HomeMy WebLinkAbout3304 Ordinance - Franchise - TCI of Northern New Jersey dba TCI of WashingtonORDINANCE NO.3,--Lk
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PASCO,
WASHINGTON, RELATED TO CABLE TELEVISION,
REPEALING CITY OF PASCO ORDINANCE NO. 2428 AND
RESOLUTIONS NOS. 1563 AND 1561, GRANTING A NON-
EXCLUSIVE CABLE TELEVISION FRANCHISE TO TCI OF
NORTHERN NEW JERSEY, INC. D/B/A TCI OF WASHINGTON,
AND FIXING A DATE WHEN THE SAME SHALL BECOME
EFFECTIVE.
WHEREAS, the City of Pasco regulates cable television systems
pursuant to the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, the Cable
Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1997, the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, and other subsequent amendments, and
WHEREAS, the City adopted Ordinance No 2428 and Resolution Nos
1563 and 1561, regulating the provision of cable television services within
the City and providing specific requirements for non-exclusive cable
television franchises, and
WHEREAS, Congress and the Federal Communication Commission
have modified and amended the statutes and regulations applicable to cable
television services since the adoption of these ordinances by the City, and
WHEREAS, the City's current cable television franchise with TCI of
Washington expires in 1998, and
WHEREAS, the City desires to update it's ordinances related to cable
television to reflect recent changes in federal statutes and regulations, and
WHEREAS, the City desires to enter into a new franchise with TCI of
Washington for the provision of cable television within the City, NOW,
THEREFORE,
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PASCO, WASHINGTON, DO
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS
Section 1 Ordinance No 2428 and Resolution Nos 1563 and 1561 of
the City of Pasco are hereby repealed
Section 2 TCI of Washington is hereby granted a non-exclusive cable
television franchise under the terms and conditions set forth below
Article 1 General
1 1 Grant of Franchise
1 2 Purpose
1 3 Relationship to Other Laws
1 4 Definitions
Article 2 Authority
2 1 General Franchise Characteristics
2 2 Franchise as a Contract
2 3 Conflicts
2 4 Subject Authority
Article 3 Franchise Conditions
3 1 Franchise Term
3 2 Acceptance
3 3 Franchise Fee
3 4 Insurance, Bonds, Indemnity
3 5 Forfeiture and Termination
3 6 Foreclosure
3 7 Receivership
3 8 Purchase of Cable System by City
3 9 Removal of Cable Communications System
3 10 Transfer of Ownership or Control
Article 4 Programming and Channel Capacity
4 1 Grantee Compliance
4 2 Maintenance of Existing Conditions
4 3 Expanded Programming and Channel Capacity
4 4 Obscenity
4 5 Parental Control Device and Channel Blocking
Article 5 Subscriber Fees and Records
5 1 Subscriber Fees and Rates
5 2 Multiple Unit Buildings
5 3 Downgrade and Disconnect Charges
5 4 Reports
55 Records
5 6 Filings
5 7 Service Connections
5 8 External Franchising Costs
Article 6 Public Access
6 1 Designated PEG Access Managers
6 2 Grantee's Obligations as Designated Access Manager
6 3 Government Access Services
6 4 Educational Access Services
65 PEG Channel Capacity
6 6 Expansion of Access Channels
6 7 Access Channels on Basic Tier
68 Technical Quality
6 9 Access and Local Programming
Article 7 Standards
7 1 Introduction
72 System Capacity and Features
7 3 Closed Channels
74 Headend
7 5 Future System Improvement
7 6 Emergency Alert System
7 7 Leased Access
7 8 Public Drops
79 Standby Power
Article 8 General System Requirements
8 1 Introduction
8 2 Cable System Rebuild Schedule
8 3 Component and System Tests
8 4 Service Cutover Process
Article 9 System Construction, Installation, and Maintenance
9 1 Construction and Maintenance Standards
9 2 Construction and Installation Work
9 3 Location of Structures, Lines and Equipment
9 4 Replacement of Paving
9 5 Moving of Buildings
9 6 Trimming Trees
9 7 Network Monitoring and Repair
9 8 Spare Parts
9 9 Delays in Construction
9 10 Repair of Damages
Article 10 System Construction and Installation
10 1 Line and Service Extension
10 2 Provision of Service
10 3 Refunds and Service Terminations
10 4 Service Area
10 5 Protection of Privacy
106 Continuity of Service
10 7 Transitional Operation
108 Equal Opportunity Employment
10 9 Additional Consumer Protection
10 10 General Provisions
Article 1. General
Section 11 Grant of Franchise The City of Pasco hereby grants to TCI of
Northern New Jersey, Inc dba TCI of Washington, a corporation licensed to
do business within the State of Washington and having its principal place of
business at 639 N Kellogg, Kennewick, Washington, 99336, a non-exclusive
franchise to install, construct, operate, and maintain a Cable System to
provide Cable Services under such terms and conditions that are set forth
herein
Section 1 2 Purpose The purposes of this Franchise are to
A Provide for the regulation of Cable Communications Services
within the City of Pasco,
B Provide for a Cable Communications System that will meet the
current needs of the City and that can be improved and upgraded to meet
future needs,
C Provide for the payment of fees and other valuable consideration
to the City for the use of the Public Ways and for the privilege to construct
and operate Cable Communications Systems,
D Provide for the regulation by the City of certain rates to be
charged to Subscribers for certain Cable Communications services,
E Provide for the development of cable communications as a means
to improve communication between and among the members of the public
and public institutions of the City, and
F Provide remedies and prescribe penalties for violation of this
Franchise
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Section 1 3 Relationship to Other Laws
A This Franchise is subject to all applicable City codes and
ordinances, including the City Charter, and all applicable federal statutes
and regulations, including, but not limited to the Communications Act of
1934, as amended by the Cable Consumer Protection Act of 1984, the Cable
Communications Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, and the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 The material terms and conditions
contained in this Franchise shall not be altered unilaterally by the City
through modification of any City code, ordinance, rule, regulation, resolution,
or other enactment of the City, except as may be permitted in the lawful
exercise of the City's police powers Unless expressly stated herein, nothing
in this Franchise shall alter any requirements of the existing codes and
ordinances of the City, including those relating to pole attachment, street
use permits, fees, taxes, or construction requirements or schedules
B It is the intent of both parties that each party shall enjoy all
rights and be subject to all obligations of this Franchise for the entire term
of the Franchise and, to the extent any provisions have continuing effect,
after its expiration However, both parties recognize that the technology of
cable television and related technologies are in a state of flux and that
regulatory conditions and franchise rights and powers may change drastically
during the term of this Franchise Should such changes occur, the City and
the Grantee shall negotiate in good faith to amend this Franchise to preserve
the rights and obligations of the City and the Franchise hereunder to the
fullest extent consistent with such changes The parties agree that the
perpetuation of the substantial equivalent of the current statutory and
regulatory structure governing cable television is not a condition of this
contract or a fundamental assumption that either party is making and
entering into it, provided, however, nothing herein shall prevent either the
City or the Grantee from asserting that any part or parts of this Franchise
are preempted by state or federal laws as a result of such changes
Section 1 4 Definitions For the purpose of this franchise the following
terms, phrases, words, and their derivations shall have the meanings 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
word "shall" is mandatory and the word "may" is permissive Words not
defined shall be given their common and ordinary meanings
I "Access" means the right of certain agencies, institutions,
organizations, groups and individuals in the community, including the City
and its designees, consistent with applicable federal law and on a non-
discriminatory basis, to use the cable system for specific non-commercial
purposes including the right to acquire programming, to create programming
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free from outside control including that of the Grantee, and to distribute and
receive programming over the cable system
2 "Access Channel" means any Channel set aside for public,
educational, or governmental use without a Channel usage charge
3 "Access User" means any person or entity entitled to make use of
an Access Channel consistent with the intended purpose of the Channel
4 "Basic Service" means subscriber Cable Television Services which
includes the delivery of local television Broadcast Signals as required by
federal law and Public, Educational, and Governmental (PEG) access
channels
5 "Broadcast Signal" means a television or radio signal transmitted
over the air to a wide geographic audience, and received by a Cable System
off-the-air by any means
6 "Cable Communications System" or "Cable System" means a
facility consisting of a set of closed-transmission paths and associated
signal generation, reception, and control equipment that is designed to
provide Cable Television Service which includes video programming and which
is provided to multiple subscribers within a community, but such term does
not include
a A facility or combination of facilities that serves only to
retransmit the television signals of one or more television broadcast
stations,
b A facility that serves subscribers without using any public
right-of-way,
c A facility of a common carrier which is subject, in whole or
in part, to the provisions of Title II of the communications Act of 1934, as
amended, except that such facility shall be considered a cable system to the
extent such facility is used in the transmission of video programming directly
to subscribers, unless the extent of such use is solely to provide interactive
on-demand services,
d An open video system that complies with 47 USC § 573, or
e Any facilities of any electric utility used solely for operating
its electric utility system
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7 "Cable Television Services" or "Cable Services" means the one
way transmission to subscribers of Video Programming, or other Programming
service, and Subscriber interaction, if any, which is required for the selection
or use of such Video Programming or other Programming service For the
purposes of this definition "Video Programming" is Programming provided by,
or generally considered comparable to Programming provided by, a television
broadcast station, and "other Programming service" is information that a
cable operator makes available to all Subscribers generally
8 "Channel" means a radio frequency band capable of carrying
combinations of video, audio, digital, or other non-video signal, regardless of
whether the signal is in a digitally compressed or analog format
9 "City" is the City of Pasco, Washington
10 "Closed channels" are upstream or downstream channels that
are not available for receipt by subscribers without special equipment or
authorization
11 "Connection" means the attachment of the drop to the radio or
television set or other communications device of the subscriber
12 "Construction " The terms "construction is completed,"
"construction has been completed," and "construction shall be completed"
mean that strand has been put up and all necessary cable (including trunk
and feeder cable) has been lashed or, for underground construction, that all
cable has been laid and trenches refilled, all road surfaces restored and,
except as prevented by weather conditions or delayed because of seasons,
landscaping restored, that all amplified housing and modules have been
installed (including modules for return path signals if proposed), that power
supplies have been installed and all bonding and grounding has been
completed, that all necessary connectors, splitters and taps have been
installed, that construction of the headends or hubs has been completed and
all necessary processing equipment has been installed, and that any and all
other construction necessary for the system to be ready to deliver cable
service to subscribers in a safe and reliable manner has been completed
consistent with the terms of the Franchise and industry standards It is
expected that segments of less than the entire system will be activated and
proofed when completed "Completion of construction" does not include
marketing and installation of subscriber service
13 "Converter" means an electronic tuning device which converts
transmitted signals to a frequency which permits their reception on an
ordinary television receiver
14 "Council" means the City Council of the City of Pasco
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15 "Dedication" means those dedications and easements for public
roadway and public utilities and other rights-of-way maintained for the
benefit of the public and controlled by the City, the terms, conditions, or
limitations of which are not inconsistent with the erection, construction, or
maintenance of a Cable Television System, its structures, or equipment
16 "Demarcation point" means the physical point at which the Cable
System enters the Subscribers' home or building
17 "Designated access managers" means the entity or entities
designated by the City under Section 6 1
18 "Document" or "Records" means written or graphic materials,
however, produced or reproduced, or any other tangible permanent record,
including records maintained by computer or other electronic or digital
means, maintained by the Franchise in the ordinary course of conducting its
business
19 "Downgrade charges" means any charge, rate, or financial liability
