Prior ordinance history: 1997 Code §§ 31-1-31-22
and Ordinance No. 2003-(O)-38.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
The municipality hereby grants to Comcast renewal of its non-exclusive
Municipal Consent to place in, upon, across, above, over and under
highways, streets, alleys, sidewalks, easements, public ways and public
places in the municipality, poles, wires, cables, underground conduits,
manholes and other television conductors, fixtures, apparatus and
equipment as may be necessary for the construction, operation and
maintenance in the Municipality of a cable television and communications
system.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
For the purpose of this Ordinance, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein. Such
meaning or definition of terms is supplemental to those definitions
of the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") rules and regulations,
47 C.F.R. Subsection 76.1 et seq., and the Cable Communications Policy
Act, 47 U.S.C. Section 521 et seq., as amended, and the Cable Television
Act, N.J.S.A. 48:5A-1 et seq., and shall in no way be construed to
broaden, alter or conflict with the Federal and State definitions:
ACT OR CABLE TELEVISION ACT
Shall mean Chapter 186 of the General Laws of New Jersey,
and subsequent amendments thereto, N.J.S.A. 48:5A-1, et seq.
APPLICATION
Shall mean the Company's Application for Renewal of
Municipal Consent.
BASIC CABLE SERVICE
Shall mean any service tier, which includes the retransmission
of local television broadcast signals as defined by the FCC.
BOARD OR BPU
Shall mean the Board of Public Utilities, State of New Jersey.
COMPANY
Shall mean the grantee of rights under this Ordinance and
is known as Comcast of The Meadowlands, LLC.
FCC
Shall mean the Federal Communications Commission.
OFFICE OR OCTV
Shall mean the Office of Cable Television of the Board.
PRIMARY SERVICE AREA OR PSA
Shall mean consists of the area of the Municipality currently
served with existing plant as set forth in the map annexed to the
Company's Application for Municipal Consent.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
Public hearings conducted by the municipality, concerning the
renewal of Municipal Consent herein granted to the Company were held
after proper public notice pursuant to the terms and conditions of
the Act and the regulations of the Board adopted pursuant thereto.
Said hearings, having been fully open to the public, and the Municipality,
having received at said public hearings all comments regarding the
qualifications of the Company to receive this renewal of Municipal
Consent, the Municipality hereby finds that the Company possesses
the necessary legal, technical, character, financial and other qualifications
and that the Company's operating and construction arrangements
are adequate and feasible.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
The non-exclusive Municipal Consent granted herein shall expire
15 years from the date of expiration of the previous Certificate of
Approval issued by the Board.
In the event that the Municipality shall find that the Company
has not substantially complied with the material terms and conditions
of this Ordinance, the Municipality shall have the right to petition
the OCTV, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:5A-47, for appropriate action, including
modification and/or termination of the Certificate of Approval; provided
however, that the Municipality shall first have given the Company
written notice of all alleged instances of non-compliance and an opportunity
to cure same within 90 days of that notification.
[Ord. No. 2013- 18]
Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Act, the Company
shall, during each year of operation under the consent granted herein,
pay to the Municipality an annual payment equal to 3.5% of gross revenues
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:5A-3(x) and N.J.S.A. 48:5A-30(d), or such
lesser or greater amount as may be required by any subsequent amendment
to these statutory provisions.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
The consent granted under this Ordinance to the renewal of the
franchise shall apply to the entirety of the Municipality and any
property subsequently annexed hereto.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
The Company shall be required to proffer service to any residence
or business along any public right-of-way in the Primary Service Area,
as set forth in the Company's Application. The Company's
Line Extension Policy, as set forth in the Company's Application,
shall govern any extension of plant beyond the Primary Service Area.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
The Company shall make every effort to deploy new or advanced
technology and or services in the Town that are commercially available,
economically practicable, and technically feasible. That technology
shall include but not be limited to: video-on-demand; digital video
compression; advanced or high-definition television, digital audio
services; digital television, high-speed Internet service via cable
modem; and interactive program guides.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
a. Restoration. In the event that the Company or its agents shall disturb
any pavement, street surfaces, sidewalks, driveways, or other surface
in the natural topography, the Company shall, at its sole expense,
restore and replace such places or things so disturbed in as good
a condition as existed prior to the commencement of said work.
