[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
A.
Any person, for himself or herself or representing any other person,
who desires or shall be required by this Article to lay, repair and
make connection with any water, gas, sewer pipes or other conduits,
in and underneath the public highways, parks or other public grounds
within the City, or who shall desire or be required to install any
poles, railroad tracks and appurtenances, or to make connections with
such pipes or other things, on the ground and underneath the surface
of such highways, parks or other public places, including not only
the work already installed but also that to be constructed, shall
first make application for and take out a permit, stating therein
the purpose of making the excavation necessary for the installation
of the things to be done as mentioned in this Section, and such application
shall give the location and extent, the time of making such excavation,
when such excavation shall begin, and when it will be completed and
properly refilled and tamped in accordance with the specifications
recited in this Article. He/she shall make such application to the
Mayor/designee, and such permit, if issued, shall show the requirements
mentioned in this Section, together with the approximate amount to
be charged by and to be paid to the City by the applicant for making
necessary repairs of such excavation and restoring the excavation
to the finished top of the street, sidewalk or other improvement to
its original condition as near as may be, and as provided in this
Article. The person applying for the permit shall sign an agreement
to permit the City to make repairs of the excavation and to pay to
the City the actual cost of the repairs as set out and itemized in
the report of the City Engineer for the cost of repairing and restoring
all of such excavated surfaces of the street, sidewalk, pavement and
other improvements so removed.
B.
Provided, however, the Mayor/designee, after consultation with the
City Engineer, may, if deemed in the best interests of the City, permit
a private contractor retained by the permit holder to make repairs
of the excavation. In such event, the private contractor shall be
responsible for workmanship and materials, and shall remedy any defects
which shall appear within a period of three (3) years from the date
of final acceptance of the finished work. Additionally, any utility
company for whom work is to be performed pursuant to a permit issued
to a private contractor other than such utility company shall be jointly
responsible with the private contractor for all repairs required pursuant
to such permit. Before such permit is issued, the permit holder, private
contractor and utility company shall each sign an agreement obligating
each of said parties to the provisions of this Subsection
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
Any person having complied in all respects with this Article
shall have the right to make an excavation in case of emergency without
waiting to procure a permit, but a permit shall be taken out by such
person for such excavation as soon as the permit can be procured from
the office of the Mayor/designee, and such person shall be, both before
the permit is issued and afterward, controlled by the provisions of
this Article.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
The excavation permit fee shall be seventy-five dollars ($75.00).
The Board of Aldermen shall review the costs of services associated
with all user fees at least on a biannual basis during the budget
process to determine the appropriateness of the fee charge.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
Whenever any person shall have been granted a permit to make
excavation in the street for installing any of the things described
and required to be installed by this Article and it should afterwards
become necessary to install some other connection or pipes or other
things in the same ditch before the ditch is closed, then the person
taking such permit, by making application to the Mayor/designee, may
have the permit changed to include such other work, if in the judgment
of the Mayor/designee such additional work would be proper and to
the best advantage.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
Should any person as shall have been granted a permit as provided
for in this Article in any way excavate any or all of a ditch which
has been excavated and properly refilled under a former permit, the
last person doing such excavation shall be held responsible for such
excavation as if no other permit had ever been granted.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
A.
As a guarantee to the City that all of the requirements of this Article
shall be complied with in all respects, and that the City shall be
saved harmless from all claims for damage or injury to person or property,
every person desiring to obtain a permit under this Article shall,
before being granted any permit, execute a license and permit bond
in the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) to the City conditioned
that all requirements as set forth in this Article, including the
guarantee to save the City harmless, will be faithfully and promptly
carried out. Such bond shall be issued yearly and subject to the approval
of the City Attorney. The sureties of such bond may either be personal
or surety companies. Should any bond be successfully attacked for
any reason, another bond of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) with
the same conditions shall be given before any other permit shall be
granted to such person whose bond shall have been attacked.
B.
Any person described under this Chapter shall carry insurance in
an amount not less than three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00)
combined single limits for bodily injury or property damage.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
All public service firms or corporations using the streets,
alleys or public places in the City, or such firms and corporations
as shall be granted franchises or rights-of-way on public highways
or public grounds within the City, or being otherwise authorized by
ordinance to do or have done any of the work outlined in this Article,
shall furnish to the Mayor/designee any information pertaining to,
and all locations of, any such public service corporation's appurtenances
as shall be required by the Mayor/designee. If deemed necessary by
the Board of Aldermen, a full and detailed report of all or any part
of the company's properties, appliances and appurtenances shall
be filed with the Mayor/designee, including a plan of all parts which
have been removed and not previously so reported.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
No tunneling or boring under the streets will be allowed except
where absolutely necessary and mentioned in the permit. Where the
ditch under the sidewalk shall be less than two (2) feet wide, it
may be tunneled, but all that part so tunneled under the sidewalk
shall be refilled in compliance with specifications on file with the
City Clerk.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
Where permits are given for making excavations in streets to
lay mains, such excavations shall not be made more than one (1) block
in length, and not more than one (1) street intersection shall be
excavated at a time for laying any of such improvements, but the permit
may be granted for any distance.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
Where streets are widened or where it becomes necessary for
any reason to change any telephone poles, telegraph poles, light poles,
etc., old pole holes must be refilled to the top of the new pavement
subgrade, with either concrete or crushed stone, as specified.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
A.
It is hereby declared to be an ordinance violation for any person
to make any excavation for any of the purposes mentioned in this Article
in any streets, alleys, avenues or other highways or public parks
or other public grounds within the City without first having obtained
a permit as provided for under and by the requirements of this Article.
B.
It is also declared an ordinance violation for any person, after
having obtained a permit for doing the work for the purpose provided
in this Article, to excavate under such permit any considerable amount
more than such permit calls for, or make excavation at any other place
except that designated in the permit, and any person violating any
of the other requirements of this Article shall be deemed guilty of
an ordinance violation; and as an additional penalty, the Mayor/designee
is hereby prohibited from issuing to any person or other parties as
outlined in this Article any permit for any of the purposes set forth
in this Article if the applicant shall owe the City any money on any
permits which shall have been granted under and by virtue of this
Article, or if he/she shall fail to fully and faithfully comply with
all requirements in this Article, especially the requirements for
refilling and properly tamping, barricading and lighting all trenches.
