas, cables, wires, lines, towers, waveguides or
other conductors, converters, equipment or facilities designed and constructed
for the purpose of producing, receiving, amplifying and distributing audio,
video and other forms of electronic or electrical signals, located in said
Township.
Any duly approved person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind operating under a franchise granted pursuant to § 80-3 of this chapter.
Monetary charges of any character whatever, including donations,
contributions or dues, or membership fee (periodical or otherwise) charged
or paid in any manner received, as herein provided, from the general public,
directly or indirectly, for the privilege of receiving any television signal,
or electronic impulse, which is transmitted through cables or wires, or a
system of cables or wires, which pass on, over, under or along the streets
within the Township. Gross receipts shall include monthly service charges
but shall not include monies received as installation charges and charges
for reconnections, repairs, or modifications of any installations.
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company
or organization of any kind.
Any street, alley, public way and public place as now laid out, whether
opened or unopened, dedicated to public use, and all extensions or additions
thereof as may now or hereafter be made.
The Township of East Allen, Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
From and after the enactment of this chapter, no cable television system
shall be constructed, installed or operated in the Township unless such construction,
installation or operation shall first have been authorized by ordinance of
the Township duly enacted. This chapter shall not restrict the number of franchises
granted pursuant to this chapter.
Any franchise granted under § 80-3 of this chapter shall be for a period of 15 years from the effective date of the grant of the franchise. Nothing contained therein shall be construed to limit the Township’s ability to adjust the franchise fee on gross receipts as set forth in § 80-6 herein in accordance with changes in applicable state and federal statutes.
Any franchise granted under § 80-3 of this chapter shall include the nonexclusive right and privilege to construct, erect, operate and maintain buildings, cables, wirings, machinery and transmission apparatus within the Township limits, as it now is, and as it hereafter may be constituted by revision, modification or addition and which said buildings, cables, wiring, machinery and transmission apparatus may or shall become necessary in the reception and distribution of television and radio signals and other electronic impulses for the use of the citizens of the Township, on, over, along or under the streets of the Township, and also to repair, replace, and extend the same and to do all manner of things necessary or incidental to such business, subject always to the rules, conditions and provisions of this chapter and other rules and ordinances of the Township.
For and in consideration of the rights and privileges granted herein,
the franchisee, during each year of operation under this chapter, shall pay
to the Township a fee of 5% of the annual gross receipts received by the franchisee.
Such annual payments shall be in lieu of any occupation tax, license tax or
similar levy. The franchisee shall maintain an accurate record of such gross
receipts earnings and shall submit to the Township within 30 days after the
expiration of any calendar year during the term of the rights granted herein,
an audited statement prepared by a certified public accountant showing the
gross receipts as defined herein.
The franchisee shall keep full, true, accurate and current books of
account, which books and records shall be made available for inspection and
copying by the Township at all reasonable times.
Rates charged by the franchisee for service hereunder shall be fair
and reasonable and designed to meet all necessary costs of the service, including
a fair rate of return on the net valuation of its property devoted thereto,
under efficient and economical management. The franchisee agrees that it shall
be subject to all authority now and hereafter possessed by the Township, or
any other regulatory body having competent jurisdiction, to fix just, reasonable
and compensatory television signal distribution rates. If during the term
of a franchise granted under this chapter the franchisee receives refunds,
or if the cost to the franchisee of receiving the television signal which
it relays is reduced, by order of any regulatory body having competent jurisdiction,
the franchisee shall pass on to its customers such refunds or any savings
resulting from such reduced costs.
A.
There is hereby granted to each franchisee the right,
privilege and authority to lease, rent or in any other legal manner obtain
the use of towers, poles, lines, cables and other equipment and facilities
from any and all holders of public licenses and franchises within the corporate
limits of the Township, including the Bell Telephone Company and the Pennsylvania
Power and Light Company, and to use such towers, poles, lines, cables and
other equipment and facilities, subject to all existing and future ordinances
and regulations of the Township. To the extent possible, the poles used for
the franchisee’s system shall be those maintained and erected by the
Bell Telephone Company or the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company, when and
where practicable, providing mutually satisfactory rental agreements can be
entered into with said companies. It is the stated intention of the Township
that all other holders of public licenses and franchises within the corporate
limits of the Township, including Bell Telephone Company and Pennsylvania
Power and Light Company, shall cooperate with franchisees approved under this
chapter to allow joint usage of their poles and pole-line facilities whenever
possible or whenever such usage does not interfere with the normal operation
of said poles and pole lines so that the number of new or additional poles
constructed by the franchisee within the Township may be minimized.
B.
