[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Huntington 8-26-1969 by Ord. No. 69-CE-3 (Ch. 14 of the 1969 Code of the Town of Huntington). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Electrical standards and regulations — See Ch. 104.
A. 
Word usage. Words used in the singular shall include the plural, and vice versa. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
B. 
Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings indicated:
COMMUNITY ANTENNA TELEVISION SYSTEM (hereafter referred to as "catv system" or "system")
A system of coaxial cables or other electrical conductors and equipment used or to be used to transmit communications, including those systems primarily to receive television or radio signals directly or indirectly off the air and transmit them to subscribers.
FRANCHISEE
The person, company or corporation to whom or which a franchise under this chapter is granted by the Town Board.
GROSS REVENUES
Includes all fees paid by subscribers, with exception of payments for connection to the system and for repairs; all payments by advertisers; all payments for rental of channels, whether said rental is on an hourly, portion of an hour or long-term basis; fees for fire or other protection systems; fees arising from communications and transmittal of information of any nature, pay television, program origination and all other income derived from operation of the system by franchisee, its subsidiary corporations, its parent corporation or any corporation the beneficial ownership of which is substantially the same as that of either of the franchisees.
TOWN BOARD
The present governing body of the Town of Huntington.
No person, company or corporation shall erect, operate or maintain a CATV system or any other communication system in the Town of Huntington unless and until that person, company or corporation has been granted a franchise under the terms and conditions of this chapter.
A. 
Uses permitted by franchise.
(1) 
Any franchise granted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall authorize and permit the franchisee to engage in the business of providing and operating a CATV system in the Town of Huntington or portions thereof, and for that purpose to construct, erect, operate, install and maintain in, upon, along, across, above, over and under the streets and other public ways of the town poles, wires, cables, underground conduits, manholes and other appliances and attachments as may be necessary and appurtenant to a CATV system, and, in addition, to so use and operate similar facilities that may be leased or rented from public utilities.
(2) 
The right to use and occupy the said streets, alleys, public ways and places for the purpose as herein set forth shall not be exclusive, and the town reserves the right to grant a similar use of the said streets, alleys, public ways and places to any person at any time during the period of an existing franchise.
B. 
No franchise granted by the Town Board shall be for a term longer than 20 years.
C. 
Termination.
(1) 
Any such franchise may be terminated prior to the expiration date by the Town Board in the event that the franchisee:
(a) 
Violates any of the provisions of this franchise or any of the laws or ordinances of the Town of Huntington.
(b) 
Becomes insolvent, unable or unwilling to pay his debts or is adjudged a bankrupt.
(c) 
Fails to begin or complete construction of, and in accordance with provisions of its agreement, the system by the dates specified in the franchise, excepting such failure be caused by acts of God.
(2) 
Such termination shall be by resolution of the Town Board after a public hearing and upon 10 days' written notice to the franchisee, mailed to the address of the franchisee indicated on his application.
D. 
The franchise shall be subject to all requirements of town ordinances, rules and specifications heretofore or hereinafter enacted or established, including but not limited to those concerning street use, excavation, building and zoning.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 173, Streets and Sidewalks; Ch. 87, Building Construction; and Ch. 198, Zoning.
The franchisee shall pay to the town annually during the life of the franchise a sum equal to 5% of the gross operating revenues taken in and received by it on all sales of television, television time and electronic signals of any kind within the town during the year of all gross sales up to $1,200,000 plus 1% of each additional $60,000 gross, with a maximum franchise fee to be 10% of the gross sales. In no event and at no time shall the town receive less than $35,000 per year. Payment of the annual franchise fee shall be within 90 days of the end of the year and shall be accompanied by a financial statement supporting the same. The town may, at its own expense, cause the books and records of the franchisee to be audited at any reasonable time for the purpose of determining the correctness of such payments.
A. 
The franchisee shall not charge in excess of the following rates for the services listed:
(1) 
Installing of a single residential cable connection: $20.
(2) 
Connections succeeding the first cable connection: $1 for each connection.
(3) 
Service charge for a single residential television: $5 per month, plus $1 for each additional connection supplied.
(4) 
Maximum rates for other electronic signal distribution shall be set by the Town Board on application by the franchisee prior to the institution of such service.
B. 
No change in the rate or charges shall be authorized unless the franchisee applies to the Town Board in writing for any increase.
C. 