imposed upon a Subscriber for implementing a request for a change or
reduction of cable services to less than current services or tiers
20 "Downstream channel" means a Channel capable of carrying a
transmission from a headend to other points on a Cable System, including
Interconnection points
21 "Drop" means the cable that connects a subscriber's premises to
the nearest feeder line of the cable communications system
22 "Easement" means a right to use all Public Rights-of-Ways
including public utility easements
23 "Educational Access" means Access for Schools, as said term is
further defined herein
24 "Educational consortium" means a defined group of
representatives of Schools
25 "Feeder line" means the coaxial or fiber optic cable running from
the trunk line to line extenders and taps for the purpose of providing Cable
Service to individual Subscribers
26 "FCC" means the Federal Communications Commission or any
legally appointed or designated agent or successor
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27 "File" means the delivery, by mail or otherwise, to the appropriate
office, officer or agent of the City of any document or other thing which this
Franchise requires the Grantee to file with the City The date of receipt by
the City shall be considered the file date Unless specified to the contrary,
the filing shall be with the City Clerk
28 "Franchise" means the nonexclusive right and authority to
construct, maintain, and operate a Cable System through use of the Public
Streets, Dedications, public utility easements, other Public Rights-of-Way, or
public places in the City pursuant to a contractual agreement executed by
the City and the Grantee
29 "Government Access" means Access for governmental entities or
their designees
30 "Grantee" refers to TCI of Northern New Jersey, Inc
31 "Gross Revenues" mean all revenue derived by the Grantee or
any other person or affiliate of the Grantee that would constitute an operator
of the cable system under the Cable Act derived from the provision of Cable
Services within the City, including, but not limited to, basic service monthly
fees, expanded basic monthly service fees, premium and tiered service fees,
installation and reconnection fees, leased Channel fees, converter rentals,
advertising sales revenues, and copyright fees, provided, however, that this
shall not include bad debt or any taxes on services furnished by the Grantee
payable to the State of Washington or any other governmental unit and
collected by the Grantee on behalf of the governmental unit, or any revenues
from the provision of Cable Communications Services outside the City, or
any revenues from sale of capital assets or lease of property for purposes
unrelated to cable communications
32 "Headend" means a facility for signal reception and/or
dissemination on the Cable System including all related equipment such as
cable, antennas, wires, satellite dishes, monitors, switchers, modulators,
computers, software, and processors for television Broadcast signals
33 "Initial" or "Initially" means as of the effective date of this
Franchise
34 "Installation" means the connection of the system at the
Subscriber's premises
35 "Interconnect," "Interconnected," or "Interconnection" means the
provision of an electronic linkage between the Grantee's Cable System any
other designated Cable System for the purpose of transmitting PEG Access
channels and I-Net signals to and from the Interconnected cable systems
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36 "Leased Channel" or "Leased Access Channel" means any
Channel, or part of a Channel, available for commercial use on a fee basis by
persons or entities other than a Grantee
37 "Person" means an individual or legal entity, such as a
partnership, association, joint stock company, trust, corporation, or
governmental entity
38 "Premium Service" means pay television offered on a per
Channel or per program basis
39 "Programming" means programming provided by, or generally
considered comparable to programming provided by, a television broadcast
station
40 "Public Access" means Access for the public, including
organizations, groups, and individuals
41 "Public way," "Public Right-of-Way," or "Street" means the
surface of and the space above and below any Public Street, road, highway,
path, sidewalk, alley, court, or easement now or hereafter held by the City for
the purpose of public travel or public utilities and shall include public
easements or Rights-of-Way
42 "Rebuild" means to upgrade the Cable System in accordance with
Article 9 hereof
43 "School" means any public educational institution and credited
by the State of Washington, including primary and secondary schools (K-12),
colleges, and universities
44 "Service Interruption" means any loss of any element of
programming on any part of the Cable System
45 "Service Tier" means a specific set of cable subscriber services
which are made available as, and only as, a group for purchase by
Subscribers at a separate rate for the group
46 "Subscriber" means a lawful recipient of Cable Service or other
services provided over a Cable System
47 "Tn-Cities Area" means the areas within Benton and Franklin
Counties, Washington
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48 "Upgrade" means an improvement in any technical aspect of the
Cable System
49 "Upstream Channel" means a Channel capable of carrying a
transmission to a Headend from any other point on the Cable System,
including, Interconnection points
50 "User" means a party utilizing a Cable System's facilities for
purposes of production or transmission of material or information to
Subscribers
Article 2. Authority
Section 2 1 General Franchise Characteristics This Franchise shall
A Authorize use of the Public Ways for installing cables, wires,
lines, and other facilities in order to operate a Cable System, but shall
neither expressly or impliedly be deemed to authorize the Grantee to provide
service to, or install cables, wires, lines, or any other equipment or facilities
upon, private property without the owner's consent, or to utilize publicly or
privately owned utility poles or conduits without a separate agreement with
the owners thereof,
B Be nonexclusive, and shall neither expressly nor impliedly be
deemed to preclude the issuance of subsequent franchises to operate other
Cable Systems within the City or the ownership or operation of a Cable
System by the City, and
C Convey no property right or right to renewal to the Grantee
Section 2 2 Franchise as a Contract This Franchise shall be deemed to
constitute a contract between the Grantee and the City The Grantee shall
be deemed to have contractually committed itself to comply with the terms,
conditions and provisions of the franchise documents, and with all written
rules, orders, regulations, and determinations applicable to the Franchise
which are lawfully issued, promulgated or made pursuant to the provisions of
this Franchise
Section 2 3 Conflicts
A All terms, conditions and provisions of this Franchise and the
application for a franchise shall be deemed to be embodied herein In the
event that a conflict between the application and this Franchise exists, the
express terms of this Franchise shall prevail over conflicting or inconsistent
provisions of the application
B The provisions of this Franchise shall be liberally construed in
order to effectuate its purposes and objectives consistent with public
interest This Franchise agreement will be construed under the laws of the
State of Washington
Section 2 4 Sublect Authority The Grantee shall, at all times during the life
of this Franchise, be subject to all lawful exercise of the police power by the
City and to such lawful regulations as the City shall hereafter enact The
construction, operation and maintenance of the System shall also be in full
compliance with all other applicable rules and regulations now in effect or
hereafter adopted by the United States, the State of Washington, or any
agency of said governments
Article 3. Franchise Conditions
Section 3 1 Franchise Term
A Initial Term The term of this Franchise shall be five (5) year
B Extension This Franchise may also be extended based upon
Grantee System improvements as provided in Section 7 5
C Renewal If the Grantee seeks authority to operate a Cable
System in the City beyond the term of this Franchise, it shall file an
application for franchise renewal not later than 30 months prior to the
expiration of this Franchise, in accordance with Section 626 of the Cable Act,
47 USC § 546
Section 3 2 Acceptance
A This Franchise and its terms and conditions shall be accepted by
the Grantee by written instrument, in a form acceptable to the City Attorney,
and filed with the City within 30 days after the granting of this Franchise In
its acceptance, the Grantee shall declare that it has carefully read the terms
and conditions of this Franchise and unconditionally accepts all of the terms
and conditions of this Franchise and agrees to abide by same In accepting
this Franchise, the Grantee shall indicate that it has relied upon its own
investigation of all relevant facts, that it was not induced to accept the
Franchise, and that it accepts all reasonable risks related to the
interpretation of the Franchise
B This Franchise shall not take effect until the applicant pays a
grant fee of $1,000 00 to the City for the costs associated with the
publication of this Franchise
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Section 3 3 Franchise Fee
A The Grantee, in consideration of the privilege for the use of
Public Ways and the privilege to construct and operate a Cable System, shall
pay to the City a franchise fee in an amount not greater than five percent
(5%) of its annual Gross Revenues, as defined herein, during the period of
its operation under this Franchise and such periods of time that the Grantee
is operating without a franchise Initially, the franchise fee shall be five
percent (5%), subject to the City's right to reduce said amount with
reasonable notice to the Grantee
B The Grantee shall file with the City, by the end of each calendar
quarter, a financial statement showing the Gross Revenues received by
Grantee during the preceding calendar quarter The Grantee shall pay the
quarterly portion of the Franchise fee to the City on or before the time such
financial statement is due to be filed The Grantee shall also file, no later
than June 1st of each year, a statement of Gross Revenues for the preceding
year, certified by an officer of the Grantee Any franchise fee payment in
adjustment for any shortfall of the total quarterly payments for the year shall
be made at that time Adjustments for any overpayment shall be by credit to
subsequent quarterly payments
C The City shall have the right, consistent with the provisions of
Section 5 5 herein, to conduct an audit of Grantee's Gross Revenues to
determine if proper payments have been made to the City The cost of such
audit shall be borne by Grantee if the same results in increasing the
Grantee's annual payment to the City by two percent (2%) or more
D In the event that any franchise fee payment is not received by
the City on or before the applicable dates, interest shall be charged from
such due date at the rate of twelve percent (12%) per year
E In the event this Franchise is revoked or otherwise terminated
prior to its expiration date, the Grantee shall file with the City, within 90
days of the date of revocation or termination, an audited financial statement
showing the Gross Revenues received by the Grantee since the end of the
previous year and shall make adjustments at that time for the franchise fees
due up to the date of revocation or termination
F Nothing in this Franchise shall limit the City's authority to
lawfully tax the Grantee
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3 4 Insurance, Bonds, Indemnity
A Insurance During the term of this Franchise, and any time the
Grantee is operating a Cable System within the City without a franchise, the
Grantee shall maintain in full force and effect, at its own cost and expense,
insurance against claims for injuries to persons or damage to property which
may arise from or in connection with the performance of the work hereunder
by the Grantee, its agents, representatives, employees, or subcontractors
The Grantee shall provide a certificate of insurance naming the City,
its officials, boards, commissions, agents, and/or employees as additional
insureds evidencing
1 Automobile liability insurance with limits no less than
$1,000,000 00 combined single limit per accident for bodily injury and
property damage,
2 Commercial general liability insurance written on an
occurrence basis with limits no less than $1,000,000 00 per occurrence and
$2,000,000 00 general aggregate for personal injury, bodily injury, and
property damage Coverage shall include but not be limited to blanket
contractual, products/completed operation, broad form property damage,
explosion, collapse and underground (XCU) if applicable, and employer's
liability, and
3 Excess liability insurance with limits no less than
$5,000,000 00 per occurrence and $5,000,000 00 aggregate limit
The Grantee's insurance shall contain a clause stating that coverage
shall apply separately to each insured against whom claim is made or suit is
brought, except with respects to the limits of the insurer's liability The
Grantee's insurance shall be primary insurance with respect to the City, and
any insurance maintained by the City shall not contribute with it The City
reserves the right to receive a certified copy of all required insurance
policies The Grantee shall file the certificate of insurance required by this
Section with the City upon acceptance of this Franchise
The insurance policy and certificate shall contain a provision stating
that it may not be cancelled, suspended, or reduced in coverage without 30
days advance written notice to the City In the event that the policy is
cancelled, suspended, or reduced in coverage, the Grantee shall provide a
replacement certificate evidencing the insurance coverage required by this
