[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.