HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 90-087-CCIN THE MATTER OF AN ORDINANCE
GRANTING A FRANCHISE TO
Sun Country Cable _
643621
ORDINANCE NO. 90 -87 -cc
RESOLUTION NO. 90 -87 -cc
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AN ORDINANCE GRANTING A FRANCHISE TO Pacific Sun Cable Partners L.P.
DBA Sun Country Cable , 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
PROVIDING FOR THE REGULATION AND USE OF SAID SYSTEM.
WHEREAS, it is the mutual desire of the County of Grant and
Sun Country Cable 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 Television Franchise Ordinance be and the same is hereby
adopted.
SECTION 1: Short Title. This Ordinance shall be known and may be
cited as the " Sun Country Cable Franchise Ordinance".
SECTION 2: Definitions. For the 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 mandatory and -lot merely directory.
(a) "County" shall mean the unincorporated areas of the
County of Grant in the State or Washington.
(b) "Company" is the grantee of rights under this
Ordinance awarding a franchise. being _ Sun Country Cable
(c) "Person" is any person, firm, partnership,
association, corporation, company or organization of any 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 producing, receiving, amplifying
and distributing audio, video and other forms of electronic or
electrical signals located in the County.
(e) "Gross Subscriber Revenues" shall mean the revenues
derived by the Company from its 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
lowest tier of service received by all subscribers to Company's
System.
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SECTION 3: Qualifications of Grantee and Grant
Authority. A public hearing concerning the franchise
herein granted to the Company was held on August 28, 1990_ at _10:00
o'clock at the County Commissioners Office Public notice of said hearing
was given in the Grant County Journal __ on August 16 & August 23, 1990 ,
which notice invited interested parties to participate in said hearing and
comment upon the legal, character, financial, technical and other
qualifications of the Company to operate a Cable Television System in the
County. Said hearing having been held 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
qualifications of the Company to receive this franchise, the County hereby
finds that the Company possesses the necessary legal, technical, character,
financial and other qualifications and that the Company's construction
arrangements are adequate and feasible, and that therefore the County hereby
grants to the Company a non-exclusive franchise, right and privilege to
construct, erect, operate, modify and maintain in, upon, along, across, above
and over and under the highways, streets, alleys, 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 Cable Television System for the
purpose of distributing television and radio signals and various
communications and other electronic services to the public. The right so
granted includes the right to use and occupy said streets, alleys, public ways
and public places and all manner of easements for the purposes herein set
forth.
SECTION 4: Franchise Term. The Franchise granted the 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 term, and conditions as contained
herein.
SECTION 5: Payments to 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 Company for
services rendered within the County for the calendar quarter. At the time of
payment the Company shall furnish the County with a certified report showing
the Company's total Gross Subscriber Revenue received from the unincorporated
area during the calendar quarter upon which the payment is based. Each
quarterly payment shall be made within E0 days of the end of the proceeding
calendar quarter.
SECTION 6: Records and Reports. The Company shall keep full,
true, accurate and current books of account, which books and records shall be
made available for inspection and copying 'oy the County's designee at all
reasonable times.
SECTION 7: Rates. Attached hereto and made a part of this
franchise as Exhibit A is a schedule of cu,,rent rates for basic cable
television service.
SECTION 8: Local Office: Complaint Procedures. During the term of
this Franchise, and any renewal thereof, the Company shall maintain within the
incorporated or unincorporated areas of the County a local business office or
agent for the purpose of receiving and resolving all complaints regarding the
quality of service, equipment malfunctions and similar matters. The local
office shall be open to receive inquiries or complaints from subscribers
during normal business hours Monday through Friday. Any service complaints
from subscribers shall be investigated and acted upon as soon as possible.
The Company shall keep a maintenance service log which will indicate the
nature of each service complaint and the t,me and date thereof This log
shall be made available for periodic inspection by the County.
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SECTION 9: Liability and Tndemnification. The Company shall pay, o
and by its acceptance of this the Franchise the Company expressly agrees that
it will pay, all damages and penalties which the County may legally be —�
required to pay as a result of the Company's ne(iligence in the installation, C
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operation or maintenance of the Cable
The County shall notify the Company's
after the presentation of any claim or
otherwise, made against the County on
aforesaid on the part of the Company.
