[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners (now City Council)
of the City of Brigantine 10-4-2000 by Ord. No. 22-2000. This ordinance superseded
former Ch. A301, Cable Television Franchise, adopted 1-31-1990 by Ord. No.
1-1990. Amendments noted where applicable.]
For the purpose of this ordinance, 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 (herein, the FCC) Rules and Regulations, 47 CFR 6.5, and the New
Jersey 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 or state definitions:
Chapter 186 of the General Laws of New Jersey, 1972, and subsequent amendments thereto, N.J.S.A. 48:5A-1 et seq.
The application for municipal consent filed with the municipality,
on or about March 31, 1999.
That tier of channels which the company is required to carry by FCC
rules and is the level of service to which all subscribers must subscribe
prior to subscribing to additional video services.
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
Any tier of video programming service provided over the cable system,
other than the basic cable service tier, or programming offered on a per program
or per channel basis.
The one-way transmission to customers of video programming and other
programming services, together with customer interaction, if any, which is
required for the selection of such programming, or the utilization of any
facilities or equipment of the cable system to provide such services.
A facility, consisting of a set of transmission paths and associated
signal generation, reception and control equipment that is designed to provide
cable service which includes, but is not limited to, video programming, and
which is provided to multiple subscribers within a community.
A designated frequency band in the electromagnetic spectrum, which
is capable of carrying video, audio, digital or other electronic signals,
or some combination thereof.
Title VI of the U.S. Communications Act of 1934, as amended, entitled
"Cable Communications."
An electronic device, which allows for reception and selection of
signals distributed over the cable frequencies that may not be receivable
on the ordinary television receiver.
This document and expression of municipal consent and is known as
Ordinance No. 22 of 2000, 2000 A. D.
Those revenues derived from recurring charges in the nature of subscription
fees actually received by Suburban from its subscribers located within the
municipality, for Cable Service, i.e., basic cable service and cable programming
service. Gross subscriber revenues shall not include revenues received as
equipment rental fees, installation charges, reconnection fees, service or
advertising income, per program revenues, and premium cable service revenues.
Gross subscriber revenues also shall not include any bad debt payments, converter
deposits, refunds to subscribers by Suburban or receipts from sales, other
communications and nonbroadcast services such as revenue from high-speed data
service (two-way or otherwise), use or franchise fees or taxes or any other
tax or fee that Suburban collects on behalf of the municipality or any other
taxing authority or income derived from the provision of any service not set
forth in this section.
A person such as, but not limited to, a cable operator, a multi-channel
distribution service, a direct broadcast satellite service, or a television
receive-only satellite program distributor, who makes available for purchase,
by subscribers or customers, multiple channels of video programming.
Brigantine City, County of Atlantic, in the State of New Jersey.
The Office of Cable Television within the BPU.
Any individual, trustee, partnership, association, corporation or
other legal entity.
The surface of, and the space above and below, any public street,
highway, freeway, bridge, land path, alley, court, boulevard, sidewalk, parkway,
way, lane, public way, drive, circle, or other public right-of-way, including,
but not limited to, public utility easements, dedicated utility strips, rights-of-way
or easements employed for compatible uses and any temporary or permanent fixtures
or improvements located thereon now or hereafter held by the municipality
in the service area which shall entitle the municipality and the company to
the use thereof for the purpose of installing, operating, repairing and maintaining
the cable system. "Public way" shall also mean any easement now or hereafter
held by the municipality within the service area for the purpose of public
travel, or for utility or public service use dedicated for compatible uses,
and shall include other easements or rights-of-way as shall within their proper
use and meaning entitle the municipality and the company to the use thereof
for the purposes of installing or transmitting the company's cable service
or other service over poles, wires, cables, conductors, ducts, conduits, vaults,
manholes, amplifiers, appliances, attachments and other property as may be
ordinarily necessary and pertinent to the cable system.
Any section, subsection, line or provision of this franchise.
