[Ord. No. 1989, Sec. 4]
That Cablevision of Texas, his successors, lessees and assigns,
hereinafter called the Franchisee, be and are hereby granted the non-exclusive
right and/or franchise to furnish direct wire reception of television
programs to the citizens and residents of the City of Lincoln, Washington
County, Arkansas, by the means of the establishment of a master antenna,
utilizing a master control unit and amplifier and relaying the television
signals into the individual television reception sets for a period
of 15 years of the effective date of this ordinance. The Franchisee,
is further given the right to erect and maintain such poles, wires,
fixtures and other appurtenances upon the streets, avenues, alleys,
roads, highways and easements and other public places of the City,
as may be necessary and convenient for its business as a supplier
of a community television signal for the City of Lincoln and the public
in general and to use and occupy for its television cables, the streets,
alleys, avenues, highways, roads and other public places within the
said municipality for the purpose of erecting, constructing, laying,
owning, leasing or otherwise repairing, maintaining and operating
such systems, with all such right and use to be and continue on the
conditions and terms as stated herein, using existing or hereafter
erected utility poles may be used, with the permission of the owners
thereof (subject to other restrictions imposed hereinafter) and providing
further that the Franchisee shall run his cable underground where
feasible, the right to trench, bore or plow cable across any or under
any City streets, avenues, alleys, roads, highways and easements and
other public places provided, however, that the Franchisee shall,
at his own expense, make reasonable repairs to the area of any streets
damaged by trenching, boring or plowing as are required by the Street
Superintendent of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas. [Ord. No. 1987-5,
Sec. 2]
The City hereby grants its consent to: (a) the assignment of
the Franchise from Seller to Buyer; (b) any collateral assignment
of the franchise by the Buyer to any of its lenders; and (c) any pledge
of the assets of the cable communications system by the Buyer to any
of Buyer's lenders. [Ord. No. 1989-2, Sec. 1]
The City hereby confirms that: (a) the Franchise was properly
granted to Cablevision of Texas, a limited partnership; (b) the Franchise
is in accordance with all state and local, laws; (c) the Franchise
is validly existing and in full force and effect, having been duly
and validly extended pursuant to the option to renew granted to Seller
therein; and (d) there exists no fact or circumstance which constitutes
or which, with the passage of time or the giving of notice or both,
would constitute a default under the Franchise or permit the City
to cancel or terminate the rights thereunder, except upon the expiration
of the full term thereof. [Ord. No. 1989-2, Sec. 1]
This ordinance is expressly conditioned upon the unconditional
closing of that certain Asset Purchase Agreement by and between Buyer
and Seller pursuant to which the Buyer is to acquire the Franchise
from Seller and shall become effective upon written notice from Buyer
that the closing has been consummated. No further action or notice
shall be required to effect the transfer of the Franchise to Buyer. [Ord. No. 1989, Sec. 3]
Except as hereby modified, the Franchise is in all other respects
ratified and confirmed and all of the terms and conditions thereof
shall remain in full force and effect.
[Ord. No. 230, Sec. 2]
The said poles, cables and wires shall be placed and maintained
so as not to interfere with travel or use of such streets, alleys,
avenues, roads, highways or other public places of the City and the
Franchisee shall hold the City free and harmless from damages arising
from any abuse or negligence arising as a consequence of the operation
of the said franchise. The said fixtures and wires shall be placed
so as not to interfere with the flow of water in any sewer, drain
or gutter or with any gas or water pipe lines and this grant is made
and is to be enjoyed subject to any reasonable regulations and ordinances
in exercise of its police power that the City may from time to time
adopt or enact.
[Ord. No. 230, Sec. 3]
A.
The franchisee is hereby granted the authority, right and privilege to set, control and regulate fees for such services to individual customers and users during the period set forth in § 4.16.01 of this ordinance, provided, however, that the rates shall not exceed the following schedule:
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1.
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Basic monthly service rate
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$7.50
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2.
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FM Radio Service (without basic service)
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$6.75
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3.
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Additional TV outlets
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$1 each
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4.
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Additional FM or FM Stereo connections
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$1 each
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5.
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Connection Fee
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$10
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6.
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Relocation Fee
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$10
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7.
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Reconnection Fee
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$10
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B.
As a further condition, the City Council, recognizing that the Franchisee
may from time to time extend Cablevision of Texas outside the corporate
limits of the City of Lincoln, hereby declares that in no event shall
such service outside the corporate limits of the City of Lincoln,
Arkansas, be furnished for a monthly or annual rate of less than 120%
of the same service inside the corporate limits of the City of Lincoln,
Arkansas.
[Ord. No. 230, Sec. 4]
The Franchisee is hereby granted an option to renew his non-exclusive right and franchise at the end of the fifteen-year period referred to in § 4.16.01 of this ordinance. In the event the Franchisee shall elect to exercise the said option, the terms thereof shall be subject to total re-negotiation. In the event that the Franchisee makes such election, the Franchisee shall submit notice in writing to the City Council of Lincoln, Arkansas, 60 days prior to the expiration date of the franchise granted hereby, within 10 days thereafter, the City Council, acting through the Mayor or on its own, shall set a public hearing date at which time persons served by the service will be requested to submit statements regarding the quality of service and the advisability of extending the franchise for a second period. Notice of the public hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City at least one time prior to the date of the public hearing. In the event that the Franchisee elects to exercise the option, the additional terms or provisions of the new franchise may be modified in whatever manner is consistent with the best interests of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas.