b. Relocation. If at any time during the period of this consent, the
Municipality shall alter or change the grade of any street, alley
or other way or place the Company, upon reasonable notice by the Municipality,
shall remove, re-lay or relocate its equipment, at the expense of
the Company.
c. Temporary Removal of Cables. The Company shall temporarily move or
remove appropriate parts of its facilities to allow for the moving
of buildings, and machinery, or in other similar circumstances. The
expense shall be borne by the party requesting such action, except
when requested by the Municipality, in which case the Company shall
bear the cost.
d. Trimming of Trees. During the exercise of its rights and privileges
under this franchise, the Company shall have the authority to trim
trees upon and over hanging streets, alleys, sidewalks or other public
places of the municipality so as to prevent the branches of such trees
from coming in contact with the wires and cable of the Company. Such
trimming shall be only to the extent necessary to maintain proper
clearance of the Company's wire and cables and shall not be undertaken
until the Town is notified of, and grants its permission for, such
tree trimming.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
In providing services to its customers, the Company shall comply
with N.J.A.C. 14:18-1, et seq. and all applicable State and Federal
statutes and regulations. The Company shall strive to meet or exceed
all voluntary company and industry standards in the delivery of customer
service and shall be prepared to report on it to the municipality
upon written request of the Municipality Administrator or Clerk.
The Company shall continue to comply fully with all applicable
State and Federal statutes and regulations regarding credit for outages,
the reporting of same to regulatory agencies and notification of same
to customers.
The Company shall continue to fully comply with all applicable
State and Federal statutes and regulations regarding the availability
of devices for the hearing impaired and the notification of same to
customers.
The Company shall use every reasonable effort to meet or exceed
voluntary standards for telephone accessibility developed by the National
Cable Television Association (NCTA). Those standards shall include,
but not be limited to, the goal of answering 80% of incoming telephone
calls within 30 seconds.
Nothing herein shall impair the right of any subscriber or the
Municipality to express any comment with respect to telephone accessibility
to the Complaint Officer, or impair the right of the Complaint Officer
to take any action that is permitted under law.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
The Office of Cable Television is hereby designed as the Complaint
Officer for the Municipality pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:5A-26(b). All
complaints shall be received and processed in accordance with N.J.A.C.
14:17-6.5. The Municipality shall have the right to request copies
of records and reports pertaining to complaints by Municipality customers
from the OCTV.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
During the term of this franchise, and any renewal thereof,
the Company shall maintain a local business office or agent in accordance
with N.J.A.C. 14:18-5.1 for the purpose of receiving, investigating
and resolving all local complaints regarding the quality of service,
equipment malfunctions, and similar matters. Such a business office
shall have a publicly listed toll-free telephone number and be open
during standard business hours, and in no event (excepting emergent
circumstances) less than 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
During the life of the franchise the Company shall give to the
Municipality a bond in the amount of $25,000. Such bond shall be to
insure the faithful performance of all undertakings of the Company
as represented in its application for municipal consent incorporated
herein.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
The rates of the Company shall be subject to regulation as permitted
by Federal and State law.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
The Company shall continue to provide residents with a system-wide
public access channel maintained by the Company. Qualified individuals
and organizations may utilize public access for the purpose of cablecasting
noncommercial access programming in conformance with the Company's
published public access rules.
The Company shall continue to provide a system-wide leased access
channel maintained by the Company for the purpose of cablecasting
commercial access programming in conformance with the Company's
guideline and applicable State and Federal statutes and regulations.
