[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Glassboro 2-27-2001 by Ord. No. 01-13; amended in its entirety 12-13-2022 by Ord. No.
22-31. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Borough 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 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.
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 in supplemental to those definitions
of the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") rules and regulations,
47 C.F.R. § 76.1 et seq., and the Cable Communications Policy
Act, 47 17 U.S.C. § 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:
Chapter 186 of the General Laws of New Jersey, and subsequent
amendments thereto, N.J.S.A. § 48:5A-1, et seq.
The company's Application for Renewal of Municipal Consent.
Any service tier, which includes the retransmission of local
television broadcast signals as defined by the FCC.
The Board of Public Utilities, State of New Jersey.
The Borough of Glassboro, County of Gloucester, State of
New Jersey.
The grantee of rights under this chapter and is known as
Comcast of Gloucester County, LLC.
The Federal Communications Commission.
The Office of Cable Television of the Board.
Consists of the area of the Borough currently served with
existing plant as set forth in the map annexed to the company's
Application for Municipal Consent.
A public hearing concerning the consent herein granted to the
company was held after proper public notice pursuant to the terms
and conditions of the Act. Said hearing having been held and fully
open to the public, and the municipality having received all comments
regarding the qualifications of the company to receive this consent,
and the representations of the company 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.
A.
The nonexclusive municipal consent granted herein shall expire 10
years from the date of expiration of the previous certificate of approval
issued by the Board.
B.
In the event that the municipality shall find that the company has
not substantially complied with the material terms and conditions
of this chapter, 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 noncompliance and an opportunity
to cure same within 90 days of that notification.
Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Act, N.J.S.A. 48:5A-30(d),
the company shall, during each year of operation under the consent
granted herein, pay to the municipality 3.5% of the gross revenues
from all recurring charges in the nature of subscription fees paid
by subscribers for cable television reception service in the municipality
or any higher amount permitted by the Act or otherwise allowable by
law. The current franchise fee paid to the Borough is 3.5%.
The consent granted under this chapter for the renewal of the
franchise shall apply to the entirety of the Borough and any property
subsequently annexed hereto.
The company shall be required to proffer service to any residence
along any public right-of-way in the primary service area, as set
forth in the company's application. Any extension of plant beyond
the primary service area shall be governed by the company's line
extension policy, as set forth in the company's application,
with a HPM ("homes-per-mile") of 25 dwellings per linear mile from
the nearest active trunk or feeder line.
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 reasonably
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
Borough shall alter or change the grade of any street, alley or other
way or place the company, upon reasonable notice by the Borough, shall
remove, re-lay or relocate its equipment, at the expense of the company.
C.
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 Borough 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.
D.
Installation of equipment: The company shall install equipment in
the same location and manner as existing public utilities whenever
possible, in order to minimize the impact of same on surrounding property.
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.
A.
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.
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.
The Office of Cable Television is hereby designated as the complaint
officer for the Borough 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 Borough shall have the right to request copies of records and
reports pertaining to complaints by Borough customers from the OCTV.
During the term of this franchise, and any renewal thereof,
the company shall maintain a 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.
During the life of the franchise the company shall give to the
Borough 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.
The rates of the company shall be subject to regulation as permitted
by federal and state law.
A.
Upon request the company shall provide standard installation and
basic cable television service on one outlet to Township facilities
including the Town Hall building, each police, fire, emergency management
facilities, provided they are located with 200 feet of active cable
distribution plant. Each additional outlet installed, if any, shall
be paid for on a materials plus basis by the Borough.
B.
Upon request the company shall provide standard installation and
basic cable television service on one outlet to each qualified existing
school and library in the Borough, public and private, elementary,
intermediate and secondary, provided the facility is within 200 feet
of an active cable distribution plant or through a customer-owned
conduit. Each additional outlet installed, if any, shall be paid for
on a materials plus basis by the Borough.
A.
The company shall continue to make available one shared education
and governmental (E/G) access channel. The E/G channel is currently
administered by the Gloucester County Institute of Technology (GCIT),
and the Borough has the ability to air E/G programming and bulletin
board information.
B.
