[Former Ch. 22, Cable Television, was repealed 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928. Prior history includes Ord. No. 526 and Ord. No. 662.]
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
The Borough hereby grants to Service Electric Cable TV of Hunterdon, Inc. ("SECTVH") 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.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
For 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 CFR 76.1 et seq., and the Cable Communications Policy Act, 47 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:
ACT or CABLE TELEVISION ACT
Is Chapter 186 of the General Laws of New Jersey, and subsequent amendments thereto, N.J.S.A. 48:5A-1 et seq.
APPLICATION
Is SECTVH's application for municipal consent.
BASIC CABLE SERVICE
Means the lowest level of which includes the retransmission of local television broadcast signals as defined by the FCC.
BOARD or BPU
Is the Board of Public Utilities, State of New Jersey.
COMPANY
Is the grantee of rights under this chapter and is known as Service Electric Cable TV of Hunterdon, Inc. ("SECTVH").
FCC
Is the Federal Communications Commission.
MUNICIPALITY or BOROUGH
Is the Borough of Frenchtown, County of Hunterdon, State of New Jersey.
OFFICE or OCTV
Is the Office of Cable Television of the Board.
RATE SCHEDULE
Means the prices and applicable terms and conditions reflected in the SECTVH Schedule of Prices, Rates, Terms and Conditions filed with the Office of Cable Television pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:5A-11, which may be revised by the company from time-to-time during the term of the municipal consent granted herein.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
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.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
a. 
The non-exclusive municipal consent granted herein shall extend for 15 years from the date of the issuance of a renewal certificate of approval by the Board.
b. 
If there exists a period following the expiration of the Borough's consent Ord. No. 662, Frenchtown's Cable Television Ordinance, until such time that a decision is made the Board, the company shall petition the Board for a certificate of approval authorizing continued operation during any such period.
c. 
In the event that the municipality shall find that the company has not substantially complied with the material terms and conditions of this chapter with respect to matters under the exclusive control of the company, 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 provide an opportunity to cure noncompliance within 90 days of such notice or such additional period as may be appropriate where the cause of the noncompliance is beyond the reasonable control of the company.
d. 
Notification of impending transfer. SECTVH shall give the municipality 30 days' notice of any impending transfer of the franchise to any other entity, person, or otherwise.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
a. 
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.
b. 
If applicable law hereafter permits a larger franchise fee to be collected, but does not fix the amount thereof, the municipality and SECTVH shall negotiate in good faith with respect to the amount thereof, which amount shall be due and payable from the date that the franchise fee was increased by said law.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
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.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
a. 
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 on the Wiring Map attached to the application, as Appendix A,[1] at tariffed rates for standard and non-standard installations. For all areas not currently served as reflected on the Wiring Map, any additional line extension of the system shall be in accordance with OCTV Line Extension Policy ("LEP"). For purposes of the LEP, the minimum density of homes per mile shall be 16. To the extent not inconsistent with applicable federal or state law, SECTV installation charges and line extension policy is as set forth in its application.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is on file in the Borough offices.
b. 
The company has modified its application as regards its line drop policy to reflect that the company shall extend its plant from public rights-of-way to all residences and businesses within 300 aerial or underground feet of the operator's existing plant, or 16 homes per mile, at no cost beyond the normal installation rate. SECTVH shall also extend its plant after the first 300 feet of installation to subscribers from public roads at rates listed in the rate schedule[2] and paragraph c below. SECTVH will also extend its plant along private roads under the same conditions as set forth above. If the density of homes along a private road does not meet the threshold under the company's line extension policy, the property owner(s) shall share the cost of the line extension. Property owners seeking such extensions shall be responsible for obtaining and providing easements at their own expense to be given to the company, where necessary to provide such an extension of service.
[2]
Editor's Note: The Rate Schedule is on file in the Borough offices.
c. 
To the extent a nonstandard installation, installation in the public right-of-way or installation along private roads beyond the requirements of the LEP, or extension beyond 300 feet for a line drop to a customer is not addressed by rates in the rate schedule, the installation shall be done at the company's unitized or actual costs for materials and labor employed in the installation, including overheads directly attributable to the work.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
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 within the municipality, 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, upon request of the municipality at the company's expense, temporarily raise, lower, or remove its lines 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 private parties.
d. 
Removal or trimming of trees. During the exercise of its rights and privileges under this franchise, the company shall, upon 30 days' written notice to the municipality and the written consent of the municipality, 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.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
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, including, but not limited to technical standards for the transmission of television signals, transmission quality or facilities and equipment. 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.
a. 