Section at least fifteen (15) days prior to the cancellation, suspension, or
reduction in coverage of the existing policy
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B Performance Bonds and Other Surety Except as expressly
provided herein, the Grantee shall not be required to obtain or maintain a
performance bond or other surety as a condition of being awarded this
Franchise or continuing its existence within the City The City acknowledges
that the legal, financial, and technical qualifications of the Grantee are
sufficient to assure compliance with the terms, conditions, and covenants of
this Franchise The Grantee and the City recognize that the costs
associated with performance bonds and other surety may ultimately be borne
by the Subscribers in the form of increased rates for services In order to
minimize such costs, the City agrees to require performance bonds and other
surety only in such amounts and during such times as there is a reasonably
demonstrated need therefore The City agrees that in no event, however,
shall it require a performance bond or other related surety in an aggregate
amount other than $250,000 00, conditioned upon the substantial
performance of the material terms, conditions, and covenants of this
Franchise Initially, no performance bond or other surety shall be required
In the event that a performance bond or other surety is required in the
future, the City shall give the Grantee at least 60 days pnor written notice
thereof stating the reasons for the requirement
C If the Grantee undertakes any construction with regard to the
Cable System, the Grantee shall maintain, at its sole cost and expense, a
corporate surety bond for the construction issued by a surety company
authorized to do business in the state of Washington and acceptable to the
City The construction bond shall assure the City of recovery of any and all
damages, losses, costs, and expenses sustained or suffered by the City as a
result of the Grantee's construction of the Cable System or the failure of
franchisee to satisfactorily and timely complete its planned construction In
no event shall the amount of the construction bond be construed to limit any
liability of the Grantee The amount of the construction bond shall be one
hundred percent (100%) of the estimated cost of the planned construction
Nothing contained herein shall prevent the Grantee from furnishing a
construction bond for individual and discrete phases of a system-wide
upgrade or rebuild In the event that there is a dispute over the estimated
cost of the planned construction, the City's estimate shall be final and
binding for purposes of this Subsection The construction bond shall contain
the following endorsement
"It is hereby understood and agreed that this bond shall not be
canceled by the surety, nor the intention not to renew be stated by the
surety, until 60 days after receipt by the City, by registered mail, of a written
notice of such intent to cancel or not to renew"
D All bonds and insurance certificates called for herein shall be in
a form satisfactory to the City Attorney The City may at any time, if it
reasonably deems itself insecure, require the Grantee to provide additional
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sureties to any and all bonds or to replace existing bonds with new bonds
with good and sufficient surety approved by the City The City may also
increase the required insurance coverage to reflect changing liability limits
No bond or insurance policy shall be cancelable during its term
E Indemnification The Grantee shall, at its sole cost and
expense, indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the City, its officials, boards,
commissions, agents and employees against any and all claims, suits,
causes of action, proceedings, and judgments for damage arising out of the
operation and construction of the Cable System under this Franchise, except
that no such requirement shall apply where such claims, suits, causes of
actions, proceedings, and judgments for damage are occasioned solely by the
negligence, gross negligence or intentional acts of the City or its officials,
boards, commissions, agents and employees while acting on behalf of the
City These damages shall include, but not be limited to, claims made
against the City by the Grantee's employees from which the Grantee would
otherwise be immune under Title 51 RCW, penalties arising out of copyright
infringements, and damages arising out of any failure by the Grantee to
secure consent from the owners, authorized distributors or licensees of
programs to be delivered by the Grantee's Cable System whether or not any
act or omission complained of is authorized, allowed, or prohibited by this
Franchise
Provided that the City has given Grantee prompt notice of a claim
subject to this Section and an opportunity to tender a defense, indemnified
expenses shall include, but not be limited to (1) reasonably incurred out-of-
pocket expenses, (2) reasonably incurred costs and attorneys fees, (3)
reasonably necessary services rendered by the City Attorney or his or her
assistants, (4) reasonably necessary services provided by any employee of the
City, and, (5) the amount of any settlement or award of damages for personal
injury, death, or property damage to any person for which the Grantee is
required to indemnify the City pursuant to this Section In the event that
Grantee fails to promptly tender a defense after notice by the City, Grantee
shall, in addition to any judgment, award, or settlement, be responsible for
all costs, expenses, expenses, and attorneys' fees reasonably incurred by the
City in defending itself, including such costs, expenses, and attorneys as
may be reasonably incurred collecting said amounts from Grantee The
indemnification provisions of this Subsection have been mutually negotiated
by the parties hereto
E The Grantee shall not permit any insurance policy or bond to
expire and the Grantee, not less than 30 days prior to its expiration, shall
deliver to the City a substitute, renewal or replacement policy or bond in
conformance with the provisions of this Franchise
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Section 3 5 Forfeiture and Termination
A In addition to all other rights and powers retained by the City
under this Franchise, the Council reserves the right to forfeit and terminate
this Franchise and all rights and privileges conferred hereunder in the event
of a substantial violation or breach of its terms and conditions A
substantial violation or breach by the Grantee shall include, but shall not be
limited to, the following
1 An uncured violation of any material provision of this
Franchise issued thereunder, or any material rule, order, regulation, or
determination of the City made pursuant to its lawful power to protect the
public health, safety and welfare,
2 An attempt to evade any material provision of this
Franchise or practice of any fraud or deceit upon the Cable System customers
and Subscribers or upon the City,
3 Failure to begin or substantially complete any Cable
System construction or Cable System extension as set forth in the franchise,
4 Failure to provide the services specified in this Franchise,
or a reasonable substitute therefor,
5 Failure to restore service after 10 consecutive days of
interrupted service, except when approval of such interruption is obtained
from the City,
6 Material misrepresentation of fact dunng negotiations
relating to this Franchise,
7 A continuous and willful pattern of inadequate service and
response to Subscriber complaints, or
8 Failure to provide the insurance, construction bond, or
indemnity as required by this Franchise
B None of the foregoing shall constitute a substantial violation or
breach if a violation or breach occurs which is without fault of the Grantee or
occurs as a result of circumstances beyond the Grantee's control The
Grantee shall not be excused by economic hardship nor by nonfeasance or
malfeasance of its directors, officers, agents or employees, provided,
however, that damage to equipment causing service interruption shall be
deemed to be the result of circumstances beyond the Grantee's control if it
is caused by any negligent act or unintended omission of its employees
(assuming proper training) or agents (assuming reasonable diligence in their
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selection), or sabotage or vandalism or malicious mischief by its employees
or agents The Grantee shall bear the burden of proof in establishing the
existence of such conditions
C The City may make a written demand by certified mail that the
Grantee comply with any provision, rule, order, or determination under or
pursuant to this Franchise If the violation or breach by the Grantee
continues for a period of 30 days following such written demand without
written proof that the corrective action has been taken or is being actively
and expeditiously pursued, the Council may consider terminating the
Franchise, provided that
1 A written notice thereof shall be given to the Grantee at
least 15 days in advance of any meeting at which the Council may consider
the termination of the Franchise, and
2 The Grantee must be given an opportunity to appear before
the Council in a public hearing to present its arguments, including the
opportunity to offer evidence and question witnesses A transcript or
recording shall be made of such hearing Based on the evidence of such
hearing, the Council shall determine whether to terminate the Franchise and
shall issue a written opinion stating the reasons for its decision
D Should the Council determine, following the public hearing, that
the violation or breach by the Grantee was the fault of the Grantee and
within the Grantee's control, the Council may, by resolution, declare that the
Franchise be forfeited and terminated, provided, however, the Council may, in
its discretion, provide an opportunity for the Grantee to remedy the violation
or breach and come into compliance with the Franchise so as to avoid the
termination Provided, however, that the Grantee may seek judicial review of
such determinations in a court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with
applicable state and federal law and the terms of this Franchise
Section 3 6 Foreclosure Upon the foreclosure or other judicial sale of all or
a substantial part of the Cable System facilities, or upon the termination of
any lease covering all or a substantial part of the Cable System, or upon the
occasion of additional events which effectively cause termination of the
system's operation, the Grantee shall notify the City of such fact, and such
notification or the occurrence of such terminating events shall be treated as
a notification that a change in control of the Grantee has taken place, and
the provisions of this Franchise governing the consent of the City to such
change in control of the Grantee shall apply
Section 3 7 Receivership
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A The City shall have the right to cancel this Franchise 120 days
after the appointment of a receiver, or trustee, to take over and conduct the
business of the Grantee, whether in receivership, reorganization,
bankruptcy, or other action or proceeding, unless such receivership or
trusteeship shall have been vacated prior to the expiration of the 120 days,
or unless
1 Within 120 days after the election or appointment, such
receiver or trustee shall have fully complied with all of the provisions of this
franchise and remedied any defaults thereunder, and
2 Within the 120 days, such receiver or trustee shall have
executed an agreement, duly approved by the court having jurisdiction,
whereby such receiver or trustee assumes and agrees to be bound by each
and every provision of this franchise except where expressly prohibited by
Washington law
B The Grantee shall immediately notify the City in writing if it
1 Files a voluntary petition in bankruptcy, a voluntary
petition to reorganize its business, or a voluntary petition to effect a plan or
other arrangement with creditors,
2 Files an answer admitting the jurisdiction of the court and
the material allegations of an involuntary petition filed pursuant to the
Bankruptcy Code, as amended, or
3 Is adjudicated bankrupt, makes an assignment for the
benefit of creditors, or applies for or consents to the appointment of any
receiver or trustee of all or any part of its property including all or any part of
its Cable System
Section 3 8 Purchase of Cable System by City
A In the event that this Franchise is lawfully terminated by the
City or a renewal or extension of this Franchise is denied, the City shall
have the right to acquire ownership of the Cable System or effectuate a
transfer of ownership of the Cable System to a third party In the event of
such acquisition or transfer, the price of Grantee's Cable System shall be
determined pursuant to Section 627 of the Cable Act, 47 USC § 547
B In the event the parties are unable to agree upon a price
pursuant to Subsection A of this Section, the price shall be fixed and
determined by a disinterested professional appraiser The City and the
Grantee shall each nominate one qualified, disinterested professional
appraiser for the purpose of selecting an appraiser Within 14 days, the
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appraisers so nominated shall jointly select a qualified, disinterested
professional appraiser to evaluate the system The City and the Grantee
shall have 14 days to file any reasonable objections to the appraiser so
selected In the event that either party so objects, the nominated appraisers
shall select a different appraiser If the Grantee fails to exercise its right to
nominate an appraiser, the appraiser nominated by the City shall evaluate
the system The appraiser thus selected shall file an appraisement of either
the fair and reasonable market value of the business and property of the
Grantee in the event of Franchise non-renewal, or the equitable price for the
business and property in the event of Franchise revocation, as of the date of
the exercise of this option The appraisement shall be filed within 60 days