The present municipal boundaries of the municipality, and shall include
any additions thereto by annexation or other legal means.
Any person(s), firm(s), corporation(s) or other legal entity(ies)
who, or which, elects to receive, for any purpose, a cable service provided
by the company in connection with the cable system.
The grantee of rights under this ordinance and is known as Lenfest
Atlantic Inc. d/b/a Comcast Cable Vision of South Jersey corporation, the
cable system operator, and its lawful successors, transferees or assigns.
The Advisory Committee, having engaged in certain review and investigations
concerning the performance of the company under the franchise; and the municipality,
having held a public hearing concerning the consent herein granted to the
company after proper public notice pursuant to the terms and conditions of
the Cable Television Act. Said hearing having been held as above stated and
said hearing having been fully open to the public, and the municipality having
received at said hearing all comments regarding the qualifications of the
company to receive this consent, the municipality 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.
A.
The municipality hereby grants to the company its nonexclusive
consent to place in, upon, along, across, above, over and under the highways,
streets, alleys, sidewalks, public ways and public places in the municipality
poles, wires, cables, underground conduits, manholes, and other television
conductors, and fixtures necessary for the maintenance and operation in the
municipality of a cable television system and cable communications system.
Construction, operation and maintenance pursuant to said consent is conditioned
upon prior approval of the Board of Public Utilities and the State of New
Jersey and its successor agencies.
B.
The right to use and occupy the public way for the purposes
herein set forth shall not be exclusive. If the City grants municipal consent
for cable franchise to anyone other than the company, to the extent that the
company's franchise in whole or in part is inconsistent with such other cable
franchise, then, at the company's option, the company's franchise shall be
conformed in whole or in part, as the case may be, so that the company's franchise
is no less favorable to it than the most favorable cable franchise granted
to any other person or entity.
C.
In the event that a multichannel video programming provider,
which is not in any way an affiliate of the company, provides video programming
to residents of the municipality, and is not required by applicable law to
obtain municipal consent for a franchise from the municipality or does not
have a written agreement with the municipality regarding the providing of
such video programming, and to the extent that the company reports to the
municipality in writing that the provision of such video programming by that
multichannel video programming provider is having a substantial negative impact
upon the financial viability of the company's cable system in the municipality,
the company shall have a right to request amendments to the franchise that
relieve the company of regulatory burdens that create a competitive disadvantage.
D.
In requesting amendments, the company shall file a petition
with the BPU seeking to amend the franchise. Such petition shall indicate
the presence of a nonfranchised, multichannel video programming provider(s);
identify the basis for the company's belief that certain provisions of the
franchise place the company at a competitive disadvantage; and identify the
regulatory burdens to be amended or repealed in order to eliminate the competitive
disadvantage. The municipality shall not unreasonably object to the company's
petition and so amending the franchise.
E.
COMCAST agrees to comply with the terms of any lawfully
adopted, generally applicable local ordinance, to the extent that the provisions
of the ordinance do not have the effect of limiting the benefits or expanding
the obligations of the company that are granted by this franchise. COMCAST
reserves the right to challenge the provisions of any ordinance which conflict
with its contractual rights, either now or in the future. In the event of
a conflict between any ordinance and this franchise, the franchise shall control;
provided, however, that the company agrees that it is subject to the lawful
exercise of the police power of the City.
The consent herein granted shall expire 15 years from the date a certificate
of approval is issued by the Board of Public Utilities, with a six-year automatic
renewal as provided by N.J.S.A. 48:5A-19 and 25, and N.J.A.C. 14:18 - 13.6.
A.
If the company seeks a successive consent it shall, prior
to the expiration of this consent, apply for a municipal consent and certificate
of approval in accordance with the Cable Television Act, N.J.S.A. 48:5A-11
and 48:5A-16, and applicable State and federal rules and regulations.
B.