The company shall continue to comply fully with all applicable state and federal statues and regulations regarding credits for outages, the reporting of same to regulatory agencies and notification of same to customers. Every effort shall be made by SECTVH to repair service outages within six hours of their being reported and the company being permitted to undertake such repair. SECTVH shall reimburse each affected subscriber for the period of any outage as required by N.J.A.C. 14:18-3.5 and any other Board of Public Utility Rules requiring and/or prescribing the formula for outage credits.
b. 
The company shall continue to fully comply with all applicable state and federal statues and regulations regarding the availability of devices for the hearing impaired and the notification of same to customers.
c. 
The company shall use reasonable efforts to meet or exceed voluntary standards for telephone accessibility developed by the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) except as they may be modified by the Office.
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 permitted under law.
e. 
SECTVH shall provide a toll-free telephone number for customer calls, said number to be included on all monthly bills. All equipment provided by SECTVH shall be serviced, repaired, or replaced by SECTVH through service calls made directly to the individual subscriber's location if required by the nature of the call or in another mutually agreed upon manner.
f. 
SECTVH shall notify the municipality or its designee at least 30 days in advance of any proposed rate increase and shall publish all its rates for all subscriber services to each customer in the manner consistent with the requirements of the Office.
g. 
SECTVH shall give due consideration to programming preferences expressed by customers. Further, SECTVH shall provide subscribers in the Borough with at least the same broad categories of programming, in approximately the same quality, as are now provided and which appear in the application.
h. 
SECTVH will always endeavor to keep rates reasonably comparable to other area systems on a cost-per-channel basis, and the rates charged to the subscribers of Frenchtown Borough shall not be higher than the rates charged to any other subscriber of SECTVH within its other franchised municipalities.
i. 
SECTVH shall provide reasonable notice informing subscribers of telephone numbers, addresses and procedures to keep them informed of all cable television services available from SECTVH.
j. 
SECTVH shall comply with any state law or regulation and shall use its best efforts to comply with any guideline with respect to maintaining space for a statewide interconnect channel.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
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 § § 1. OCTV.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
a. 
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.
b. 
Such a 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 responses for such purposes as mentioned herein will be provided by the company's employees, representatives, or agents 24 hours per day.
c. 
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.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
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. The municipality reserves the right by resolution to require a reasonable increase in the amount of said bond, subject to review by the OCTV and approval by the Board.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
The rates of the company shall be subject to regulation as permitted by federal and state law. If applicable law is hereafter amended to permit the exercise of regulatory power over rates by municipalities, the municipality reserves the right to exercise the maximum power permitted by law at such time said law becomes effective.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
The company shall continue to provide free of charge the installation of one outlet and basic monthly service to public buildings within the Borough, including the Municipal Building at 29 Second Street, Police Department at 27 Second Street, Fire Department at 31 Second Street, Department of Public Works at 86 River Road, Sewer Department at 43 River Road, Park at 1 Creek Road, Frenchtown Borough Elementary School at 902 Harrison Street. The company shall continue to provide a shared access channel to Delaware Valley Regional High School.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
a. 
SECTVH will maintain, at a minimum, the level of service currently provided.
b. 
SECTVH representatives shall appear upon reasonable written request of the Borough, at a public hearing of the Common Council 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.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
a. 
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").
b. 
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.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
The company shall always 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. The municipality shall be named as an additional insured under said policy.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
The company has agreed to implement a senior citizen's discount rate in the amount of 10% of the monthly basic cable service rate to any person 62 years of age or older who subscribes to cable services. Such subscribers must meet the income eligibility and residency requirements of the Pharmaceutical Assistance to Aged and Disabled pursuant to N.J.S.A. 30:4D-21. The company has agreed to apply the same discount rate to the disabled with the same PAAD eligibility requirements.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
All 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 if 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 conflict with the provisions of this chapter are hereby declared invalid and superseded.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
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.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
Should any of the federal or state statutes, regulations, rules, orders, or pronouncements applicable to the regulation of cable television be modified in any way, such modifications, to the extent that they embody required terms and conditions and meaningfully can be incorporated into this chapter, shall be so incorporated, consistent with any applicable effective dates specified in such modification. To the extent that any such modification places limits on permissible terms and conditions and any provision of this chapter becomes invalid by virtue of such modification, the preceding § 22-20 shall apply.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
Any prior ordinance of this Borough granting consents to the company or any of its predecessors is hereby repealed in its entirety as of the effective date of this chapter. Furthermore, all resolutions and ordinances regarding such coUnless the context clearly indicates a different meaningnsents within the Borough are repealed as of the effective date of this chapter.
[Added 12-4-2024 by Ord. No. 928]
This chapter shall take effect upon the publication thereof, the municipality receiving written notification from SECTVH that it accepts the provisions of this chapter and the issuance of a renewal certificate of approval from the BPU.