[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Washington 2-5-2002 by Ord. No. 6-2002[1]; amended in its entirety 7-20-2010 by Ord. No. 9-2010.
Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 75.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance superseded former Ch. A96,
Cable Television Franchises, adopted 12-27-1979 by Ord. No. 20-79.
The Borough hereby grants to Comcast of Northwest New Jersey,
LLC., renewal of its nonexclusive municipal consent to place in, upon,
across, above, over and under highways, streets, alleys, sidewalks,
easements, public ways and public places in the Borough poles, wires,
cables, underground conduits, manholes and other television conductors,
fixtures, apparatus and equipment as may be necessary for the construction,
operation and maintenance in the Borough of a cable television and
communications system.
For the purpose of this ordinance, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein.
Such meaning or definition of terms is supplemental to those definitions
of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and regulations,
47 CFR Subsection 76.1 et seq., and the Cable Communications Policy
Act, 47 U.S.C. § 521 et seq., as amended, and the Cable
Television Act, N.J.S.A. 48:5A-1 et seq., and shall in no way be construed
to broaden, alter or conflict with the federal and state definitions:
Chapter 186 of the General Laws of New Jersey, and subsequent
amendments thereto, N.J.S.A. 48:5A-1 et seq.
Any service tier which includes the retransmission of local
television broadcast signals as defined by the FCC.
The Board of Public Utilities, State of New Jersey.
The grantee of rights under this ordinance and is known as
"Comcast of Northwest New Jersey, LLC."
The Federal Communications Commission.
The Borough of Washington, County of Warren, State of New
Jersey.
The Office of Cable Television of the Board.
Public hearings conducted by the Borough concerning the renewal
of municipal consent herein granted to the company were held after
proper public notice pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Act
and the regulations of the Board adopted pursuant thereto. Said hearings,
having been fully open to the public, and the Borough, having received
at said public hearings all comments regarding the qualifications
of the company to receive this renewal of municipal consent, the Borough
hereby finds that the company possesses the necessary legal, technical,
character, financial and other qualifications and that the company's
operating and construction arrangements are adequate and feasible.
A.
The nonexclusive municipal consent granted herein shall expire 15
years from the date of expiration of the previous certificate of approval
issued by the Board.
B.
In the event that the municipality shall find that the company has
not substantially complied with the material terms and conditions
of this ordinance, the municipality shall have the right to petition
the OCTV for appropriate action, including modification and/or termination
of the certificate of approval; provided, however, that the municipality
shall first have given the company written notice of all alleged instances
of noncompliance and an opportunity to cure same within 90 days of
that notification.
Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Act, the company
shall, during each year of operation under the consent granted herein,
pay to the Borough 2% of the gross revenues from all recurring charges
in the nature of subscription fees paid by subscribers for cable television
reception service in the Borough or any higher amount required by
the Act or otherwise allowable by law, whichever is greater.
The consent granted under this ordinance to the renewal of the
franchise shall apply to the entirety of the Borough and any property
subsequently annexed hereto.
The company shall be required to proffer service to any residence
or business along any public right-of-way in the primary service area,
as set forth in the company's application. The company's
line extension policy, as set forth in the company's application,
shall govern any extension of plant beyond the primary service area.
A.
Restoration. In the event that the company or its agents shall disturb
any pavement, street surfaces, sidewalks, driveways, or other surface
in the natural topography, the company shall, at its sole expense,
restore and replace such places or things so disturbed in as good
a condition as existed prior to the commencement of said work.
B.
Relocation. If at any time during the period of this consent the
municipality shall alter or change the grade of any street, alley
or other way or place, the company, upon reasonable notice by the
municipality, shall remove, re-lay or relocate its equipment at the
expense of the company.
C.
Temporary removal of cables. The company shall, upon request of the
municipality at the company's expense, temporarily raise, lower,
or remove its lines in order to facilitate the moving of buildings
or machinery or in other like circumstances. Whenever the request
is made by, for, or on behalf of private parties, the cost will be
borne by those same parties.
D.
Removal or trimming of trees. During the exercise of its rights and
privileges under this franchise, the company shall have the authority
to trim trees upon and overhanging streets, alleys, sidewalks or other
public places of the municipality so as to prevent the branches of
such trees from coming in contact with the wires and cable of the
company. Such trimming shall be only to the extent necessary to maintain
proper clearance of the company's wire and cables.
In providing services to its customers, the company shall comply
with N.J.A.C. 14:18-1 et seq., and all applicable state and federal
statutes and regulations. The company shall strive to meet or exceed
all voluntary company and industry standards in the delivery of customer
service and shall be prepared to report on it to the community upon
written request of the Borough Manager or Clerk.
A.
The company shall comply fully with all applicable state and federal
statues and regulations regarding credits for outages, the reporting
of same to regulatory agencies and notification of same to customers.
B.
The company shall comply fully with all applicable state and federal
statues and regulations regarding the availability of devices for
the hearing impaired and the notification of same to customers.
C.
The company shall use every effort to meet or exceed voluntary standards
for telephone accessibility developed by the National Cable Television
Association (NCTA). Those standards shall include, but not be limited
to, the goal of answering 80% of incoming telephone calls within 30
seconds.
