A. 
The grantee shall pay the franchising authority a franchise fee equal to 5% of gross revenues (as defined in § A205-2 of this franchise) received by the grantee from the operation of the cable system to provide cable services on an annual basis; provided, however, that gross revenues shall not include:
(1) 
Any tax, fee or assessment of any kind imposed by the franchising authority or other governmental entity on a cable operator, or subscriber, or both, solely because of their status as such;
(2) 
Any tax, fee or assessment of general applicability which is unduly discriminatory against cable operators or subscribers (including any such tax, fee or assessment imposed, both on utilities and cable operators and their services); and
(3) 
Any other special tax, assessment or fee such as a business, occupation and entertainment tax. For the purpose of this section, the twelve-month period applicable under the franchise for the computation of the franchise fee shall be a calendar year, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the franchising authority and the grantee. The franchise fee payment shall be due and payable in 90 days after the close of the preceding calendar year. Each payment shall be accompanied by a brief report from a representative of the grantee showing the basis for the computation.
B. 
Limitation on franchise fee actions. The period of limitation for recovery of any franchise fee payable hereunder shall be three years from the date on which payment by the grantee is due. Unless the franchising authority initiates a lawsuit for recovery of such franchise fees in a court of competent jurisdiction, within three years from and after such payment due date, such recovery shall be barred and the franchising authority shall be stopped from asserting any claims whatsoever against the grantee relating to any such alleged deficiencies.
The franchising authority may regulate rates for the provision of basic cable and equipment as expressly permitted by applicable law.
A. 
The franchising authority and the grantee agree that any proceedings undertaken by the franchising authority that relate to the renewal of the grantee's franchise shall be governed by and comply with the provisions of Section 626 of the Cable Act, as amended, unless the procedures and substantive protections set forth therein shall be deemed to be preempted and superseded by the provisions of any subsequent provision of federal or state law.
B. 
In addition to the procedures set forth in said Section 626(a), the franchising authority agrees to notify the grantee of all of its assessments regarding the identity of future cable-related community needs and interests, as well as the past performance of the grantee under the then current franchise term. The franchising authority further agrees that such a preliminary assessment shall be provided to the grantee promptly so that the grantee has adequate time to submit a proposal under Section 626(b) of the Cable Act and complete renewal of the franchise prior to expiration of its term. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in this section, the grantee and the franchising authority agree that at any time during the term of the then current franchise, while affording the public appropriate notice and opportunity to comment, the franchising authority and the grantee may agree to undertake and finalize informal negotiations regarding renewal of the then current franchise and the franchising authority may grant a renewal thereof. The grantee and the franchising authority consider the terms set forth in this section to be consistent with the express provisions of Section 626 of the Cable Act.
A. 
If a renewal or extension of the grantee's franchise is denied or the franchise is lawfully terminated, and the franchising authority either lawfully acquires ownership of the cable system or by its actions lawfully effects a transfer of ownership of the cable system to another party, any such acquisition or transfer shall be at the price determined pursuant to the provisions set forth in Section 627 of the Cable Act.
B. 
The grantee and the franchising authority agree that in the case of a final determination of a lawful revocation of the 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. The franchising authority further agrees that during such a period of time, it shall authorize the grantee to continue to operate pursuant to the terms of its prior franchise; however, in no event shall such authorization exceed a period of time greater than six months from the effective date of such revocation. If, at the end of that time the grantee is unsuccessful in procuring a qualified transferee or assignee of its cable system which is reasonably acceptable to the franchising authority, the grantee and the franchising authority may avail themselves of any rights they may have pursuant to federal or state law; it being further agreed that the grantee's continued operation of its cable system during the six-month period shall not be deemed to be a waiver, nor an extinguishment of, any rights of either the franchising authority or the grantee.
The grantee's right, title or interest in the franchise shall not be sold, transferred, assigned or otherwise encumbered, other than to an entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the grantee, without the prior consent of the franchising authority, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld. No such consent shall be required, however, for a transfer in trust, by mortgage, by other hypothecation, or by assignment of any rights, title or interest of the grantee in the franchise or cable system in order to secure indebtedness. Within 30 days of receiving the request for transfer, the franchising authority shall, in accordance with FCC rules and regulations, notify the grantee in writing of the information it requires to determine the legal, financial and technical qualifications of the transferee. If the franchising authority has not taken action on the grantee's request for transfer within 120 days after receiving such request, consent by the franchising authority shall be deemed given.