The company does not relinquish its ownership of or ultimate right
of control over a channel by designating it for E/G access use. An
EG access user, whether an educational or government user, acquires
no property or other interest by virtue of the use of a channel so
designated and may not rely on the continued use of a particular channel
number, no matter how long the same channel may have been designated
for such use.
C.
The company will maintain the cable, modulators, and equipment necessary
for GCIT to send a signal to the company, and to receive the return
feed of the signal.
D.
The company shall not exercise editorial control over any educational
or governmental use of channel capacity, except that the company may
refuse to transmit any educational or governmental access program
or portion of any educational or governmental access program that
contains obscenity, indecency, or nudity.
E.
Educational access. "Educational access" shall mean noncommercial
use by educational institutions such as public or private schools,
but not home schools, community colleges, and universities.
F.
Government access. "Government access" shall mean noncommercial use
by the Borough for the purpose of showing the local government at
work.
G.
Company use of fallow time. Because blank or underutilized E/G channels
are not in the public interest, in the event the Borough or other
qualified E/G access users elect not to fully program their E/G access
channel, company may program unused time on those channels subject
to reclamation by the Borough upon no less than 60 days' written
notice.
H.
Indemnification. The Borough shall indemnify the company for any
liability, loss, or damage it may suffer due to violation of the intellectual
property rights of third parties on the EG channel and from claims
arising out of the rules for or administration of E/G access channel
and its programming.
I.
Within six months of the issuance of a renewal certificate of approval
by the BPU, the company shall provide to the Borough a one-time E/G
Access Capital Grant in the amount of $15,000 to meet the E/G Access
capital needs of the community.
J.
The Communications Act of 1934, as amended [47 U.S.C. § 543
(b)], allows the company to itemize and/or identify: 1) the amount
on the subscriber bill assessed as a franchise fee and the identify
of the governmental authority to which the fee is paid; 2) the amount
on the bill assessed to satisfy any requirements imposed on the company
by the cable franchise to support public, education, and/or governmental
access channels or the use of such channels; and 3) any grants or
other fees on the bill or any tax, assessment, or charge of any kind
imposed by any governmental authority on the transaction between the
operator and the subscriber. The company reserves its external cost,
pass-through rights to the full extent permitted by law.
A.
The company will comply with the Emergency Alert System ("EAS") rules
in accordance with applicable state and federal statutes and regulations.
B.
The company shall in no way be held liable for any injury suffered
by the Township or any other person, during an emergency, if for any
reason the Township is unable to make full use of the cable television
system as contemplated herein.
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.
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.
Should the Township grant municipal consent for 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.
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.
A.
The company shall not be required to disclose information which it
reasonably deems to be proprietary or confidential in nature. The
Borough agrees to treat any information disclosed by the company as
confidential and only to disclose it to those employees, representatives,
and agents of the Township that have a need to know in order to enforce
this agreement and who agree to maintain the confidentiality of all
such information.
B.
The company shall not be required to provide customer information
in violation of Section 631 of the Cable Act or any other applicable
federal or state privacy law. For purposes of this section, the terms
"proprietary or confidential" include, but are not limited to, information
relating to the cable system design, customer lists, marketing plans,
financial information unrelated to the calculation of franchise fees
or rates pursuant to FCC rules, or other information that is reasonably
determined by the company to be competitively sensitive. The company
may make proprietary or confidential information available for inspection
but not copying or removal by the municipality's representative.
In the event that the municipality has in its possession and receives
a request under a state "sunshine," public records, or similar law
for the disclosure of information the company has designated as confidential,
trade secret or proprietary, the Borough shall notify the company
of such request and cooperate with company in opposing such request.
The company shall not be liable or responsible for, in whole
or in part, any delay or failure to perform any of its obligations
hereunder which may result from accidents, pandemics, floods, fires,
earthquakes, tornadoes or other acts of God; war, acts of war (whether
or not a declaration of war is made), civil disobedience; civil disturbance,
sabotage or vandalism, customer tampering or interference, or act
of public enemy; strikes, other labor or job actions or unavailability
of materials or equipment; or other events or circumstances beyond
the reasonable control of the company.
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.
The municipality, for its part, shall endeavor to exercise reasonable
efforts to require developers and utility companies to provide the
company with at least 15 days' advance notice of an available
open trench for the placement of necessary cable.
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon issuance of
a renewal certificate of approval from the BPU.
