[Ord. No. 79-7, 5-12-1980]
This franchise shall be known and may be cited as the "Cable
Television Franchise."
[Ord. No. 00-07, 11-27-2000]
For the purpose of this franchise the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meaning given here. When
not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense
include the future, words in the plural 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.
Shall mean any other signals transmitted on the system which
the company offers for consumption by the subscribers. The company
shall have the right to sell the ancillary service(s) at a monthly
charge which is in addition to the charge for basic cable service.
Shall mean the primary service transmitted on the cable system
and shall include and not necessarily be limited to those signals
from any FCC licensed television station, the wire service of one
national news service, and local weather information as supplied by
local weather sensors and/or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
Is the grantee of rights under this franchise and is known
as Insight Midwest, L.P., and TCI of Indiana Holdings, LLC, and certain
other related parties.
Is the Village of Harristown, County of Macon.
Is any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind.
Shall mean the entire cable distribution installation located
in the municipality.
In consideration of the faithful performance and observance
of the conditions and reservations herein specified, the company,
its successors and assigns, is hereby granted the exclusive right
to erect, maintain and operate television transmissions and distribution
facilities and additions thereto (and other electronic facilities)
in, under, over, along, across and upon the streets, avenues, sidewalks,
alleys and other public places in the municipality and subsequent
additions to it, for the purpose of transmission and distribution
of television and radio programs, and various communications and other
electronic services, in accordance with the laws and regulations of
the United States of America, the State of Illinois, and this franchise
for the period of 15 years from and after the effective date of this
article, unless sooner terminated as herein provided (currently May
12, 2010).
The poles used for the company's distribution system shall be
those erected and maintained by the utility providing telephone service
and the utility providing electric service. Wherever possible, it
shall be the sole responsibility of the company to negotiate rental
agreements with said utilities to secure the necessary space on said
poles for its operation under this franchise. Where the use of poles
owned by said utilities are not practicable or mutually satisfactory
rental agreements cannot be entered into with said utilities following
a good faith effort on the part of the company to obtain such agreements,
the company may erect poles where necessary and when the location
of such pole(s) have been approved by the municipality's authorized
agent or where poles are not available for attachment by the company,
the company shall have the right to install underground lines in the
manner hereinafter provided. The erection of poles shall be subject
to all existing ordinances and regulations of the municipality applicable
thereto.
Where the telephone service and electric service are both underground,
the company shall install its distribution system in the same underground
fashion, provided that the company shall, at its own expense, properly
backfill any excavation made from said line and restore the surface
of the ground to a condition reasonably equal with its condition prior
to such excavation and to subsequently correct by additional backfilling
any sinking or settlement of such excavation.
(A)
Use. The company's transmission and distribution system, poles, wires
and appurtenances shall be located, erected and maintained so as not
to endanger or interfere with the lives of persons, or to interfere
with improvements the municipality may deem proper to make, or to
unnecessarily hinder or obstruct the free use of the streets, alleys,
bridges or other public property.
(B)
Restoration. In case of the disturbance of any pavement, sidewalk,
driveway, or other surfacing, the company shall, at its own cost and
expense and in a manner approved by the municipality's authorized
agent, replace and restore all paving, sidewalk, driveway, or surface
on any street or alley disturbed in as good a condition as before
said work was commenced. All street and alley crossings shall be bored.
(C)
Relocation. In the event that at any time during the period of this
franchise the municipality shall by reason of the construction of
public facilities, traffic conditions, public safety, or street vacation,
or it shall lawfully elect to alter or change the grade of any street,
alley, or public way, requiring the moving or relocation of any of
the facilities of the company, the company, upon reasonable notice
by the municipality, shall remove and relocate its poles, wires, cables,
underground conduits and other fixtures at its own expense.
(D)
Temporary removing of wire for building or moving. The company shall,
on the request of any person holding an appropriate permit issued
by the municipality, temporarily remove, raise or lower its wires
to permit the moving of the buildings. The expense of such temporary
removal, raising or lowering of the wires shall be paid by the person
requesting the same and the company shall have the authority to request
such payment in advance.
(E)
Tree trimming. The company shall have the authority to trim trees
upon the overhanging streets, alleys, sidewalks, public places of
the municipality so as to prevent the branches of such trees from
interfering with the wires and cables of the company. All trimming
shall be done with prior notification of the municipality and at the
expense of the company.
