Township of Franklin, NJ Telecommunications Services

Any ordinance or resolution heretofore or hereafter adopted by the Township which grants any provider access to the Township's public road rights-of-way for the provision of telecommunications service.

PROVIDER

Any provider of telecommunications service that has been or will be granted access to the Township's public road rights-of-way pursuant to any authorizing action.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE

The offering of telecommunications for a fee directly to the public, or to such classes of users as to be effectively available directly to the public, regardless of the facilities used.

TOWNSHIP

The Township of Franklin, County of Somerset, State of New Jersey, and its government, including the Township Council and its administrative personnel.

§ 354-2 Findings and conclusions.

The Township has in the past and may in the future grant certain providers the nonexclusive right to use the Township's right-of-way for the provision of telecommunications service. The provisions of this chapter shall apply to such providers.

§ 354-3 Provider's continuing obligations.

The needs of the Township and the public to minimize interruption in street and sidewalk traffic and public or private business, to avoid congestion, environmental degradation, undue cost, inconvenience, reduction in property values, private interests and the like, frustration or burdening of Township planning for future utility installations and operations, maintenance of current utilities and general planning for development by the Township, shall be respected by each provider, and each provider will notify the Township of the location of any cable or other fixtures permitted to be installed pursuant to the applicable authorized action prior to such installation.

§ 354-4 Territory.

The consent granted by any authorizing action shall apply to the entirety of Franklin Township. All questions of municipal boundary location, rights and interest in property, federal, state, county and/or other governmental or quasi-governmental rights, privileges and/or interests in real estate shall be investigated and researched at the provider's expense; procedures necessary to gather relevant information and to resolve every such question shall be pursued in the provider's own name; and the Township shall never be under any obligation to perform investigations or research, conduct or prosecute proceedings, expend legal fees or pay the charge of engineers, surveyors, title searchers or others, or otherwise take any steps to define, delineate, establish or clarify the boundaries or rights of the Township.

§ 354-5 Compliance with development and other ordinances.

All providers shall at all times be subject to full and complete compliance with Chapter 112, Land Development, of the Code of the Township, all other Township ordinances and regulations and all rules, regulations and laws of the applicable jurisdictions as to all aspects of location, operation, and maintenance of the fiber optic cables and fixtures necessary thereto to provide telecommunications service. Any fixture other than wires, cable, underground conduits, terminating equipment and electronics and fiber optic cables shall be subject to the Township's prior written approval before their installation.

§ 354-6 No interest in Township property.

No easement, title in fee, leasehold or other interest in real estate, nor any other interest in property of the Township, is hereby granted to a provider by any authorizing action.

§ 354-7 Fee; failure to pay.

[Amended 9-14-1999 by Ord. No. 3064]

In consideration of the rights and privileges granted to a provider by the applicable authorizing action, each provider shall pay to the Township on an annual basis the following fees:

(1)

Two hundred dollars per mile of such provider's fiber optic cable located in the public road rights-of-way within the Township, with a minimum annual fee of $500.

All payments due to the Township hereunder by a provider shall be made on or before June 1 of each year in which access to the Township's public road rights-of-way is in effect. Any failure to accurately make the payment called for on or before October 1 of each said year will result in the automatic revocation of the nonexclusive franchise granted to such provider by the applicable authorizing action.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: Former § 246-8, which previously followed this section, was repealed 9-14-1999 by Ord. No. 3064.

§ 354-8 Conditions of construction.

Restoration. In the event any provider shall from time to time disturb any public or private pavement, street surfaces, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, driveways, above or below ground utilities, lines, fixtures, equipment or other facilities or trees, shrubs or other landscaping or surfaces in the natural topography or any other matter whatsoever, such provider shall, at its sole expense, reasonably restore and replace such places and things so disturbed to and in not less than as good condition as existed prior to each disturbance. In doing so, such provider shall comply with all applicable ordinances, resolutions, laws, rulings and regulations. All restorations shall be completed within 30 working days of the work requiring the same.

