Editor's Note: Prior ordinance history includes portions
of Ordinance No. 94-13 and 95-8.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 1]
The Borough hereby grants to Comcast of Long Beach Island renewal
of its nonexclusive Municipal Consent to place in, upon, across, above,
over and under highways, streets, alleys, sidewalks, easements, public
ways and public places in the Borough, 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 Borough of a cable television and communications
system.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 2]
For the purpose of this chapter, 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:
a.
MUNICIPALITY OR BOROUGH — Shall mean the Borough of Surf City,
County of Ocean, State of New Jersey.
b.
COMPANY — Shall mean the grantee of rights under this chapter
and is known as Comcast of Long Beach Island.
c.
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.
d.
FCC — Shall mean the Federal Communications Commission.
e.
BOARD OR BPU — Shall mean the Board of Public Utilities, State
of New Jersey.
f.
OFFICE OR OCTV — Shall mean the Office of Cable Television
of the Board.
g.
BASIC CABLE SERVICE — Shall mean any service tier, which includes
the retransmission of local television broadcast signals as defined
by the FCC.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 3]
Public hearings conducted by the Borough, 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 Borough, having received
at said public hearings all comments regarding the qualifications
of the Company to receive this renewal of Municipal Consent, the Borough
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. 2004-15 § 4]
The nonexclusive 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 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 noncompliance and an opportunity to cure same within 90 days of
that notification.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 5]
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 Borough 2% of the gross revenues from all recurring charges
in the nature of subscription fees paid by subscribers for cable television
reception service in the Borough or any higher amount permitted by
the Act or otherwise allowable by law, whichever is greater.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 6]
The consent granted under this chapter to the renewal of the
franchise shall apply to the entirety of the Borough and any property
subsequently annexed hereto.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 7]
The Company shall be required to proffer service along any public
right-of-way to any person's residence or business located in
all areas of the franchise territory as described herein, at tariffed
rates for standard and nonstandard installations.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 8]
The Company has completed an upgrade of the cable television
distribution system serving the Borough. The upgraded system is a
hybrid fiber optic/coaxial cable system following a "fiber to the
node" architecture. The upgraded system provides improved picture
quality, enhanced signal reliability and increased channel capacity.
The upgrade has been completed following the Company's
engineering guidelines for hybrid fiber/coaxial (HFC) plant design,
which meets or exceeds all applicable State and Federal regulations
as well as voluntary cable television industry standards and follows
commonly accepted industry practices.
The Company shall make every effort to deploy new or advanced
technology and or services in the Borough 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. 2004-15 § 9]
a.
Restoration. In the event that the Company or its agents shall disturb
any pavement, street surfaces, sidewalks, driveways, or other surface
in the nature 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, relay or relocate its equipment, at the expense of the
Company.
c.
Temporary Removal of Cables. The Company shall, upon request of the
Municipality at the Company's expense, temporarily raise, lower,
or remove its fines in order to facilitate the moving of buildings
or machinery or in other like circumstances. Whenever the request
is made by, for, or on behalf of private parties, the cost will be
borne by those same parties.
d.
Removal or 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 overhanging 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.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 10]
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 community upon
written request of the Borough Administrator or Clerk.
a.
The Company shall continue to comply fully with all applicable State
and Federal statutes and regulations regarding credits for outages,
the reporting of same to regulatory agencies and notification of same
to customers.
b.
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.
c.
The Company shall use every 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.
d.
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 appropriate under law.
e.
The Company is permitted, but is not required to, charge a late fee
consistent with applicable State and Federal statutes and regulations.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 11]
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 Borough customers
from the OCTV.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 12]
During the term of this franchise, and any renewal thereof,
the Company shall maintain a local business office or agent for the
purpose of receiving, investigating and resolving all complaints regarding
the quality of service, equipment malfunctions and similar matters.
Such local business office shall be open during normal business hours
and in no event less than 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Telephone response for such purposes as mentioned herein will be provided
by the Company's employees, representatives or agents 24 hours
per day.
The telephone number and address of the local office shall be
listed in applicable telephone directories and in correspondence from
the Company to the customer. The telephone number for the local office
shall utilize an exchange that is a non-toll call for Borough residents.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 13]
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. 2004-15 § 14]
The rates of the Company shall be subject to regulation as permitted
by Federal and State law.
[Ord. No. 2004-16 § 15]
a.
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 cable
casting noncommercial access programming in conformance with the Company's
published public access rules.
b.
The Company shall continue to provide a dedicated municipal access
channel maintained by the Company for use by the Municipality and
its designees for the purpose of cable casting noncommercial public,
educational and governmental programming.
c.
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.
d.
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 channels that the Company transmits.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 16]
a.
Eleven thousand five hundred fifty dollar Technology Grant.
b.
The Company shall continue to provide standard installation of one
free cable drop and monthly-expanded basic service to the Municipal
building, Police, Fire and First Aid Departments, libraries and community
centers. This obligation shall apply to any new facilities that are
constructed during this Municipal Consent. Installation shall be completed
within 30 days of the Certificate of Occupancy. The Municipality shall
notify the Company of any new construction requiring a free drop.
c.
The company shall provide standard installation of one free cable
drop monthly expanded service to each elementary and middle school,
public or private, in the Municipality no later than one year after
issuance of a Certificate of Approval by the Board of Public Utilities.
d.
Company representatives shall appear at least once annually, upon
reasonable written request of the Borough, at a public hearing of
the Governing Body or before the Borough's Cable Television Advisory
Committee, to discuss matters pertaining to the provision of cable
service to residents of the Borough and other related issues as the
Borough and Company may see fit.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 17]
In the event that the Borough determines that it is necessary
and feasible for it to contract with the Company for the purpose of
providing two-way or interconnection services, the Company shall be
required to apply to the BPU for approval to enter into and establish
the terms and conditions of such contract. All costs for such application
to the BPU shall be borne by the Borough.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 18]
The Company shall be required to fully comply with all applicable
Federal and State statutes and regulations rules and regulations governing
the implementation, operation and testing of the Emergency Alert System
(EAS).
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. 2004-15 § 19]
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 $3,000,000.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 20]
All of the commitments and statements contained in the application
and any amendment thereto submitted in writing to the Municipality
by the Company, except as modified herein, are binding upon the Company
as terms and conditions of this Municipal Consent. The application
and any other relevant writings submitted by the Company shall be
considered a part of this chapter and made a part hereof by reference
as long as it does not conflict with State or Federal law. All ordinances
or parts of ordinances or other agreements between the Borough and
the Company that are in conflict with the provisions of this agreement
are hereby declared invalid and superseded.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 21]
Should the Borough 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 chapter subject to the provisions of N.J.A.C. 14:17-6.7.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 22]
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion
of this chapter 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 chapter.
[Ord. No. 2004-15 § 23]
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon issuance of
a Renewal Certificate of Approval from the BPU.