Nothing herein, however, shall be interpreted as meaning
that the Township conveys or gives to the franchisee the right to use the
poles or facilities of the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company or the Bell
Telephone Company, or the property of any utility, railroad or private corporation,
partnership or individual, without first obtaining permission from said parties.
A.
Each franchisee’s transmission and distribution
system, poles, wires and appurtenances shall be located, erected and maintained
so as not to endanger or interfere with the lives of persons or to interfere
with new improvements the Township may deem proper to make, or to unnecessarily
hinder or obstruct the free use of the streets; removal of poles to avoid
such interference will be at the franchisee’s expense. All such installations
shall comply with the safety and construction standards of the National Electric
Safety Code, National Electric Code of the National Board of Fire Underwriters
and of the municipal ordinance of the Township.
B.
All installations of equipment shall be of a permanent
nature, durable and installed in accordance with good engineering practices,
and of sufficient height to comply with all existing Township regulations,
ordinances and state laws so as not to interfere in any manner with the right
of the public or individual property owner, and shall not interfere with the
travel and use of public places by the public and during construction, repair
or removal thereof shall not obstruct or impede traffic.
C.
No poles, cables, equipment or wires shall be installed
or the installation thereof commenced until the proposed location of said
poles, cables, equipment and wires shall have been set forth on a plat or
map showing the streets, alleys or highways within the Township, whereon such
installations are proposed and submitted to the Board for approval by it or
its designated official.
D.
In the event that a change is made in the grade of public
streets by the authority of the Township, which shall necessitate the removal
of any poles, wires, transmission and distribution lines to conform to the
change of grade, the franchisee shall make the necessary changes in its lines
at its own expense, upon due notice from the Board or its designated official,
to do so
E.
In the installation and maintenance of its cables, equipment,
wires and poles, the franchisee shall not interfere with the public use of
any street, alley or highway more than necessary to enable the franchisee
to perform the necessary installation and maintenance work with proper economy
and efficiency. When necessary in order not to interfere unduly with traffic
and the rights of the traveling public, the Board or its designated official
may determine the hours within which such shall be performed and fix a time
within which such work shall be completed.
F.
All work in any way necessitated by the business of the
franchisee which may involve the opening, breaking up or tearing up of a portion
of a street, sidewalk or other part of any Township-owned or Township-controlled
property shall, at the option of the Township, be done by the Township at
the expense of the franchisee.
G.
The franchisee shall maintain all poles, equipment, cables
and wires erected or constructed under the provisions of this chapter in good
and safe order and condition and shall at all times fully indemnify, protect
and save harmless the Township from and against all actions, claims, suits,
damages and charges, and against all loss and necessary expenditures arising
from the erection, construction and maintenance of the said works in good
and safe order and condition. In the event that the permission granted to
the franchisee shall be revoked by the Township for cause shown, or in the
event that the franchisee should fail or refuse to comply at any time with
the terms and conditions of this chapter, or in the event that the business
of the franchisee should be discontinued, voluntarily or involuntarily, then
and in any said events the franchisee shall, at its own expense, remove its
said poles, cables and wires, erected or constructed under the provisions
of this chapter.
A.
Franchisee and its employees shall not engage in the
business of selling or servicing television receivers or parts thereof in
the area served by the system.
B.
Franchisee shall install or maintain the system in such
manner so as not to interfere with television reception by use of individual
antennas presently in existence or which may hereafter be installed.
The franchisee shall, at its own expense, protect, support, temporarily
disconnect, relocate on the same street or remove from the street any property
of the franchisee when required by the Township by reason of the traffic conditions,
public safety, street vacation, freeway and street construction, change or
establishment of street grade, installation of sewers, drains, water pipes,
power lines, signal lines and tracks or any other types of structures or improvements
by governmental agencies when acting in a governmental or proprietary capacity,
or other structures of public improvement; provided, however, that the franchisee
shall in all cases have the privilege and be subject to the obligation to
abandon any of the franchisee’s property in place, as provided in this
chapter.
The franchisee shall provide service of the system without any installation
charge, monthly service charge or any charge whatsoever to all public, private
and parochial schools, public libraries, municipal buildings, and police and
fire stations within the area to be served by its system under this chapter.
A.
The franchisee shall, at all times, keep in effect the
following types of minimum insurance coverage:
(1)
Statutorily mandated workman’s compensation insurance
upon its employees and all other statutorily required individuals engaged
in any manner in the installation or servicing of its plant and equipment
within the Township.
(2)
Property damage liability insurance of not less than
$100,000 per occurrence.
(3)
Personal injury insurance of not less than $300,000 for
injury or death to any one person and $500,000 as to any one occurrence.
