[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Borough of
Collingswood 6-3-2002 by Ord. No. 1289.
This ordinance also superseded former Ch. A312, Cable Television Franchise,
adopted 9-3-1991 by Ord. No. 998. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
The Borough hereby grants to Comcast Cablevision of Garden State, L.P.,
its nonexclusive municipal consent to place in, upon, across, above, over
and under highways, streets, alleys, sidewalks, easements, public ways and
public places in the Borough poles, wires, cables, underground conduits, manholes
and other television conductors, fixtures, apparatus and equipment as may
be necessary for the construction, operation and maintenance in the Borough
of a cable television and communications system.
For the purpose of this ordinance, the following terms, phrases, words
and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein. Such meaning or
definition of terms is supplemental to those definitions of the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) rules and regulations, 47 C.F.R. Subsection 76.1 et seq.,
and the Cable Communications Policy Act, 47 U.S.C. Section 521 et seq., as
amended, and the Cable Television Act, N.J.S.A. 48:5A-1 et seq., and shall
in no way be construed to broaden, alter or conflict with the federal and
state definitions:
BASIC CABLE SERVICE
Any service tier, which includes the retransmission of local television
broadcast signals as defined by the FCC.
BOARD or BPU
The Board of Public Utilities, State of New Jersey.
COMPANY
The grantee of rights under this ordinance and is known as "Comcast
Cablevision of Garden State, L.P."
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission.
Public hearings conducted by the Borough concerning the renewal of municipal
consent herein granted to the company were held after proper public notice
pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Act and the regulations of the
Board adopted pursuant thereto. Said hearings, having been fully open to the
public, and the Borough, having received at said public hearings all comments
regarding the qualifications of the company to receive this renewal of municipal
consent, the Borough hereby finds that the company possesses the necessary
legal, technical, character, financial and other qualifications and that the
company's operating and construction arrangements are adequate and feasible.
A. The nonexclusive municipal consent granted herein shall
expire 15 years from the date of expiration of the previous certificate of
approval issued by the Board with an automatic renewal of 10 years as provided
by N.J.S.A. 48:5A-19 and 48:5A-25, and N.J.A.C. 14:18-13.6.
B. The municipality may review the company's compliance
under this ordinance. Said reviews shall commence on the 10th anniversary
of the granting of the renewal certificate of approval and shall be completed
no later than six months from commencement. The municipality shall notify
the company and the OCTV of the commencement of said review in writing and
shall also notify the company and OCTV in writing within 30 days after completion
of said review. Said notification shall present the municipality's complete
findings in this matter. The company shall have the right to fully participate
and present evidence in these proceedings.
C. In the event that the municipality shall find that the
company has not substantially complied with the material terms and conditions
of this ordinance, the municipality shall have the right to petition the OCTV
for appropriate action, including modification and/or termination of the certificate
of approval; provided however, that the municipality shall first have given
the company written notice of all alleged instances of noncompliance and an
opportunity to cure same within 90 days of that notification.
Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Act, the company shall,
during each year of operation under the consent granted herein, pay to the
Borough 2% of the gross revenues from all recurring charges in the nature
of subscription fees paid by subscribers for cable television reception service
in the Borough or any higher amount permitted by the Act or otherwise allowable
by law, whichever is greater.
The consent granted under this ordinance to the renewal of the franchise
shall apply to the entirety of the Borough and any property subsequently annexed
hereto.
A. The company shall be required to proffer service along
any public right-of-way to any person's residence or business located
in the franchise territory and designated primary service area (PSA) at the
tariffed rates for standard and nonstandard installations.
B. The company shall utilize the Office of Cable Television's
line extension policy (LEP) for extensions of service below a minimum homes
per mile figure (HPM) of 35.
A. The company has completed an upgrade of the cable television
distribution system serving the Borough. The upgraded system is a hybrid fiber
optic/coaxial cable system following a fiber to the node architecture. The
upgraded system provides improved picture quality, enhanced signal reliability
and increased channel capacity.
B. The upgrade has been completed following the company's
engineering guidelines for hybrid fiber/coaxial (HFC) plant design which meets
or exceeds all applicable state and federal regulations as well as voluntary
cable television industry standards and follows commonly accepted industry
practices.
