[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Sullivan 8-22-2006 (Title 9, Ch. 1, of the 2006 Code of Ordinances). Amendments noted where applicable.]
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 - Exhibit A
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words, and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein. 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 directory.
ANNUAL GROSS SUBSCRIBER RECEIPTS
All revenues received by the company from and in connection with the provision of its basic cable service, including installation and reconnection revenues. It does not include revenues derived from leased channel revenues, premium services, advertising revenues, or any other income derived from the system.
CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEM
Hereinafter referred to also as "cable system" or "system," means a system of coaxial cables or other electrical conductors and transmission equipment used or to be used primarily to receive television or radio signals directly or indirectly off the air and transmit them and other related services to subscribers for various fees.
GRANTEE
Shall be a person or entity to whom or which a franchise under this chapter is granted by the Village, along with the lawful successors or assigns of such person or entity.
PERSON
Any individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, or organization of any kind.
VILLAGE
The Village of Sullivan.
A. 
The Village has authority to grant to a grantee a nonexclusive franchise for a period of 15 years from the effective date thereof, unless sooner terminated pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, to install and operate, above, over, and under the streets, alleys, easements (including utility easements), public ways and public places as now laid out or dedicated, and all extensions thereof and additions thereto, a system of wires, cable, underground conduits, ducts, trenches, conductors, amplifying equipment, manholes, fittings, and any and all other fixtures, appliances, and appurtenances necessary for the installation, ownership, maintenance, and operation in the Village of a cable television system for the purpose of distribution of cable television and related services to inhabitants within the limits of the Village. The rights are granted herein by the Village after due consideration and approval by the Village of the legal, character, financial, technical, and other qualifications of the grantee and the adequacy and feasibility of its construction arrangements, as part of a full public proceeding affording due process, which included specific notice of the consideration of the grantee's construction policy.
B. 
The Village may grant overlapping franchises in accordance with the following procedures:
(1) 
Any applicant for grant of a franchise to provide cable television service shall submit details of the applicant's background, financial condition, subscriber rates, proposed system technical configuration and operational design, construction timetable to complete service to the initial service area, proposed practices pertaining to customer service, and employment practices and policies. Existing grantees operating in the Village are not required to provide the application described herein. If an applicant proposes to serve an area in which an existing grantee is authorized to serve, the applicant shall present additional information to assist the Village in evaluating the effect of an additional cable television operator.
(2) 
The application shall be submitted with proof of service of a copy of its application upon all other grantees.
(3) 
The Village shall provide all existing grantees with an opportunity to submit objections or request for clarification on an application which affects such existing grantees and with an opportunity to be heard and to make presentations pertaining to such application during a public hearing.
(4) 
In evaluating an application, the Village shall consider the applicant's legal, financial, technical and other qualifications, the adequacy of its proposed system, the applicant's interest in obtaining a franchise, and the public interest in receiving competitive cable services. The Village shall investigate and balance the competing interests. An overlapping franchise shall be granted only when justified by the balance of interests.
(5) 
Village shall not grant an overlapping franchise on terms and conditions more favorable or less burdensome than those in any existing franchise. Village may impose additional terms and conditions appropriate to an overlapping franchise, including terms and conditions not included in existing franchises.
(6) 
A grantee for an overlapping franchise shall be required to complete construction of a system to serve all areas served by existing grantees and shall be required to provide adequate surety for that construction commitment.
(7) 
A grantee for an overlapping franchise shall be required to indemnify and hold harmless all prior grantees from and against all costs and expenses incurred in strengthening poles, replacing poles, rearranging attachments, placing underground facilities, and all other costs including those of prior grantees, Village, and utilities incident to inspections, make-ready, and construction of an additional cable television system in the franchise area.
The grantee, at all times during the period of this chapter and any renewal thereof, shall be subject to all lawful exercise of the police power by the Village as the Village shall provide pursuant to § 194-18. The grantee and Village shall comply with, and this chapter shall comply with, all applicable laws, statutes, codes, ordinances, rules, or regulations, including those of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, as it may be amended from time to time.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 47 U.S.C. § 521 et seq.
