[Ord. No. 1989, Sec. 4]
That Cablevision of Texas, his successors, lessees and assigns, hereinafter called the Franchisee, be and are hereby granted the non-exclusive right and/or franchise to furnish direct wire reception of television programs to the citizens and residents of the City of Lincoln, Washington County, Arkansas, by the means of the establishment of a master antenna, utilizing a master control unit and amplifier and relaying the television signals into the individual television reception sets for a period of 15 years of the effective date of this ordinance. The Franchisee, is further given the right to erect and maintain such poles, wires, fixtures and other appurtenances upon the streets, avenues, alleys, roads, highways and easements and other public places of the City, as may be necessary and convenient for its business as a supplier of a community television signal for the City of Lincoln and the public in general and to use and occupy for its television cables, the streets, alleys, avenues, highways, roads and other public places within the said municipality for the purpose of erecting, constructing, laying, owning, leasing or otherwise repairing, maintaining and operating such systems, with all such right and use to be and continue on the conditions and terms as stated herein, using existing or hereafter erected utility poles may be used, with the permission of the owners thereof (subject to other restrictions imposed hereinafter) and providing further that the Franchisee shall run his cable underground where feasible, the right to trench, bore or plow cable across any or under any City streets, avenues, alleys, roads, highways and easements and other public places provided, however, that the Franchisee shall, at his own expense, make reasonable repairs to the area of any streets damaged by trenching, boring or plowing as are required by the Street Superintendent of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas. [Ord. No. 1987-5, Sec. 2]
The City hereby grants its consent to: (a) the assignment of the Franchise from Seller to Buyer; (b) any collateral assignment of the franchise by the Buyer to any of its lenders; and (c) any pledge of the assets of the cable communications system by the Buyer to any of Buyer's lenders. [Ord. No. 1989-2, Sec. 1]
The City hereby confirms that: (a) the Franchise was properly granted to Cablevision of Texas, a limited partnership; (b) the Franchise is in accordance with all state and local, laws; (c) the Franchise is validly existing and in full force and effect, having been duly and validly extended pursuant to the option to renew granted to Seller therein; and (d) there exists no fact or circumstance which constitutes or which, with the passage of time or the giving of notice or both, would constitute a default under the Franchise or permit the City to cancel or terminate the rights thereunder, except upon the expiration of the full term thereof. [Ord. No. 1989-2, Sec. 1]
This ordinance is expressly conditioned upon the unconditional closing of that certain Asset Purchase Agreement by and between Buyer and Seller pursuant to which the Buyer is to acquire the Franchise from Seller and shall become effective upon written notice from Buyer that the closing has been consummated. No further action or notice shall be required to effect the transfer of the Franchise to Buyer. [Ord. No. 1989, Sec. 3]
Except as hereby modified, the Franchise is in all other respects ratified and confirmed and all of the terms and conditions thereof shall remain in full force and effect.
[Ord. No. 230, Sec. 2]
The said poles, cables and wires shall be placed and maintained so as not to interfere with travel or use of such streets, alleys, avenues, roads, highways or other public places of the City and the Franchisee shall hold the City free and harmless from damages arising from any abuse or negligence arising as a consequence of the operation of the said franchise. The said fixtures and wires shall be placed so as not to interfere with the flow of water in any sewer, drain or gutter or with any gas or water pipe lines and this grant is made and is to be enjoyed subject to any reasonable regulations and ordinances in exercise of its police power that the City may from time to time adopt or enact.
[Ord. No. 230, Sec. 3]
A. 
The franchisee is hereby granted the authority, right and privilege to set, control and regulate fees for such services to individual customers and users during the period set forth in § 4.16.01 of this ordinance, provided, however, that the rates shall not exceed the following schedule:
1.
Basic monthly service rate
$7.50
2.
FM Radio Service (without basic service)
$6.75
3.
Additional TV outlets
$1 each
4.
Additional FM or FM Stereo connections
$1 each
5.
Connection Fee
$10
6.
Relocation Fee
$10
7.
Reconnection Fee
$10
B. 
As a further condition, the City Council, recognizing that the Franchisee may from time to time extend Cablevision of Texas outside the corporate limits of the City of Lincoln, hereby declares that in no event shall such service outside the corporate limits of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas, be furnished for a monthly or annual rate of less than 120% of the same service inside the corporate limits of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas.
[Ord. No. 230, Sec. 4]
The Franchisee is hereby granted an option to renew his non-exclusive right and franchise at the end of the fifteen-year period referred to in § 4.16.01 of this ordinance. In the event the Franchisee shall elect to exercise the said option, the terms thereof shall be subject to total re-negotiation. In the event that the Franchisee makes such election, the Franchisee shall submit notice in writing to the City Council of Lincoln, Arkansas, 60 days prior to the expiration date of the franchise granted hereby, within 10 days thereafter, the City Council, acting through the Mayor or on its own, shall set a public hearing date at which time persons served by the service will be requested to submit statements regarding the quality of service and the advisability of extending the franchise for a second period. Notice of the public hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City at least one time prior to the date of the public hearing. In the event that the Franchisee elects to exercise the option, the additional terms or provisions of the new franchise may be modified in whatever manner is consistent with the best interests of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas.