Relocation. If at any time during the period of access to the Township's public road rights-of-way, the Township shall alter or change the grade of any public street or highway, or alter or change the location of grade of any public water or sewer facility or other utility facility, each provider, upon reasonable notice by the Township, shall at its own expense remove, re-lay and relocate its cables, equipment and other facilities in such area.

Temporary removal of cables. Each provider shall for the purpose of and upon request of the Township, at its expense temporarily raise, lower or remove its cables and associated facilities in order to facilitate the moving of buildings, equipment, vehicles and machinery and to accommodate other like circumstances. A provider may suggest alternatives to the temporary removal of cables where such temporary removal may cause a disruption of services or otherwise interfere with the expectations of its customers. However, the Township retains the right to make the final decision regarding said cable removal.

§ 354-9 Marking of underground lines.

Each provider shall respond when requested to mark out underground lines within 48 hours of the request.

§ 354-10 Performance bond.

To secure the faithful performance by each provider of all of its obligations to the Township, each provider shall deliver to the Township and maintain in force throughout the duration of the provider's access to the Township's said rights-of-way a surety bond in the penal sum of not less than $50,000, conditioned on the faithful performance by such provider of all of its undertakings pursuant to this chapter and the authorizing action. Said bond must be acceptable in form and content to the Township Attorney. The bonding company shall be authorized to do business in the State of New Jersey.

§ 354-11 Liability insurance.

During the term of the use of the Township's said rights-of-way, each provider shall deliver to the Township and maintain in force, at its sole expense, sufficient combined automobile and comprehensive general liability insurance naming the Township as an additional insured and insuring against loss by any such claim, suit, judgment, execution or demand in the minimum amounts of:

(1)

$1,000,000 for bodily injury or death to one person.

(2)

$1,000,000 for bodily injury or death from any one accident.

(3)

$1,000,000 for property damage resulting from any one accident.

(4)

$5,000,000 "umbrella" excess liability coverage for both bodily injury and property damage for each occurrence and in the aggregate.

The insurance carrier must be acceptable to the Township Attorney and shall be authorized to do business in the State of New Jersey. Each provider shall assure that no such policy of insurance shall be canceled without a minimum of 30 days' notice to the Township or greater notice if required by regulations of the New Jersey Department of Insurance.

§ 354-12 Indemnity.

Each provider shall hold and save the Township harmless from and indemnify and defend the Township against every claim, loss and liability of every kind, arising in any and every way directly or indirectly, immediately or consequently from:

(1)

The grant or use of this municipal consent contained in the applicable authorized action;

(2)

The acquisition of, or negotiation for the acquisition of, any interest in real estate, rights or privileges within or without the Township;

(3)

The making, prosecuting or processing of any application for any governmental approval, permits or license, including all appeals;

(4)

All proceedings of every kind by or against such provider;

(5)

Any act or omission of such provider or any of its officers, directors, employees, agents, contractors, suppliers, materialmen or affiliated companies;

(6)

The exercise or implementation, whether or not proper or lawful, of any right of privilege expressed or implied hereunder, by law or otherwise arising out of the municipal consent contained in the applicable authorized action; or

(7)

The provider's action, inaction, franchise, operation, maintenance, construction or installation of the lines, cables and fixtures described herein and in the applicable authorizing action.

"Loss" shall include all actual legal fees and court costs.

§ 354-13 Captions.

The captions and titles assigned to the sections of this chapter are for convenience and reference only and are in no way to be construed as defining, limiting or modifying the scope or intent of the various provisions of this chapter.

§ 354-14 Law changes.

In the event applicable law shall, during the term hereof, modify any provision of this chapter, this chapter shall be automatically modified to incorporate the change.

§ 354-15 Violations and penalties.

Any violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be punishable as provided in Chapter 1, Article II, General Penalty.