[Ord. 1375, 2/14/1977, § 1]
This Part 2 shall be known and be cited herein as the "Pottstown
Cable Television Ordinance."
[Ord. 1375. 2/14/1977, § 2]
1. The Borough shall grant a franchise for the use of the public streets
within the Borough for the construction, operation and maintenance
of a CATV system. No system shall be allowed to occupy or use the
streets of the Borough nor shall any system be allowed to operate
without a CATV franchise.
2. This franchise shall be granted for a term of 15 years; thereafter,
after full public hearings, and according to the franchise renewal
procedure that follows, a franchise may be renewed for terms of five
years as in the opinion of Borough Council will serve the public interest.
A. Procedure to Consider Franchise Renewal.
(1)
The franchisee shall indicate its desire for a renewal of the
franchise upon written request of the franchisee received by the Borough
12 months before the termination of the original lease. Nine months
before the expiration of the franchise, the Borough Council shall
review the performance of the franchisee and the content of this Part.
The Borough Council may reserve to itself the right to appoint an
evaluation committee to aid and assist the Borough in its performance
of evaluation and review of the franchisee and the content of this
Part.
(2)
After giving public notice, the Borough Council shall proceed
to determine whether the operator has satisfactorily performed its
obligations under the franchise. To determine satisfactory performance,
the Borough Council shall look at the technical developments and performance
of the system, programming, other services offered, cost of service
and any other particular requirement set in this Part, such as the
availability of programming equipment and personnel to aid access
channel users; also among other measurements, the Borough Council
shall consider the franchisee's reports made to the Borough or
the FCC and the PUC, should it be applicable; provisions shall be
made for community comment, and industry performance on a national
basis shall be considered.
(3)
A three-month period shall be provided to determine the franchisee's
eligibility for renewal.
(4)
The Borough Council shall then prepare, if required, any amendment
to this Part that it believes necessary.
(5)
If the Borough Council finds the franchisee's performance
satisfactory, a new franchise may be granted pursuant to this Part,
as amended.
(6)
In the event the current franchisee is determined by Borough
Council to have performed unsatisfactorily, new applicants shall be
sought and evaluated by the Borough Council and a franchise award
made by Borough Council according to CATV franchising procedures adopted
by the Borough Council.
[Ord. 1375, 2/14/1977, § 3]
The field of cable communication is a relatively new and rapidly
changing field which shall, no doubt, see many regulatory, technical,
financial, marketing and legal changes during the term of the franchise.
Therefore, in order to provide for a maximum degree of flexibility
in a franchise and to help achieve a continued, advanced and modern
system for the Borough, the franchise shall provide for the following
renegotiation provisions:
A. The Borough and the franchisee shall hold scheduled renegotiation
sessions within 30 days of the fifth and 10th anniversary dates of
the franchisee's obtaining certification for the system from
the Federal Communications Commission and/or the Pennsylvania Public
Utility Commission, should it be applicable. All such renegotiation
sessions shall be open to the public and announced in a newspaper
of general circulation at least five days before each session.
B. Special Renegotiation Sessions. Special renegotiation may be held
at any time during the term of the franchise, provided that both the
Borough and the franchisee shall mutually agree on the time, place
and the topics to be negotiated.
C. Topics to be Negotiated. The following topics shall be discussed
at every scheduled renegotiation session: service rate structure;
free or discounted services; application of new technologies; system
performances; services provided; programming offered; customer complaints;
privacy and human rights; amendments to this Part; undergrounding
progress; judicial and FCC and PUC rulings. Topics in addition to
those listed may be added if agreed upon by both parties. Members
of the general public may add topics either by working through the
negotiating parties; or by presenting a petition. If such a petition
bears the valid signatures of 50 or more qualified electors of the
Borough, the proposed topic or topics shall be added to the list of
topics to be discussed at the renegotiation session.