All construction of the company, including installation and
maintenance of its transmission and distribution system shall be in
accordance with the provision of the National Electrical Safety Code,
the Statutes of the State of Illinois, and all applicable ordinances
of the municipality. The company shall provide the municipality's
authorized agent with a map designating the location of cable television
transmission and distribution facilities prior to construction.
The company shall not sell, lease or transfer its plant or system
to another, or transfer or assign any rights under this franchise
to another, without the prior written consent of the governing body
of the municipality and no such sale or transfer shall be effective
until the vendee, assignee, or lessee has filed in the Office of the
Clerk a statement duly executed, reciting the fact of such sale, assignment
or lease accepting the terms of the franchise and agreeing to perform
all the conditions thereof. Consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.
Concurrent with the filing by the company of its acceptance
of the franchise herein granted, the company shall file with the Clerk
and at all times thereafter maintain in full force and effect for
the term of this franchise or any renewal thereof at the company's
sole expense, a surety bond in the amount of $5,000 renewable annually
and conditioned upon the faithful performance of the conditions and
terms of this franchise by the company.
The company shall indemnify, protect and save harmless the municipality
from and against any and all claims that may arise from physical damage
to property, bodily injury or death to persons, including payments
made under any workmen's' compensation law, which may arise out of
or be caused by the installation, maintenance, presence, operation
or removal of the cable television system authorized herein. The company
shall carry insurance to protect the parties hereto from and against
all claims, demands, actions, judgments, costs, expenses and liabilities
which may arise or result directly or indirectly from or by reason
of such loss, injury or damage. The minimum liability limits shall
be $500,000 for personal injury or death of any one person, and $500,000
for personal injury or death of two or more persons in any one occurrence
and $250,000 for damage to property resulting from any one occurrence.
The company shall also carry such insurance as it deems necessary
to protect it from all claims under any workmen's' compensation laws
in effect that may be applicable to the company. All insurance required
by this agreement shall be and remain in full force and effect for
the life of this franchise certification of said policy shall be kept
on file by the Clerk.
The company shall lay all cable wires and lines both on the
public and private properties of the municipality at its own expense,
but the company shall have the privilege of charging its customers
both an installation fee to bring the service to their properties
and a monthly fee for their continued use of the service.
A schedule of the initial charges for service shall be placed on file with the Clerk upon commencement of service in the municipality. The company shall have the right to annually adjust its rates for monthly basic cable service in a percentage equal to the changes in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index upon the notification of its customers and the filing with the Clerk of a dated revised schedule of changes 30 days prior to the effective date. Changes in rates greater than described above can be effected by the company upon 60 days' notice filed in schedule form with the Clerk and shall become effective 60 days subsequent to such filing unless the company is notified in writing by the municipality within 30 days of receipt of the rate schedule that such changes are unacceptable or require further examination. Further action shall be effected by utilization of the procedures outlined in Section 8-1-11. Rates charged by the company for ancillary services apart or in addition to the basic cable service shall be established by the company independent of the regulatory procedure described above but shall be on file for inspection by the public in the company's offices and may appear on all the company's brochures or literature describing said services.
(A)
Any inquiry, proceeding, investigation or other action to be taken
or proposed to be taken by the municipality in regard to the company's
cable television system, including action in regard to a change in
subscription rates as stated above, shall be taken only after 30 days
public notice of such action or proposed action is published in an
area or daily or weekly newspaper having general circulation in the
municipality; a copy of such action or proposed action is served directly
on company and, the company has been given an opportunity to respond
or comment in writing on the action or proposed action. If the company
should request an inquiry, proceeding, investigation or other action,
the municipality will hold a hearing within 30 days of receipt of
the request.
(B)
The public notice required by this Section shall state clearly the
action or proposed action to be taken, the time provided for response
and the person or persons in authority to whom such responses should
be addressed, and such other procedures as may be specified by the
municipality. If a hearing is to be held, the public notice shall
give the date and time of such hearing, whether public participation
will be allowed and the procedures by which such participation may
be obtained.
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The company shall be considered a necessary part of any hearing
conducted.