D.
Nothing herein shall impair the right of any subscriber or the municipality
to express any comment with respect to telephone accessibility to
the complaint officer or impair the right of the complaint officer
to take any action that is appropriate under law.
E.
The company is permitted, but is not required to, charge a late fee
consistent with applicable state and federal statutes and regulations.
The Office of Cable Television is hereby designated as the complaint
officer for the municipality pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:5A-26b. All complaints
shall be received and processed in accordance with N.J.A.C. 14:17-6.5.
The municipality shall have the right to request copies of records
and reports pertaining to complaints by Borough customers from the
OCTV.
A.
During the term of this franchise, and any renewal thereof, the company
shall maintain a local business office or agent for the purpose of
receiving, investigating and resolving all complaints regarding the
quality of service, equipment malfunctions and similar matters. Such
local business office shall be open during normal business hours and
in no event less than 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Telephone access and response for such purposes as mentioned herein
will be provided by the company's employees, representatives
or agents 24 hours per day.
B.
The telephone number and address of the local office shall be listed
in applicable telephone directories and in correspondence from the
company to the customer. The telephone number for the local office
shall utilize an exchange that is a non-toll call for Borough residents.
During the life of the franchise, the company shall give to
the municipality a bond in the amount of $25,000. Such bond shall
be to insure the faithful performance of all undertakings of the company
as represented in its application for municipal consent incorporated
herein.
The rates of the company shall be subject to regulation as permitted
by federal and state law.
A.
The company shall continue to provide residents with system-wide
public access opportunities on a channel maintained by the company.
Qualified individuals and organizations may utilize public access
for the purpose of cablecasting noncommercial access programming in
conformance with the company's published public access rules.
B.
The company shall continue to provide system-wide leased or commercial
access channel opportunities on a channel maintained by the company
for the purpose of cablecasting commercial access programming in conformance
with the company's guideline and applicable state and federal
statutes and regulations.
C.
The company shall take any steps that are necessary to ensure that
the signals originated on the access channels are carried without
material degradation and with a signal whose quality is equal to that
of the other channels that the company transmits.
A.
Company representatives shall appear at least once annually, upon
reasonable written request of the Borough, at a public hearing of
the governing body or before the Borough's Cable Television Advisory
Committee, to discuss matters pertaining to the provision of cable
service to residents of the Borough and other related issues as the
Borough and company may see fit.
B.
The company shall continue to provide a free standard cable installation
with free basic service to each current and future elementary, middle
and secondary school classroom in the Borough, provided the school
is within 200 feet of active cable distribution plant. Each additional
outlet installed, if any, shall be paid for on a materials and equipment
plus labor basis by the school requesting service. Monthly service
charges shall be waived on all additional outlets.
C.
The company shall provide one free non-networked Internet connection
and service via high-speed cable modem to the Public Library and all
elementary, middle and secondary school libraries and computer labs;
connections are to be accessible for student use and cannot be restricted
to administrative use. All facilities must be located within 200 feet
of active cable distribution plant.
D.
The company shall provide one free standard installation with free
basic service to the Municipal Building and each fire department,
first aid squad, library, Special Improvement District (S.I.D.) Main
Office and Public Works Building, as well as any other municipal-owned
building that is located in or may be constructed within the Borough
throughout the duration of this agreement, provided that each facility
is located within 200 feet of active cable distribution plant. Each
additional outlet installed, if any, shall be paid for on a materials
and equipment plus labor basis by the municipality. Monthly service
charges shall be waived on all additional outlets.
E.
Within 12 months of the issuance of a certificate of approval (COA)
by the Office of Cable Television, the company shall provide to the
municipality a one-time grant of $25,000 for access support.
A.
The company shall be required to fully comply with all applicable
federal and state statutes and regulations, rules and regulations
governing the implementation, operation and testing of the emergency
alert system (EAS).
B.
The company shall in no way be held liable for any injury suffered
by the municipality or any other person during an emergency, if for
any reason the municipality is unable to make full use of the cable
television system as contemplated herein.
The company shall at all times maintain a comprehensive general
liability insurance policy with a single limit amount of $1,000,000
covering liability for any death, personal injury, property damages
or other liability arising out of its construction and operation of
the cable television system and an excess liability (or "umbrella")
policy in the amount of $5,000,000.
All of the commitments and statements contained in the application
and any amendment thereto submitted in writing to the municipality
by the company, except as modified herein, are binding upon the company
as terms and conditions of this municipal consent. The application
and any other relevant writings submitted by the company shall be
considered a part of this ordinance and made a part hereof by reference
as long as it does not conflict with state or federal law. All ordinances
or parts of ordinances or other agreements between the Borough and
the company that are in conflict with the provisions of this agreement
are hereby declared invalid and superseded.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion
of this ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional
by any court or federal or state agency of competent jurisdiction,
such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent
provision, and its validity or unconstitutionality shall not affect
the validity of the remaining portions of the ordinance.
This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon issuance of
a renewal certificate of approval from the BPU.