Upon final passage and publication hereof as provided by law and upon acceptance by the grantee, this chapter shall take effect and shall then continue in full force until amended.
This chapter shall apply to the present territorial limits of the Village and to any area henceforth added thereto during the period of this franchise. The grantee shall build in areas of the Village it deems financially feasible. A project shall be deemed financially feasible if the construction passes at least 40 homes per strand mile. The Village may require the grantee to provide justification as to financial infeasibility if it refuses to extend service to a particular area. Nothing herein contained is intended to preclude the grantee from extending its cables and equipment to other portions of the Village or outside the Village for the purpose of serving other areas, provided the grantee is legally authorized to service the other areas.
A. 
The grantee shall pay all damages and penalties which the Village, its officers, boards, commissions, agents, and employees may legally be required to pay as a result of the installation, operation, and maintenance of the cable system authorized herein.
B. 
The grantee shall pay all expenses incurred by the Village, its officers, boards, commissions, agents, and employees in defending itself with regard to all damages and penalties mentioned in Subsection A above. These expenses shall include all out-of-pocket expenses, such as attorneys' fees. The grantee shall be liable for payment of damages and penalties mentioned in Subsection A above and/or expenses in this section only if grantee has been adequately notified of pending actions and has been allowed, at its own expense, to hire its own counsel and to direct the prosecution or defense of the action at grantee's discretion.
C. 
Insurance coverage.
(1) 
The grantee shall maintain, throughout the period of this chapter, liability insurance insuring the Village, its officers, boards, commissions, agents, and employees and the grantee in the minimum amounts of:
(a) 
$1,000,000 for personal injury or death resulting from any one occurrence; and
(b) 
$500,000 for property damage resulting from any one occurrence.
(2) 
The insurance policies mentioned above shall contain an endorsement stating that the policies are extended to cover the liability assumed by the grantee under the terms of this chapter and shall contain the following endorsement:
"It is hereby understood and agreed that this policy may not be cancelled nor the amount of coverage thereof reduced without Board approval."
(3) 
Insurance coverage shall remain in effect throughout the term of the franchise. The grantee shall provide to the Village Clerk-Treasurer written evidence of payment of required premiums, which shall be filed and maintained with the Village Clerk-Treasurer during the term of any franchise granted hereunder or any renewal hereof.
D. 
The grantee shall apply for the licenses and permits necessary for the construction and operation of the cable television system herein described within 60 days of the filing of the grantee's acceptance of the franchise.
A. 
The grantee shall provide and maintain its services in minimum accordance with the standards of the industry, so as to provide its subscribers with a high level of quality and reliability. The grantee's service shall include same day service response, seven days a week, for all complaints and requests for repair or adjustments received. The grantee shall maintain a record of service reports and of the time of the restoration of service.
B. 
Whenever it shall be necessary to shut off or interrupt service for the purpose of making repairs, adjustments or installations, the grantee shall do so at such times as will cause the least amount of inconvenience to its subscribers. If reasonably practical, the grantee shall give reasonable notice thereof to its subscribers.
C. 
In the event of any interruption of service, whether planned or unforeseen, the grantee shall proceed with due diligence and restore service as quickly as possible under the circumstances.
D. 
The grantee shall be responsible for adopting procedures for the investigation and resolution of complaints related to the operation of the grantee's cable television system, and the Village shall have no responsibility for the administration and implementation of such procedures. Notice of the procedures for reporting and resolving complaints will be given to each subscriber at the time of initial subscription to the cable system. The grantee shall have a local or toll-free telephone number.
E. 
The system will be designed, engineered, and maintained by the grantee so as not to interfere with the television reception of residents of the Village who do not subscribe to its service. Neither the Village nor the grantee shall require the removal, or offer to remove, or provide an inducement for removal, of any potential existing subscriber's antenna as a condition of provision of services.
F. 
The cable television system shall have a minimum channel capacity of 54 channels.
Grantee will provide a free connection and basic service to all schools (public, parochial, nonprofit, or private) and Village buildings as long as the cable system passes within a reasonable distance of the building. Additional connections at such locations may be provided on a cost-plus basis.
A. 
The grantee shall, at all times, employ reasonable care in conducting its operations and shall install and use generally accepted methods and devices for preventing failure and accidents which are likely to cause damage, injuries, or nuisances to the public.