In addition to the above section, the City and the company
agree that any proceedings undertaken by the City that relate to the renewal
of the company's franchise shall be governed by and comply with the provisions
of Section 626 of the Communications Act unless the procedures and substantive
protections set forth therein shall be deemed to be preempted and superseded
by the provisions of any subsequent provision of federal law. Further, this
consent for a franchise may be renewed at any time by mutual agreement between
the company and the municipality.
A.
Pursuant to, and consistent with, the terms and conditions
of the Cable Television Act, N.J.S.A. 48:5A-30, the company shall, during
each year of operation under the consent granted herein, pay to the municipality
2% of the annual gross subscriber revenues received by the company from subscribers
residing in the municipality; provided, however, that the company shall not
be obligated to pay to the municipality an amount which when aggregated with
the amount paid to the State of New Jersey as an assessment fee is more than
5% of its annual gross subscriber revenue from subscribers residing in the
municipality. In the event that the municipality is permitted to receive an
increased franchise fee, the company shall begin accruing such increase payments
within 60 days' written notice from the municipality that it has adopted a
resolution requiring the collection of a higher percentage of annual gross
subscriber revenues, and complied with all state and federal provisions regarding
such increase.
B.
Such amount shall be paid by the company to the municipality
on an annual basis no later than January 25 of each calendar year beginning
the calendar year after this franchise becomes effective and ending one year
after this franchise expires, together with a report of such gross subscriber
revenues for such calendar year certified by a representative of the company.
The consent granted herein to the company shall apply to the entirety
of the municipality and any property hereafter annexed thereto.
A.
The company is hereby granted the right and privilege
and an easement to construct, erect, place, operate, repair and maintain poles,
wires, transmission lines, distribution lines, service lines and cable television
and communications equipment in and on, under and over all public ways in
the municipality for the purpose of providing the municipality and its inhabitants
with its services.
B.
Wherever a telephone or other utility company has erected
poles, the company shall be expected to make a good faith attempt to enter
into a joint use agreement for those poles. The company shall not set new
poles, except where no pole exists or use of an existing utility pole is not
practicable due to excessive rearrangements or other conditions, and such
pole construction shall be subject to approval by the City's Engineer.
C.
The company shall apply for all permits necessary for
work to be done in the public way for the operation of the company's cable
system and shall not undertake any construction without receipt of such permits,
issuance of which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed by the municipality.
The municipality shall issue all such permits at no cost to the company, such
costs being covered by the company's franchise fee.
D.
The construction, installation and maintenance of the
cable system shall be effectuated by the company in a manner that is consistent
with the laws, ordinances and construction standards of the State of New Jersey,
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Electrical
Safety Code, National Electrical Code, FCC and the Standards of Good Engineering
Practices for Measurement of Cable Television Systems of the National Cable
Television Association to the extent applicable.
E.
All of the company's construction, installation, repair
and maintenance shall be conducted in such a manner as to cause minimum interference
with the rights and reasonable convenience of the public and any property
owners that may be affected.
F.
The company shall promptly repair and restore any private
property which may have been damaged as a result of the construction, installation,
repair or maintenance of the system. Any City property damaged or destroyed
shall be promptly repaired or replaced by the company and restored to a serviceable
condition.
G.
The company shall proffer service along any public right-of-way
to any residential area located in the franchise territory described herein
at tariffed rates for standard or nonstandard installation.
H.
The municipality agrees to promptly notify the company
of all permits granted for the development of residential subdivisions or
multiple-dwelling complexes to enable the company to make arrangements for
installation of its cable facilities within same.
I.
The company, on the request of any person, firm or corporation
holding a building permit issued by the municipality, or permit issued by
an appropriate state agency, shall temporarily raise or lower its wires to
permit the moving of buildings. The expense of such temporary raising or lowering
shall be paid to the company by the person, firm or corporation requesting
the same, and the company shall have the authority to require such payment
in advance. The company shall be given not less than 10 business days' advance
written notice to arrange for such temporary wire changes.
J.
