[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Mansfield 9-9-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-14. 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:
APPLICATION
The company's application for renewal of municipal consent.
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 of the State of New Jersey.
COMPANY
The grantee of rights under this ordinance and is known as
"Comcast of Northwest New Jersey, LLC."
FCC
Federal Communications Commission.
PRIMARY SERVICE AREA or PSA
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.
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.
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 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 required 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. 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.
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, 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 continue to provide residents with
a systemwide public access channel maintained by the Company. Qualified
individuals and organizations may utilize public access for the purpose
of cablecasting noncommercial access programming in conformance with
the Company's published public access rules.
B. The Company shall continue to provide a systemwide
leased access 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.
C. The Company
shall take any steps that are necessary 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 standard
channels that the Company transmits.
A. The Company shall provide standard installation
and basic cable television service on up to 10 outlets at no cost
to each school in the municipality, public and private, elementary,
intermediate and secondary, provided the school is within 200 feet
of active cable distribution plant. Each additional outlet installed,
if any, shall be paid for on a materials, equipment, plus labor basis
by the school requesting service. Monthly service charges shall be
waived on all additional outlets. All costs for the conversion of
non-company authorized outlets to company standards shall be paid
by requesting school.
B. The Company
shall provide standard installation and basic cable television service
at no cost on one outlet to the municipal building and to each police,
fire, and emergency management and Department of Public Works facility,
and public library or future library in the municipality, provided
that the facilities are located within 200 feet of active cable distribution
plant. Each additional outlet installed, if any, shall be paid for
on a materials, equipment, plus labor basis by the municipality. Monthly
service charges shall be waived on all additional outlets.
C. The Company
shall provide standard installation and one free non-networked 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 students and community use and cannot
be restricted to administrative use. All facilities must be located
within 200 feet of active cable plant.
D. The Company
shall provide standard installation and one free non-networked Internet
connection at the following locations: municipal building on Port
Murray Road; the Department of Public Works facility located at 1710
Route 57; the police substation facility located at 1710 Route 57;
and, if by written request from the township at any time during the
term of this renewal, at the DPW location on Port Murray Road.
E. Within
180 days of the issuance of a renewal certificate of approval by the
BPU, the Company shall provide to the municipality a one-time grant
for access-related needs in the amount of $30,000.
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 statements and commitments contained
in the application or annexed thereto and incorporated therein, and
any amendment thereto, except as modified herein, are 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.
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.
This ordinance shall take effect immediately
upon issuance of a renewal certificate of approval from the BPU.