B. 
The grantee shall install and maintain its wires, cables, fixtures, and other equipment in accordance with the applicable requirements of the National Safety Code and local ordinances.
C. 
The grantee shall maintain at all times its structures, lines, equipment, and connections in, over, under, or upon the streets, sidewalks, alleys, and public ways or places of the Village, wherever situated or located, in a safe, suitable, substantial condition, and in good order and repair.
It shall be the policy of the Village to amend this chapter liberally, upon application of the grantee, to take advantage of any developments in the field of transmission of television signals and related service which will afford the grantee an opportunity more effectively, efficiently, or economically to serve its customers. The Village shall amend this to enable the grantee to respond to changes in Federal Communications Commission regulations, or other applicable governmental rules or requirements; such amendments shall be made by the Village as soon as possible following application therefor by the grantee.
A. 
All transmission and distribution structures, lines, and equipment erected by the grantee within the Village shall be located so as to cause minimum interference with the proper use of streets, alleys, and other public ways and places and to cause minimum interference with the rights and reasonable convenience of property owners whose land may adjoin any of the said streets, alleys, or other public ways and places.
B. 
In case disturbances of any street, sidewalk, alleys, public way, or paved area are caused by the grantee's construction or operations, the grantee shall, at its own cost and expense and in a manner approved by the Village's appropriate authority, replace and restore such street, sidewalk, alleys, public way, or paved area to a condition as good as its condition before the work causing such disturbance was performed.
C. 
The grantee shall have the right, under the supervision of the Village's appropriate authority, to trim trees overhanging streets, alleys, sidewalks, and public ways and places of the Village so as to prevent the branches of such trees from coming in contact with the wires and cable of the grantee or otherwise interfering with the operations of the grantee.
D. 
The grantee shall, at the request of any person holding a building moving permit issued by the Village, temporarily raise or lower its wires to permit the moving of the building. The expense of such temporary removal, raising or lowering of wires shall be paid by the person requesting the same and the grantee shall have the authority to require such payment in advance. The grantee shall be given not less than 72 hours' advance notice to arrange for such temporary wire change.
Any franchise granted hereunder shall not relieve the grantee of any obligation involved in obtaining pole or conduit use agreements from the gas, electric, and telephone companies, or others maintaining poles or conduits in the streets or roads of the Village, whenever the grantee finds it necessary to make use of said poles or conduits. In areas where either telephone or electric utility facilities are aboveground at the time of installation, the grantee may install its service aboveground, provided that at such time as those facilities are required to be placed underground by the Village or are placed underground, the grantee shall likewise place its services underground without additional cost to the Village or to the residents of the Village. The distribution system shall be placed underground by grantee in such areas of the Village where both telephone and electric power utilities are underground.
The grantee shall not, as to rates, charges, service, service facilities, rules, regulations, or in any other respect, make or grant any undue preference or advantage within a given class of subscribers in the Village.
Upon termination of service to any subscriber, the grantee shall promptly remove all its facilities and equipment from the premises of such subscriber upon his/her request.
The grantee may transfer or assign its rights and obligations under this chapter to any wholly owned subsidiary or any partnership of which the grantee is the sole general partner by filing a duly executed copy of a written instrument with the Village within 30 days of any such transfer or assignment. Any other transfer or assignment of the grantee's rights or obligations shall be made only upon written approval of the Village, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
Within 90 days after the end of the grantee's fiscal year, the grantee shall file with the Village a report showing the gross subscriber revenues for basic cable service, received by the grantee from subscribers in the Village since the preceding report.
The grantee shall pay to the Village a franchise fee of 3% of grantee's annual gross subscriber receipts derived from basic cable service only. No other fee, charge, or consideration shall be imposed. Sales tax or other taxes, if any, levied directly on a presubscription basis and collected by the grantee shall be deducted from the above basis before computation of the franchise fee due the Village hereunder is made. The annual fee shall be paid to the Village Clerk-Treasurer on or before March 31 of the following year.
A. 