after the selection of the appraiser as aforesaid The appraisement shall be
in writing and shall be filed with both the City and the Grantee The cost of
the appraisal shall be borne equally by the City and the Grantee
C Upon receiving a valuation by the appraiser pursuant to
Subsection B of this Section, the City has the right, in its sole discretion, to
decline purchasing the Cable System If the City chooses to purchase the
Cable System, it shall do so upon payment in accord with the written report
of the appraiser Decisions of the appraiser are binding and shall not be
appealed by either party to any court, except that the Franchisee may litigate
in a court of competent jurisdiction whether the individual is a qualified and
disinterested appraiser
D Upon exercise of the option to purchase and the payment of the
purchase price by the City and its service of official notice of such action
upon the Franchisee, the Franchisee shall immediately transfer to the City
possession and title to all facilities and property, real and personal, of the
Cable System, free from any and all liens and encumbrances not agreed to be
assumed by the City, and the Franchisee shall execute such other
instruments of conveyance to the City as shall be necessary for this purpose
Section 3 9 Removal of Cable Communications System
A At the expiration of the term if this Franchise, or upon its
termination as provided herein, the Grantee shall forthwith, upon notice by
the City, remove at its own expense all designated portions of the Cable
System from all Streets and Public Ways within the City and shall restore
the Streets and Public Ways to their former condition, provided, however, the
Grantee shall have the right to sell its physical plant to a subsequent
franchisee, subject to City approval, in which case the plant need not be
removed If the Grantee fails to remove its facilities upon request, the City
may perform the work at the Grantee's expense
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B The Grantee and the City agree that in the case of a final
determination of a lawful revocation of this Franchise, at the Grantee's
request, which shall be made in its sole discretion, the Grantee shall be
given a reasonable opportunity to effectuate a transfer of its Cable System to
a qualified third party, subject to Section 3 10 hereof The City agrees that
during such period of time, it shall authorize the Grantee to continue to
operate its Cable System pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth in
this Franchise Provided, however, that such period of time shall not exceed
six (6) months from the effective date of such revocation If, at the end of
that period of time, the Grantee is unsuccessful in procuring a qualified
transferee or assignee of its Cable System, the Grantee and the City may
avail themselves to any rights or remedies they may have pursuant to state
or federal law or this Franchise Provided further, that the Grantee's
continued operation of its Cable System during said six (6) month period
shall not be construed to be a waiver or extinguishment of any rights of the
City or the Grantee
Section 3 10 Transfer of Ownership or Control
A This Franchise shall not be sold, assigned, transferred, leased,
or disposed of, either in whole or in part, either by involuntary sale or by
voluntary sale, merger, or consolidation, nor shall title thereto, either legal
or equitable, or any right, interest, or property therein pass to or vest in any
person or entity, other than an entity controlling, controlled by, or under
common control with the Grantee without the prior consent of the Council,
and then only under such conditions as may be reasonably required by the
Council Such a transfer of control is not limited to major interest holders
but includes actual working or de facto control by minor interest holders in
whatever manner exercised Every change, transfer or acquisition of control
of the Grantee shall make the Franchise subject to cancellation unless and
until the City shall have consented Such consent shall not be unreasonably
withheld
B The Grantee shall promptly notify the City of any proposed
change in control of the Grantee A formal application for approval of a
proposed transfer of control shall be filed expeditiously and the Council shall
render its formal decision within 120 days of receipt of said application by the
City, unless the Grantee and the applicant shall agree in writing to an
extension of said period The application shall include, among other things,
a copy of any and all documents relating to the sale or transfer and any
filings by any party to the transaction at any state or federal agency
including, but not limited to, the FCC, the Department of Justice, the
Federal Trade Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission
An original and three copies of the text of the application shall be filed and
additional copies as the City may request
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C The proposed purchaser, transferee, or assignee must show
financial responsibility as determined by the City and must agree to comply
with all provisions of this Franchise, including any provisions which the City
may amend or add prior to approval of the transfer
D For the purpose of determining whether it shall consent to such
change, transfer, or acquisition of control, the City may inquire into all
qualifications of the prospective controlling party, and the Grantee shall
assist the City in any such inquiry The City may require any reasonable
conditions which it deems necessary at the time of review to ensure that the
Cable System will satisfy the public interest of the City and its citizens for
the balance of the term of the Franchise
E Nothing herein prevents a franchisee from financing construction
or operation of a Cable System by pledging the system as collateral
Article 4. Programming and Channel Capacity.
Section 4 1 Grantee Compliance Grantee shall meet or exceed the
Programming and Channel capacity requirements set forth in this Franchise
Section 4 2 Maintenance of Existing Conditions
A Subject to applicable federal law, the Grantee shall not delete or
so limit as to effectively delete any broad category of Programming within its
control for any group of Subscribers identified in Section 4 3 carried on the
Grantee's Cable System as of the effective date of this Franchise
B In the event of a modification proceeding under federal law, the
mix in quality of service is provide by the Grantee on the effective date of
this Franchise shall be deemed the mix in quality of services required under
this Franchise throughout its term
Section 4 3 Programming and Channel Capacity In addition to programming
provided on PEG Channels and local off-air broadcast Channels, if any, the
Grantee shall provide the broad categories of Programming as set forth in
applicable federal law The requirements for each category of Programming
may be satisfied by providing a separate Channel devoted substantially to the
category or by Programming for more than one Channel for which in the
aggregate totals the equivalent of one Channel devoted substantially to the
category
Section 4 4 Obscenity Subject to applicable federal law, the Grantee shall
not transmit, or permit to be transmitted, over any Channel any programming
which is obscene in the sense that the program is not protected speech
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under the Constitution of the United States The Grantee shall adopt a
written policy prohibiting obscene programming
Section 4 5 Parental Control Device and Channel Blocking Within six (6)
months of acceptance of this Franchise, Grantee shall, upon the request of
Subscribers, make available, by sale or lease, a parental control or lock out
device compatible with the Subscriber's equipment that will enable the
Subscriber to block access to any or all channels that is obscene or indecent
Grantee shall inform its Subscribers of the availability of the lock out device
at the time of the original subscription and annually thereafter, and if
requested by the Subscriber, shall provide the device at the time of the
original installation Furthermore, the Grantee must, at the request of a
Subscriber, be able to block out any premium, pay-per-view, or Public Access
Channel (both audio and video), at no additional charge to the Subscriber
The Grantee shall notify customers of the option to block out such Channels
at the time of the original subscription and annually thereafter
Article 5. Subscriber Fees and Records
Section 5 1 Subscriber Fees and Rates
A The initial fees to be charged to Subscribers for all services,
including installation fees and other one time charges, shall be specified by
the Grantee within 30 days after approval of this Franchise by the Council
B Should the City notify the Grantee of its intent to regulate basic
service tier rates as provided by federal law, those fees and charges subject
to regulation by the City shall not be increased without prior approval of the
City The City reserves the right to regulate rates for any service pursuant to
federal or state law which authorize such regulation The City reserves the
right to establish procedures for any lawful regulation of rates
C Rates shall be just and reasonable, and shall not give any undue
or unreasonable preference or advantage to any Subscriber or class of
Subscribers
D Rates and charges may be reduced at any time without prior City
approval provided that the reductions do not result in rates which are
unreasonably discriminatory to any Subscriber or class of Subscribers
Where temporary reductions are put into effect for promotional purposes for
a specified time period, the return to the permanent rates shall not be
considered a rate increase for purpose of this Franchise
E Rates and charges not subject to regulation by the City under
state or federal law or regulation may be changed by the Grantee following a
minimum 30 days prior written notice to the city and each subscriber
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Section 5 2 Multiple Unit Buildings Grantee shall ensure that rates charged
by Grantee to residents of multiple unit buildings shall not exceed the
charges paid by residents of single family horiies Grantee may not condition
provision of services to multiple unit buildings on any requirement not
imposed on other Subscribers, except as expressly provided in this
Franchise Grantee may not condition provision of services to multiple unit
buildings on an exclusive use agreement with Grantee Grantee may offer a
building owner the option of a long term agreement in return for installation
of internal wiring or other telecommunications improvements unique to the
building, but Grantee must offer the alternative of a no term agreement to
building owners who wish to contract directly for installation by a contractor
approved by Grantee and in accordance with Grantee's general applicable
standards
Section 5 3 Downgrade and Disconnect Charges Grantee may impose
downgrade charges only if the Subscriber has been notified, at the time of
initiating Cable Services, and annually thereafter, of the Grantee's
downgrade charges Affected Subscribers shall have thirty (30) days after a
retienng or increase in rates to downgrade their service without charge
Section 5 4 Reports To facilitate timely and effective enforcement of this
Franchise and to develop a record for purposes of determining whether to
renew this Franchise, the City requires reports as specified in this Section
A Annual Report No later than June 1st of each year, the Grantee
shall file a written report with the City, which shall include
1 A summary of the previous calendar year's activities in
development of the Cable System, including but not limited to services begun
or dropped, number of Subscribers (including gains and losses), homes
passed, and miles of cable distribution plant in service (including different
classes if applicable)
2 A statement of Gross Revenues as required by Section
3 3(B), including a summary of franchise fee payments and any adjustments
thereto The statement shall include notes that specify all significant
accounting policies and practices upon which it is based (including, but not
limited to, depreciation rates and methodology, overhead and intrasystem
cost allocation methods, and basis for interest expense) A summary shall
be provided comparing the current year with previous years since the
beginning of the franchise
3 A current statement of cost of any phase of construction
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4 A summary of complaints, identifying the number and
nature of complaints and their disposition
5 If the Grantee is a corporation, a list of officers and
members of the board and the officers and board members of any parent
corporation
6 A list of all partners or stockholders holding five percent
(5%) or more ownership interest in the Grantee and any parent corporation,
provided, however, that when any parent corporation has in excess of 1,000
shareholders and its shares are publicly traded on a national stock
exchange, then a list of the 20 largest stockholders of the voting stock of
such corporation shall be disclosed
7 A copy of all the Grantee's rules and regulations applicable
to subscribers and users of the cable system
B The City may specify the form and details of all reports, with the
Grantee given an opportunity to comment in advance upon such forms and
details The City may change the filing dates for reports upon reasonable
request of the Grantee
Section 5 5 Records The Grantee shall make available to the City a
complete set of books and records, related to Grantee's Cable System in the
City, within the Tn-Cities Area Upon reasonable notice to the Grantee, the
City will have the right to inspect all records relating to the cable operations
within the City at any time during normal business hours
Section 5 6 Filings The Grantee shall, on a quarterly basis, mail or deliver a
list of all filings related to this Franchise it makes with state and federal
