[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Washington 7-16-2007 by Ord. No. 17-07.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance replaced former
Ch. A258, which consisted of Ord. No. 20-92, adopted 11-16-1992 (Ch.
XVIII of the Revised General Ordinances), as amended.
The municipality hereby grants to Comcast renewal
of 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 municipality, 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 municipality 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. § 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:
Chapter 186 of the General Laws of New Jersey, and subsequent
amendments thereto, N.J.S.A. 48:5A-1 et seq.
The company's application for renewal of municipal consent.
Any service tier which includes the retransmission of local
television broadcast signals as defined by the FCC.
The Board of Public Utilities, State of New Jersey.
The grantee of rights under this ordinance and is known as
Comcast of Northwest New Jersey, LLC.
The Federal Communications Commission.
The Office of Cable Television of the Board.
Consists of the area of the municipality currently served
with existing plant as set forth in the map annexed to the company's
application for municipal consent.
The Washington Township, County of Morris, State of New Jersey.
Public hearings conducted by the municipality
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 municipality, having received at said public hearings all
comments regarding the qualifications of the company to receive this
renewal of municipal consent, the municipality 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.Â
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.
B.Â
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, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:5A-47, 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 municipality 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 municipality or any
higher amount permitted by the Act or otherwise allowable by law,
whichever is greater. The fee shall be paid on or before January 31
of each year.
The consent granted under this ordinance to
the renewal of the franchise shall apply to the entirety of the municipality
and any property subsequently annexed hereto.
[Amended 6-16-2008 by Ord. No. 10-08[1]]
A.Â
The Company shall be required to proffer service to
any residence or business along any public right-of-way in the primary
service area, as set forth in the company's application. The company's
line extension policy, as set forth in the company's application,
shall govern any extension of plant beyond the primary service area,
provided that the company's line extension policy shall be modified
to reflect that the company shall extend its plant along public rights-of-way
to all residences and businesses within 300 aerial or underground
feet of the operator's existing plant at no cost beyond the normal
installation rate.
B.Â
Comcast will comply with all lawful rules and regulations
governing the operation of its cable television system and cable communications
system within the Township of Washington. If any referenced regulations
are deemed unlawful by a court of competent jurisdiction or superseded
by a duly enacted state or federal statute or regulation, Comcast
will not be bound by such regulation, nor will the company be bound
by any provision of the municipal consent ordinance or renewal certificate
of approval with regard to same. Comcast reserves the right to seek
administrative or judicial review of the validity of any statute,
regulation or ordinance.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance provided that
it shall take effect upon final passage, approval and publication
and upon issuance of an amended certificate of approval by the Board
of Public Utilities.
A.Â
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. The Township will make all reasonable efforts to insure the
prompt issuance of municipal permits when required to install, repair
or replace company cable plant.
B.Â
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, re-lay or relocate its equipment,
at the expense of the company.
C.Â
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.
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 municipality upon written request of the Municipality Administrator
or Clerk.
A.Â
The company shall continue to comply fully with all
applicable state and federal statutes and regulations regarding credit
for outages, the reporting of same to regulatory agencies and notification
of same to customers.
B.Â
The company shall continue to fully comply with all
applicable state and federal statues and regulations regarding the
availability of devices for the hearing impaired and the notification
of same to customers.
C.Â
The company shall use every reasonable effort to meet
or exceed voluntary standards for telephone accessibility developed
by the National Cable Television Association (NCTA).
D.Â
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 permitted under law.
The Office of Cable Television is hereby designed
as the complaint officer for the municipality pursuant to N.J.S.A.
48:5A-26(b). 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
municipality customers from the OCTV.
During the term of this franchise, and any renewal
thereof, the company shall maintain a business office or agent in
accordance with N.J.A.C. 14:18-5.1 for the purpose of receiving, investigating
and resolving all local complaints regarding the quality of service,
equipment malfunctions, and similar matters. Such a business office
shall have a publicly listed toll-free telephone number and be open
during standard business hours, and in no event (excepting emergent
circumstances) less than 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The toll-free number shall be accessible 24 hours a day, seven days
a week and listed on monthly customer bills.
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.Â
The company shall continue to provide a system-wide
public access channel maintained by the company for the purpose of
providing access time to public, educational and governmental entities
of the Township. Qualified individuals and organizations may utilized
the public access channel for the purpose of cablecasting noncommercial
access programming in conformance with the Company's published public
access rules.
B.Â
The company shall take any steps that are necessary
to ensure that the signal originated on the access channel are carried
without material degradation and with a signal whose quality is equal
to that of other standard channels that the company transmits.
