HomeMy WebLinkAboutFranchises - 40 - Commissioners - 20 (003)IN THE MATTER OF AN ORDINANCE 01 (liva I"o TVuinber 95 -62 -CC.
GRANTING A FRANCHISE TO Rc ;olu, ion Number 95-62-C(:
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AN ORDINANCE GRANTING A FRANCHISE TO TCI Cgb-jg ion a
Washington. Inc., ITS SUCCESSORS OR ASSIGNS, TO OWN AND OPERATE
AND MAINTAIN A CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEM IN THE COUNTY OF GRANT,
STATE OF WASHINGTON, SETTING FORTH CONDITIONS ACCOMPANYING THE
GRANT OF FRANCHISE, AND PROVI7::P.NZ 1�'()R THE REGULA' 1ON AND USE OF
SAID SYSTEM.
WHEREAS, it is the mutual desire of the County of Grant
and TCI Cablevision of Washincaton, Inc• to adopt a cable
television franchise on the terms .and conditions set forth
herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, it is hereby ordained by the County of
Grant that the following Cable 'Ielevision Franchise Ordinance be
and the same is hereby adopted.
SECTION 3sjt_gXt.__itIe This Ordinance shall be
known and ma -v be cited as the °' TCT
1_11c,, Franchis,s Ordinance".
SECTION 2: Defixait:ioa-s. !:'or they purpose of this
Ordinance the following terms, phrases, words and their
derivations shall have the meaning given herein. 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 work "shall" is always mm ndai,,ory and not
merely directory.
(a) "County" ,hall mean the uni.n�.orporated areas
d-� of the County of Grant ir,, the State of Washington.
11A iv,i`a
L1:6T7
�> (b) "Company" is tno granteeht d ,_
of nig s under this
Ordinance awarding i ,_i ar„ ilisa,. being_j'CT_Ckblevis_m1
of 1
(c) "Person" Ls any person, firm, partnership,
association, corpor,it_ee-r., company or acganization of
anv kind.
(d) "Cable Television System" or "System" shall
mean a system of antennae, cables, wires, lines,
towers, waveguides or other conductors, converters,
equipment or facilities designed and constructed for
the purpose of pr.oducLnq, receiving, amplifying and
distributing audio, v -,deo and other forms of electronic
or electrical siyna!:-, 'oc•a¢ed in ti -,e C.,unt:y.
(e) "Gross Subscriber Revenues" shall mean the
revenues derived by the Company from ii.s monthly
service fees in the County.
(f) "Basic Subscriber" shall mean a resident of
the unincorporated areas of the County who is
subscribing to Company,s lawest tier of service
received by all sub -;c.
.-ib,:rs to Company's System.
C! Y
SECTION 3: Oualjf s_and Grant_
A public, hearing concerning
the franchise herein granted to the Company was held on
_ - at o'clock at. t h r. � --- ------------- - _
�,ublic l-ictice of said hearin ,, WIS C,J.Vell in t17E?
—_� oil _— —-_--... '.which notice invited
interested parties to part.icii5arc; in aid hew;^in.; and comment
upon the legal, character, financial, r.ec~hnical and other
qualifications of the Company to operate a Cable Television
System in the County. Said hea,incl having been geld on the date
and place stated hereinabove, and said hearing having been fully
open to the public, and the County having received at said
hearing all comments regarding the qualification- of of the Company
to receive this franchise, the: CounLy ne.reby tinds that the
Company possesses the necessary legal, technical, character,
financial and other qualifications and that the company's
construction arrangements are adequate and feasit)le, and that
therefore the County hereby grants to the Company a non-exclusive
franchise, right and privilege t:o construct, erect, operate,
modify and maintain in, upon, along, across, above and over and
under the highways, streets, 411eys, sidewalks, public ways and
public places now laid out or dedicated and all extensions
thereof, and additions thereto, in the County, poles, wires,
cables, underground conduits, manholes and other television
conductors and fixtures necessary for_ the maintenance and
operation in the County of a Calle 1'elevision System for the
purpose of distributing televl,sion and radio signals and various
communications and other electronic services to the public. The
right so granted includes the right t -o use and occupy said
streets, alleys,, pub,Lic ways ,nd places at,d all manner of
easements for the purposes tlel c:i�, " cr-t-.h.
SECTION 4: F" anchise Jerirr . The F'ranchi-P granted
t -he company herein shall terminate fifteen (15) years from date
of grant. Upon the mutual consent of. both the Company and the
County, the Franchise may be renewed for an additional ten year
period on the same terms and conditions as contained herein.