In those areas of the service area where the transmission
or distribution facilities of the respective public utilities providing telephone
communications and electric services are both aerial and underground, the
company shall have the sole discretion to construct, operate and maintain
all of its transmission and distribution facilities, or any part thereof,
aerially or underground.
K.
The company shall not be required to construct its facilities
in a manner that exceeds the requirements that are placed upon other utility
right-of-way users, i.e. energy or communications providers, or in a manner
that would conflict with governing statutes or regulations.
A.
The company shall use reasonable efforts in good faith
to provide to subscribers as wide a variety and number of services as is feasible
in the judgment of the company. In doing so, the company has agreed to upgrade
its cable system within 48 months of the BPU granting of the certificate of
approval. This upgrade shall be capable of delivering both analog and digital
television signals with sufficient bandwidth to deliver a minimum of 60 channels
of analog and 100 channels of digital programming. Such upgrade shall also
be designed for two-way data (e.g., Internet) capability.
B.
While it is the responsibility of COMCAST to obtain all
required permits and authorizations necessary for construction, such permits
and authorizations shall not be unreasonably withheld by the municipality.
If permits are delayed through no fault of COMCAST, then the municipality
shall grant a reasonable extension of time for COMCAST to comply with the
construction deadline.
C.
The company shall use materials of good and durable quality,
and all work involved in the construction, installation, maintenance and repair
of the cable system shall be performed in a safe, thorough and reliable manner.
D.
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 and
public places of the municipality so as to prevent the branches of such trees
from coming in contact with the wires, poles, underground conduits, related
equipment and cables of the company.
During the term of this franchise, and any renewal thereof the company
shall maintain a local business office or agent in accordance with N.J.A.C.
14:18-5.1 for the purpose of receiving, investigating and resolving all complaints
regarding the quality of service, equipment malfunctions and similar matters.
Such local business office shall be open during normal business hours, and
in no event (excepting emergent circumstances) less than 9:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m., Monday through Friday.
The Office of Cable Television (OCTV) is hereby designated as complaint
officer for Brigantine City pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:5A-26b. All complaints
shall be received and processed in accordance with N.J.A.C 14:17-6.5.
During the life of the franchise the company shall post a performance
bond, to the municipality, 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.
A.
The municipality acknowledges that under the Federal
Cable Act, as interpreted by the Board, municipalities do not have authority
to regulate any rates the company charges for services. However, the rates
of the company shall be subject to regulation as permitted by federal and
state law.
B.
The company shall provide notice to the municipality
and to the affected subscribers of an increase in the rate or charge for any
cable television service. The notice shall be in writing and shall specify
the service or services affected, the new rate and the effective date thereof.
Notice to subscribers affected by the rate increase shall be provided at least
30 days prior to the effective date of the rate change. This section shall
not apply to pay-per-view programming.
C.
The company may require subscribers to pay for each month
of service in advance at the beginning of each month.
D.
Nothing contained in this franchise shall be deemed to
restrict or prohibit the company from pursuing such legal remedies to collect
past due debts owed to it by subscribers, including the reasonable costs and
expenses incurred in pursuing such remedies, such as collection fees, attorney's
fees and trip charges.
E.
The company shall not, as to rates, charges, services,
service facilities, rules, regulations, or in any respect, make or grant any
undue preference or disadvantage on the basis of race, creed, national origin,
religion, color, sex or age. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
prohibit the reduction or waiving of charges for promotional or competitive
purposes.
A.
Upon request, subject to the provisions below, the company
shall make available a noncommercial, governmental/educational access channel
for use by the City and to the City Public School District at no cost. However,
the cost and expense of production and program development shall be borne
by the parties utilizing such access.
(1)
Notwithstanding the contribution provided herein below,
for educational and government access channels, and while providing limited
technical assistance should transmission problems arise, the company shall
not be required to maintain technical or production staff, equipment or studio
facilities for such programming which is independently owned and operated
and shall have no obligation to establish studio facilities, maintain equipment
or provide technical or production staff assistance, as long as the company
continues to retransmit such access programming. The company shall enforce
all indecency and obscenity rules established by any federal or state agency,
including, but not limited to, rules related to access as set forth at 47
CFR 76.702.