The Company shall take any steps that are necessary to ensure
that the signals originated on the access channels are carried without
material degradation, and with a signal whose quality is equal to
that of the other standard channels that the Company transmits.
The Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47 U.S.C. § 543(b)(4)),
allows the Company to itemize and/or identify the amount on the monthly
bill assessed to satisfy any requirements imposed on the Company by
the cable franchise to support public, educational, and governmental
channels, or the use of such channels or any other services required
under the franchise. The Company reserves its external cost, pass-through
rights to the extent permitted by law.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
The Company shall provide standard installation and basic cable
television service on one outlet at no cost to each school in the
Municipality, public and private, elementary, intermediate and secondary,
provided the school is within 200 feet of active cable distribution
plant. Each additional outlet installed, if any, shall be paid for
on a materials plus labor basis by the school requesting service.
Monthly service charges shall be waived on all additional outlets
except for equipment.
The Company shall provide standard installation and basic cable
television service at no cost on one outlet to Town Hall and Annex
Building and each police, fire, emergency management facility, public
library (and branch library) and the following municipal facilities:
Recreation Center at 925 Passaic Avenue; Board of Health Facility
at 645 Kearny Avenue, and Senior Citizens Center, 60 Columbia Avenue,
provided the facility is located within 200 feet of active cable distribution
plant. Each additional outlet installed, if any, shall be paid for
on a materials plus labor basis by the Municipality. Monthly service
charges shall be waived on all additional outlets except for equipment.
The Company shall provide, free of charge, one non-networked
Internet connection via high speed cable modem and monthly Internet
service to each school in the Municipality, public and private, elementary,
intermediate and secondary and to the public library. The Internet
service provided herein must be available to student and patron use
and cannot be limited to administrative uses. All facilities must
be located with 200 feet of active cable distribution plant.
Company representatives shall appear at least once annually,
upon reasonable written request of the Town, at a public hearing of
the Governing Body or before the Town's Cable Television Advisory
Committee, to discuss matters pertaining to the provision of cable
service to residents of the Town and other related issues as the Town
and Company may see fit.
Within six months of the issuance of a renewal Certificate of
Approval from the Board the Company shall provide to the Town a one-time
grant in the amount of $45,000 for technology and access related needs.
The Town shall allocate the grant in such manner as the Town determines
is in the public's best interest.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
The Company will comply with the Emergency Alert System ("EAS")
rules in accordance with applicable State and Federal statutes and
regulations.
The Company shall in no way be held liable for any injury suffered
by the Municipality or any other person, during an emergency, if for
any reason the Municipality is unable to make full use of the cable
television system as contemplated herein.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
The Company shall at all times maintain a comprehensive general
liability insurance policy with a single limit amount of $1,000,000
covering liability for any death, personal injury, property damages
or other liability arising out of its construction and operation of
the cable television system, and an excess liability (or "umbrella")
policy in the amount of $5,000,000.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
All of the statements and commitments contained in the Application
or annexed thereto and incorporated therein, and any amendment thereto,
except as modified herein, are binding upon the Company as terms and
conditions of this consent. The Application and other relevant writings
submitted by the Company shall be annexed hereto and made a part hereof
by reference provided same do not conflict with applicable State or
Federal law.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
Should the Municipality grant a franchise to construct, operate
and maintain a cable television system to any other person, corporation
or entity on terms materially less burdensome or more favorable than
the terms contained herein, the Company may substitute such language
that is more favorable or less burdensome for the comparable provision
of this Ordinance subject to the provisions of N.J.A.C. 14:17-6.7.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion
of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional
by any court or Federal or State agency of competent jurisdiction,
such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent
provision, and its validity or unconstitutionality shall not affect
the validity of the remaining portions of the Ordinance.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
Nothing in this franchise or in any prior agreement is or was
intended to confer third-party beneficiary status on any member of
the public to enforce the terms of such agreements or franchise.
[Ord. No. 2013-18]
This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon issuance of
a Renewal Certificate of Approval from the BPU.