[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township
of Clark 7-14-2004 by Ord. No. 04-09 (Ch. XXVII of the 2002 Revised General
Ordinances). Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Township hereby grants to Comcast of New Jersey II, LLC,
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 Township 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 Township of a cable television and
communications system.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein.
Such meanings or definitions of terms are 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:
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, State of New Jersey.
COMPANY
The grantee of rights under this chapter and is known as
"Comcast of New Jersey II, LLC."
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission.
Public hearings conducted by the Township 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
have been fully open to the public, and the Township, having received
at said public hearings all comments regarding the qualifications
of the company to receive this renewal of municipal consent, hereby
finds that the company possess 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 48:5A-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 chapter, 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 Township 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 Township or any higher amount permitted by
the Act or otherwise allowable by law, whichever is greater.
The consent granted under this chapter for the renewal of the
franchise shall apply to the entirety of the Township and any property
subsequently annexed hereto.
The company shall be required to proffer service along any public
right-of-way to any person's residence or business located in
all areas of the franchise territory as described herein, at tariffed
rates for standard and nonstandard installations.
A. The company has completed an upgrade of the cable television distribution
system serving the Township. The upgraded system is a hybrid fiber
optic/coaxial cable system following a "fiber to the node" architecture.
The upgraded system provides improved picture quality, enhanced signal
reliability and increased channel capacity.
B. The upgrade has been completed following the company's engineering
guidelines for hybrid fiber/coaxial (HFC) plant design, which meets
or exceeds all applicable state and federal regulations, as well as
voluntary cable television industry standards, and follows commonly
accepted industry practices.
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, relay or relocate its equipment, at the
expense of the company.
C. Temporary removal of cables. The company shall, upon request of the
municipality, at the company's expense, temporarily raise, lower,
or remove its lines in order to facilitate the moving of buildings
or machinery or in other like circumstances. Whenever the request
is made by, for, or on behalf of private parties, the cost will be
borne by those same parties.
D. 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 cables of the
company. Such trimming shall be only to the extent necessary to maintain
proper clearance of the company's wires and cables.
In providing services to its customers, the company shall comply
with N.J.A.C. 14:18-1.1 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 community upon
written request of the Township Administrator or Clerk.
A. The company shall continue to comply fully with all applicable state
and federal statutes and regulations regarding credits for outages,
the reporting of same to regulatory agencies and notification of same
to customers.
B. The company shall continue to comply fully with all applicable state
and federal statutes and regulations regarding the availability of
devices for the hearing impaired and the notification of same to customers.
C. The company shall use every effort to meet or exceed voluntary standards
for telephone accessibility developed by the National Cable Television
Association (NCTA). Those standards shall include, but not be limited
to, the goal of answering 90% of incoming telephone calls within 30
seconds.
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 appropriate under law.
E. The company is permitted, but is not required to, charge a late fee
consistent with applicable state and federal statutes and regulations.
The Office of Cable Television is hereby designated as the complaint
officer for the municipality pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:5A-26b. 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 Township customers from the
OCTV.
A. During the term of this franchise, and any renewal thereof, the company
shall maintain a local business office or agent for the purpose of
receiving, investigating and resolving all complaints regarding the
quality of service, equipment malfunctions and similar matters. Such
local business office shall be open during normal business hours and
in no event less than 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Telephone response for such purposes as mentioned herein will be provided
by the company's employees, representatives or agents 24 hours
per day.
B. The telephone number and address of the local office shall be listed
in applicable telephone directories and in correspondence from the
company to the customer. The telephone number for the local office
shall utilize an exchange that is a non-toll call for Township residents.
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 system-wide
public access channel (currently channel 26) 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 system-wide leased access
channel (currently channel 27) maintained by the company for the purpose
of cablecasting commercial access programming in conformance with
the company's guidelines and applicable state and federal statutes
and regulations.
C. The company shall continue to provide an access channel (currently
channel 36) maintained by the company for use by the municipality
and its designees for the purpose of cablecasting noncommercial educational
and governmental programming.
D. 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 analog channels that the company transmits.
A. The company shall relocate the existing return of the access channel
that is dedicated for use by the Township of Clark from its current
location to the new master control room at 430 Westfield Avenue at
its sole expense within a mutually agreed time frame. The company
shall install an outlet for a monitor (not provided by the company)
in the master control room at its sole expense.
B. Within 12 months of the issuance of a renewal certificate of approval
(COA) by the BPU, the company shall construct three additional origination
points to send noncommercial programming to the new master control
room at 430 Westfield Avenue as follows:
(1)
The company shall construct and maintain, at its sole expense,
three fiber optic returns for noncommercial programming to originate
from two fixed cameras and one remote-controlled camera mounted in
the Council Chamber at 315 Westfield Avenue. Said returns shall allow
operation of said cameras from the master control room at 430 Westfield
Avenue. The company shall provide, at its sole expense, the necessary
transmitters and receivers for the returns. The company shall similarly
relocate the cable outlet for a television monitor (not provided by
the company) to the new master control room.
(2)
The company shall construct and maintain, at its sole expense,
a fiber optic return to allow noncommercial programming to originate
from the Clark High School auditorium or other location within the
high school.
(3)
The company shall construct and maintain, at its sole expense,
a fiber optic return to allow noncommercial programming to originate
from the high school football field. The company shall provide, at
its sole expense, a transmitter and receiver for the return. Further,
the company shall install and maintain, at its expense, a cable outlet
for a television monitor (not provided by the company) at the announcer's
booth and provide free preferred monthly service.
C. Within 12 months 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 production equipment in the amount of $50,000.
D. The company shall continue to provide free preferred monthly service
on one outlet in each public and private elementary and secondary
school that may be constructed in the Township and on one outlet in
the Municipal Building and each Fire Department, First Aid Squad,
library and public works building that is located in or may be constructed
within the Township, provided the facility is located within 200 feet
of an active cable distribution plant. Each additional outlet installed,
if any, shall be paid for by the requesting facility on a materials-plus-labor
basis. Monthly service charges shall be waived on all additional outlets.
E. The company shall make every effort to deploy new or advanced technology
and/or services in the Township that are commercially available, economically
practicable, and technically feasible. That technology shall include
but not be limited to video-on-demand; digital video compression;
advanced or high-definition television; digital audio services; digital
television, high-speed Internet service via cable modem; and interactive
program guides.
In the event that the Township 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 Township.
A. The company shall be required to fully comply with all applicable
federal and state statutes and rules and regulations governing the
implementation, operation and testing of the Emergency Alert System
(EAS).
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 $3,000,000.
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 writings submitted by the company shall be
considered a part of this chapter and made a part hereof by reference
as long as it does not conflict with state of federal law. All ordinances
or parts of ordinance or other agreements between the Township and
the company that are in conflict with the provisions of this agreement
are hereby declared invalid and superseded.
Should the Township 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 chapter, subject to the provisions of N.J.A.C. 14:17-6.7.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion
of this chapter 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 chapter.
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 chapter shall supersede Ordinance No. 94-20, effective
September 7, 1994, which is hereby repealed in its entirety.
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon issuance of
a renewal certificate of approval by the BPU.