(2)
At its sole cost and expense, the company shall install,
if not installed already, a return path in one municipal building designated
by the City Council. The return path shall be capable of being connected to
the cable system to permit live cablecasts of public meetings and addresses
of a nonpolitical nature.
(3)
At its sole cost and expense, the company shall install, after Suburban has implemented an upgrade of its cable system as provided in § A301-9A, a return path in one School District building designated by the City Council. The return path shall be capable of being connected to the cable system to permit live cablecasts of public meetings and addresses of a nonpolitical nature. Until that time when the upgrade is completed, Suburban will provide a connection from the School District site to the municipal cablecast site referenced in § A301-15A(2) to provide temporary, shared access on the government access channel.
(4)
It is understood that the views expressed in programming
cablecasts pursuant to this section shall not be deemed to be the views of
the company; and the company shall not be responsible or liable in any way
for the content of such programming or the views expressed therein.
(5)
Upon request of the City Council only, after Suburban
has implemented an upgrade of its cable system as provided in Section 1.10(a),
Suburban shall provide and maintain channel capacity for the following separate
access services:
(a)
Government access channel, which shall be a specifically
designated channel for noncommercial use by the City and shall be managed,
scheduled and programmed exclusively by the City or shared with other local
governmental entities at discretion of the City.
(b)
Educational channel, which shall be a specifically designated
channel for use by local public and/or nonprofit, private school authorities
and shall be managed, scheduled and programmed exclusively by them.
(6)
An additional access channel will be made available only
when all existing access channels simultaneously carry nonduplicated, locally
produced access programming, none which is character-generated; and when all
existing access channels continuously carry such programming, during the hours
of 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., for over a period of 90 consecutive days.
(7)
COMCAST reserves the right to program the access channels
or portion of the channels during any hours not used by the City or its designee(s).
B.
Within three months after passage of this municipal consent
ordinance, the company shall commit to paying the cost to the City for the
upgrade and/or renovation of the City meeting room public address system;
the City purchase of video and audio equipment; or School District cable-related
capital needs. The commitment to pay the City for the purchase of such upgrade
and equipment is limited to, and shall not exceed, $30,000.
C.
Within three months after the issuance of a certificate of approval by the Board its approval of the term length and automatic renewal agreed to by COMCAST and the City in § A301-4, or within a year after passage of this municipal consent ordinance, whichever occurs first, the company agrees to make to the City a second commitment to pay the cost to the City an amount not to exceed $30,000 to be applied to the cable-related capital needs of the City and/or School District. This obligation by COMCAST set forth in § A301-15B and C to reimburse the City is for a total amount not to exceed $60,000. These payments for cable-related capital support shall be due in accordance with the above upon request and upon submission of an itemized listing of the equipment to be purchased and the associated cost of each item.
A.
The company shall, without charge, provide upon request
basic cable television service to one outlet in City Hall, each police and
fire station, each public school building and each public library, within
the municipality, that is located within 150 feet of the company's distribution
system and is able to be connected with a normal aerial installation.
B.
Within six months after such service is available in
the City, the company shall provide upon request, without charge, high-speed
two-way data transmission service to one outlet in each public school building,
and each public library within the municipality, that is located within 150
feet of the company's distribution system. and is able to be connected with
a normal aerial installation.
C.
For each service referenced in this section, the company
shall not be required to provide an outlet to such buildings where a nonstandard
installation is required, unless the users agree to pay the incremental cost
of any necessary system extension and/or nonstandard installation. If additional
outlets of basic and expanded basic cable and/or high-speed data transmission
services are to be provided, the users shall pay the usual installation and
service fees associated therewith. Users of such outlets shall hold the company
harmless from any and all liability or claims arising out of their use of
such outlets, including but not limited to, those arising from copyright liability.
D.