In the event a franchisee applies for a change in rates or charges, the Town Board shall meet and approve or deny any change in rate in conformity with Subsection A hereof.
D. 
If, in the future, the State of New York regulates the rates for service provided by a CATV franchise, this section shall be of no effect to the extent of any conflict therewith.
A. 
The franchisee shall indemnify and hold harmless the Town of Huntington, its officers, agents and employees from all claims, debts, liabilities, demands, judgments, court costs and attorney fees which the Town of Huntington may legally be required to pay as a result of granting a CATV franchise. These damages or penalties shall include but not be limited to all damages arising out of copyright infringements, personal injuries or property damage arising out of the installation, operation or maintenance of the system.
B. 
Franchisee shall agree that during the existence of its franchise it will maintain in force, furnish and file with the Town Clerk a general comprehensive liability insurance policy issued by a company licensed to do business in the State of New York and approved in form by the Office of the Huntington Town Attorney, protecting the franchisee and the town against liability for loss or damages for personal injury with a minimum limit of $250,000 for any one person and $500,000 for any one accident, $50,000 for property damage, $250,000 for infringement of copyrights and $50,000 for all other types of liability.
A. 
The insurance policies obtained by the franchisee in compliance with this chapter, along with written evidence of payment of required premiums, shall be filed and maintained with the Town Clerk.
B. 
All policies and bonds hereunder shall provide that 30 days' prior written notice of intention not to renew, cancellation or material change be given the town.
A. 
The CATV system shall be installed using all-band equipment capable of passing the entire VHF television and FM spectrum.
B. 
The system shall have the further capability of converting UHF signals to VHF channels for distribution to its subscribers.
C. 
The system shall be capable of passing color television signals without material degradation of the color fidelity or the imposing of any sync clipping on the color-burst information contained on the color-modulated video carrier of the station carried.
D. 
The system shall provide a minimum signal level of 2,000 microvolts (across 300 ohms) at the input terminals of each television receiver connected to the system.
E. 
The system shall produce a picture, whether in color or black and white, that is undistorted, free from ghost images and accompanied with proper sound without causing cross-modulation in the cables or interfering with other electrical or electronic systems.
F. 
The system and all equipment shall be designated and rated for 24 hours' per day continuous operation.
G. 
Hum modulation at the extreme of the trunk line shall be less than 5%.
H. 
The minimum system-signal-to-noise ratio as measured at the output of any standard amplifier shall be 46 decibels or better on all channels carried on the system.
I. 
The frequency response at the extreme of any trunk line shall be flat+\- two decibels for any six-megacycle segment of the system transmission band width of 54 to 108 megacycles and 174 to 216 megacycles.
J. 
The trunk-line-signal-to-noise ratio as measured at any point in the system shall be better than 40 decibels.
K. 
System cross-modulation components shall be minimized such that no visible modulation components shall appear on a blank white screen of a standard television receiver or any channel with all other channels operating with modulation at their rated levels.
L. 
Regulated power supplies shall deliver required output voltages within 2% with AC line voltage variation of from 100 to 130 volts.
A. 
The franchisee' shall render efficient services, make repairs promptly and interrupt service only for good cause and for the shortest time possible.
B. 
The franchisee shall maintain an office and service department within the town which shall be open during all usual business hours, and shall have a listed telephone and be so operated that complaints and requests for repairs or adjustments may be received at any time.
The franchisee's system shall be capable of carrying out at least 12 television channels, including one channel for educational television, if available, and one channel for any other noncommercial service for the benefit of the inhabitants of the town.
The franchisee shall provide, upon request of the proper authorities, service to the following locations without installation or maintenance charges:
A. 
All public schools located within the town.
B. 
Fire and police stations.
C. 
All municipal buildings concerned with public safety.
D. 
All recreation centers operated by the town.
A. 
The company shall, without charge and within five years of date of contract, install in every public school building and public library building within the Town of Huntington, receiving terminal apparatus and cable connection sufficient to enable each such school building to receive all programs, transmitted and distributed over the company's CATV system. Such equipment shall be capable of feeding into the schools normal RF distribution system, and the company shall install its receiving terminal apparatus in each school and library in such location within each building as is designated by the school or library official as being the location of the building's RF distribution system's "head end."
B. 
