[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council
of the Township of Greenwich 12-6-2005 by Ord. No. 18-2005. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
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 CFR 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 Gloucester County, LLC.
The Federal Communications Commission.
The Office of Cable Television of the Board.
The Township of Greenwich, County of Gloucester, and 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.
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 a ten-year automatic
renewal as provided by N.J.S.A. 48:5A-19 and 25 and N.J.A.C. 14:18-13.6.
B.
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 non-compliance
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 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.
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. Any
extension of plant beyond the primary service area shall be governed
by the company's line extension policy, as set forth in the company's
application.
A.
Restoration. In the event that the company or its
agents shall disturb any pavement, street surfaces, sidewalks, driveways,
or other surface in the nature 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, re-lay or relocate its equipment,
at the expense of the company.
C.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 provide total preferred cable television
service on one outlet at no cost to each school in the municipality,
public and private, elementary, intermediate and secondary, provided
the school is within 150 feet of active cable distribution plant.
Each additional outlet installed, if any, 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.
B.
The company shall provide total preferred cable television
service at no cost on one outlet to each police, fire, emergency management
facility and public library in the municipality, provided the facility
is located within 150 feet of active cable distribution plant. Each
additional outlet installed, if any, shall be paid for on a materials
plus labor basis by the municipality. Monthly service charges shall
be waived on all additional outlets.
C.
The company shall provide free basic Internet service,
via high-speed cable and modem on one non-networked personal computer
in each qualified existing and future school in the municipality,
public and private, elementary, intermediate and secondary, at no
charge provided the facility is located within 150 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.
D.
The company shall provide free basic Internet service,
via high-speed cable and modem on one non-networked personal computer
in each qualified existing and future public library at no charge
provided the facility is located within 150 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.
E.
Within six months of receipt of a renewal certificate
of approval (COA), the company shall provide the Township with a one-time
technology grant in the amount of $18,000 for cable or technology-related
needs.
In the event that the municipality 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 municipality.
A.
The company will comply with the Emergency Alert System
(EAS) rules in accordance with applicable state and federal statues
and regulations.
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 $5,000,000.
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 writing submitted
by the company shall be annexed hereto 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 municipality
and the company that are in conflict with the provisions of this agreement
are hereby declared invalid and superseded.
Should the municipality 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.
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.
At such time as the company, due to changes
in the law or regulatory structure, begins offering discounted rates
to senior citizens and/or disabled persons served by the company's
Gloucester County cable system, the company shall offer the same or
an equivalent discount to eligible customers in the Township; provided,
however, that said discount shall be applied in accordance with all
applicable state statutes and regulations.
