[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Municipality of Kingston as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
Adopted 8-2-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-3[1]]
[1]
This ordinance also superseded former Ch.
A186, Cable Television Franchise, adopted 9-14-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-4.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Cable Television
Franchise Ordinance."
For the purpose of this article, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein. When
not consistent with the text, words used in the present tense include
the future, words in the pleural number include the singular number
and words in the singular number include the plural number. The word
"shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
Any facility, or group of facilities which, in whole or in
part, receives, modifies or originates television, FM radio or other
electrical signals for the purpose of transmitting or distributing
such signals by wire, cable or other means to subscribing members
of the public or to selected customers as herein contemplated.
Service Electric Company.
The Municipal Council of Kingston.
The Municipality of Kingston.
Any person, firm, partnership, association, incorporation,
company or organization of any kind.
The Municipality hereby grants unto the company the nonexclusive
right and privilege to construct, erect, operate and maintain within
the boundaries of the Municipality, to the extent granted by law,
all component parts and facilities necessary and proper for the operation
of a cable television system within the jurisdiction of the Municipality.
The Municipality reserves the right and privilege to grant other cable
television franchises to competing companies that might wish to operate
such a service within the Municipality.
This grant shall be for a period of 15 years from the effective
date of this article with option to renew the same after full public
proceeding affording due process, for an additional ten-year period.
Twelve months preceding the expiration of the initial fifteen-year
term, the Municipality shall have the right to (a) renew or extend
the franchise or (b) revoke the franchise for good cause and invite
new applications for the purpose of refranchising. In either case,
the Municipality shall renew, extend or revoke the franchise only
pursuant to a full public proceeding affording due process.
Company shall serve all residents of the Municipality except
to the extent that low household density, adverse terrain or other
factors render providing service impracticable or technically or economically
infeasible. Company's cable television system shall not be required
to be installed in, or extend to, areas of the Municipality where
potential revenues from subscribers to be served therein would produce
a return insufficient to justify economically such installation or
extension without limiting the generality of the foregoing, if otherwise
practicable and technically feasible:
A.
Service shall be provided at normal installation and monthly service
rates to an individual customer whose point of connection is located
within 150 feet on in place cable distribution cable;
B.
Company, at its cost, shall make an extension of its cable system
where the number of existing households per linear mile of cable to
be passed by the extension equals or exceeds the average number of
households passed per linear mile of existing cable plant within the
Municipality.
C.
In no event shall company be required to make an extension where
the number of existing households to be passed per mile is less than
50. Nor shall company be required to install or extend its cable system
in areas where it cannot obtain necessary rights-of-way over private
property at an economically feasible cost, or permission to attach
its facilities to public utility poles or conduits.
The company shall pay to the Municipality, a franchise fee of
5% of the gross basic and premium service offered by the company.
Said payments shall be made semiannually. The company may add said
franchise fee as a line item on a subscriber bill. Premium cable service
shall mean the furnishing of television programming for which a per-channel
charge is made additional to that for basic cable television service.
Municipality shall have audit rights to review the gross receipts
provided by company to verify said payments.
Customer will provide twenty-four-hour access for customer service.
Service appointments will be available during a four-hour period in
the a.m. and p.m. (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) Monday through Friday,
if requested.
Company will use its best efforts to keep up with and provide
new technologies, including digital cable television and data services
during the life of this franchise.
The company shall upon request provide the installation of one
outlet and basic monthly service to the municipal building, each firehouse
and police department free of charge.
Company will make a channel available for public, educational,
and governmental access.
All transmission and distribution structures, lines and equipment
erected by the company within the Municipality shall be so located
as to cause minimum interference with the proper use of streets, alleys
and other public ways and places, and to cause minimum interference
with the rights of reasonable convenience of property owners who adjoin
any of the said streets, alleys or other public ways and places. The
company shall obtain any required permits prior to construction.
The company shall, at all times during the life of this franchise,
be subject to all lawful exercise of the police power by the Municipality.
A.
