[Adopted 8-12-1986 as Ord.
No. 3087]
This ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the "City of Bradford
TV Cable Franchise Ordinance."
A.
When not inconsistent with the context, words used in
the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the
singular number, and words in the singular number include the plural number.
The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
B.
COMMUNITY ANTENNA TELEVISION SYSTEM (hereinafter referred to as "CATV
system" or "system")
LICENSEE
LICENSOR
PERSON
For the purposes of this ordinance, the following terms,
phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein:
A system of cables or electrical conductors and equipment used or
to be used primarily to receive television or radio signals directly or indirectly
off the air and transmit them to subscribers for a fee and to originate television
programs and other communication services from its own facilities and transmit
the same.
Warner Cable Communications, Inc., its successors and assigns.
The City of Bradford.
Any person, firm or partnership, association, corporation, company
or organization of any kind.
A.
There is hereby granted to the licensee by the licensor
the right and privilege to construct, erect, operate and maintain in, upon,
along, across, above, over and under streets, alleys, public
ways and public places now laid out or dedicated and all extensions thereof
and additions thereto in the city poles, wires, cable, underground conduits,
manholes and other television and communications conductors and fixtures necessary
for the maintenance and operation in the city of a CATV system for the interception,
sale and distribution of television and other communication signals and to
use poles leased from utility companies now or in the future erected so as
to accomplish said rights and privileges, subject to the safety regulations
of said utility companies.
B.
The right to use and occupy said streets, alleys, public
ways and places for the purposes herein set forth shall not be exclusive,
and the licensor reserves the right to grant a similar use of said streets,
alleys, public ways and places to any person or firm at any time during the
period of this franchise.
The licensee shall, at all times during the life of this franchise,
be subject to all lawful exercise of the police power of the licensor and
to such reasonable regulation as the licensor shall hereafter provide pursuant
thereto.
This franchise relates to the territorial limits of the city and to
any area henceforth added thereto during the term of this franchise.
A.
The licensee shall pay and, by its acceptance of this
franchise, the licensee specifically agrees that it will pay all damages and
penalties which the licensor may legally be required to pay as a result of
granting this franchise. These damages shall include, but shall not be limited
to, damages arising out of the installation, operation or maintenance of the
CATV system authorized herein, allowed or prohibited by this franchise.
B.
The licensee shall pay and, by its acceptance of this franchise, specifically agrees that it will pay all expenses incurred by the licensor in defending itself with regard to damages and penalties mentioned in Subsection A above. These expenses shall include all out-of-pocket expenses, such as attorney fees, and shall also include the reasonable value of any services rendered by any employees of the licensor.
C.
The licensee shall maintain and, by its acceptance of this franchise, specifically agrees that it will maintain, throughout the term of the franchise, liability insurance insuring the licensor and the licensee with regard to all damages mentioned in Subsection A above in the minimum amounts as follows:
(1)
One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.) for bodily injury
or death to any one (1) person within the limit; however, three hundred thousand
dollars ($300,000.) for bodily injury resulting from any one (1) accident.
(2)
One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.) for property
damages resulting from any one (1) accident.
(3)
One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.) for all other
types of liability.
D.
Upon request, copies of the above policies of insurance
shall be submitted to the licensor for approval.
Subject to federal subscriber privacy laws, the licensor reserves the
right to inspect each new installation of the licensee and to make periodic
inspections, semiannually or more often, as conditions may warrant. Such inspection,
whether made or not, shall not relieve the licensee of any responsibility,
obligation or liability assumed under this agreement.
Upon the termination as herein provided, the licensee shall forthwith
remove all of its said attachments and wires from poles used as authorized
herein, and, upon its failure to do so, the licensor may make such removal
at the licensee's cost and expense.
Upon request, the licensee shall file with the licensor a map or blueprint
of the network of attachments and cable proposed to be installed, or installed
at the date hereof, and in the event of additions or deletions thereto shall
provide new maps or blueprints at the date thereof, if requested to do so
by the licensor.
With thirty (30) days' notice to the licensor, the licensee may adjust
rates at the licensee's discretion, in keeping with the terms of the Cable
Communications Policy Act of 1984, as amended.
The licensee shall provide service to all subscribers willing and prepared
to pay therefor without discrimination for any reason, provided that the same
comply with the following:
A.
The licensee agrees, except as noted herein, to extend
its service via aerial lines in accordance with normal installation rates
to any location within the franchise area of this franchise, provided that
such location requires a cable drop of no more than two hundred (200) feet
from existing distribution lines. All such installations of greater than two
hundred (200) feet or requiring underground work will be on a time-plus-material
basis.
B.
The licensee further agrees to extend its service via
aerial lines, in accordance with normal installation rates, to any location
within the franchise area of this franchise not now having service available
which has an average density of seventy-five (75) homes per linear mile of
total system extension required. All installations to areas not now having
service available which have an average density of less than seventy-five
(75) homes per linear mile of total system extension required will be provided
in the following manner: Residents of those areas will be required to fund,
on a time-and-material basis, the incremental difference between the cost
of building said extension on a normal business basis according to the company's
standard financial review and the cost of the extension being considered.
This aid to construction will be deposited by the potential subscribers in
an escrow account prior to the commencement of construction of the extension
area.
C.
It is expressly understood that all installation rates
may be adjusted at the licensee's discretion, in keeping with the terms of
the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, as amended.
The licensee shall maintain and, by its acceptance of this agreement,
specifically agrees that it will maintain, throughout the term of this franchise,
a faithful performance bond in the penal sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000.),
conditioned that the licensee shall well and truly observe, fulfill and perform
each term and condition of this franchise and that, in any case of any breach
of condition of the bond, the amount thereof shall be recoverable from the
principal and surety by the licensor for all the damages proximately resulting
from the failure of the licensee to well and faithfully observe and perform
any provisions of this franchise, which said bond shall be separate and apart
from the liability for insurance hereinbefore set out.