It shall be incumbent upon the CATV company to notify, in writing, such school building principal and library official of the educational provisions of this franchise and contract whenever a CATV cable is installed within 250 feet of the land upon which a school building or public library is located. Thence, upon written request from the appropriate school or library official, the company will install the CATV receiving terminal apparatus and cable connection.
A. 
The company shall allocate without charge for educational use at least one video-audio channel. The channel shall be primarily for the transmission of locally originated programming to homes. Any school district lying wholly or partly within the Town of Huntington may preempt the use of this channel for such period of time as is desired by such school district, provided such school district files with the company 10 days in advance thereof a written notice of preemption. The term "school district" when used in this franchise shall be construed to include BOCES III and SCOPE.
B. 
The company shall provide a video tape recorder which shall be compatible with the Ampex one-inch format. School districts may provide the company with prerecorded video-taped programs in the Ampex one-inch format, which the company shall then transmit without charge at the requested times and dates. If the company constructs more than one cable system within the Town of Huntington, a separate video tape recorder shall be provided by the company for each cable system constructed.
If a school district shall construct an instructional television fixed service system (2,500 megahertz system) intended to service schools lying wholly or partly within the Town of Huntington, the company shall provide for the reception and transmission of four ITFS channels. The ITFS channels shall be received and down-converted by the company and transmitted on mid-band channels. "Mid-band channels" are defined as channels between Channel 6 and Channel 7, which is between 88 megahertz and 174 megahertz. ITFS programs relayed on midband channels will be up- or down-converted to standard VHF or UHF channels at each school building. ITFS programming relayed on mid-band channels will be up- or down-converted only in schools or public libraries unless prior authorization is granted. The company shall provide ITFS antennas and down-converters upon each of its towers in the event that more than one CATV tower shall be constructed in the Town of Huntington.
After the company has held this franchise for a period of five years, it shall, without charge, provide to each school district lying wholly or partly in the Town of Huntington, upon request by such school district, a CATV channel which will interconnect:
A. 
Each school building within that portion of the school district lying within the town.
B. 
Each school district lying wholly or partially within the town for the purpose of transmitting programs between the school districts.
C. 
The educational channel of the CATV system in the Town of Huntington with the educational channel of CATV systems operating in adjacent towns.
After the company has held this franchise for a period of 10 years, it shall, without charge, provide a local production facility (television studio) which shall be made available to school districts lying wholly or partly within the Town of Huntington for up to 50% of its operating time, which shall be construed to be at least 20 hours per week. Prior to construction, the design of the studio shall consist of at least 3 viewfinder cameras, switcher fader controls, audio system, lighting system, film chain, two video tape recorders and multiplexing unit. All equipment shall be remotely controlled from a master control unit. The studio shall be physically located within the Town of Huntington. Technical operating and graphics personnel shall be provided by the school districts, BOCES or SCOPE.
In case of any emergency or disaster, the franchisee shall, upon request of the Supervisor of the Town of Huntington, make available its facilities to the town for emergency use.
A. 
Neither the franchisee nor any officer, employee or shareholder thereof shall engage in the business of selling, repairing or installing television receivers, radio receivers or other accessories within the town during the term of the franchise.
B. 
The franchise granted under this chapter authorizes only the operation of a CATV system and does not take the place of any other franchise, license or permit which might be required by law of the franchisee.
Prior approval of the Town Board shall be required where ownership or control of more than 30% of the right of control of franchisee is acquired by a person or group of persons acting in concert, none of whom already own or control 30% or more of such right of control, singularly or collectively. By its acceptance of a franchise, the franchisee specifically grants and agrees that any such acquisition occurring without prior approval of the Town Board shall constitute a violation of its franchise by the franchisee.
Application for a franchise hereunder shall be filed with the Town Board and shall contain the following information:
A. 
The name and address of the applicant.
B. 
A general description of the applicant's proposed system.
C. 
A statement or schedule of proposed rates and charges to subscribers.
D. 
A statement detailing the corporate organization of the applicant, if any, including names and addresses of the officers, directors and associates; the names and addresses of everyone owning any interest by way of stock or options, or showing of percentage of ownership of each. In case of corporations where stock is publicly traded, the aforementioned list of all of those people owning stock or options is waived. Said statement shall also set forth the names of subsidiary or holding companies affiliated with applicant and a listing of other CATV areas, if any, being served by the applicant or its affiliates.
E. 