C.Â
The company will produce, at its expense and upon
request of the Township, two programs on an annual basis for the Township,
provided that the company is given at least 30 days' notice. Such
programs shall be aired on the system access channel. The Township
Clerk shall act as the contact person between the Township and the
company with respect to such matters. If the company has already produced
programs similar to those requested by the Township, those programs
already produced shall count towards the two-program requirement.
Similarly, if the company has already promoted the Township by way
of two programs previously produced by the company during the year,
they shall also be counted towards the company's requirement under
this section. The Township Clerk must approve, in writing, any program
the company wants to count towards its obligation under this section.
D.Â
Subject to the provisions herein, and under supervision,
if required, the company shall lend to the Township, for PEG broadcast,
videotapes of programming relating to the Township or matters of particular
interest to the Township (including but not limited to the interviews
with Township officials and sporting events involving Township teams
and local school events) which are in the company's possession or
control and which have been previously shown on the company channel
or such other channel the company uses for it own originated programming,
provided that the company may withhold such videotapes on reasonable
grounds, including but not limited to the rights of copyright holders
or other commitments or policies with respect to such programming.
A.Â
The Company shall provide or continue to provide standard
installation and basic cable television service on one outlet at no
cost to each school in the municipality, public and private, elementary,
intermediate and secondary, and public library; and the Board of Education
facilities at 53 West Mill Road and 259 Bartley Road, provided that
each school, library or other facility is within 200 feet of active
cable distribution plant. Each additional outlet installed, if any,
shall be paid for on a materials-plus-labor-and-equipment basis by
the school requesting service. Monthly service charges shall be waived
on all additional outlets.
B.Â
The company shall provide or continue to provide standard
installation and basic cable television service at no cost on one
outlet to each police, fire, first aid squad, and emergency management
facility in the municipality and in the following municipal facilities:
Public Works facility, 54 Rock Road; Recreation, Buildings and Grounds
facility, 50 Rock Road; Senior Citizen Center, East Springtown Road;
Recreation facility, 212 West Mill Road; Municipal Building and Court,
43 Schooley's Mountain Road, provided the facility is located within
200 feet of active cable distribution plant. Each additional outlet
installed, if any, shall be paid for on a materials-plus-labor-and-equipment
basis by the municipality. Monthly service charges shall be waived
on all additional outlets.
C.Â
The company shall provide standard installation and
one free nonnetworked Internet connection and service via high-speed
cable modem in each public library building, and all public and private
schools. Connections are to be located in areas accessible to student
and community use and cannot be restricted to administrative use.
All facilities must be located within 200 feet of active cable plant.
D.Â
Within 180 days of the issuance of a renewal certificate
of approval (COA) by the BPU, the company shall provide to the municipality
a one-time grant for access-related needs in the amount of $20,000.
E.Â
The company shall provide limited training and access
to production equipment for local programming to the extent that such
equipment and training are available.
A.Â
The company will comply with the Emergency Alert System
("EAS") rules in accordance with applicable state and federal statues
and regulations.
B.Â
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.
A.Â
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 $5,000,000.
B.Â
The company shall indemnify, protect and save the
Township harmless from and against losses and physical damages to
property, including those properties owned or under the control of
the Township, and bodily injury or death of persons, including payments
made under any worker's compensation law, which may arise out of or
be caused by the construction, location, installation, operation,
erection, maintenance, repair, replacement, removal or use of the
cable television system within the Township contemplated by this franchise
or by any act of the company, its agents or employees; provided, however,
that the company shall not be required to indemnify, protect and save
harmless for any losses and physical damages and bodily injury or
death of persons which may arise out of or be caused by the negligent
acts or omissions of the Township, its agents or employees.
C.Â
The company shall also carry such insurance as it
deems necessary to protect it from all claims under the workmen's
compensation laws in effect that may be applicable to the franchise.
D.Â
All insurance required by this ordinance shall be
and remain in full force and effect for the entire life of the franchise.
A certificate of insurance must be submitted to the Township Attorney
to review for compliance with the above-mentioned limits of liability,
and the Township shall be a named insured on said policies. The insurer
shall notify the Township at least 30 days prior to its intention
to cancel any policy.
All of the statements and commitments contained
in the application or annexed thereto and incorporated therein, and
any amendment thereto, except as modified herein, is binding upon
the company as terms and conditions of this consent. The application
and other relevant writings submitted by the company shall be annexed
hereto and made a part hereof by reference, provided same do not conflict
with applicable state or federal law.
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.
Nothing in this franchise or in any prior agreement
is or was intended to confer third-party beneficiary status on any
member of the public to enforce the terms of such agreements or franchise.