[Ord. No. 230, Sec. 5]
A. 
As a special condition of the franchise granted herein, the Franchisee shall maintain, during the life of the franchise granted hereby, liability insurance providing a total maximum coverage for any single accident or occurrence in the amount of $300,000.
B. 
As a special condition of the franchise granted hereby, the Franchisee shall furnish for its customers within the service area broadcasting by the Arkansas Education Channel, as soon as the signal from the channel becomes available.
C. 
The Franchisee shall be subject to minimum construction requirements and standards set forth in the National Electrical Code and in the Southern Building Code, and all such appurtenances and structures constructed in connection with the implementation of this franchise shall be subject to provisions of the Building Code ordinance.
D. 
As a special condition of the franchise granted hereby, when providing cable service, the Franchisee shall install underground cable in the alleys in all areas where the City has a platted, public alley. As a further condition hereof, the Franchisee shall install underground cable as opposed to aerial wire in all other areas of the City where it is practical and feasible to install the underground cable.
E. 
As a special condition of the franchise granted hereby, the original Franchisee shall not assign the franchise or any rights vested in him thereby to any person, firm, corporation or association without giving the City Council of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas, 60 days' notice in writing of the proposed conveyance or transfer. Upon proper investigation, the City Council may approve or disapprove the proposed successor and in the event of disapproval, the franchise is hereby and shall be thereby revoked.
[Ord. No. 04-17, Sec. 2]
A. 
The franchise, or privilege tax for a period of the 15 years set forth in § 4.16.01 of this ordinance shall be 4.25% of gross revenues derived from the service and maintenance charges collected on services rendered within the corporate limits of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas, and areas served by the Community Antenna Television Service located in and serving the City of Lincoln, Arkansas.
[Ord. No. 01-3, Sec. 3]
B. 
Each year during the operation of this franchise, the Franchisee shall, within 30 days after each anniversary date of the adoption of this ordinance, furnish a financial statement to the City Council by mailing the same by ordinary mail to the Recorder/Treasurer of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas. The annual financial statement shall show gross receipts, operating expenses, net profit, miles of cable, value of equipment and facilities owned by the Franchisee, and any other financial information which is customary according to ordinary accounting principles.
[Ord. No. 230, Sec. 6]
C. 
The Franchise, Ord. No. 94-10 passed and approved August 8, 1994, and as amended under this ordinance, is hereby extended for an additional 10 years, commencing on the 1st day of October 1, 2004, and ending on the 30th day of September, 2014, except that the Franchise shall automatically renew for successive ten-year terms, unless written notification to negotiate new terms is provided by either party at least 180 days prior to the Franchise expiration date, and any extended expiration date(s).
[Ord. No. 04-17, Sec. 1]
D. 
In reference to Ord. No. 94-10, Section XII A. Franchise Fee, and as amended by Ord. No. 01-3, the franchise fee percentage may be adjusted by the City of Lincoln, Arkansas, at any time, but may not exceed the amount allowable by state law or federal regulations. And that, written notice of any adjustment in the franchise fee percentage must be provided to Cox, not less than 120 days prior to the effective date of such change.
[Ord. No. 230, Sec. 7]
A. 
The grant to the Franchisee to commence to dig, bore and hang wire within the corporate limits of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas is not operative until such time as the Franchisee submits to the City Council of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas, a development plan proposal. The development plan proposal shall be a simple drawing showing which areas of the City are intended to be served with particular services and the procedure set forth in this section is not designed or intended to deprive the Franchisee of the rights granted hereunder, but to assure that plans of the Franchisee shall be coordinated with the administrative and legislative policies of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas.
B. 
The City Council hereby directs further that once the initial phase of construction has been completed, any expansion of the system must first be submitted in a subsequent development plan to the City Council of Lincoln, Arkansas and such expansion must be coordinated by the administrative and legislative policies of the City of Lincoln, Arkansas. When the original development plan has been approved by resolution of the City Council, all rights granted by this franchise shall be fully vested. Expansions of the system which services the City of Lincoln, Arkansas and for which a development plan is prepared and submitted must also be approved by the City Council of Lincoln, Arkansas by resolution.
[Ord. No. 230, Sec. 8]
In the event that the Federal Communications Commission or any other federal or state agency assumes jurisdiction over the operation of Community Antenna Television Services and adopts, imposes or promulgates rules which are in conflict with any rule or provision of this ordinance, the ordinance may be changed by the City Council to remove those inconsistencies without jeopardizing the rights of any person affected by this ordinance.