[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the City of Crisfield 1-13-1999
by Ord. No. 519. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Crisfield Cable Television Franchise
Ordinance." The purposes of this chapter are: to establish the terms and conditions
under which a cable television system must operate within Crisfield, Maryland
(which may hereafter be referred to as "city," "franchising authority" or
"grantor"); to provide for the payment of a franchise fee to the city for
costs associated with administering and regulating the system; and to grant
a cable television franchise to Falcon Cable Media (hereafter referred to
as "Falcon" or "grantee").
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words
and their derivations shall have the meanings defined herein, unless the context
clearly indicates that another meaning is intended. Words used in the present
tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular
number, and words in the singular number include the plural number.
- CABLE ACT
- The Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 as modified by the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, and the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
- CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEM
- Any nonbroadcast facility consisting of a set of transmission paths and associated signal reception, transmission and control equipment that is designed to distribute to subscribers or other users audio, video and other forms of communications services via electronic or electrical signals.
- CHANNEL
- A band of frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum capable of carrying one audiovisual television signal.
- CITY
- Crisfield, Maryland, in its present form or in any later reorganized, consolidated, enlarged or reincorporated form, which is legally authorized to grant a cable television franchise under state and federal law. The city may also be referred to as "franchising authority" or "grantor."
- FALCON
- Falcon Cable Media, which may also be referred to as "grantee."
- FCC
- The Federal Communications Commission.
- FRANCHISE
- The rights granted pursuant to this chapter to construct, own and operate a cable television system along the public ways in the city, or within specified areas in the city.
- FRANCHISE AREA
- That portion of the city for which a franchise is granted under the authority of this chapter. If not otherwise stated in an exhibit to this chapter, the franchise area shall be the legal and geographic limits of the city, including all territory which may be hereafter annexed to the city.
- FRANCHISING AUTHORITY
- Crisfield, Maryland, its duly elected governing body, its lawful successors or such other person or body duly authorized by the city to grant a cable television franchise.
- GRANTEE
- A person or business entity, or its lawful successor or assignee, which has been granted a franchise by the city pursuant to this chapter.
- GROSS SUBSCRIBER RECEIPTS
- As the term is used in calculating franchise fees, means revenues actually received by the grantee from television services it provides to its subscribers in Crisfield after deducting the following: any fees or assessments levied on subscribers or users of the system which are collected by the grantee for payment to a governmental entity; franchise fees paid by the grantee to the city; state or local sales of property taxes imposed on the grantee and paid to a governmental entity; and federal copyright fees paid by the grantee to the Copyright Tribunal in Washington, D.C.
- NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS
- Those hours which most similar businesses in the community are open to serve customers.
- NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS
- Those service conditions which are within the control of the grantee. Those conditions which are not within the control of the grantee include, but are not limited to, natural disasters, civil disturbances, power outages, telephone network outages and severe or unusual weather conditions. Those conditions which are ordinarily within the control of the grantee include, but are not limited to, special promotions, pay-per-view events rate increases, regular peak or seasonal demand periods and maintenance or upgrade of the cable system.
- PUBLIC WAY OR RIGHT-OF-WAY
- The surface, the air space above the surface and the area below the surface of any public street, highway, lane, path, alley, sidewalk, boulevard, drive, bridge, tunnel, park, parkways, waterways or other public rights-of-way including public utility easements or rights-of-way and any temporary or permanent fixtures or improvements located thereon now or hereafter held by the city which shall entitle the city and the grantee to the use thereof for the purpose of installing and maintaining the grantee's cable television system.
- SCHOOL
- Any public elementary or secondary school.
- SERVICE INTERRUPTION
- The loss of picture or sound on one or more cable channels.
- SUBSCRIBER
- Any person who receives monthly cable television service provided by the grantee's cable television system.
It shall be unlawful to operate a cable television system within the
city unless a valid franchise has first been obtained from the city pursuant
to the terms of this chapter. A franchise granted pursuant to this chapter
shall authorize the grantee to provide cable television services within the
city and to charge subscribers for such services. It shall also authorize
and permit the grantee to traverse any portion of the city in order to provide
service outside the city. Unless otherwise specified, the franchise area shall
be legal boundaries of the city.
A franchise is hereby granted to Falcon Cable Media (which may be referred to herein as "Falcon" or "grantee") to operate and maintain a cable television system in the city for a period of five years commencing on the date of adoption of this chapter. The franchise shall be automatically renewed for an additional term of 10 years, provided that the grantee has completed the rebuild of the system as provided for in § 34A-12 herein and is otherwise in compliance with the terms of this chapter.