A.
The licensor and licensee do hereby agree to submit to
arbitration, as herein set out, their respective claims and controversies
arising out of any dispute arising between them as to any of the terms and
conditions and promises of this ordinance.
B.
This clause may be invoked at any time by the licensor
or licensee, in writing, requesting arbitration as to any point of issue arising
between the licensor and licensee concerning the terms and conditions and
promises of this ordinance, which writing shall nominate an arbitrator and
request that the other party nominate an arbitrator within twenty (20) days
thereof. Said two (2) arbitrators so selected shall select a third arbitrator
within fifteen (15) days thereof. Should either party refuse to nominate an
arbitrator within thirty (30) days from the date of request, or should two
(2) arbitrators selected by the parties refuse or fail to nominate a third
arbitrator, the other party may apply to the Court of Common Pleas of McKean
County, Pennsylvania, to select the necessary arbitrators to complete the
panel.
C.
Said arbitrators shall proceed to hear and determine
the controversy, following the usual and customary procedures for arbitration,
and the decision of such arbitrators shall be final. Costs of the arbitration,
including compensation of arbitrators and stenographic help employed, shall
be paid by the party against whom the decision is rendered or apportioned
between the parties in the event that the final decision shall not be totally
in favor of one party.
In the event that the licensee shall violate any material terms of this
ordinance, notice thereof shall be given to the licensee, together with reasonable
time to correct the same. In the event that the licensee does not correct
the same, the licensor shall have the right to terminate this agreement by
ordinance. In the event that there is any dispute as to whether or not there
has been a violation or whether any alleged violation has been corrected,
said question shall be submitted to arbitration as herein provided.
The rights herein granted shall not be assigned by the licensee without
written notice to the licensor. No assignment shall become effective until
the assignee has filed with the licensor evidence of the assignee's financial
responsibility and anticipated ability and competence to render the public
service contemplated by this agreement. The assignee must agree to the same
terms as the licensor.
Subject to federal technical standards, it shall be unlawful for any
person, firm or corporation, in the installation, maintenance or use of television
cable or otherwise, to cause any unnecessary and reasonably preventable radio
or television interference in substantial degree.
Upon complaint to the licensor or upon its own initiative, the licensor
may cause to be investigated the cause or causes of radio or television interference
unreasonably and unnecessarily disturbing to radio or television reception.
If, upon investigation of such disturbance or interference, it is found that
such cause is a violation of federal technical standards and is subject to
correction at reasonable expense by the licensee, the licensor shall give
notice in writing to the licensee to correct or eliminate the cause of such
unnecessary or unreasonable disturbance or interference within a reasonable
time thereafter.
The licensee shall continue to furnish one (1) free connection and basic
service for all charitable institutions and schools within the city currently
served.
A.
The facilities used by the licensee shall be capable
of distributing color television signals, and, when the signals the licensee
distributes are received in color, they shall be distributed in color where
technically feasible. Further, the licensee shall, by December 31, 1987, rebuild
its CATV system to four-hundred-megahertz capacity and expand the services
available to subscribers, with such service to include a community bulletin
board capable of playing back previously recorded videotapes, at least as
good as that located in Olean, New York, and Warren, Pennsylvania. This rebuilt
CATV system will offer a minimum of twenty-three (23) or twenty-four (24)
channels of basic service and three (3) to four (4) premium service channels,
which will be available for an additional monthly fee.
B.
Customer service calls will be provided in accordance
with the following schedule:
(1)
System outages will receive immediate attention, with
most area outages being resolved within two (2) hours.
(2)
Individual no-picture complaints will be responded to
within twenty-four (24) hours, with most calls receiving same-day service.
(3)
Poor-picture-quality calls will be responded to within
forty-eight (48) hours, with most calls receiving next-day attention.
(4)
Requests for new service will be installed within five
(5) working days.
(5)
Billing questions, both by telephone and written, will
be within seven (7) working days, with most questions resolved the same day.
Subject to federal technical standards, the licensee shall produce a
picture either in black and white or in color that is undistorted, free of
ghost images and accompanying sound of typical standard-production television
sets in good repair and shall transmit signals of adequate strength to produce
good pictures with good sound at all outlets and shall limit failure to a
minimum and shall render efficient service, make repairs promptly and interrupt
service only for good cause and for the shortest time possible.
This franchise shall be in force and effect for a period of fifteen
(15) years from the date hereof.
If, for any reason of force majeure, either party is unable in whole
or in part to carry out its obligations, said party shall not be deemed in
violation or default during the continuance of such inability. The term "force
majeure," as used herein, shall have the following meaning: strikes; acts
of God; acts of public enemies; orders of any kind of the government of the
United States of America or of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any of
their departments, agencies or political subdivisions; riots or epidemics;
landslides; lightning; earthquakes; fires; hurricanes; volcanic activity;
storms; floods; washouts; droughts; arrests; civil disturbances; explosions;
partial or entire failure of utilities; or any other cause or event not reasonably
within the control of the disabled party.
The licensee shall pay to the licensor a license fee annually equal
to five percent (5%) of the licensee's gross subscriber receipts per year
derived from operations in the city. The amount of the franchise fee shall
be reviewable upon each anniversary of the effective date hereof, and, upon
such review, the licensor shall have the right, with sixty (60) days' notice
to the licensee, to change the amount and method of calculating the franchise
fee; provided, however, that the franchise fee shall never exceed five percent
(5%) of gross receipts.
