[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of Colebrookdale Township 4-4-1966 by Ord. No. 5-66. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Township of Colebrookdale is hereby authorized to grant the right and privilege to any person, persons, firms, corporations or other business entities qualifying hereunder to construct, erect, operate and maintain, in, upon, along, across, above, over and under the streets, alleys, public ways, public places, now laid out or dedicated and all extensions thereof or additions thereto in said Township or such portion thereof as the Board of Commissioners shall determine, poles, wires, cables, under ground conduits, manholes and other television conductors and fixtures necessary for the maintenance and operation in the Township of a cable television system. Said grant of the aforesaid right and privilege shall be subject, nevertheless, to the following regulations and conditions hereinafter imposed in this chapter and such other regulations and conditions as may be imposed from time to time by the Township of Colebrookdale by appropriate action:
A. 
Nonexclusive grant. The right to use and occupy said streets, alleys, public ways and public places for the purpose herein set forth shall not be exclusive, and the Township shall have the right to grant such nonexclusive franchises to any other person, persons, firms, corporations or other business entities qualifying hereunder at any time.
B. 
Grant subject to Township Code. Any grant by the Township hereunder is subject to all provisions of the First Class Township Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania presently in force and as the same may hereafter be amended, supplemented or modified.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 55101 et seq.
C. 
State highway department permits. Before any conduits, pipes or other structures be erected upon, under, or in any portion of any street or road within the Township under the control of, or subject to the provisions of, the rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the franchisee, at his, her, its, or their expense shall obtain all requisite permits from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and shall comply with all of the applicable rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
D. 
Easements and rights-of-way. Any permit issued hereunder by the Township shall be subject to the franchisee obtaining any and all necessary easements, rights-of-way and other grants from any and all property owners whose property may be affected or encroached upon by the construction, operation and maintenance of the aforesaid cable television system of the franchisee.
Any franchisee shall at all times during the term of any franchise granted hereunder be subject to all of the laws of the United States of America, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and any and all of the ordinances and regulations of the Township of Colebrookdale, now in effect, and such as may be adopted or enacted from time to time hereafter, and particularly be subject to the following conditions and regulations:
A. 
Interference. Any system erected, operated and maintained by any franchisee hereunder shall be so constructed of such materials that it will absolutely prevent any interference on any television set, radio, electrical appliance, and any other electronic device of any resident or occupier of premises within the franchised area, and, in the event that there is any such interference, the franchisee shall immediately at its sole cost and expense eliminate such interference. If such interference cannot be eliminated within 48 hours the Township shall have the power to suspend the operation of any cable television system franchisee within the Township until such interference is eliminated.
B. 
Intentional interference. Any franchisee hereunder shall not intentionally cause the emanation of any electrical interference which has the property or ability of interfering with any television set, radio, electrical appliance or other electronic device, and in the event that any franchisee hereunder shall intentionally cause said emanations, the franchise granted to said franchisee shall be immediately revoked and terminated.
A. 
Use. All transmission and distribution structures, lines and equipment erected by the company within the Township shall be so located as to cause minimum interference with the reasonable use of the streets, alleys and other public ways and places, and cause minimum interference with the rights or reasonable convenience of property owners who adjoin any of said streets, alleys or other public ways and places.
B. 
Restoration. In case of any disturbance of pavement, sidewalk, driveway, or other surfacing, the franchisee shall at its sole cost and expense and in manner approved by the Township Engineer, replace and restore all paving, sidewalk, driveways or surface of any street or alley disturbed in the same condition as before said work was commenced.
C. 
Relocation. In the event that at any time during the period of any franchise granted hereunder the Township shall lawfully elect to alter or change the grade of any street, alley, or other public way, the company, upon reasonable notice by the Township, shall at its sole cost and expense remove, relay and relocate its poles, wires, cables, underground conduits, manholes and other television fixtures.
D. 
Placement of fixtures. Any franchisee hereunder shall insofar as it is reasonably possible locate its wires, cables, conduits and other conductors and fixtures on existing utility poles. Any franchisee shall not place any poles or other fixtures where same will interfere with any utility, and all such poles or other fixtures placed in said street shall be placed in such location as shall have been previously determined by the Township Engineer.