agencies to the City Clerk Consistent with Section 5 5, the City shall have
the right to inspect and copy any such filings
Section 5 7 Service Connections
A Standard Installation - Unwired Dwelling Unit Standard
installation of an unwired dwelling unit shall be installation of Cable Service
to the subscribers dwelling unit located up to 125 feet from the Subscriber's
property line
B Standard Installation - Pre-wired Dwelling Unit Standard
installation of a pre-wired dwelling unit shall be installation of Cable Service
to the demarcation point located on the Subscriber's property up to 125 feet
from the Subscriber's property line sufficient to receive Cable Services and
where the pre-wired equipment will allow the Cable System to meet all FCC
technical requirements
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C Non-standard Installations Any installation of cable service
that requires the installation of facilities from a point more than 125 feet
from the Subscriber's property to (1) in the case of a pre-dwelling unit, the
demarcation point, or (2) in the case of an unwired dwelling unit, a point not
less than 12 inches from the exterior wall of the dwelling unit, or (3) any
underground installation in an area where plant facilities are not
underground, or (4) any installation calling for multiple outlets in a dwelling
unit, shall be consider a non-standard installation
D Rates and Charges Charges for standard installations may not
exceed the Grantee's published rates Charges for non-standard
installations shall not exceed the Grantee's published hourly service charge
for non-standard transactions, and may be applied only to that portion of the
installation defined as a non-standard installation in Subsection C above
Section 5 8 External Franchising Costs The Grantee may pass through to
its Subscribers such external costs as are allowed under the Cable Act and
regulations promulgated thereunder However, the Grantee shall not
proceed with any Franchise-required activity where the cost of such may be
passed through to Subscribers externally unless it has first provided written
notice to the City Such notice shall include an analysis (description of
service and calculation methodology per Subscriber) of the financial impact of
the activity to Subscribers The City, upon receiving such notice, shall
consider waiving the Franchise requirement, and, if so waived, the Franchise
shall be deemed amended If the City has not waived the requirement, or
otherwise responded to the notice within sixty (60) days, the Grantee shall
proceed with the required activity and may pass through the external costs in
accordance with federal law
Article 6. Public, Educational and Government Access
Section 6 1 Designated PEG Access Managers The Grantee may name
designated access managers for Public, Education, and Governmental Access
Programming The designated access managers shall have sole responsibility
for operating and managing their respective access facilities
Section 6 2 Grantee's Obligations as Designated Access Manager
A Public Access Facility and Equipment The Grantee shall provide
and maintain a cable access studio, van, and all production equipment
necessary for the production of color programming on video tape in the studio
or at remote locations within the Tri-Cities Area, as well as live color
programming Such equipment shall include a minimum of two color studio
cameras, four color remote cameras, three video recorders, editing
equipment, audio equipment, monitors, switcher, and character
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generator/ tiller Equipment provided for access shall be low broadcast or
high industrial standard and shall be maintained in good condition at all
times Grantee shall repair and replace any damaged equipment and except
for equipment damaged due to the neglect or improper use by an Access
User, shall be responsible for the cost of such repair or replacement
B Availability of Studio and Equipment The Grantee shall make
the studio, van, and portable production equipment available to responsible
to responsible citizens and community organizations for Public Access and
local organization programming in accordance with a Grantee-developed and
City-approved facility and equipment usage plan, and under provisions as set
forth in this Franchise Terms and conditions for use of this studio, van,
and/or production equipment shall be such to encourage Access use Such
rules shall provide for access to the studio, van, and production equipment
by residents and other entities located within the City with no prejudice,
disadvantage, preference, or advantage to or for any persons or entity in
connection with such use The facility and equipment usage plan shall be
presented to the City for consideration and approval within one hundred
twenty (120) days of the acceptance of this Franchise
C Access Program Grantee agrees to air a minimum of twenty (20)
hours of programming produced by City or City residents per month, if a
sufficient amount of such programming is available Grantee shall make
available adequate Channel capacity on its Basic Service Tier for such
Programming Grantee may fulfill this requirement by providing local
Programming itself or by cable casting local programming provided by others
in the Tn-Cities Area Grantee agrees to use its best efforts to encourage
and utilize programs produced by others Within one year of the date
Grantee accepts this Franchise, access rules shall be adopted to ensure an
equitable allocation of access to the PEG Channels between the City, other
franchising authorities in the Tn-Cities Area, and other users of the PEG
Channels Grantee shall provide training on the use of cable access
production equipment and/or studio for persons interested in creating such
local Programming Grantee shall make its best efforts to insure that local
Programming meets the needs of the City for diverse Programming on issues
of local interest
D Staffing Grantee shall employ staff as its deems necessary to
train, supervise, and assist persons desire to use the studio and/or
production equipment Such staff shall be available during normal business
hours at no charge to the access user and at other times for a reasonable
and fair charge consistent with making access studio and/or equipment
widely available Such charges shall be established as part of the rules
provided for in Section 6 2(B) above For the purposes of this Section, normal
business hours shall be considered to be the hours of 8 00 a m to 5 00 p m
Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays
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E Training At least once every two months, the Grantee shall
have staff available to conduct free video training workshops of up to one day
in duration to train Access Users in the proper use of the studio and
production equipment and in proper cable casting technique
Section 6 3 Government Access Services
A Production Assistance With respect to local government Access,
the Grantee shall provide up to five (5) hours per week, cumulative to sixty
(60) hours per calendar quarter use of the Grantee's studio, van, equipment,
and technical services for production of live and video taped City programs
The City will reimburse Grantee's actual production costs in excess of sixty
(60) hours for each calendar quarter
B Government Access Facilities Government access facilities,
other than provided above by the Grantee shall be funded by the City from its
franchise fees and general funds, with contributions from other area
franchising authorities is appropriate under their respective franchises and
permitted by applicable law Funding shall not be financed by additional
charges to City resident subscribers
Section 6 4 Educational Access Services
A Except as otherwise provided herein, educational Access
facilities shall be funded by participating educational institutions Funding
for such educational facilities shall not be financed by additional charges to
City resident Subscribers except as otherwise provided herein
B Cable in the Classroom The Grantee has supported education
by providing its Cable in the Classroom program free of charge to local
schools In the event that the Cable in the Classroom program becomes
unavailable, and another comparable program provided by the cable industry
is available, Grantee shall provide such program to the public schools located
within the City
Section 6 5 PEG Channel Capacity
A Public Access, Educational Access, and Governmental Access
Channels Upon acceptance of this Franchise, Grantee shall provide one (1)
video Channel for PEG Programming Within six (6) months of acceptance,
Grantee shall provide not less than two (2) video channel for PEG
Programming to all Subscribers Said PEG Channels shall be used
exclusively for PEG programming Additional Public Access channels shall be
provided as set forth in Section 6 6
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Hardwire Returns No sooner than 60 days following completion
of the rebuild of the Cable System, the City may request, and the Grantee
shall provide, at no charge, a minimum of 3 hardwire returns to PEG access
origination points, as follows one return at Pasco City Hall, one return at
Columbia Basin College, and one return at a location mutually agreed upon
by the City and the Grantee The Grantee may elect to provide, at no charge,
the equivalent capacity on the cable system The City may request, at the
City's cost, additional hardwire returns
Section 6 6 Expansion of Access Channels Additional Access Channels, up
to a maximum of five (5), shall be made available when the existing Access
Channel(s) is used for Access purposes with Programming of any type during
fifty percent (50%) of the hours between 10 00 a m and 10 00 p m, during
any consecutive ten (10) week period Except for character-generated
announcements, the Programming of additional Channels required shall be
distinct and non-repetitive of the previous Channel Based upon this
criterion, the Grantee shall, within thirty (30) days following a request by the
City, provide another designated Access Channel for this purpose The City
shall have the right to designate whether each such additional Channel will
be utilized for public access, educational, or government programming The
requirements of this Section shall not become effective until six (6) months
from acceptance of this Franchise
Section 6 7 Access Channels on Basic Tier All Access Channels shall be
provided on the Basic Service tier of Cable Service offered by Grantee on its
Cable System
Section 6 8 Technical Quality Grantee shall maintain all upstream,
Downstream, and Access Channels and Interconnections of Access Channels
at the level of technical quality and reliability required by this Franchise and
all other applicable laws, rules, and regulations, or at the same level of
quality as comparable Subscriber Channels, whichever is higher
Section 6 9 Access and Local Programming Subject to 47 USC § 544(d), the
Grantee shall exercise no editorial control over any public, educational, or
governmental use of Channel capacity provided pursuant to this Article,
provided, however, that the Grantee may refuse to transmit any Public
Access program or portion of a Public Access program which contains
obscenity, indecency, or nudity, to the extent permitted by law
Article 7. General System Requirements
Section 7 1 Introduction The Cable System shall include facilities and
equipment that will deliver the levels of service described below The Cable
System shall be designed to facilitate expansion of coverage and services, to
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be upgradeable without significant impairment to working services or
rebuilding the cable infrastructure
Section 7 2 System Capacity and Features Within 6 months of acceptance of
this Franchise, the Grantee's system shall have the following capacity and
features Downstream Frequency Spectrum 54-450 Mhz Channel capacity
with at least 70 Channels, Upstream Frequency spectrum 5-53 Mhz
Channel capacity with at least 4 NTS C video Channels, or store and
forward technology using telephone lines
Section 7 3 Closed Channels The City reserves the right to require the
Grantee to provide a maximum of one (1) Closed Channel for City use at
City-owned facilities provided with Cable Services pursuant to Section 7 8
hereof Should the City desire to activate said Closed Channel, it shall
notify the Grantee in writing and designate the City facilities which shall
have access to the Close Channel Initially, the Grantee shall have 90 days
to activate the Closed Channel and furnish all equipment necessary for use
of the Closed Channel at designated facilities Thereafter, the Grantee shall
allow and coordinate use of the Closed Channels by the City with seventy
two (72) hours advance notice by the City The Grantee may utilize Access
Channels to meet the requirements of this Section
Section 7 4 Headend The Grantee's headend shall be housed in an
environmentally hardened building, with sufficient air conditioning and power
conditioning equipment for both short-term and long-term equipment
installation
Section 7 5 Future System Improvement
A Threshold If the City finds that the Grantee's system in
another Washington community or another system of similar Subscriber base
in Washington provides an improved or higher level of residential service or
operation (not including experimental services or operations), the Grantee
may be required by the City to improve its system to provide equivalent
service within thirty-six (36) months of notification No more than one (1)
such request may be made during the initial term of this Franchise and no
such request shall be made during the first three (3) years after the effective
date of this Franchise In the event that the City requires a system upgrade
under this Subsection, Grantee shall be entitled to an extension in the term
of this Franchise pursuant to Subsection C hereof
B Franchise Extension - Grantee Investment Any time while this
Franchise is in effect, the Grantee may give the City plans for system