A. Restoration. In the event that the company or its agents
shall disturb any pavement, street surfaces, sidewalks, driveways or other
surface in the natural topography, the company shall, at its sole expense,
restore and replace such places or things so disturbed in as good a condition
as existed prior to the commencement of said work.
B. Relocation. If at any time during the period of this
consent the municipality shall alter or change the grade of any street, alley
or other way or place, the company, upon reasonable notice by the municipality,
shall remove, relay or relocate its equipment at the expense of the company.
C. Temporary removal of cables. The company shall, upon
request of the municipality, at the company's expense, temporarily raise,
lower or remove its lines in order to facilitate the moving of buildings or
machinery or in other like circumstances. Whenever the request is made by,
for or on behalf of private parties, the cost will be borne by those same
parties.
D. Removal or trimming of trees. During the exercise of
its rights and privileges under this franchise, the company shall have the
authority to trim trees upon and overhanging streets, alleys, sidewalks or
other public places of the municipality so as to prevent the branches of such
trees from coming in contact with the wires and cable of the company. Such
trimming shall be only to the extent necessary to maintain proper clearance
of the company's wire and cables. The company shall notify the Borough
prior to any tree work.
In providing services to its customers, the company shall comply with
N.J.A.C. 14:18-1 et seq. and all applicable state and federal statutes and
regulations. The company shall strive to meet or exceed all voluntary company
and industry standards in the delivery of customer service and shall be prepared
to report on it to the community upon written request of the Borough Administrator
or Clerk.
A. The company shall continue to comply fully with all applicable
state and federal statues and regulations regarding credits for outages, the
reporting of it to regulatory agencies and notification of it to customers.
B. The company shall continue to fully comply with all applicable
state and federal statutes and regulations regarding the availability of devices
for the hearing impaired and the notification of it to customers.
C. The company shall use every effort to meet or exceed
voluntary standards for telephone accessibility developed by the National
Cable Television Association (NCTA). Those standards shall include, but not
be limited to, the goal of answering 90% of incoming telephone calls within
30 seconds.
D. Nothing herein shall impair the right of any subscriber
or the municipality to express any comment with respect to telephone accessibility
to the complaint officer or impair the right of the complaint officer to take
any action that is appropriate under law.
E. The company is permitted, but is not required, to charge
a late fee consistent with applicable state and federal statutes and regulations.
The Office of Cable Television is hereby designed as the complaint officer
for the municipality pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:5A-26b. All complaints shall
be received and processed in accordance with N.J.A.C. 14:17-6.5. The municipality
shall have the right to request copies of records and reports pertaining to
complaints by Borough customers from the OCTV.
A. During the term of this franchise, and any renewal thereof,
the company shall maintain a local business office or agent for the purpose
of receiving, investigating and resolving all complaints regarding the quality
of service, equipment malfunctions and similar matters. Such local business
office shall be open during normal business hours and in no event less than
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The company's employees,
representatives or agents will provide telephone response for such purposes
as mentioned herein 24 hours per day.
B. The telephone number and address of the local office
shall be listed in applicable telephone directories and in correspondence
from the company to the customer. The telephone number for the local office
shall utilize an exchange that is a non-toll call for Borough residents.
C. Additionally, the company shall make reasonable efforts
to provide additional payment options to Borough customers that are economically
practicable and technically feasible, including, but not limited to, on-line
bill payment, electronic fund transfers (EFT's), automatic credit card
debiting, third-party payment locations and/or establishment of drop box locations
for the purpose of added customer convenience.
During the life of the franchise, the company shall give to the municipality
a bond in the amount of $25,000. Such bond shall be to insure the faithful
performance of all undertakings of the company as represented in its application
for municipal consent incorporated herein.
The rates of the company shall be subject to regulation as permitted
by federal and state law.
A. The company shall continue to provide system-wide leased
or commercial access channel opportunities on a channel maintained by the
company for the purpose of cablecasting commercial access programming in conformance
with the company's guideline and applicable state and federal statutes
and regulations.
B. The company shall take appropriate steps to ensure that
the signals originated on the access channels are carried without material
degradation and with a signal whose quality is equal to that of the other
channels that the company transmits.
A. Within 18 months of receipt of a renewal certificate
of approval (COA) by the OCTV, the company shall provide a dedicated education-government
access (EG) channel to be viewed by residents of the Borough. Qualified individuals
and organizations may utilize the access channel for the purpose of cablecasting
noncommercial access programming in conformance with the Borough's published
access rules.