SECTION 5: kayments_tg_the County. The Company
shall during each calendar quarter of operation under the
Franchise, pay to the County three (3) percent of the quarterly
Gross Subscriber Revenues received by the ^ompany for services
rendered within the County for the calendar quarter. At the time
of payment the Company shall furnish the County with a certified
r�aport showing the Company'.- i_ot i i c,c oss Subsc ribar Revenue
.deceived from the unincor-poratad arc:,, during the calendar quarter
upon which the payment is base -.i° Each, quarterly payment shall bre
made within 60 days of the end at the proceeding calendar
quarter.
SECTION 6: i3ecgrd�_at-_$eparts. The Company shall
keep full, true, accurate and current books of account, which
books and records shall be made available for inspection and
copying by the County's designee at -t11 reasonable times.
SECTION ?: B ,�,4_, E\t-c,jchecx hereto and made a part
of this franchis=e. as Exhibit r, i.•, a .,-t+.ed.ule of c:irr_ent rates for -
basic (,able television servic4-,.
SECTION 61 L-QC4 1
During the term of this Franckisc., t;,id z,ny renewal thereof, the
Company shall maintain within the in:::orporated or unincorporated
areas of the County a local. busires:s office or agenL for the
purpose of receiving and resolving 11 complaints regarding the
quality of service, equipment r:al.fanc:tiarks and similar matters.
The local office shall be ope:-, tc, � c�r.e.ive i.fqu.iric's or complaints
from subscribers durilig normal_ au: t 1, : : flour:;; ' .)nc.ay through
Friday. Any service complain'-fr .;i �,ut,scrii,c, s r•hall he,
a.rivestigated and ,cte_z upon .t.,
0
The company shall keep a maintenance service log which will
indicate the nature of each service complaint and the time and
date thereof. This log shall be made available for periodic
inspection by the Counts.
SECTION 9: Liahj._jj.__y-- and ...�dgrnrLificatiop.. The
company shall pay, and by it- a•-ceptance of this the Franchise
the Company expressly agrees that it will pay, all damages and
penalties which the County may l.ec.3ally be required to pay as a
result of the Company's negligence .in the installation, operation
or maintenance of the Cable Television system authorized herein.
The County shall notify the Company's representative within
fifteen (15) days after the presentation of any claim or demand
to the County, either by suit or otherwise, nade against the
County on account of any negligence or contract as aforesaid on
the part of the Company. The Company further agrees as follows:
(a) Company s.�7al.t carry worker's Compensation
insurance, with statutory limits, and Employer's
Liability insurance wi_th� limits of not les:; than One
Hundred Thousand Doil.,ir-- ($100,000), which shall cover
all operations to 3;,5 ;oc.ric,med k:,y compaany as a .result
of this ordinance
(b) Company shaii carry Comprehensive General
Liability and Comprehensive Automobile Liability
insurance with bodily injury limits of not less than
Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000) per
occurrence, and property damage limits of not less than
Five Hundred Thousa,ld DoIllars ($500,000)-
(c) Company a+frees to furnish County with
certificates of i.nsurcince of said policies, which shall
provide that insur-anca: stall not be canceled unless ten
days' prior written ncti:_e shall first be given to
County.
(d) It is expressly agreed and understood that
the Company is an independent contractor and in no
event shall Company's employees be deemed to be
employees of the Cr)�Ant; .
SECTION 10: yyptem CaG3}}st��c�t�Onp��i� na cF=�x�c
procceaAAI_e
(a) Upon grant of this Franchise to construct and
Maintain a community television system in the County,
the Company may enter into contracts with Light, Gas
and Water division of the County, any Public Utility
companies or any othei owner or lessee of any poles
located within or without the County to whatever extent
such contract or contracts may be expedient and of
advantage to the Company for use of poles and posts
necessary for proper installation of the System, obtain
right-of-way permits from appropriate state, county and
federal officials r<c s.,<i_ v to cross h,ghw•ays or roads
under their respective jurisdictions to supply main
trunk lines from the Compiny's receiving antennae,
obtain permission from t.h_? Federal Aviation Authority
to erect and maintain antr,,inae suitable to the needs of
the System and its subs, . :.f,e.•r and o1otain whatever other
permits a city, couitt.y, sate or federal. agency may
require. In the cor:st :;c yo;a, installation and
maintenance of its systeii) the Company will use steel,
cable and electronic d v cs, all oi' sl,ecialized and
advanced design and Lype. In the operation of .its
System, the. Company aril c�rr.�%a r pe.r onr+el with
training, skill and x,.:,..en,.e in eiec:tron.ic.s and y
communications. UeitIi,=i ii<terial ncr personnel of this
sort will be availak3L( -i z t e -,'ompai y for its System is
the event of a wa, 0", eemerg-ncy.