A.
The grantee shall pay a franchise fee which is intended
to compensate the city for all costs which may be associated with administering
or regulating the grantee's cable system. The amount of the franchise
fee shall be 5% of the grantee's annual gross subscriber receipts, as
defined herein. Such fee shall be paid on an annual basis.
B.
Due to federal and local regulations requiring that a
grantee notify cable subscribers at least 30 days prior to the effective date
of any increases in monthly charges on subscriber bills, any increased franchise
fee amounts which may be due to the city shall begin accruing 60 days following
the effective date of this chapter. If the city requires more than 30 days'
notice to subscribers of increased rates, then any increased franchise fee
amounts which may be due to the city shall begin accruing 60 days after the
city's required notice period.
C.
At the city's request, the grantee shall file a
report showing the grantee's gross subscriber receipts for the calendar
year and the amounts of franchise fees due to the city. Such reports may be
requested once per calendar year. The grantee shall have an obligation to
maintain financial records of its gross subscriber receipts and grantee fee
payments for audit purposes for a period of three years, and the city shall
have the right to audit the grantee's books at the offices where such
books are maintained.
A.
All charges to subscribers shall be consistent with a
schedule of fees for services offered and established by the grantee. Rates
shall be nondiscriminatory in nature and uniform to persons of like classes
under similar circumstances and conditions.
B.
The grantee will provide the city with 30 days'
advance written notice of any change in rates and charges whenever possible.
C.
The grantee may offer different or discounted rates at
its discretion for promotional purposes and may establish different rates
for different classes of subscribers where appropriate, such as offering discounted
rates to low-income individuals or groups or bulk rates to multiple-unit dwellings.
D.
The grantee shall inform each new subscriber of all applicable
fees and charges for providing cable television service.
E.
The grantee may, at its own discretion and in a nondiscriminatory
manner, waive, reduce or suspend connection fees, monthly service fees or
other charges on a one time or monthly basis for promotional purposes.
F.
The grantee may refuse to provide service to any person
because a prior account with that person remains due and owing.
G.
A grantee may offer services which require advance payment
of periodic service charges.
H.
The grantee shall provide refunds to subscribers in the
following cases:
(1)
If the grantee fails within a reasonable time to commence
service requested by a subscriber, it will refund all deposits or advance
charges that the subscriber has paid in connection with the request for such
service at the request of the subscriber.
(2)
If a subscriber terminates any service at any time and
has a credit balance for deposits or unused services, upon request from the
subscriber and upon return of all of the grantee's equipment, the grantee
will refund the appropriate credit balance to the subscriber. The subscriber
will be responsible for furnishing the grantee a proper address to which to
mail the refund.
(3)
If any subscriber's cable service is out of order
for more than 48 consecutive hours during the month due to mechanical failure,
damage or circumstances within the control of the grantee, the grantee will
credit the account of that subscriber on a pro rata basis upon the subscriber's
written request. The credit will be calculated using the number of twenty-four-hour
periods that service is impaired and the number of channels on which service
is impaired as a fraction of the total number of days in the month that the
service impairment occurs and the total number of channels provided by the
system in the absence of an impairment.
A.
Cable system office hours and telephone ability. The
grantee will maintain a local, toll-free or collect-call telephone access
line which will be available to its subscribers 24 hours per day, seven days
per week. Trained company representatives will be available to respond to
customer telephone inquiries during normal business hours. After normal business
hours, the access line may be answered by a service or an automated response
system, including an answering machine. Inquiries received after normal business
hours must be responded to by a trained company representative on the next
business day. Customer service center and bill payment locations will be open
at least during normal business hours.
B.
Installation, outages and service calls.
(1)
Standard installations will be performed within seven
business days after an order has been placed. Standard installations are those
that are located up to 125 feet from the existing distribution system.
(2)
Excluding conditions beyond the control of the grantee,
the grantee will begin working on service interruptions promptly and in no
event later than 24 hours after the interruption becomes known. The grantee
must begin actions to correct other service problems the next business day
after notification of the service problem.
(3)
The appointment window alternatives for installations,
service calls and other installation activities will be either a specific
time or a four-hour time block during normal business hours. The grantee may
schedule service calls and other installation activities outside of normal
business hours for the express convenience of the customer.
(4)
If the grantee's representative is running late
for an appointment with a customer and will not be able to keep the appointment
as scheduled, the customer will be contacted. The appointment will be rescheduled,
as necessary, at a time which is convenient for the customer.