(4)
This workman’s compensation insurance, property
damage liability insurance, and personal injury insurance shall be written
by an insurance company with a capital and/or surplus of at least $3,000,000
and the franchisee shall furnish the Township with certified copies or certificates
of insurance of said policies, which shall provide that said insurance may
not be cancelled unless 10 days’ prior notice is given by the insurance
carrier to the Township. In addition, the Township shall be named as an additional
insured party on each of the said insurance policies.
B.
The franchisee shall indemnify, protect and save harmless
the Township from and against losses and physical damages to property, or
in bodily injury or death to persons, including payments made under any workman’s
compensation law, which may arise out of or be caused by the erection, maintenance,
presence, use or removal of aforementioned attachments or poles within the
Township, or by any act of the franchisee, its agents or employees. The franchisee
shall carry insurance in the above-mentioned amounts to protect the parties
hereto from and against all claims, damages, actions, judgments, costs, expenses,
and liabilities which may arise or result, directly or indirectly, from or
by reason of such loss, damage, or injury.
It shall be the obligation of the franchisee to serve all residents
of the Township except to the extent that a lack of density of homes, adverse
terrain or other factors render providing service impracticable, technically
unfeasible or economically noncompensatory. For purposes of determining compliance
with the provisions of this section, and to provide for a reasonable and nondiscriminatory
policy governing extensions of cable service within the Township, the franchisee
shall extend service to such new subscribers, at a normal installation charge
and monthly rate for customers of that classification, under the following
terms and conditions:
A.
Where the new subscriber, or nearest subscriber or a
group of new subscribers, is located within 500 feet of existing trunk cables;
and
B.
Where the number of homes to be passed by such new extension
cable plant bears the same proportional ratio to the total amount of new cable
plant as the average number of homes passed per mile of existing cable plant.
Franchisee is subject to all requirements of the Township ordinances,
rules and regulations and specifications of the Township heretofore or hereafter
enacted, or established, including but not limited to those concerning street
work, street excavation, use, removal and relocation of property within a
street and other street work; provided, however, that any ordinance of the
Township adopted subsequent to the date of this chapter, which effects a material
change in the rights or obligations involved hereunder, shall not affect the
terms and conditions hereof, except after public notice to the franchisee
and following public hearing thereon.
The franchisee shall pay to the Township a sum of money sufficient to
reimburse it for the expense incurred by it in connection with the publication,
preparation and passage of this chapter and the rights granted to the franchisee
hereunder. Such payment shall be made by the franchisee to the Township within
30 days after the Township shall furnish the franchisee with a written statement
of such expense.
The grant of a franchise is governed by and subject to all applicable
rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission. Should there
be any modifications of the provisions of the rules and regulations of the
Commission which must be incorporated into the franchise agreement, the Township
and franchisee agree that such further action shall be accomplished within
one year of the adoption of the modification.
The franchisee agrees to maintain a business office or toll-free telephone
listing in or nearby to the Township for the purpose of receiving inquiries
and complaints from its customers. The franchisee shall investigate all complaints
within a reasonable time after their receipt and shall in good faith attempt
to resolve them swiftly and equitably, excepting when cessation of service
is caused by conditions beyond the control of the franchisee.
In the event that the use of any part of the system installed is discontinued
for any reason by the franchisee for a continuous period of six months causing
a cessation of service to subscribers of the system, or in the event that
the franchisee fails to comply with any provisions of the grant, the franchisee
shall immediately remove, at its own expense, from the streets and public
places all such parts of the system other than any which the Township requests
be abandoned in place. In the event of any such removal, the franchisee shall
restore the property and areas from which such removal occurred to a condition
satisfactory to the Township. Any property of the franchisee requested to
be abandoned in place by the Township shall be abandoned in such a manner
as the Township may prescribe, and the franchisee shall submit to the Township
an instrument acceptable to the Township transferring to the Township ownership
of such property.
If the Township discovers that the franchisee has engaged in pronounced and continuous violations of the terms and provisions of this chapter and/or of any other applicable local, state or federal regulations, the Township may file the appropriate action against the franchisee in a court of competent jurisdiction, seeking monetary damages, equitable relief and/or any other appropriate remedy, including, but not limited to, the revocation of the franchise granted pursuant to § 80-3 of this chapter.
Any franchise granted pursuant to § 80-3 of this chapter shall be upon express condition that the franchisee shall file with the Township a written acceptance of the same within 30 days after written notice is given to the franchisee of the grant. The ordinance granting the franchise, and the acceptance of the same by the franchisee, constitutes a contract between the Township and the franchisee for all the uses, services and purposes set forth in the ordinance.
The Township shall have the right to supervise all construction or installation
work performed subject to the provisions of this chapter and to make such
inspection as it shall find necessary to insure compliance with governing
ordinances.