(b) The Company's system, poles, wires and
appurtenances shall be located, erected and maintained
so that none of its facilities shall endanger or
interfere with the lives of persons, or interfere with
any improvements th,� Country may deem proper to make, or
unnecessarily hinder or (..bst_ruct the i.ree use of the
streets, :alleys, bridges;, easement.,, or public property.
Those portions of t'ie Company's system deemed to be in
conflict with the f i e , use of the streets, alley::,
bridges, easements or puljj j i.c property as determined by
the County shall be ram(.,ved and/or relocated upon
written notice by the ccounty.
(c) The Company shall not commence any work on or
within a County right of way, other than normal
maintenance of the existing system, without applying
for and receiving a written permit- for such work on
forms provided by the County. If the work involves the
utilization of previously permitted utility poles no
writt-.n permit must- Lr� "_c ::r&.1 bun the Cour:A-y should be
inf orxaed.
(d) Extension of service shall not be required
into an area which 'foes not meet the r!quirements set
forth in Section 11 of tt.is Franchise.
(e) All transmission and distribution structures,
lines and equipment erected by the Company within the
County shall be so ionated as to cause minimum
interference with the proper use of streets, alleys and
other public ways and places, and to cause minimum
interference with the rights or reasonable convenience
of property owners who adjoin any of tire said streets,
alleys or other pub -i( w ;ys .and places
(f) In case od any disturbanc` o: pavement,
sidewalk, driveway ur other surfacing, the company
shall, at its own cost- and expense and in a manner
approved by the County, ;replace and restore all paving,
sidewalk, driveway or surface of any street or alley
disturbed in as goo({ condition as befo; e said work was
commenced.
(g) In the event that at any time during the
period of this Franchise the County shall lawfully
elect to alter or change any street, alley or other
public way, the Company upon reasonable notice by the
County, shall remove:-, relay and relocate its poles,
wires, cables, undeigrotui.i conduits, manholes and other
fixtures to conform t(-; >ilterat: on or change at it:�
own expense.
(h) The Company shall riot place poles or other
fixtures where the same will interfere with any gas,
electric or telephone fixture, water hydrant or main,
and all such poles :;r t: fixt.uras placed in any
street shall be placed it rhe location(s) shown on the
approved permit.
(I) The Company shall, on the request of any
person holding a building moving permit, issued by the
County, temporarily raise or lower its wires to permit
the moving of buildings. The expense of such temporary
removal, raising or iowering of wires shall be paid by
the person requesti.ncl t9 -_:e sam%, and the Company shall
have the authority to r�c�q.�.irc such [. ay.m ?nt in advance.
The Company shall ).,ec not. less tha,i forty-eight
(48) hours :clvartc..e ' ,(. "l-ratrge f(:, - sucIr temp'urary
wire rftangcs.
(j) The Company shall have the authority to tri.n,
trees upon and overhanging streets, alleys, sidewalks
and public places of the County upon proper notice to
the adjacent owner so as to prevent the branches of
such trees from com tncl i -k °ont.act wii.h the wires and
cables of the Comp, -.,iv
SECTION 11: Li:lc 'k;xt:-ellsitrllp.
(a) To provide °or a reasonable and
nondiscriminatory i�>•,l.-ccy ,jover_ning extensions of cable
service within the t7ounty, which policy was sub-iec.t to
public review in the public review in the public
proceeding leading ..o the award of this Franchise,
Company shall extend service to new subscribers, at the
normal installation charge and monthly rate for
customers of that classification, under the following
terms and conditionvs.
(b) Where the new subscriber, or nearest
subscriber of group of new subscribers is located
within 500 feet of xi_.tin,] trunk cabl,a; ani
(c) Where the cs x k r of hones to bay passed by
such new extension .a??.e plan. exceeds or equals 50
homes per mile of ext(,ansion cable plant.
(d) In the esr�,n -. ttxe requirement,; of subsections
(b) and c, are not rant, the installatico cost per
subscriber- shall. be (1=1-e mined as set cort.h in Exhibit
B attached hereto.