A.
The grantee shall provide written information on each
of the following areas at the time of installation of service, at least annually
to all subscribers and at any time upon request: products and services offered;
prices and options for programming services and conditions of subscription
to programming and other services; installation and service maintenance policies;
instructions on how to use the cable service; channel positions of programming
carried on the system; and billing and complaint procedures, including the
address and telephone number of the local franchise authority's cable
office.
B.
Customers will be notified of any changes in rates, programming
services or channel positions 30 days in advance of such changes if the change
is within the control of the grantee. In addition, the grantee shall notify
subscribers 30 days in advance of any significant changes in the other information
required by this section. Notwithstanding any other provision of Part 76,
the grantee shall not be required to provide prior notice of any rate change
that is the result of a regulatory fee, franchise fee or any other fee, tax,
assessment or charge of any kind imposed by any federal agency, state or franchising
authority on the transaction between the grantee and the subscriber.
C.
Bills will be clear, concise and understandable. Bills
will be itemized, with itemizations including basic and premium service charges
and equipment charges. Bills will also clearly delineate all activity during
the billing period, including optional charges, rebates and credits. In case
of a billing dispute, the grantee must respond to a written complaint from
a subscriber within 30 days.
D.
Refund checks will be issued promptly but no later than
either the customer's next billing cycle following resolutions of the
request or 60 days, or the return of the equipment supplied by the grantee
if service is terminated.
E.
Credits for services will be issued no later than the
customer's next billing cycle following the determination that a credit
is warranted.
A.
The grantee shall be responsible for ensuring that the
cable system is designed, installed and operated in a manner that fully complies
with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules regarding cable television
technical standards. The grantee shall be prepared to show, on request by
an authorized representative of the Commission or the franchising authority,
that the system does, in fact, comply with the rules.
B.
The grantee shall conduct complete performance tests
of the system at least twice each calendar year (at intervals not to exceed
seven months) and shall maintain the resulting test data on file at the grantee's
local business office for at least five years. The test data shall be made
available for inspection by the Commission or the local franchiser, upon request.
The performance test shall be directed at determining the extent to which
the system complies with all the technical standards set forth in SS 76.605(a)
of the Commission's rules.
A.
A grantee which is not already serving the entire franchise
area shall provide service to all portions of the franchise area reaching
a minimum density of 30 dwelling units per linear strand mile, as measured
from the nearest coaxial cable line, within 12 months after the grant of a
franchise.
B.
The grantee shall provide aerial or buried drop lines
to new subdivision within the franchise area at the request of the developer,
provided that the developer contracts and agrees with the grantee to pay the
cost of the extension of the service.
C.
The grantee shall extend and make cable television service
available to any resident within the franchise area who requests connection
at the standard connection charge if the connection to the resident would
require no more than a standard one-hundred-fifty-foot aerial drop or a seventy-five-foot
buried drop line or extension from the nearest coaxial feeder cable. With
respect to requests for connection requiring an aerial or buried drop line
in excess of the maximum standard distance, the grantee shall extend and make
available cable television service to such residents at a connection charge
not to exceed its actual costs for the distance exceeding the standard 150
feet of aerial or 75 feet of underground cable, respectively.
D.
In areas with fewer than 30 residential units per proposed
cable-bearing strand mile, the grantee shall offer a cost-sharing arrangement
with residents. A dwelling unit will be counted for this purpose if it fronts
a street. The cost-sharing arrangement shall consist of the following formula:
(1)
At the request of a resident desiring service, the grantee
shall determine the cost of the plant extension required to provide service
to the potential subscriber from the closest point on the cable system where
it is technically feasible. The cost of construction shall be allocated based
on the following formula:
(a)
If a request for extension into a residential area requires
the construction of cable plant which does not pass at least 30 potential
subscribers per proposed cable-bearing strand mile, the grantee and residents
who agree to subscribe to cable service will each bear their proportionate
share of construction costs. For example, if there are five dwelling units
per proposed cable-bearing strand mile, the grantee's share will equal
5/30 or 1/6 of the construction cost. The remaining cost will be shared equally
by each subscriber.