[Ord. No. 230, Sec. 5]
A.
As a special condition of the franchise granted herein, the Franchisee
shall maintain, during the life of the franchise granted hereby, liability
insurance providing a total maximum coverage for any single accident
or occurrence in the amount of $300,000.
B.
As a special condition of the franchise granted hereby, the Franchisee
shall furnish for its customers within the service area broadcasting
by the Arkansas Education Channel, as soon as the signal from the
channel becomes available.
C.
The Franchisee shall be subject to minimum construction requirements
and standards set forth in the National Electrical Code and in the
Southern Building Code, and all such appurtenances and structures
constructed in connection with the implementation of this franchise
shall be subject to provisions of the Building Code ordinance.
D.
As a special condition of the franchise granted hereby, when providing
cable service, the Franchisee shall install underground cable in the
alleys in all areas where the City has a platted, public alley. As
a further condition hereof, the Franchisee shall install underground
cable as opposed to aerial wire in all other areas of the City where
it is practical and feasible to install the underground cable.
E.
As a special condition of the franchise granted hereby, the original
Franchisee shall not assign the franchise or any rights vested in
him thereby to any person, firm, corporation or association without
giving the City Council of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas, 60 days'
notice in writing of the proposed conveyance or transfer. Upon proper
investigation, the City Council may approve or disapprove the proposed
successor and in the event of disapproval, the franchise is hereby
and shall be thereby revoked.
[Ord. No. 04-17, Sec. 2]
A.
The franchise, or privilege tax for a period of the 15 years set forth in § 4.16.01 of this ordinance shall be 4.25% of gross revenues derived from the service and maintenance charges collected on services rendered within the corporate limits of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas, and areas served by the Community Antenna Television Service located in and serving the City of Lincoln, Arkansas.
[Ord. No. 01-3, Sec. 3]
B.
Each year during the operation of this franchise, the Franchisee
shall, within 30 days after each anniversary date of the adoption
of this ordinance, furnish a financial statement to the City Council
by mailing the same by ordinary mail to the Recorder/Treasurer of
the City of Lincoln, Arkansas. The annual financial statement shall
show gross receipts, operating expenses, net profit, miles of cable,
value of equipment and facilities owned by the Franchisee, and any
other financial information which is customary according to ordinary
accounting principles.
[Ord. No. 230, Sec. 6]
C.
The Franchise, Ord. No. 94-10 passed and approved August 8, 1994,
and as amended under this ordinance, is hereby extended for an additional
10 years, commencing on the 1st day of October 1, 2004, and ending
on the 30th day of September, 2014, except that the Franchise shall
automatically renew for successive ten-year terms, unless written
notification to negotiate new terms is provided by either party at
least 180 days prior to the Franchise expiration date, and any extended
expiration date(s).
[Ord. No. 04-17, Sec. 1]
D.
In reference to Ord. No. 94-10, Section XII A. Franchise Fee, and
as amended by Ord. No. 01-3, the franchise fee percentage may be adjusted
by the City of Lincoln, Arkansas, at any time, but may not exceed
the amount allowable by state law or federal regulations. And that,
written notice of any adjustment in the franchise fee percentage must
be provided to Cox, not less than 120 days prior to the effective
date of such change.
[Ord. No. 230, Sec. 7]
A.
The grant to the Franchisee to commence to dig, bore and hang wire
within the corporate limits of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas is not
operative until such time as the Franchisee submits to the City Council
of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas, a development plan proposal. The
development plan proposal shall be a simple drawing showing which
areas of the City are intended to be served with particular services
and the procedure set forth in this section is not designed or intended
to deprive the Franchisee of the rights granted hereunder, but to
assure that plans of the Franchisee shall be coordinated with the
administrative and legislative policies of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas.
B.
The City Council hereby directs further that once the initial phase
of construction has been completed, any expansion of the system must
first be submitted in a subsequent development plan to the City Council
of Lincoln, Arkansas and such expansion must be coordinated by the
administrative and legislative policies of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas.
When the original development plan has been approved by resolution
of the City Council, all rights granted by this franchise shall be
fully vested. Expansions of the system which services the City of
Lincoln, Arkansas and for which a development plan is prepared and
submitted must also be approved by the City Council of Lincoln, Arkansas
by resolution.
[Ord. No. 230, Sec. 8]
In the event that the Federal Communications Commission or any
other federal or state agency assumes jurisdiction over the operation
of Community Antenna Television Services and adopts, imposes or promulgates
rules which are in conflict with any rule or provision of this ordinance,
the ordinance may be changed by the City Council to remove those inconsistencies
without jeopardizing the rights of any person affected by this ordinance.