SECTION 12: Compliance with Standards. All
facilities and equipment of Company shall be constructed and
maintained in accordance with the requirements and specifications
of the National Electrical Safety :'ode and such applicable
orCinanees and regulations set Forth by the County and/or any
either local, state or federal alter
SECTION 13: CompiAy_1IAI�-q--and_-ReguI4tions. The
Company shall have the authority to promulgate such rules,
regulations, terms and conditions governing the conduct of its
business as shall be reasonably necessary to enable the Company
to exercise its rights and perform its obligations under this
Franchise, and to assure an uninterrupted service to each and all
of its customers. However, such rules, regulations, terms and
conditions shall not be in co:ifLic_t with the provisions hereof or
of federal and state laws.
SECTION 14: Proceduarees. No renewal of this
Franchise shall be effective except pursuant to a public
proceeding affording due process. The Company shall be a party
to any such proceedings and aiiy otlier proceedings in which its
rights, privileges or ixiteres-s_s F,ould he affected and shall be
fully ..retitled to such de p .or>;.: r i.cJhts as may be available
under 3 3.0 1C-C1Fii%3t1U11S.
SECTION 15: AP-P-Kc_>Y-4._ ip_f_ -TT-ngfelr• Phe Company shall
not sell or transfer its System to another, nor transfer any
rights under this Franchise to another without written approval
by the County, provided that such :approval shall not be
unreasonably withheld if the vendee, assignee or lessee has filed
with the appropriate official of the County an instrument duly
executed, reciting the fact ot- suc,: sale, assignment or lease,
accepting the terms of this F -circ h i xnd agreei ,g to perform all
condit.ons thereof.
t-.
SECTION 16: Compliance with FCC Rules and
Regulatic s. The Company shall, at all
times, comply with the rules and regulations governing CATV
operations promulgated by the FCC. This shall include adherence
by the Company to FCC rules regard nq technical and engineering
7pecifi_cations involved in tl)(z .cr, irtzcti,on of tpie CATV System
and signal carriage therein.
SECTION 17: ��f_i4 atiqAT P_fL_F9_Q_ltu1es. Any
modification of FCC Rules resulting from amendment thereto by the
rCC shell, to the extent applical-A��!, be considered as a part: of
this Franchise as of the effective date of the amendment made by
,.he FCC-' shall be incorporated sn this franchise by specific
amendments thereto by the lawf,ii action of the County within one
(1) year from the effective date of the FCC'camendment: or at the
time of renewal of this Frazichi.,E,., ,hichever occurs first.
SECTION 18: lhahlxcat oon Costs. The Company shall
assume the costs of the publication of this Franchise as such
publication of this Franchise as such publication is required by
law. A bill for publication costs shall be presented to the
Company by the appropriate County c,fticials upon the Company's
filing of its acceptance of t`iis Fr anchise aiEd the said
p:bblic«tion costs shall be Maid i a +iat, time by the Company.
SECTION 19: A_gtjv .t _es P,robibited.
(a) The Comp; ,y shcil.i not allow its cable or
other operations to irst_erfere with television reception
of persons not served l.y the Company, nor shall the
System interfere wish, ot,-.r_ruct or hirder in any mannt.,-
the operation of the ✓. r. i crus utilit ies ser ✓ing the
residents of the Coan-v.
(b) The Company shall not, as to rates, charges,
service facilities, rules, regulations or in any other
respect make or grant any preference or advantage to
any person, nor subject iiny person to any prejudice or
disadvantage, provided that nothing in this Franchise
shall be deemed to arDhii:it the establishment of a
graduated scale of .h�ir(jes and cl.a:,sif ied rate
schedules to which .zn1j customer comincl within such
classification wou11 ): �nti_tied.
SECTION 20: TIlef t amne.ring.
(a) No person, whether or not a subscriber to the
cable system shall willfully, maliciously or otherwise
damage or cause to oe damaged any wire, cable, conduit,
apparatus, appurtenance c,r equipment of a franchisee
operating a cable television system within the County,
or commit any act with intent to cause such damage, or -
to tap, tamper with o:= otherwise connect any wire or
device to a wire, c -Ab to <,unduit, apparatus,
appurtenance or equipuent: of such franchisee with the
intent to obtain aiilpulse I com tfie cable
system without auth,.)r.zat ion form or compensation to
such franchisee, oar• to ohLain cable television or other
communications service wjt.h intent to cheat or defraud
said franchisee of ..inv 1.,vvcu1 char -e to which it is
entitled.