Television System authorized herein.
representative within fifteen (15) days
demand to the County, either by suit or
account of any negligence or contract as
The Company further agrees as follows:
(a) Company shall carry Worker's Compensation insurance,
with statutory limits, and Employer's Liability insurance with
limits of not less than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000),
which shall cover all operations to be performed by Company as a
result of this Ordinance.
(b) Company shall 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 Thousand Dollars ($500,000).
(c) Company agrees to furnish County with certificates of
insurance of said policies, which shall provide that insurance
shall not be canceled unless ten days' prior written notice 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 County.
SECTION 10: System Construction, Maintenance and Procedures.
(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 other 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 necessary to cross
highways or roads under their respective jurisdictions to ,supply
main trunk lines from the Company's receiving antennae, obtain
permission from the Federal Aviation Authority to erect and
maintain antennae suitable to the needs of the System and its
subscriber and obtain whatever rather permits a city, county, state
or federal agency may require. In the construction, installation
and maintenance of its System, the Company will use steel, cable
and electronic devices, all of specialized and advanced design and
type. In the operation of its 'system, the Company will employ
personnel with training, skill :ind experience in electronics and
communications. Neither material nor personnel of this sort will
be available to the Company for its System in the event of a war
or other similar national emergency.
(b) The Company's system, poles, wires and appurtenances
shall be located, erected and maintained so that none of its
facilities shall endanger oN interfere with the lives of persons,
or interfere with any improvements the County may deem proper to
make, or unnecessarily hinder or chstruct the free use of the
streets, alleys, bridges, easement, or public property. Those
portions of the Company's system deemed to be in conflict with the
free use of the streets, alleys. bridges, easements or public
property as determined by the County shall be removed and/or
relocated upon written notice by the County.
(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 previous y permitted utility poles no written
permit must be secured but .he ounty should be informed.
(d) Extension of service shall not be required into an area
which does not meet the requirements set forth in Section 11 of
this Franchise.
(e) All transmission and distribution structures, lines and
equipment erected by the Company within the County shall be so
located 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 the said streets, alleys or
other public ways and places
(f) In case of any disturbance of pavement, sidewalk,
driveway or 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 good condi ion as before 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, underground conduits, manholes and other fixtures
to conform to said alteration or change at its own expense.
(h) The Company shall not 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 or other
fixtures placed in any street shall be placed at the 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 lowering of wires shall be
paid by the person requesting the same, and the Company shall have
the authority to require such payment in advance. The Company
shall be given not less than forty-eight (48) hours advance notice
to arrange for such temporarY wire changes.
(j) The Company shall have the authority to trim trees upon
and overhanging streets, alleys, sidewalks and public places of
the County upon proper notice to the adjacentowner so as to
prevent the branches of such trees from coming in contact with the
wires and cables of the Company
SECTION 11: Line Extensions.
(a) To provide for a reasonable and nondiscriminatory
policy governing extensions of cable service within the County,
which policy was subject to public review in the public proceeding
leading to the award of this Franchise, Company shall extend
service to new subscribers, at the normal installation charge and
monthly rate for customers o` that classification, under the
following terms and conditions.
(b) Where the new subscriber, or nearest subscriber of
group of new subscribers is 'ocated within 500 feet of existing
trunk cable; and
(c) Where the number of homes to be passed by such new
extension cable plant exceeds or equals 50 homes per mile of such
new extension cable plant.
(d) In the event the requirements of subsections (b) and
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(c) are not met, the installation cost per subscriber shall be
determined as set forth it hib t 8 attached hereto.
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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 Code and
such applicable ordinances and regulations �(,t forth by the County and/or any
other local, state or federal agencies.
SECTION 13: Com panv_Rules and Regulations. 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, regulat ons, terms and conditions shall not
be in conflict with the provisions hereon or of federal and state laws.
SECTION 14: Procedures. 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 any other proceedings in
which its rights, privileges or interests, wculd be affected and shall be fully
entitled to such due process rights as may be available under applicable laws,
ordinances, rules or regulations.
SECTION 15: Approval of Transfer. The 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 of such sale, assignment or lease, accepting the terms of
this Franchise and agreeing to perform all conditions thereof.
SECTION 16: Compliance with FCC Rules and
Regulat t 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 regarding
technical and engineering specifications involved in the construction of the
CATV System and signal carriage therein.