(b)
Should additional residents actually subscribe to cable
television services in areas where subscribers have already paid a proportionate
share under the extension costs-sharing formula, subscribers who have previously
paid a proportionate share under the extension formula shall be reimbursed
pro rata for their contribution or a proportional share thereof. In such case,
the pro rata shares shall be recalculated, and each new subscriber shall pay
the new pro rata share, and all subscribers who previously paid a proportionate
share shall receive pro rata refunds. In the event that such subscribers (or
prior subscribers) have been disconnected or have moved and owe the grantee
money which has not been recovered, the grantee shall have the right to first
apply the refund to amounts owed the grantee and give the balance, if any,
to the subscriber. At such time as there are 30 potential subscribers per
cable-bearing strand mile, the subscribers shall receive their pro rata share
of construction costs. In any event, one year after the completion of a project,
subscribers who have paid a share of line extension costs are no longer eligible
for refunds, and the amounts paid in construction costs will be credited to
the plant account of the grantee.
(c)
Where the density of residential dwelling and occupied
commercial or industrial structures, adverse terrain or other factors render
extension of the system and offering of cable service impractical or technically
infeasible or would create an economic hardship, the city may, upon petition
of the grantee, either waive the extension of the system into such areas or
allow the extension and offer of service on special terms or conditions which
are reasonable and fair to the city, the grantee and potential subscribers
in such areas.
The grantee shall provide, without charge, one service outlet activated
for basic subscriber service to each police station, fire station, public
school, public library and the City Office. If it is necessary to extend the
grantee's trunk or feeder lines more than 200 feet solely to provide
service to any such school or public building, the city or the building owner
or occupants shall have the option of either paying grantee's direct
costs for line extensions in excess of 200 feet or releasing the grantee from
the obligation to provide service to such building. Furthermore, the grantee
shall be permitted to recover the direct cost of installing cable service,
when requested to do so, in order to provide more than one outlet, inside
wiring or a service outlet requiring more than 200 feet of drop cable to any
public building.
The grantee agrees that, in consideration of the city's renewal
of the franchise, it will rebuild the cable system by December 31, 1999. The
system will have the capacity to provide a minimum of 80 channels of programming
as needed. The rebuilt system may use fiber optics, upgraded electronics and
other components, or any other available transmission technology in order
to improve the signal quality and reliability of the system. As part of the
system rebuild, the grantee agrees that it will ensure the quality and reliability
of signals currently being transmitted to the City of Crisfield and that all
signals transmitted on the cable system shall meet all federal technical standards
applicable to television signal quality and pass a high quality video signal
to subscribers. All active house-drops shall be upgraded to RG6 cable or equal,
when it has been determined by a qualified technician that the old drop is
bad. House-drops extending more than 200 feet shall be upgraded to RG11 cable
or equal, when it has been determined by a qualified technician that the old
drop is bad. If the grantee fails to complete the rebuild by December 31,
1999, then, in addition to all other remedies available to the city, the grantee
shall pay the city a penalty of $500 per day until the rebuild is complete;
this clause shall not be construed, however, as providing a means by which
the grantee may extend its rebuild deadline or otherwise limit or displace
the rights and remedies available to the city.
Within 90 days following the grant of a franchise, the grantee shall
obtain the following insurance policies:
A.
A general comprehensive liability policy indemnifying,
defending and saving harmless the city, its officers, boards, commissions,
agents or employees from any and all claims by any person whatsoever on account
of injury to or death of a person or persons occasioned by the operations
of the grantee under the franchise herein granted, or alleged to have been
so caused or occurred, with a minimum liability of $500,000 per personal injury,
death of any one person or damage to property and $1,000,000 for personal
injury, death of any two or more persons in any one occurrence or damage to
property.
B.
All insurance policies called for herein shall be in
a form satisfactory to the city and shall require 30 days' written notice
of any cancellation to both the city and the grantee. The grantee shall, in
the event of any such cancellation notice, obtain, pay all premiums for and
file with the city written evidence of the issuance of replacement policies
within 30 days following receipt by the city or the grantee of any notice
of cancellation. In recognition of the foregoing, each party agrees to cause
its respective insurance carriers to waive any rights of subrogation.
The grantee, by its acceptance of a franchise granted pursuant to this
chapter, shall indemnify and hold harmless the city, its officials, boards,
commissions and employees against any and all claims, suits, causes of action,
proceedings and judgments for damage arising out of the award of a franchise
to the grantee and its operation of the cable television system under the
franchise. These damages shall include, but not be limited to, penalties arising
out of copyright infringements and damages arising out of any failure by the
grantee to secure consents from the owners, authorized distributors or licensees
of programs to be delivered by the grantee's cable television system,
whether or not any act or omission complained or is authorized, allowed or
prohibited by the franchise.