The applicant shall furnish one of the following:
(1) 
A financial statement for the last current fiscal year; or
(2) 
A letter or other suitable written evidence from a recognized lending or funding source, addressed to both the applicant and the Town Board, advising that this lending or funding source has studied the proposed CATV system and the applicant's financial ability and has agreed to make the necessary funds available to the applicant for construction of the system if the franchise is awarded.
The franchisee shall make available upon request copies of all petitions, applications and communications submitted by the grantee to the Federal Communications Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission or any other federal or state regulatory commission or agency having jurisdiction in respect to any matters affecting CATV operations, authorized pursuant to a franchise granted hereunder.
At the expiration of the term for which a franchise is granted pursuant to this chapter, or upon its termination and cancellation as provided for herein, the town shall have the right to require the franchisee to remove at the franchisee's expense all portions of the CATV system from all public ways within the town, and in the event the franchisee does not comply with the demand for removal within six months after a notice is served upon the franchisee, the portions of the CATV system which are not so removed shall be forfeited to and shall thereby become the property of the Town of Huntington.
A. 
The franchisee shall file with the Town Clerk true and accurate maps of all existing and proposed installations.
B. 
The franchisee shall keep on file with the Town Clerk a current list of its shareholders and bondholders, which list shall be filed with the Town Clerk on the first day of July and first day of January of each and every year.
A. 
All installations, transmissions and distribution structures, lines and equipment shall be made only after the plans therefor have been approved by the Town Board of the Town of Huntington; and any work which requires disturbing the surface of any street or which will in any way interfere with traffic upon the street shall require the prior written approval of the Superintendent of Highways of the Town of Huntington and shall be performed in a manner so as to cause minimum interference with the proper use of streets, public ways and places and in a manner which shall cause minimum interference with the rights and reasonable convenience of property owners adjoining any of the streets, public ways and places.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 173, Streets and Sidewalks, Art. I, Excavation and Construction of Streets, Sidewalks and Curbs.
B. 
In case of disturbance of any street, sidewalk, public way or paved area, the franchisee shall, at its own cost and expense and in a manner approved by the Superintendent of Highways, and in conformity with all the requirements of the ordinances and regulations of the town and with the National Electrical Safety Code, replace and restore such street, sidewalk and public way in as good a condition as before the work involving such disturbance was done.
C. 
The franchisee shall deposit with the Town Clerk prior to the commencement of any work a cash sum satisfactory to the Superintendent of Highways to guarantee the replacement and restoration of the street.
D. 
If at any time during the period of a franchise the town shall elect to alter or change the grade of any street, sidewalk or other public way, the franchisee, upon reasonable notice by the town, shall remove, relay and relocate its wires, cables, underground conduits and other fixtures at its own expense.
E. 
The franchisee shall, on the request of any person holding a building moving permit, temporarily raise or lower its wires to permit the moving of buildings.
Every franchisee shall at all times employ ordinary care and shall install and maintain in use commonly accepted methods and devices for preventing failures and accidents which are likely to cause damage, injuries or nuisances to the public; and every franchisee's work shall be properly protected at all times with suitable barricades and other protective devices to protect all members of the public having occasion to use the portion of any street which may be involved in the franchisee's work.
In the event the franchisee fails to perform pursuant to this chapter, or in the event the franchisee violates this chapter, a hearing shall be held by the Town Board to determine whether the license and franchise should be terminated and canceled. The franchisee shall receive 10 days' written notice of such hearing, and the determination to terminate and cancel shall be made by a majority of the Town Board. The termination and cancellation of the license and franchise shall in no way affect the town's rights under any franchise agreement, and the obligations of the franchisee shall continue subsequent to the termination and cancellation.
Any person who operates or attempts to operate, erect or maintain a CATV system in the Town of Huntington without having been granted a franchise under all the terms and conditions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of an offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $500 or by imprisonment for a period not in excess of six months, or both.
No franchise shall be granted pursuant to this chapter unless granted by resolution of the Town Board of the Town of Huntington after a public hearing and after the required notice provisions are complied with pursuant to the Town Law.
[Added 10-7-1991 by Ord. No. 91-CE-6]
It is unlawful for any organization, person or body to compile or keep a record of the user viewing habits or characteristics of a cable television subscriber within the borders of the town if, by use of such records, the names or other identifying characteristics of the subscriber would be revealed to other individuals or commercial entities.