improvements to maintain a high level of technical excellence The plans
must include the financial scope of the project, its duration, any specific
request for a franchise extension to realize a reasonable rate of return on
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the project The City may approve an extension of this Franchise, but a
voluntary system improvement does not obligate the City to do so, except
under the following circumstances an upgrade of the Cable System to 550
MHz shall entitle the Grantee to an automatic five (5) year extension of this
Franchise, and an upgrade of the Cable System to 750 MHz shall entitle the
Grantee to an automatic ten (10) year extension of this Franchise Provided,
however, that if the Grantee upgrades its Cable System to 550 MHz and later
upgrades to 750 MHz, Grantee shall only be entitled to a total extension of
ten (10) years
C Franchise Extension - City Requirements Except as provided in
Section 7 2 and Section 7 5(B), if the City requires the Grantee to improve its
system, this Franchise will be extended under the same terms and
conditions for ten (10) years or less, as determined by the City, after the
improvement is complete Notwithstanding any other provision of this
franchise, the extension will be long enough to realize a reasonable rate of
return, including a return on the investment on the project, and the parties
agree that all costs pursuant to this section may be passed through to
subscribers
D Institutional Network Grantee shall include, in any upgrade of
its Cable System under this Section, four (4) additional fibers to be reserved
for the Grantee's institutional network use, as described herein within the
City Upon request of the City, Grantee shall offer an Institutional Network
(I-Net) to the City for its non-commercial, governmental, closed circuit
communications according to the following terms and conditions
1 Grantee shall operate the I-Net independent of, or in
conjunction with the residential subscriber network for the purpose of
providing institutional services to the City and other government agencies,
schools, libraries, and other public agencies The network shall be an optical
fiber based I-Net that is managed by the Grantee Grantee shall have no
obligation to construct or operate an I-Net to provide institutional services
beyond installation of fiber capacity, unless and until the City contracts with
Grantee to provide services, providing the Grantee with a reasonable return
on investment Grantee shall charge the City the lowest competitive prices
for hardware and services delivered as compared to traditional
telecommunications providers Should the City request I-Net services from
Grantee prior to an upgrade of the Grantee's Cable System under this
Section, Grantee shall be obligated to provide a substantially equivalent
network to the City at the lowest competitive prices for hardware and
services delivered as compared to traditional telecommunications providers,
whether through an affiliate or otherwise
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2 Grantee shall not be required to provide any service if the
provision of such service subjects the Grantee to regulation by any
governmental agency as a utility or common carrier
Section 7 6 Emergency Alert System
A Subparagraph A in accordance with, and at the time required, by
47 CFR § 11 51, and as such provisions may from time-to-time be amended,
the Grantee shall install, if it has not already done so, and maintain an
Emergency Alert System (EAS) for use in transmitting emergency messages
as required by 47 CFR § 11 51
B The City shall permit only appropriately trained and authorized
persons to operate the EAS equipment and shall take reasonable precautions
to prevent any use of the Grantee's Cable System in any manner that results
in inappropriate use thereof, or any loss or damage to the cable system
Section 7 7 Leased Access The Grantee shall make Channels available for
leased or commercial use consistent with federal requirements
Section 7 8 Public Drops The Grantee shall provide without charge within
the franchise area one drop activated for Basic Service to each fire station,
public school, police station, public library, City Hall, and the City Public
Works shop The Grantee shall be permitted to recover, at the Grantee's
published rates, for any additional converters required and the Grantee's
direct cost of installing, when requested to do so, more than one outlet,
concealed inside wiring, or a service outlet requiring more than 125 feet of
drop cable Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit the City
and the Grantee from reaching an agreement whereby the Grantee would
bear the burden for all or a portion of the cost of installing any equipment
(including wiring) necessary to cablecast meetings of the Council All such
facilities shall be wired and activated within six (6) months of acceptance of
this Franchise
Section 7 9 Standby Power The Grantee shall maintain equipment capable
of providing a continuous source standby power for the Cable System for two
hours in the event of loss of commercial power The Grantee shall comply
with all safety regulations to prevent standby generators from powering the
"dead" utility line The Grantee shall make every effort to activate the
standby power within one hour of a service outage In no event shall the
Grantee delay activation of the standby power longer than three hours after
the power outage for any power outage occurring between 6 00 a m local time
and 10 00 p m local time Standby power shall be activated by 9 00 a m local
time for any power outage occurring between 10 00 p m local time and 6 00
a m local time
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Article 8. Upgrade and Extension Projects Specifications
Section 8 1 Introduction Any Cable System rebuild and upgrade project
shall be designed so as to minimize service interruptions and inconvenience
to Subscribers Subscribers in the City will be informed of the impending
upgrade and the benefits of the new system Grantee will maintain a local or
toll-free customer service phone number during the rebuild, so that
Subscribers may call with questions or complaints
Section 8 2 Cable System Rebuild Schedule The Grantee will complete any
upgrade rebuild of the Cable System in the City within the time-frames
established in a construction plan approved by the City, excluding delays
reasonably beyond the Grantee's control
Section 8 3 Component and System Tests Grantee will initially test all
active components before installation into the system System testing shall
be performed in accordance with Section 9 1 of this Franchise
Section 8 4 Service Cutover Process Grantee agrees to adopt the necessary
procedures to ensure minimal disruption of service to Subscribers when
activating and converting subscribers to the rebuilt system
Article 9. System Construction, Installation, and Maintenance
9 1 Construction and Maintenance Standards
A The Cable System constructed or maintained within the City
shall meet or exceed all technical standards consistent with this Franchise
and applicable federal statutes and regulations
B The Grantee shall maintain for inspection by the city, a copy of
the final report on each proof of performance test required by Part 76,
Subpart K, of the Rules and Regulations of the FCC Grantee shall notify
the City within 10 working days of completion of such reports and the
availability thereof If the FCC shall cease to require such tests, or if the
FCC's regulations do not apply pursuant to 47 CFR § 76 601(c), the Grantee
shall continue to conduct such tests at least once each calendar year (at
intervals not to exceed 14 months), shall provide notice to the City of the
availability of copies of each formal report within 10 working days of
completion of such reports, and shall maintain the resulting test data on file
at its local office for at least 5 years The City subsequently may require a
full report on any deficiencies as disclosed by the proof of performance test
within such reasonable period of time as it may designate
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C The City may require any other reasonable proof of performance
tests annually and/or within 90 days of the completion of the construction of
a new segment of the system or the upgrading or reconstruction of the
existing system The tests and verification shall be at the expense of the
Grantee
D The Grantee shall keep accurate maps and as-built diagrams for
all system equipment and components installed within the Public Ways The
Grantee shall submit to the City, as the City may request, a copy of strand
maps and charts
Section 9 2 Construction and Installation Work
A Before commencing any construction in, above, over across,
under, through or in any way connected with the Streets, Public Ways or
public places of the City, the Grantee shall first submit to the City Manager
its plan and design maps The Grantee may commence construction in
accordance with such maps upon written approval by the City Manager and
the Public Works Director and upon issuance of all permits and licenses
necessary to do the work, provided, however, that City approval shall not be
unreasonably withheld The Grantee shall give the City notice within a
reasonable time prior to the commencement of the proposed construction,
but in no event shall the notice be given less than 30 days before such
commencement unless waived by the City or unless shorter notice is
reasonably necessary Such construction shall be done under the
supervision of the Public Works Director
B The Grantee or any other person acting on its behalf shall not
obstruct, open, or otherwise disturb the surface of any Street, sidewalk,
driveway, Public Way or other public place for any purpose whatsoever
without obtaining the approval to do so after proceeding in the manner
prescribed above, provided, however, that minor construction of an emergency
nature may proceed upon oral approval from the Public Works Director
C Any obstruction, opening, or disturbance of any Street, sidewalk,
driveway, Public Way or other public place shall be properly guarded by
adequate barriers, lights, signals and warnings to prevent danger to any
person or vehicle The Grantee shall, at its own cost and expense, restore
and replace any property disturbed, damaged or any way injured by or on
account of its activities to as good condition as the property was in
immediately prior to the disturbance, damage, or injury If the Grantee fails
to comply with the requirements of this Subsection within 10 days following
written demand by the City, the City may cause such work to be done at the
Grantee's expense Nothing in this Subsection shall be interpreted to
preclude the Grantee from passing onto a Subscriber the actual construction
costs associated with providing cable drops of more than 125 feet
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,
D The Grantee shall maintain all wires, conduits, cables, and other
real and personal property and facilities in good condition, order and repair
All Cable System facilities shall be maintained so as to further, to the extent
reasonably possible, the objective of maintaining the aesthetic character of
the City The City, in its sole discretion, may determine whether the
Grantee has complied with this requirement If the Grantee fails to comply
with this requirement, the City may cause such work to be done at the
Grantee's expense
E The City shall have the right to inspect all construction and
installation work performed by the Grantee pursuant to this Franchise as it
shall find necessary to insure compliance with governing ordinances and this
Franchise
F All construction, installation and maintenance must comply with
the National Electrical Safety Code, the National Electrical Code as adopted
by the City, the Bell System Code of Pole Line Construction, all state and
local regulations, and good and accepted industry practices
G The City shall have the right to require the Grantee, upon
reasonable notice, to relocate at Franchisee's sole expense, any facility and
equipment to other available locations and in accordance with any
requirement imposed by the City
Section 9 3 Location of Structures, Lines and Equipment
A The Grantee shall utilize existing poles, conduits and other
facilities whenever possible, and shall not construct or install any new,
different, or additional poles, conduits, or other facilities whether on public
property or on privately owned property until approval of the property owner
or appropriate governmental authority is obtained Such approval shall not
be unreasonably withheld However, the location of any pole or wire-holding
structure by the Grantee shall not constitute a vested interest, and such
poles, structures, or facilities shall be removed, replaced or modified by the
Grantee at its own expense whenever the Council or other governmental
authority determines that the public interest so necessitates
B All transmission and distribution structures, lines, and
equipment installed by the Grantee within the City shall be located so 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 streets,
alleys or other public ways or places and where they will not interfere with
any gas, electric, telephone, water or other preexisting utility facility
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C In any area of the City in which there are no aerial utility
facilities other than antennas or other facilities required to remain above
ground in order to be functional, or in any public way in which all telephone,
electric power wires and cables have been placed underground, Grantee shall
not be permitted to erect poles or to run or suspend its cable facilities
thereon, but shall lay such wires, cables or other facilities underground in
the manner required by the City Grantee acknowledges and agrees that if
the City does not require the undergroundmg of its facilities at the time of
initial installation, the City may, at any time in the future, require the