B. Within 18 months of receipt of a renewal certificate
of approval (COA) by the OCTV, the company shall construct a dedicated fiber
optic return line to a location designated by the Borough for the purpose
of cablecasting live and/or recorded programming on the education-government
access channel. Upon reasonable written request, the Borough shall notify
the company regarding the location for the dedicated fiber return line.
C. The company will provide and maintain the cable, modulators
and equipment necessary for the Borough education-government access channel
to send a signal to the company and to receive the return feed of signal.
The company will not be responsible for the maintenance of any studio equipment
used for the access channel, including but not limited to cameras, editing
decks, monitors and character generators, etc.
D. Within 18 months of receipt of a renewal certificate
of approval, the company shall provide the Borough with a one-time technology
grant in the amount of $5,000 for purchase of video production equipment in
association with the education-government access channel.
E. The company shall provide preferred cable television
service on one outlet to each qualified existing and future municipal building,
including police, fire, first aid, emergency management, public library and
community centers in the Borough at no cost or charge, provided the facility
is located within 200 feet of active cable distribution plant. Installation
of additional outlets shall be paid for on a materials plus labor basis by
the municipality. Monthly service charges shall be waived on all additional
outlets.
F. The company shall continue to provide preferred cable
television service on one outlet at no cost to each qualified existing and
future public and private elementary, intermediate and secondary school in
the Borough, provided the school is within 200 feet of active cable distribution
plant. The school may distribute the signal to all classrooms within the school
on the school's internal network as long as that network meets or exceeds
FCC standards for cumulative leakage index (CLI). Should the schools request
additional outlets to be installed, such installation shall be paid for on
a materials plus labor basis by the school requesting service. Monthly service
charges shall be waived on all additional outlets.
G. The company shall provide free basic Internet service,
via high-speed cable modem, to one nonnetworked personal computer in each
qualified existing and future school in the Borough, public and private, elementary,
intermediate and secondary, at no charge, provided the facility is located
within 200 feet of active cable distribution plant. The Internet service shall
be installed on a personal computer that is accessible to the students and
not for administrative use only.
H. The company shall provide free basic Internet access
via high-speed cable modem on one nonnetworked personal computer in each qualified
existing and future public library at no charge, provided the facility is
located within 200 feet of active cable distribution plant. The Internet service
shall be installed on a personal computer that is accessible to library patrons
and not for administrative use only.
In the event that the Borough determines that it is necessary and feasible
for it to contract with the company for the purpose of providing two-way or
interconnection services, the company shall be required to apply to the BPU
for approval to enter into and establish the terms and conditions of such
contract. All costs for such application to the BPU shall be borne by the
Borough.
A. The company shall be required to fully comply with all
applicable federal and state statutes and regulations, rules and regulations
governing the implementation, operation and testing of the Emergency Alert
System (EAS).
B. The company shall in no way be held liable for any injury
suffered by the municipality or any other person during an emergency if, for
any reason, the municipality is unable to make full use of the cable television
system as contemplated herein.
The company shall at all times maintain a comprehensive general liability
insurance policy with a single limit amount of $1,000,000 covering liability
for any death, personal injury, property damages or other liability arising
out of its construction and operation of the cable television system and an
excess liability (or umbrella) policy in the amount of $3,000,000.
All of the commitments and statements contained in the application and
any amendment thereto submitted in writing to the municipality by the company,
except as modified herein, are binding upon the company as terms and conditions
of this municipal consent. The application and any other relevant writings
submitted by the company shall be considered a part of this ordinance and
made a part hereof by reference as long as it does not conflict with state
or federal law. All ordinances or parts of ordinances or other agreements
between the Borough and the company that are in conflict with the provisions
of this agreement are hereby declared invalid and superseded.
Should the Borough grant a franchise to construct, operate and maintain
a cable television system to any other person, corporation or entity on terms
materially less burdensome or more favorable than the terms contained herein,
the company may substitute such language that is more favorable or less burdensome
for the comparable provision of this ordinance, subject to the provisions
of N.J.A.C. 14:17-6.7.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this
ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court
or federal or state agency of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be
deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision, and its validity or
unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions
of the ordinance.
This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon issuance of a renewal
certificate of approval from the BPU.