Before exercising any right of redress available to it under the terms
of this chapter, including determination of any penalty assessable under applicable
law, the city shall follow the procedures set forth in this section.
A.
The city shall notify the grantee in writing, by certified
mail, of any alleged violation ("violation notice"), which notice shall include
a detailed description of any alleged violation and a request for cure of
such violation.
B.
The grantee shall have 30 days from the date or receipt
of such notice to respond in writing, indicating: that the grantee has cured
the alleged violation, providing reasonable documentation demonstrating that
the alleged violation has been cured; that the grantee has commenced or will
commence actions to cure the alleged violation within a reasonable, specified
period but that the alleged violation cannot reasonably be cured immediately,
describing the steps taken to cure the alleged violation; or that the grantee
disagrees with the allegation that a violation has occurred and contests the
violation notice, stating the reasons therefor. If a violation is cured by
the grantee within 30 days of receipt of notice, then no penalty shall be
imposed.
C.
Upon receipt of the grantee's response to the violation
notice, the city may either accept the grantee's proposed cure and/or
explanation or, if it believes that the violation will not be cured within
a reasonable period of time, the city may schedule an administrative hearing
before the Mayor and City Council providing the grantee no less than 15 days'
written notice of the hearing which shall afford the grantee due process including
an opportunity to present evidence.
D.
Within 15 days following an administrative hearing before
the Mayor and City Council on an alleged violation, the city shall issue a
written report stating its findings and the reasons therefor. The city may
determine that the alleged violation has been corrected, or is in the process
of being corrected by the grantee, and that no further action is required;
that an extension of time or other appropriate relief should be granted until
the cure for the problem can be completed by the grantee; that the problem
is beyond the grantee's direct control and that the grantee is not at
fault; or that other appropriate action should be taken.
A.
In the event of a formal denial of renewal or revocation
of a franchise, the grantee shall have a period of one year from such final
adjudication within which to transfer or convey the assets of the cable system
to another owner. Approval of such proposed transfer or assignment shall not
be unreasonably withheld by the city.
B.
In the event that the franchise term expires prior to
formal action being taken by the city either to renew the franchise or deny
renewal, the term of this franchise shall automatically be extended until
such time as formal action to renew or deny renewal is taken by the city.
The renewal procedures and criteria contained in Section 626(c) of the Cable
Communications Policy Act of 1984, as amended, shall be followed by the city
and the grantee.
In the event that the grantee is prevented or delayed in the performance
of any of its obligations under this chapter by reason of flood, fires, hurricanes,
tornadoes, earthquakes or other acts of God, unavoidable casualty, insurrections,
war, riot, sabotage, vandalism, strikes, boycotts, lockouts, labor disputes,
unusually severe weather conditions or any other event which is beyond the
reasonable control of the grantee, the grantee shall have a reasonable time
under the circumstances to perform its obligations under this chapter or to
procure a reasonable and comparable substitute for such obligations. Under
such circumstances the grantee shall not be held in default or noncompliance
with the provisions of the chapter nor shall it suffer any penalty relating
thereto.
A.
Application procedures.
(1)
An application for a new cable television franchise shall
be submitted to the city in a form specified by or acceptable to the city,
and in accordance with procedures and schedules established by the city. The
city may request such facts and information as it deems appropriate.
(2)
Upon request, an applicant shall furnish to the city
a map of suitable scale, showing all roads and public buildings, which indicates
the areas to be served and the proposed dates of commencement of service for
each area. The proposed service area shall be subject to approval by the city.
If approved, the service area shall be incorporated into any franchise granted
pursuant to this chapter. If no service area is specifically delineated in
a franchise, it shall be considered to be coterminous with the boundaries
of the city.
(3)
After receiving an application for a franchise, the city
shall examine the legal, financial, technical and character qualifications
of the applicant. The city may grant one or more nonexclusive franchises creating
a right to construct and operate a cable television system within the public
ways of the city, subject to the provisions of this section.
(4)
In the event that an application is filed proposing to
serve a franchise area which overlaps, in whole or in part, an existing grantee's
franchise area, a copy of such application shall be served upon any existing
grantee by the city by registered or certified mail. Such notice shall be
considered a condition precedent to consideration of the application for a
franchise by the city.
B.
Competing service providers.
(1)
Any franchise granted by the city shall be nonexclusive.
However, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require it to grant
more than one franchise if the city determines, pursuant to the procedures
established in this chapter, that granting additional franchises would be
detrimental to the public interest.
C.