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No contract as to the length of service for a regular monthly residential subscriber shall be required by the company under ordinary circumstances. The company agrees that under ordinary circumstances it shall be the right of the subscriber to start or terminate all or any ancillary category of his service on cable according to his own wishes by making advance payments of current rates to commence service, and by reasonable notice to the company to terminate the service. Furthermore, no subscriber to basic cable service shall be required to subscribe to any ancillary or additional category of service that may be offered by the company as a condition for continuing to receive those signals and services that are part of the basic cable service as defined in Section 8-1-2 of this article. It is hereby acknowledged, however, that any equipment installed by the company in behalf of the subscriber on his premise shall remain the property of the company, and shall be subject to reasonable inspection and service by the company at reasonable hours and removal upon termination of service.
In the event that any subscriber shall fail to meet his obligations
according to the approved rate schedule and to meet reasonable company
rules and regulations, the company shall have the right to withhold
or deny services to such subscriber. Otherwise, the service rendered
by the company shall be available to all inhabitants of the municipality
along reasonably extended pole routes of the company. Such extended
pole routes shall be determined by the company.
The company shall pay to the municipality for the privilege or operating a cable television service within its corporate limits as now exists or hereinafter constituted an annual franchise fee equal to 3% of the total annual gross subscriber revenues, from basic cable service, as defined in the Definitions in Section 8-1-2 of this article, said payments to be made semiannually on or before the last day of the sixth and 12th months of the year. Such payments shall be credited against any business and occupation tax or franchise tax or other municipal tax except personal property taxes required to be paid by the company.
The municipality shall have the right to inspect at all reasonable
times, the records of the company for the purpose of ascertaining
accurately what the actual gross receipts of the company for basic
cable television service has been for the present or past years.
The company shall install a cable system capable of carrying
30 channels of video and audio signals designed for color transmission
which can be modified for two-way services when the technology and
marketplace requirements permit.
The company shall provide without charge and upon written request
from the school principal a cable outlet for transmission of basic
cable service to each primary and secondary school in the municipality.
The company shall provide without charge and upon written request
from the municipality's authorized agent, a cable outlet for transmission
of basic cable service to each municipal office building, municipal
library, fire station, and police station within said municipality.
The municipality reserves the general right to see that the
system of the company is constructed and maintained in a safe condition.
In the event the municipality shall find that an unsafe condition
does exist, it may order the company to make necessary repairs forthwith
and if the company shall fail to so do, the municipality may cause
said repairs to be made and collect all cost from the company.
Within 60 days after its acceptance of this franchise, the company
shall proceed with due diligence to obtain all the necessary certificates,
permits, licenses and authorizations which are necessary and required
for the conduct of its business.
The franchise and rights here granted shall take effect and
be in force from and after the final passage hereof as required by
law and upon the filing of an unqualified acceptance by the company
with the Clerk and shall continue in force and effect for the term
of 15 years from and after said effective date. The company is further
granted an option to extend said term for a period of 10 years, provided
notice of such intent is served in writing upon the municipality at
least six months prior to the expiration of the primary term of 15
years and such extension is approved by the municipality.
In the event the company shall fail or refuse to observe the
terms and provisions of this franchise the municipality shall be entitled
to cancel and terminate this franchise and all rights thereunder provided,
however, that the municipality shall serve upon the company written
notice of such violation and the company shall thereupon correct such
violation or show cause why such violation should or cannot be corrected
not more than 30 days from and after the date of receipt of said notice.
In the event the company fails to correct such violations within said
time or satisfactorily show cause why such violations should not be
corrected, this franchise may be voidable by the municipality, but
all rights accruing to it against the company shall continue in favor
of the municipality.
Any modification of the rules and regulations of the FCC shall
be incorporated into this article and franchise within one year of
its effective date.
The provisions of this franchise are compatible with the existing laws of the State of Illinois and regulations of the FCC. In the event of any amendment, modification or supplemental legislation or regulation which change the limitations now imposed by such law or regulations, other than as provided in Section 8-1-19 hereof, this franchise shall, upon written notice of either the municipality or company to the other, be amended and changed in accordance with such amendment, modification or supplement.
If any section, subsection, sentence, phrase, or portion of
this franchise is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional
by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed
a separate and distinct and independent provision and such holding
shall not effect the validity of the remaining portion thereof.
This franchise is made under and in conformity with the laws
of the State of Illinois, the municipality, and shall take effect
and be in force as therein provided.