The right is hereby reserved to the Village to adopt, in addition to the provisions contained herein and in any existing applicable agreement, such additional regulations as it shall find necessary in the lawful exercise of its police power, provided that such regulations, by ordinance or otherwise, shall be reasonable and not in conflict with the rights herein granted.
B. 
The Village shall have the right to supervise all construction or installation work performed subject to the provisions of the ordinance and make such inspections as it shall find necessary to insure compliance with the terms of this chapter and other pertinent provisions of law.
A. 
The Village may revoke any franchise granted hereunder and rescind all rights and privileges associated therewith upon the occurrence of one of the following events:
(1) 
Failure of the grantee to pay all fees due the Village of Sullivan, provided that said fees are not subject to a legal dispute;
(2) 
Bankruptcy, insolvency, or assignment for the benefit of creditors by grantee; and
(3) 
Other substantial breach of any material term or condition of this chapter.
B. 
Grantee shall be notified in writing fully explaining the details of any such deficiency and grantee will be allowed no fewer than 60 days to correct any such deficiency. If, during the sixty-day period, the cause shall be cured, the notice and right to terminate shall be null and void. The grantee shall be given an opportunity to be heard before the Board regarding termination and the grantee shall be afforded all due process rights regarding termination. In the event of termination, the Board shall provide a written summary of its reasons for termination. A public hearing to consider revocation within a twenty-day notice given to grantee shall be held prior to termination. Grantee must be given the opportunity to be heard at such public hearing.
A. 
The grantee shall have the right to establish different classifications of service for residential and commercial users and to adopt charges and rate schedules applicable to subscribers within said classifications.
B. 
The grantee retains the right to modify its subscriber rates during the period of the franchise. All rate schedules shall be filed with the Village 30 days before going into effect.
A. 
Unauthorized connections prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any firm, person, group, grantee, corporation, or governmental body or agency, without the expressed consent of the grantee, to make or possess any connection, extension, or division, whether physically, acoustically, inductively, electronically, or otherwise, with or to any segment of a franchised community antenna television and audit communications system for any purpose whatsoever.
B. 
Removal or destruction prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any firm, person, group, grantee, corporation, or governmental body or agency to willfully interfere, tamper, remove, obstruct, or damage any part, segment or content of a franchised community antenna television and audio communication system for any purpose whatsoever.
C. 
Penalty. Any firm, person, group, grantee, corporation, or governmental body or agency convicted of a violation of this section shall, for each offense, forfeit a sum of not less than $25 nor more than $200, together with costs of such prosecution.
D. 
Security. The grantee shall have the right at all times to take such legal action as it deems necessary to preserve the security of its cable television system and to assure only authorized use thereof by its subscribers or other persons. Any person who willfully or maliciously damages or causes to be damaged any wire, cable, apparatus, or equipment of the grantee with intent to obtain a signal or impulse therefrom without authorization of the grantee shall be liable to the grantee in the amount of $200 per occurrence or actual damage to the equipment, whichever is greater.
The grantee shall have the right to provide service for which a per-program or per-channel charge is made (commonly referred to as "pay television").
A performance bond in the amount of $16,500 will be secured by the grantee prior to starting construction of the cable system. It will remain in effect until completion of construction and activation of initial service area (Exhibit A, incorporated by reference herein and on file with the Village Clerk-Treasurer)[1] when at that time it will be allowed to be terminated by grantee.
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibit A is included as an attachment to this chapter.
This franchise may be renewed under the provisions of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 47 U.S.C. § 521 et seq.
The Village Board reserves the right to reasonable inspection of the books, records, maps, plans, and other like material of the grantee at the grantee's local office during normal business hours. The records required to be made available for an inspection by the Village Board are not an inclusive list of all such relevant records, and such list does not relieve the grantee from the obligation of furnishing or making available to the Village Board for inspection any other records that would be relevant to the franchise granted.
A. 
Substantial steps shall be taken toward completion of the initial service area (Exhibit A)[1] within 18 months of the granting of the franchise. Grantee shall report 12 months after granting the franchise all steps which have been taken by grantee to complete the system.
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibit A is included as an attachment to this chapter.
B. 
Upon request grantee shall provide full information to the Village as to the stage of completion of the construction within 20 days after receipt of a written request for said information from the Village.