The provided service shall not be distributed beyond
the originally installed outlet nor used for commercial purposes, nor shall
outlets be located in areas open to the general public. The City and School
District shall take reasonable precautions to prevent any use of the company's
system in any manner that results in the inappropriate use thereof or any
loss or damage to the system.
After the upgrade, the cable system shall be stereo capable in accordance
with FCC standards.
The company shall be required to comply with the emergency alert provisions
set forth by the FCC [47 CFR Part 11, FCC Rules and Regulations, Emergency
Alert System (EAS)], so long as such standards remain in effect.
A.
By its acceptance of this franchise, the company specifically
agrees that it shall defend and indemnify the municipality, its officers,
employees, agents, boards and commissions, acting in their official capacity,
and hold them harmless from any and all damages, penalties or costs that may
arise from a suit filed by a third party due to the granting of the franchise
to the company, or any activities engaged in by the company, excluding any
activities that are directly the result of negligence or deliberate acts or
omissions of the municipality, its officers, employees, agents, boards or
commissions.
B.
By its acceptance of this franchise, the company specifically agrees that it shall pay all judgments or settlements due to damages and/or penalties for which it is liable under Subsection A. In this connection, the company will provide the defense of any claims brought against the City under this section of the franchise by selecting counsel of the company's choice to defend the claim. The municipality shall give timely notification of any such claims, demands, actions, suits, proceedings, damages or liability before the company shall be required to undertake the defense and to indemnify the municipality. The company shall have the right to defend, settle or compromise any claim or action arising hereunder. Expense of investigation, counsel and the amount of any settlement of any claim or suit will be paid by the company, and the company shall have the sole authority to decide the appropriateness and the amount of any such settlement.
C.
By its acceptance of this franchise, the company specifically agrees that it will maintain, through the term of this franchise, and in any renewals thereof, liability insurance protecting the company and the municipality with regard to all damages and/or penalties mentioned in Subsection A in the following minimum amounts:
(1)
One million dollars for bodily injury or death to any
one person, within the limit, however, of $2,000,000 for bodily injury or
death resulting from any one accident and $5,000,000 for all injuries or deaths
resulting from any one accident.
(2)
Five hundred thousand dollars for property damage resulting
from any one accident.
(3)
Worker's compensation insurance on all employees engaged
in installation or service of its equipment.
D.
A certificate evidencing the insurance coverage herein
provided shall be filed by the company with the municipality, upon request.
A.
The company shall conform to all generally applicable
laws, rules and regulations of the United States and the State of New Jersey
in the construction and operation of its cable system and all generally applicable
rules and regulations of the FCC, which are now in effect or hereafter enacted.
B.
The company shall not refuse to hire or employ nor bar
nor discharge from employment nor discriminate against any person in compensation
or terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of age, race, creed,
color, national origin or sex.
C.
Any right, power, protection, privilege or immunity which
is provided, granted or imposed on the company under or by virtue of the Communications
Act as it may be amended or interpreted from time to time after the date hereof
shall remain inviolate and shall be available to the company notwithstanding
any contrary provision of the franchise, and the acceptance of the terms and
conditions of this franchise shall not be construed as a waiver or release
by the company of any right, power, protection, privilege, immunity or obligation
under the Communications Act, the laws or Constitution of the United States
or the laws and Constitution of the State of New Jersey. Nothing herein, nor
the company's acceptance hereof, shall be construed to deny the company the
right to seek administrative and/or judicial review of any action or threatened
action by the City under, or arising out of, this franchise.
A.
The right is hereby reserved by the City to adopt such
additional general regulations in the exercise of its police power as it shall
find necessary, provided that such regulations shall be reasonable and not
materially in conflict with the rights and privileges herein granted, nor
which shall impose any additional material or unreasonable economic or technical
burden on the company.
B.