The company shall save the Municipality harmless from all loss sustained
in account of any suit, judgment, execution, claim or demand whatsoever,
resulting from the operations of the company in the construction,
operation or maintenance of its system in the Municipality.
B.
The Municipality shall notify the company, within 10 days after the
presentation of any claim or demand, either by suit or otherwise made
against the Municipality on account of any damages or losses as aforesaid
resulting from the operations of the company. Thirty days from the
enactment of this article, upon request the company shall furnish
satisfactory evidence in writing that it has in force public liability
insurance of not less than $1,000,000 for any one person and $1,000,000
for any one accident and property damage insurance of not less than
$1,000,000 duly issued by an insurance company or insurance companies
authorized to do business in this commonwealth.
The company shall maintain all parts of the system in good working
condition and in compliance with the rules and regulations of the
Federal Communications Commission.
The Municipality shall have the right to rescind or revoke the
rights granted upon any substantial violation by company or its assignees
of any of the obligations and requirements contained herein after
written notice by the Municipality to the company or its assignees.
If the company shall decide to exercise the rights and privileges
set forth in this article, it shall file in writing its unequivocal
acceptance of all of the terms and provisions hereof with the Municipality
within 30 days of the final adoption of this article. Such acceptance
shall constitute an agreement on the part of the company to comply
with all of the terms, conditions and provisions of this article.
A.
No landlord shall demand or accept payment from company for permitting
company to provide cable television service on or within said landlord's
property or premises. Provided, however, that such landlord may be
entitled to reasonable reimbursements for any direct expenses incurred
by him in connection with the installation of cable television service.
B.
No landlord shall interfere with the installation of cable television
facilities upon his property or premises nor shall landlord discriminate
in rental charges, or otherwise, between tenants who receive cable
service and those who do not. No landlord shall demand or accept payment
from any tenant, in any form, for permitting cable television on or
within his property or premises.
No person, whether or not a subscriber to the cable system,
shall willfully, maliciously or otherwise damage or cause to be damaged
any wire, cable, conduit, apparatus, appurtenances or equipment of
company operating a cable television system within the Municipality,
or commit any act with intent to cause such damage, or to tap, tamper
with or otherwise connect any wire or device to a wire, cable, conduit,
apparatus or equipment of such franchise with the intent to obtain
a signal or impulse from the cable system without authorization from
or compensation to such company, or to obtain cable television or
other communications service with intent to cheat or defraud said
company of any lawful charge to which it is entitled.
The company shall assume the cost of publication of this article
as such publication is required by law and shall pay the same upon
demand by the Municipality.
The agreement or privileges granted hereunder shall be fully
and freely assignable, but no assignment to any person, firm or corporation
shall be effective until the assignee has filed with the governing
body of the Municipality an instrument duly executed, reciting the
fact of such assignment, accepting the terms of this franchise and
agreeing to be bound by said terms.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion
of this article, is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional
by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed
a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding shall
not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this article.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions
of this article are hereby repealed.
[Adopted 2-4-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-1]
The Municipality hereby grants unto Comcast of Colorado/Pennsylvania/West
Virginia, LLC (the company) the nonexclusive right and privilege to
construct, erect, operate and maintain within the boundaries of the
Municipality, to the extent granted by law, all component parts and
facilities necessary and proper for the operation of a cable television
system within the jurisdiction of the Municipality. The Municipality
reserves the right and privilege to grant other cable television franchises
to competing companies that might wish to operate such a service within
the Municipality.
This grant shall be for a period of 10 years from the effective
date of this ordinance. Extensions thereof shall be governed by and
comply with the provisions of Section 626 of the Cable Act (47 U.S.C.
§ 546, as amended).
The company shall pay to the Municipality a franchise fee of
5% of annual gross revenues received from the operation of the cable
system to provide cable service in the franchise area.
The company shall comply with all terms and conditions of the
adopted franchise agreement.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion
of this ordinance is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional
by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed
a separate, distinct and independent provision, and such holding shall
not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance.
This ordinance shall become effective 30 days following its
publication date pursuant to Kingston Charter Section 213.