conversion of Grantee's aerial facilities to underground installation at
Grantee's expense upon the provision of at least 180 days written notice In
new housing developments the Grantee shall install distribution cables at
the same time utility facilities are being installed if reasonably possible
Underground distribution cable shall, at all times, be installed and
maintained at a minimum depth of 18 inches
D All cables and wires or other work shall be installed parallel with
existing telephone and electric utility wires wherever possible However,
this provision does not relieve the Grantee of its obligation to place its lines
and installations underground as required by Subsection C of this Section
E Multiple configurations shall be in parallel arrangement and
bundled in accordance with engineering and safety considerations
F All poles and other fixtures in any Street or Public Way shall be
placed in accordance with the laws and regulations of the City subject to
provisions of Subsection C of this Section
G All transmission and distribution structures, lines and
equipment, including drop and feeder cable, shall be installed so as to
maintain the aesthetic character of the City
H The Grantee shall, at its own cost and expense, protect, support,
temporarily disconnect, relocate in the same Street or other public place, or
remove from the Street or other public place, any of its property when
required to do so by the City because of street or other public excavation,
construction, repair, regrading or grading, traffic conditions, installation of
sewers, drains or water pipes, City-owned power or signal lines, tracks,
vacation or relocation of streets or any other type of structure or
improvement of a public agency, or any other type of improvement necessary
for the public health, safety or welfare
I The City shall have the right, during the term of this Franchise,
to install and maintain free of charge upon the poles of the Grantee any wire
and pole fixtures and appurtenances that do not unreasonably interfere with
the operations of the Grantee
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J The Grantee shall provide to any available "one number locator
service," as defined by Chapter 19 122 RCW, RCW 19 122 020(13), a list of all
its underground facilities and equipment The Grantee shall, before
commencing excavation, provide notice of the scheduled commencement of
excavation through the one-number locator service if such a service is
available Provided, further, that prior to commencing any construction in
the public ways, the Grantee shall comply with all of the provisions
established by Chapter 19 122 RCW
K On request of any person who is authorized to perform work on
any Public Right-of-Way which has been used by the Grantee for erection of a
Cable System, the Grantee shall provide information regarding the type,
location, height, and other pertinent information of poles, conduits, and
other structures which the Grantee has placed on the Right-of-Way
Section 9 4 Replacement of Paving The Grantee at its own cost and expense
and in the manner approved by the City shall replace and restore all paving,
sidewalks, driveways, or surface of any Street or alley disturbed, in as good
condition as before the work was commenced and shall maintain the
restoration in an improved condition for a period of one year Failure of the
Grantee to replace or restore such paving, sidewalk, driveway or street
surface within 48 hours after completion of work shall authorize the City to
cause the proper restoration to be made at the Grantee's expense
Section 9 5 Moving of Buildings The Grantee shall, on the request of any
person holding a valid house-moving permit, temporarily raise or lower its
wires or cables to permit the moving of buildings or other large objects The
expense of such temporary raising or lowering of wires shall be paid by the
person making the request, and the Grantee shall have the authority to
require such payment in advance The Grantee shall be given not less than
48 hours advance notice to arrange for such temporary wire changes Any
interruption in service occasioned by this activity shall take place, as far as
is practicable, outside of prime time (7 00 p m to 11 00 p m local time)
Section 9 6 Trimming Trees The Grantee shall have the authonty to trim
trees on public property or which overhang streets, alleys, sidewalks and
public places of the City so as to prevent the branches of such trees from
coming in contact with wires and cables and other television conductors and
fixtures of the Grantee The City may require such trimming to be done
under its supervision and direction and at the expense of the Grantee
Section 9 7 Network Monitoring and Repair Following any upgrade of the
Cable System, Grantee shall monitor all power supplies and fiber nodes
utilizing the latest in status monitoring techniques to ensure a high , quality
of service and minimal response time to service interruptions
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Section 9 8 Spare Parts The Grantee shall have immediately available a
sufficient supply of spare parts to effect repairs in accordance with the
requirement of this Franchise
Section 9 9 Delays in Construction
A The following event shall take place upon failure by the Grantee
to complete, in timely fashion, any planned construction
1 Reduction of the term of a franchise by one month for each
month by which the construction was completed late This shall be
measured with respect to the date construction was due to be completed,
however, this provision shall not take effect until construction is three
months overdue
2 If construction is more than 12 months overdue, forfeiture
of the entire construction bond
3 If construction is more than 18 months overdue,
termination of the franchise
B If the Grantee is delayed at any time in the progress of
construction by the failure of the appropriate public utility company or
companies to diligently process pole attachment agreements or applications
or to make such poles ready for attachment, or the failure of the City or other
governmental authorities to diligently process applications for approval as
may be required in connection with the construction of the Cable System, or
by labor disputes, fire, unusual delays in transportation, inability of
franchisee to procure materials, act of God, war, riots, insurrection or any
causes beyond the Grantee's control, and which could not have been
reasonably anticipated, then a franchisee shall be allowed to petition the
Council for an extension of time to complete construction Such petitions
shall not be unreasonably denied by the Council If a petition is granted,
Subsection A of this Section shall not apply for that period of time by which
the Grantee was delayed by reason of events beyond its control
Section 9 10 Repair of Damages The Grantee, its successors and assigns
shall promptly repair any damage of every type and nature to City property or
City improvements caused by the failure or workmanship of the Grantee's
work during the life of this Franchise
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Article 10. System Operation
Section 10 1 Line and Service Extension
A The Grantee shall extend service into all portions of the City,
including previously unwired portions of the City, new developments and
subdivisions, and newly annexed territory with the following dwelling unit
densities (1) Areas in which the Franchisee is permitted to install its Cable
System above ground - twenty (20) aerial drop services per strand mile of
plant, and, (2) Areas in which the Franchisee is required to install its Cable
System underground - forty (40) drop services per strand mile of plant
B Unwired areas of the City meeting the density requirements set
forth in this Section shall be provided Cable Service within the following time
periods (1) Unwired areas of the City - within six (6) months of Franchise
acceptance, (2) Areas subsequently annexed to the City - within twelve (12)
months of the effective date of the annexation, and, (3) New developments -'
within sixty (60) days of initial occupancy
C In the event a request is made for service by a resident living in
an area not meeting the density criteria set forth in this Section, the
Franchisee shall make its best efforts to notify the City and seek its
assistance in identifying other interested residents in the area, and shall
enter into a contractual agreement with the residents requesting service
wherein the Franchisee shall be reimbursed for its actual construction costs
In such instance, upon request, but for no more than a three (3) year period,
the Franchisee shall make a pro rata refund, if and when additional dwellings
are serviced by the same distribution line
Section 10 2 Provision of Service The Grantee shall provide subscriber
service on the following basis
A The Grantee's operation of the Cable System shall be consistent
with the FCC customer service obligations set forth in 47 CFR 76 309, as said
standards currently exist or are hereafter amended To the extent that this
Franchise establishes a customer service obligation more stringent than the
FCC regulations, the more stringent provision contained within this
Franchise shall apply
B The Grantee shall not deny service, access, or otherwise
discriminate against any person, including Subscribers and users, on the
basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, or sex The Grantee shall
comply at all times with all other applicable federal, state, and local laws and
regulations
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C In providing service the Grantee shall
1 Operate an office within the Tr-Cities Area open during
normal business hours Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays as
set out in RCW 116 050
2 Provide a local toll-free telephone service capable of
receiving Subscriber service complaints, on a 7 days a week, 24 hours a day
basis
3 Provide service for new installations, reconnections, and
relocations within 7 business days of receipt of such requests
4 Establish a maintenance service capable of promptly
locating and correcting system malfunctions Service trucks shall be
equipped for voice communication with the Grantee's dispatcher In order to
permit a rapid response to any system-wide outage the Grantee shall have
service trucks available for emergency duty to repair system outages during
nonbusiness hours
5 Make every attempt to respond to Subscriber complaints
upon receipt, but in no case later than the next working day Subscriber
complaints, with the exception of service interruptions, shall be resolved
within 14 days The Grantee, whenever reasonably practicable, shall make
system repairs and testing (which would result in any interruption of service
to Subscribers) at times which will least affect typical Subscriber television
viewing habits, provided, however, the Grantee shall not be required to
conduct such system repairs and testing during nonbusiness hours
6 Restore service interruptions within 24 hours of learning of
the service interruption In those cases where service is not restored within
24 hours due to unusual circumstances, the reasons for the delay shall be
fully documented in a complaint log If after 24 hours, service is not restored
to a Subscriber, the Grantee shall, upon Subscriber request, provide a refund
or credit to such Subscriber as hereinafter set forth For each full 24-hour
period and subsequent fractions thereof, the refund or credit shall be in the
amount of one-thirtieth of the monthly charge for each tier of service and
each premium service which is unavailable to the Subscriber
7 A log of such complaints shall be maintained for inspection
by the City The log shall include the following information name of
complainant, nature of complaint, date and time received, disposition, and
time and date of disposition Such logs shall be maintained for a period of
not less than 2 years
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8 To the extent permitted by state and federal law, provide
the City, upon request, any information pertaining to specific Subscriber
complaints The Grantee shall keep a continuing record for at least 2 years
of all Subscriber complaints received by the Grantee The record shall
include, at a minimum, the following information name of complainant,
nature of complaint, date and time received, disposition, and time and date
of disposition This record shall be available for inspection by authorized
City representatives at the local office of the company during regular office
hours The Franchisee shall also comply with all requests by City officials to
deliver such record to the City for inspection Delivery shall be made to the
official(s) requesting such inspection
9 Assure that all closed caption programming retransmitted
by the Cable System includes the closed caption signal When the Grantee
provides a converter box to a household with a mobility limited Subscriber or
resident, the Grantee shall also provide a remote control device to such
Subscriber For hearing impaired customers, the Grantee shall provide
information concerning the cost and availability of equipment to facilitate the
reception of Basic Service for the hearing impaired
10 Within six (6) months of acceptance of this Franchise, have
TDD/TTY equipment, and/or its successor technology, at the company office,
and a local or toll-free telephone number listed on Subscriber bills, in local
telephone directories and with directory assistance for such equipment, that
will allow hearing impaired customers to contact the company
D As Subscribers are connected or reconnected to the Cable
System, the Grantee shall, by appropriate means such as a card or brochure,
furnish general Subscriber information (including, but not limited to, terms
of service and procedures for making inquiries or complaints, including the
name, address, and local telephone number of the employee or employees or
agent to whom such inquiries or complaints are to be addressed) and furnish
information concerning the City office responsible for the administration of