Permits for nonfranchised entities. The city may issue
a license, easement or other permit to a person other than the grantee to
permit that person to traverse any portion of the grantee's franchise
area within the city in order to provide service outside, but not within,
the city. Such license or easement, absent a grant of a franchise in accordance
with this chapter, shall not authorize nor permit said person to provide cable
television service of any type to any home or place of business within the
city nor render any other service within the city.
A.
A grantee may transfer or assign its franchise to another
entity (the "assignee") upon 30 days' notice to the city and upon written
consent by the city, which consent will not unreasonably be withheld. The
grantee shall provide to the city a reasonable showing that the proposed assignee
or transferee possesses the technical and financial qualifications to operate
the cable television system properly. The proposed transferee or assignee
shall provide the city with a written statement that it agrees to comply with
all terms of the franchise to be transferred.
B.
The grantee may secure financing or an indebtedness by
trust, mortgage or other instrument of hypothecation of the franchise, in
whole or in part, without requiring the consent of the city.
The grantee and the city shall at all times comply with all applicable
state and federal laws and the applicable rules and regulations of administrative
agencies. The city and the grantee reserve all rights they each must possess
under law, unless expressly waived herein.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the city shall not meet
to take any final action involving the grantee's franchise unless the
city has notified the grantee by certified mail, at least 30 days prior to
such meeting, as to its time, place and purpose. The notice provided for in
this section shall be in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other notice
to the grantee provided for in this chapter. All notices, requests, demands
and other communications required or permitted hereunder shall be in writing
and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed by certified mail, return
receipt requested, addressed to the grantee's corporate office as follows:
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Falcon Cable Media
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10900 Wilshire Boulevard, 15th Floor
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Los Angeles, California 90024
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Attn: Howard Gun
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A.
The grantee shall utilize existing poles, conduits and
other facilities whenever possible but may construct or install new, different
or additional poles, conduits or other facilities, whether on the public way
or on privately owned property, with the written approval of the appropriate
government authority and, if necessary, the property owner. Such approval
shall not be unreasonably withheld by the governmental agency.
B.
All transmission lines, equipment and structures shall
be so installed and located as to cause minimum interference with the rights
and the appearance and reasonable convenience of property owners who adjoin
on any public way and at all times employ reasonable care and shall use commonly
accepted methods and devices for preventing failures and accidents which are
likely to cause damage, injuries or nuisances to the public.
C.
The grantee shall have the authority to trim trees on
public property at its own expense as may be necessary to protect its wires
and facilities, subject to the direction of the city or other appropriate
governmental authority.
A.
The grantee shall have the right to enter and have access
to the property and premises of the city or that of any subscriber for purposes
of installing cable television service or recovering and removing the grantee's
property and equipment when a subscriber's service is terminated and
a subscriber refuses to return such equipment to the grantee.
B.
The city shall not permit any person who owns or controls
a residential multiple-unit dwelling, trailer park, condominium, apartment
complex, subdivision or other property to interfere with the right of any
tenant, resident or lawful occupant thereof to receive cable installation,
service or maintenance from the grantee, except as federal or state law shall
otherwise require.
C.
Upon request by the grantee, the city shall promptly
exercise any rights it may have to permit or enable the grantee to obtain
or utilize easements with respect to any residential multiple-unit dwelling,
trailer park, condominium, apartment complex, subdivision or other property
as required to facilitate the grantee's use thereof for purposes of providing
system service to the tenants, residents or lawful occupants thereof. In any
such proceeding, the restitution to the owner for the amount of space utilized
by the system, considering the enhanced value to the premises resulting from
the installation of cable television facilities, shall be a one-time charge
of $1 per dwelling unit.
The grantee shall neither refuse to hire nor discharge from employment
nor discriminate against any person in compensation, terms, conditions or
privileges of employment because of age, sex, race, color, creed or national
origin. The grantee shall ensure that employees are treated without regard
to their age, sex, race, color, creed or national origin.
The grantee shall have the authority to issue such rules, regulations,
terms and conditions of its business as shall be reasonably necessary to enable
it to exercise its rights and perform its services under this chapter and
the rules of the FCC and to assure uninterrupted service to each and all of
its subscribers. Such rules and regulations shall not be deemed to have the
force of law.
If any section of this chapter or the franchise or any portion thereof
is held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction
or administrative agency, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of the chapter or franchise.
All notices, requests, demands and other communications required or
permitted hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly
given if mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to
the grantor's office as follows:
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City of Crisfield
P.O. Box 270
Crisfield, Maryland 21817
Attn: Frederick B. Gerald, III
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