(b) Whoever siia.til violate any provision of this
section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be
liable to a penalty of not less than one Hundred
Dollars ($7.00.00) for a fis.st offense and not less than
Five Hundred 5 19 - 00.) nor mora than one
Thousand Dollars ($,,�aC.,l_)u) for a second and every
subsequent offenso. hay .�,,neLlties ,arc✓ided in this
Secti_un shall be E'�l? Ot'i c', ��Y approp! ia'.._e proceedings
t
instiuti.ed by the (°�sui�c;✓ '.iie Company.
SECTION 21" evai a!A V. tv.
(a) If any se(tion,, subsection, sentence, clause,
phrase. or portion o1 ttai ordinance is for any reason
held invalid or unce-,ist itut ional by an , court of
competent jurisdict'6,)n, :-s_i<.:h :ortio�i shall be deemed a
separate, distinct -,n,! i.ndc--p.-.ndenc provision and such
holding shall no'. �,,alidity a>f the remaining
portions hereof.
(b) Should any provision of this Franchise be
inconsistent or at variance with any rule, regulation
or policy, in whole or iia part, of the FCC or any other
agency having jurist€ict i.uri, such provi::ion shall be
invalid, but the rer.:aina n, pro ri.sions here�-�f shail not
be affected thereby.
SECTION 22: Ordtjjance__$ Repealed. All. ordinances or
parts thereof in conflict with tho provisions of this Ordinance
are hereby repealed.
SECTION 23: BE Ir FURTHER ORDAINED that this
ordinance take effect from thc� :lata it shall have been passed by
the apf,e•opriate authoritative 3_,o,ly rant become ei fective as
otherw:�_se provided by law.
DONE 'liiIS 16th day of May, 1995
Al TEST:
Clerk of the Board
a
Chairman
.ousti tutiuP, tha, Bo�ir.d of County Commi:�-
10D�-,ts of 1.,:a,it County, War;liington
77 M
v� t
4
a
Chairman
.ousti tutiuP, tha, Bo�ir.d of County Commi:�-
10D�-,ts of 1.,:a,it County, War;liington
f:V
LYIIIBT�1:1 2%
BASIC El"RV Ic E RATES
Primary Outlet Instaliati_Qn
1. Standard Instal lat. i (>
a. Aerial
b. u ndergrow,i_l
$_2
$___26v91
A standard is :_;'L illat:a.c;n consists c�f a
d~op of 125 ft:e''t i.ess from the feeder
.tine to the Is residence. In
the case of an undercli-ound installation,
a standard installation shall be less than
175 feet and shall not include those
installations requiring conduit or cutting
of streets, or other pacR:-2d areas.
2. Non -Standard 11:�t,gllz,�iun
Company's cost
of labor and
materials plus
10%
EXHIBIT 1;
IEL-EXTF',r1�
1•1.Qr�
,ill extend its trunk and
clistri'.Cution system to service new -ul:,;scrlbers Lo`juestinq s('.rvic'.`
ci:-t,,r 4w4ze date h,-�reoi at the n:-)rmal charge e',nd
ratoni .iii`; crate und(it the fol iow i and c:orrdit ..ons
(a) inihere the ne!w or suh ;cr-ibers roquesting
s(:vrvice are al ? c.c aL 1 within .`,00 feet from the
+g ermination of :.h_ee sy stetti, iD-.j
(b) Where the number of homes to be passed by such
extension is equal t:) or greater than 50 homes per
mile of such extensi,)st.
In the event that the requirements set forth in (a) and (b) above
are not niet,-I_Ca revisionof on. will extend its
cable i,�leavision system based t:oon followi�tg (7ost--sharing
b orroul;
1) 'Tota] Cc� t to Cost per Mile
Miles of Fxten� w� of Extension
Ss t -.b't .-„ `' x ` -Li _=1-(Di1 Company I s
50 Share Per Home
3) Total Cost to Canstr_u�t.�isioh = Cost Per
Subscribers Requesting .,ervice Subscriber
4) Cost Per Subscriber mi.nu:s Subscriber's
Company's Share Per lk,me - Share
*'notal Cost to Coast; uct 3-I'Lension is deiinea as the
actual turn -key cost to C(;t ,t.x'uct the entire extension
including e:f_ecr_r.onic_, mo..ke--ready charges, labor
and the cos.. of_C'cb "- _t';,-. 1<!Use drop;,.
.T��L. Cab le.Yi9-'2x1 d< -)es not. asses;-, any
additional cost for service drops ()f 150 feet (.,,- loos. For drops
greater than 150 feet, the sub>.,.:r i1,et tt>,st pay for the additional
feet on a cost -plus -labor basi.,