SECTION 17: Modification of FCC Rules. Any modification of FCC
Rules resulting from amendment thereto by the FCC shall, to the extent
applicable, be considered as a part of this Franchise as of the effective date
of the amendment made by the FCC and shall be incorporated in this Franchise
by specific amendments thereto by the lawful action of the County within one
(1) year from the effective date of the FCC's amendment or at the time of
renewal of this Franchise, whichever occurs first.
SECTION 18: Publication Costs. The Company shall assume the costs
of the 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 officials upon the Company's filing of its acceptance of
this Franchise and the said publication cots shall be paid at that time by
the Company.
SECTION 19: Activities Prohibited.
(a) The Company shall not allow its cable or other
operations to interfere with television reception of persons not
served by the Company, nor shall the System interfere with,
obstruct or hinder in any manner the operation of the various
utilities serving the residents cf the County.
(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 any
person to any prejudice or disadvantage, provided that nothing in
this Franchise shall be deemed to prohibit the establishment of a
graduated scale of charges and classified rate schedules to which
any customer coming within such ;'assification would be entitled.
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SECTION 20: Theft of Services and Tampering.
(a) No person, whether or not a subscriber to the cable
system shall willfully, maliciously or otherwise damage or cause
to be damaged any wire, cable, conduit, apparatus, appurtenance or
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 or otherwise connect any wire or
device to a wire, cable conduit, apparatus, appurtenance or
equipment of such franchisee with the intent to obtain a signal or
impulse from the cable system without authorization form or
compensation to such franchisee, or to obtain cable television or
other communications service with intent to cheat or defraud said
franchisee of any lawful charge to which it is entitled.
(b) Whoever shall 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 ($100.00) for a first offense
and not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than One
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for a second and every subsequent
offense. The penalties provided in this Section shall be enforced
by appropriate proceedings instituted by the County or the
Company.
SECTION 21: Separability.
(a) If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or
portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid or
unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such
portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent
provision and such holding shal' not affect the validity of 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 in
part, of the FCC or any othe- agency having jurisdiction, such
provision shall be invalid, out the remaining provisions hereof
shall not be affected thereby.
SECTION 22: Ordinances Repealed. All ordinances or parts thereof
in conflict with the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed.
SECTION 23: BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that this Ordinance take effect
from the date it shall have been passed by the appropriate authoritative body,
and become effective as otherwise provic'ed by law.
DONE THIS 28TH DAY OF _AUGUST_, 79 90_
ATTEST:
Cl k Po�e Board
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EXHIBIT A
BASIC SERVICE RATES
A. Primary Outlet Installation
1. Standard Installation
a. Aerial $ 35.00
b. Underground $ 35.00 + Burial Cost
A standard installation consists of a
drop of 175 feet or less from the feeder
line to the customer's residence. In
the case of an underground installation,
a standard installation shall be less than
175 feet and shall not include those
installations requiring conduit or cutting
of streets, sidewalks or other paved areas.
2. Non -Standard Installation Company's cost of labor
and materials plus 10%
B. Basic Monthly Service $ 19.95 + Tax
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EXHIBIT B
LINE EXTENSIONFORMULA
Sun Country Cable will extend its trunk and distribution system to service
new subscribers requesting service after the date hereof at the normal
installation charge and monthly rate under the following terms and conditions.
(a) Where the new subscriber or subscribers requesting service
are all located within 500 feet from the termination of the
system, and
(b) Where the number of homes to be passed by such extension is
equal to or greater than 50 homes per mile of such
extension.
In the event that the requirements set forth in (a) and (b) above are not met,
Sun Country Cable will extend its cable television system based upon the
following cost-sharing formula.
1)
Total
Cost to Construct Extensionk =
Cost per Mile
Miles of Extension
of Extension
2)
Total
Cost Per Mile of Extension =
Company's
50
Share Per Home
3)
Total
Cost to Construct Extension =
Cost Per
Subscribers
Requesting Service
Subscriber
4)
Cost
Per Subscriber minus
Subscriber's
Company's Share Per Home
= Share
*Total Cost to Construct Extension is defined as the actual turn-
key cost to construct the entire extension including electronics,
pole make-ready charges, 'abor and the cost of the house drops.
Sun Country Cabie does not assess any additional cost for service drops of
150 feet or less. For drops greater than 150 feet, the subscriber must pay
for the additional feet on a cost-plus-1,3hor basis.
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