Any franchise granted hereunder shall not be assignable except upon the express authority of the Township, duly noted upon the minutes of the Board of Commissioners by a resolution permitting said assignment and finding that the assignee is qualified under the terms of this chapter.
A. 
Township rules. The right is hereby reserved to the Township to adopt from time to time, in addition to the provisions herein contained and such existing applicable ordinances, such additional rules and regulations as the Township shall deem necessary.
B. 
Use of system by Township. Township shall have the right during the term of any franchise to use free of charge, where construction exists within the Township limits, the facilities of any franchisee for police and fire alarm system.
C. 
Use of system by School District or districts whose areas are included within the Township boundaries. The School District or districts whose areas are included within the Township boundaries shall have the right during the terms of any franchise to use free of charge, where construction exists within the Township limits, the facilities of any franchisee for educational purposes.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
The franchisee shall pay to the Township for the privilege of obtaining and maintaining a cable television franchise within the Township annual fees as provided in the then-current service agreement between the franchisee and the Township.
Franchisees shall at all times maintain proper and adequate records of the gross receipts together with records pertaining to its financial structure and a list of all its subscribers at an office within the County of Berks which shall be available at all reasonable times to inspection by the Township or its duly designated agent.
Any franchise granted hereunder shall be for the term of one year conditioned, however, that said franchise permit is automatically renewable each year upon the payment of the fees provided hereunder and compliance with the terms and conditions herein imposed and that the financial condition of the franchisee shall remain satisfactory to the Township. The term "financial condition" shall be interpreted to mean that the franchisee's condition is such as it will permit the franchisee to perform all of its services to its subscribers.
Franchise permits may be obtained hereunder by any person or persons or corporation of good repute and of good and sufficient financial condition upon presentment to the Township of the following:
A. 
Name of the applicant;
B. 
Address of the applicant;
C. 
Evidence of a financial condition of the applicant and in the event of a corporation, names of principal stockholders and a financial statement of the corporation duly certified by a certified public accountant;
D. 
Description of the area to be covered by the franchise;
E. 
Schedule of proposed rates to be charged by the applicant for all services to be rendered to subscriber, including but not limited to installation charge, monthly fees, etc.; and
F. 
Application shall be made upon forms supplied by the Township and all information requested therein shall be submitted as requested.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
All fees charged by the franchisee shall be fair, just, reasonable, and uniform, both within the Township and between the Township and other Municipalities served by the franchisee.
A. 
Any franchisee violating any of the terms or provisions of this chapter or any rules or regulations duly adopted by the Township shall be cause for the forfeiture of any franchise permit.
B. 
The distribution system of any franchisee to be hereafter installed shall not be abandoned either in whole or in part without the consent of the Township. In the event of the failure of the franchisee to commence installation of the system within six months after the issuance of a franchise permit, and the securing of the pole franchise with the utility companies, or in the event of the failure of the franchise to render community television service to the Township and the inhabitants thereof, contemplated and provided for by this chapter, within a period of one year from the date of issuance of the franchise permit, the Township shall have the right, on reasonable notice to the franchisee to declare the franchise granted hereunder as forfeited.
Any franchisee hereunder shall immediately upon being granted a franchise permit submit to the Township evidence that the franchisee is insured against liability to the public for injuries to person and property with any reputable and financially sound insurance company in an amount not less than $500,000 for any one person and $1,000,000 for any one accident and property damage; and that the Township shall also be designated as insured under said policy, insuring the Township against any liability which may arise by reason of the issuance of any franchise permit to any franchisee. Such policy of insurance shall be in full force and effect during the entire term of the franchise permit.
If any article, section, subsection, provision, regulation, limitation, restriction, sentence, clause, phrase, or word in this chapter is, for any reason, declared to be illegal, unconstitutional or invalid, by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect or impair the validity of the chapter as a whole, or any other article, section, subsection, provision, regulation, limitation, restriction, sentence, clause, phrase, word, or remaining portion of the within chapter. The Board of Commissioners hereby declares that it would have adopted the within chapter and each article, section, subsection, provision, regulation, limitation, restriction, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more of the sections, subsections, provisions, regulations, limitations, restrictions, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words may be declared illegal, unconstitutional or invalid.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances conflicting with the provisions of this chapter are hereby repealed insofar as they are inconsistent with this chapter.