this Franchise, including the address of the office
E When similar complaints have been made by, a number of
Subscribers, or where other evidence exists which, in the judgment of the
City, casts doubt on the reliability or quality of the Cable Service, the City
shall have the right and authority to reasonably require that the Grantee
test, analyze, and report on the performance of the system The Grantee
shall fully cooperate with the City in performing such testing and shall
prepare a written report of the results, if requested, within 30 days after
notice Costs of such testing shall be borne by the Grantee
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F The City reserves the right to require the Grantee to furnish
quarterly reports related to the level and quality of customer service provided
via telephone to Subscribers The City shall provide a minimum 120 days
advance written notice prior to requiring such reports Said reports shall
contain, at a minimum, the following information (1) Number of calls
received per day, (2) Time taken to answer, (3) Average talk time, (4) Number
of calls abandoned by the caller, (5) Average hold time, (6) Percentage of time
all lines busy, (7) An explanation of any abnormalities, including the
exclusion of calls due to emergencies, and, (8) A comparison of the above-
referenced data with the applicable FCC Customer Service Standards
G Calls for service generated during a period of Cable System
outages due to an emergency affecting more than twenty-five (25) customers
may be excluded from the service response calculations The City shall
retain the right to require additional information, beyond that provided in the
Franchisee's quarterly report, on calls excluded from the service level
calculations
Section 10 3 Refunds and Service Terminations
A The Grantee shall establish and conform to the following policy
regarding refunds to Subscribers and users
1 The Grantee may only collect advance charges equal to the
charge for one month's service, and may not collect a deposit for use of
equipment greater than Grantee's cost of the equipment In the event the
Grantee assesses a deposit for use of equipment which is greater than
$50 00, the Grantee may only collect the deposit in 3 equal, monthly
installments If the Grantee collects a deposit or installment thereof or
advance charge on any service or equipment requested by a subscriber or
user, the Grantee shall provide such service or equipment within 30 days of
the collection of the deposit or installment thereof or charge or it shall
refund such deposit or installment thereof or charge within 5 business days
thereafter Nothing in this Section shall be construed
a To relieve the Grantee of any responsibility it may
have under separately executed contracts or agreements with Subscribers or
users,
b To limit the Grantee's liability for damages, if any,
because of its failure to provide the service for which the deposit or
installment thereof or charge was made
2 In the event that a Subscriber terminates service during
the first 12 months of service because of the failure of the Grantee to render
service substantially in accordance with the requirements set forth in this
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Franchise, the Grantee shall, upon written request, refund to such
Subscriber an amount equal to the initial installation or reconnection charge
paid by the Subscriber, provided, however, that nothing herein shall be
deemed to entitle the Subscriber to a refund of any other charges due the
Grantee for its Cable Service The Subscriber shall bear the burden of proof
in establishing that he is entitled to a refund of initial installation or
reconnection charges hereunder
3 In the event that a Subscriber terminating service because
of the failure of the Grantee to render service substantially in accordance
with the requirements set forth in this Franchise has made any additional
advance payment, the amount so advanced shall be refunded to such
subscriber within 30 days of service termination Nothing in this provision
shall be construed to relieve the Grantee of any liability established under
any other provisions of this Franchise
4 If a Subscriber decides to reinstate service, the Grantee
may impose a reconnection charge, such charge not to exceed the fee for a
new installation
B Residential Subscribers shall have the right to disconnect a
service installation or outlet at any time
Section 10 4 Service Area The Grantee shall offer full Cable Service to all
areas of the City, subject to Section 10 1 All dwelling units within the
franchise territory shall be offered service on the same terms and conditions,
provided, however, multiple family dwelling complexes, apartments or
condominiums may be served on a master-billed basis and, further, service
to motels, hotels, hospitals and similar businesses or institutions may be
offered on terms and conditions different from single resident Subscribers
Section 10 5 Protection of Privacy Protection of Subscriber privacy shall be
assured consistent with the provisions of 47 U S C § 551
Section 10 6 Continuity of Service
A Where the Grantee rebuilds, modifies or sells its system, it shall
ensure that all Subscribers receive continuous, uninterrupted service
regardless of the circumstances, unless otherwise authorized by the Council
The Grantee may receive permission for service interruptions of less than 24
hours from the City Manager
B As long as it is entitled to revenues from the operation of the
Cable System, the Grantee shall maintain continuity of service during any
temporary transition in the Franchise, including but not limited to the
following circumstances
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1 Revocation of the Franchise,
2 Nonrenewal of the Franchise, or
3 Transfer of the Cable System to the City or another entity
Section 10 7 Transitional Operation In the event the Grantee continues to
operate the system in a transitional period, with City acquiescence, following
the expiration, revocation or other termination of this Franchise, it shall be
bound by all the terms, conditions and obligations of this Franchise as if it
were in full force and effect The Guarantee shall cooperate with the City
and any subsequent franchisee in maintaining and transferring service
responsibility
Section 10 8 Equal Opportunity Employment Equal opportunity in
employment shall be afforded by the Grantee to all qualified persons, and no
person shall be discriminated against in employment because of race, color,
religion, national origin or sex The Grantee shall establish, maintain, and
carry out a positive, continuing program of specific practices designed to
assure equal opportunity in every aspect of company employment policy and
practice The Grantee shall comply with all federal, state and local equal
opportunity employment requirements and practices
Section 10 9 Additional Consumer Protection The City reserves the
authority to take any reasonable action to protect consumers of Cable
Services
Section 10 10 General Provisions
A Entire Agreement This Franchise contains all of the agreements
of the parties with respect to any matter covered or mentioned in this
Franchise and no prior or contemporaneous agreements or understandings
pertaining to any such matters shall be effective for any purpose No
provision of this Franchise may be amended or added to except by agreement
in writing signed by both of the parties
Attorney Fees If any suit or other action is instituted in
connection with any controversy arising under this Franchise, the prevailing
party shall be entitled to recover all of its costs and expenses including such
sum as the court may judge reasonable for attorneys fees, including fees
upon appeal of any judgment or ruling
Non-Waiver Failure of the City to declare any breach or default
immediately upon the occurrence thereof, or delay in taking any action in
connection with, shall not waive such breach or default, but the City shall
have the right to declare any such breach or default at any time Failure of
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the City to declare one breach or default does not act as a waiver of the
City's right to declare another breach or default
D Governing Law/Venue This Franchise shall be governed bY and
construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Washington The
venue and jurisdiction over any dispute related to this Franchise shall be
with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
or the Franklin County Superior Court, Pasco, Washington
E Authority Each individual executing this Franchise on behalf of
the City and the Guarantee represents and warrants that such individuals
are duly authorized to execute and deliver this Franchise on behalf of the
Franchisee or the City
F Notices Any notices required to be given shall be delivered to
the parties at the following addresses
Grantee
TCI of Washington
639 N Kellogg
Kennewick, WA 99336
Attn General Manager
with a copy to
TCI of Washington
P0 Box 91220
Bellevue, WA 98009-9220
Attn Legal Dept
City
City Manager
P0 Box 293
525 N Third Ave
Pasco, WA 99301
Notices may be delivered personally to the addressee or deposited in
the United States mail, postage prepaid, to the address set forth herein,
unless otherwise provided herein Notice deposited in the United States
mail shall be deemed received three (3) days after the date of mailing or upon
actual receipt, whichever occurs earlier
G Captions The respective captions of the Sections of this
Franchise are inserted for convenience of reference only and shall not be
deemed to modify or otherwise affect in any respect any of the provisions of
this Franchise
H Time of Essence Time is of the essence of this Franchise and
each and all of its provisions in which performance is a factor
-45-
ar es D Kilbury, ayor
Remedies Cumulative Any remedies provided for under the
terms of this Franchise are not intended to be exclusive but shall be
cumulative with all other remedies available to the City at law, in equity or
by statute
Superseding Effect This Franchise shall, as of its effective date,
supersede and replace all existing Franchises previously granted by the City
to the Franchisee or any of its predecessors, subsidiaries or affiliated
companies
Force Majeure See Section 3 5(B)
Section 3 Severability If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of
this ordinance should be held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of
competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect
the validity or constitutionality of any other section, sentence, clause or
phrase of this ordinance
Section 4 Effective Date This ordinance, being an exercise of a power
specifically delegated to the City legislative body, is not subject to
referendum, and shall take effect five (5) days after passage and publication
of an approved summary thereof consisting of the title
PASSED by the City Council of the City of Pasco at a regular meeting
this 45- day of June, 1998
ATTEST:
Catherine D Seaman, Deputy City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Leland B Kerr, City Attorney
PUBLISHED q6,\\°n;sa
EFFECTIVE DATE
-46-
SUMMARY OF ORDINANCE NO.
On the day of , 1998, the City Council of the
City of Pasco, Washington, passed Ordinance No A
summary of the content of said ordinance, consisting of the title, provides as
follows
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PASCO, WASHINGTON, RELATED
TO CABLE TELEVISION, REPEALING CITY OF PASCO ORDINANCE NO 2428
AND RESOLUTIONS NOS 1563 AND 1561, GRANTING A NON-EXCLUSIVE
CABLE TELEVISION FRANCHISE TO TCI OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY, INC
D/B/A TCI OF WASHINGTON, AND FIXING A DATE WHEN THE SAME
SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE
The full text of this Ordinance will be mailed upon request
DATED this day of , 1998
Catherine D Seaman, Deputy City Clerk
-47-
#0857 ORD NO 3304
013,kb
iSt%"111-- P 6 BOX 2108
PASCO, WASHINGTON 99302 2608
PHONE (509) 582 1500
162641, ADVEN''F1101100
INVOICE
DATE 06/21/98 LEGAL No #0857
ACCOUNT NO 1922
DESCRIPTION
TIMES 1 LINES 35
EGEHIE
JUL 0 6 1998
FIN ANCE EPT.
Mg DAY OF
SOLD TO CITY OF PASCO
LEGALS
PO BOX 293
PASCO WA 99301 7071alg 35 83
IXIOTOCE This Is an invoice for legal advertising space Please pay from this invoice as no statement will be rendered
Please detach at perforation and return with payment
AYFIRDAKY PUDE,OLMOO
DIANA L HUDON , being duly sworn,
deposes and says, I am the Legal Clerk of the Tri-City Herald, a
daily newspaper That said newspaper is a legal newspaper and
has been approved as a legal newspaper by order of the superior
court in the county in which it is published and it is now and has
been for more than six months prior to the date of the publication
hereinafter referred to, published countinually as a daily newspa-
per in Benton County, Washington That the attached is a true
copyofa #0857 ORD NO 3304 as it
was printed in the regular and entire issue of the Tr-City Herald
itself and not in a supplement thereof, 1 time(s),
commencing on 06/21/98 , and ending on
06/21/98 , and that said newspaper was regulary
distributed to its subscribers during all of this period
L44( AO Al /Ark
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN BEFORE ME THIS
Notary public on and for the State o Wash-
ington, residing at RICHLAND WA
08/15/2000 COMMISSION EXPIRES
COUNTY OF BENTON
SS
STATE OF WASHINGTON
SUMMARY OF
ORDINAN!..E NO. 3304
On the 15th day of June
1998 the City Council of
the City of Pasco
Washington passed Ordi-
nance No 3004 A sum-
mary of the content of said
ordinance consisting of the
title provides as follows
AN ORDINANCE OF THE
CITY OF PASCO
WASHINGTON RELATED,
TO CABLE TELEVISION I
REPEALING CITY OF
PASCO ORDINANCE NO
2428 AND RESOLUTIONS'
NOS 1563 AND 1561
GRANTING A NON-
EXCLUSIVE CABLE
TELEVISION FRANCHISE
TO TCI OF NORTHERN
NEW JERSEY INC D/B/A
TCI OF WASHINGTON
AND FIXING A DATE
WHEN THE SAME SHALL
BECOME EFFECTIVE
The full text of this Ordi-
nance will bc mailed upon
request
DATED this 16 day of June
1998
-s Catherine D Seaman
Deputy City CiSrk
#0857 - 6121/98