This franchise (including all of the company's particular rights, powers, protections, privileges, immunities and obligations associated therewith as the same exist on the date hereof) shall constitute a legally binding contract between the municipality and the company and as such cannot be amended, modified or changed by the municipality without the consent of the company in any manner whatsoever whether by ordinance, rule, regulation or otherwise, to impose on the company more stringent or burdensome requirements or conditions; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall preclude the City from the proper exercise of its general regulatory and police powers, as limited in Subsection A, and/or powers of eminent domain.
C.
The municipality or its officially designated representatives
shall have the right, upon 30 days' written notice, to inspect all pertinent
records, books, plans and financial statements maintained by the company at
its corporate office which relate directly to computation of gross subscriber
revenues from all recurring charges for subscription fees paid by City subscribers
for cable service, and construction and location of facilities within the
City, at the company's principal place of business upon reasonable notice
and during normal business hours. Such notice shall specifically reference
the section of the franchise which is under review, so that the company may
organize the necessary books and records for easy access by the municipality.
The company shall not be required to maintain any books or records for franchise
compliance purposes longer than three years. Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary set forth herein, the company shall not be required to disclose information
which it reasonably deems to be proprietary or confidential in nature. The
City, and its officially designated representatives, agree to treat any information
disclosed as confidential and only to disclose it to employees, agents or
representatives thereof that have a need to know or in order to enforce the
provisions hereof. The company shall not be required to provide subscriber
information in violation of Section 631 of the Communications Act.
D.
The municipality, or its officially designated representatives
or agents, upon reasonable notice, shall have the right to observe all construction
or installation work performed subject to the provisions of this franchise
and to make such inspections, during regular business hours, as it may find
necessary to ensure compliance with the terms of this franchise and other
applicable provisions of the law.
A.
The company shall provide written notice to each subscriber
upon initial subscription and at intervals not more than one year thereafter
of its procedures for reporting and resolving subscriber complaints, the equipment
and services currently available, and the practices and procedures for protecting
against invasions of subscriber privacy, and such other notices as may be
required by the FCC's rules.
B.
Upon a subscriber's written request, the company shall
issue a prorated credit for any period of cable service interruption of six
or more continuous hours; provided that such outage was within the company's
reasonable control. Credit shall be based upon number of channels and number
of hours of interruption.
C.
The company shall maintain a business office which shall
be open during regular business hours and have a publicly listed toll-free
telephone number and be so operated as to receive complaints and requests
for repairs or adjustments, and remedying such as soon as possible.
D.
Normal installations will be performed within seven business
days after an order has been placed. "Normal" installations are aerial drops
up to 150 feet from the distribution system, unless circumstances beyond the
company's control prevent compliance with this standard.
E.
As a normal operating procedure, upon subscriber request,
the company shall designate a block of time (not to exceed four hours), e.g.,
8:00 a.m. to 12 Noon or 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., during which it will make
a good faith effort to provide service or installation at the requested site.
F.
The company shall comply with customer service standards
established by the FCC in accordance with Section 632 of the Communications
Act, so long as such Communications Act section and FCC standards remain in
effect.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this
ordinance 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 such holding shall
not affect the validity of the remaining portions hereof.
All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with this ordinance
are hereby repealed.
Unless expressly otherwise agreed between the parties, every notice
or response required by this franchise to be served upon municipality or the
company shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given when
received by overnight delivery, confirmed facsimile transmission or certified
or registered mail. The notices or responses to the municipality shall be
addressed as follows:
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City of Brigantine
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City Hall
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1417 Brigantine Avenue
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Brigantine City, New Jersey 08203
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Attention: City Manager
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The notices or responses to the company shall be addressed as follows:
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COMCAST CABLEVISION
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PO BOX 775
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TURNERSVILLE, NJ 08012
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ATTENTION: Regional Director of Government Relations with a copy to
General Counsel
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All of 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 consent. The application and any other relevant writings submitted
by the company shall be annexed hereto and made a part hereof by reference,
as long as they do not conflict with state or federal law.
This municipal consent shall become effective as of the date upon which
the municipality receives written notification that the company accepts the
terms and conditions herein.
