[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Dunellen 11-4-1996 by Ord. No. 096.15. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BOROUGH
The Borough of Dunellen.
PROVIDER
The person(s), firm(s), corporation(s) or other entities who own and/or operate any public telephone placed in the Borough sidewalks and any other entity responsible for its maintenance or operation.
PUBLIC TELEPHONE
Any self-service or coin-operated telephone available for use by the public and associated facilities, such as enclosures, pedestals, and cable, located in or over the surface of any Borough sidewalk.
SIDEWALKS
The public sidewalks, and other public rights-of-way dedicated to the Borough for public use for pedestrian use in the Borough.
No person, firm or corporation (unless otherwise expressly authorized to place its facilities in the sidewalks under applicable laws, regulations or ordinances) may place, maintain or operate any public telephone in, on or about the sidewalks of the Borough without having first obtained a permit from the Borough pursuant to this chapter.
Applications for such permits shall be made in the form specified by the Borough and shall be submitted to the Borough Administrator for approval. Such applications shall include the name and address of the applicant and other providers as defined above, the location for the public telephone(s) for which a permit is sought, a description of the public telephone, and such other information as shall be reasonably required by the Borough or its designated representative.
A. 
No public telephone shall be permitted to rest upon, in or over any sidewalk when such installation or use would be likely to:
(1) 
Unreasonably interfere with or endanger the health, safety or welfare of persons or property; or
(2) 
Unreasonably interfere with or impede the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic; or
(3) 
Unreasonably interfere with the ingress or egress from any building; or
(4) 
Unreasonably interfere with the use of traffic signs or signals, hydrants or mailboxes permitted at or near said location.
B. 
No public telephones shall be permitted within 1,000 feet of another public telephone.
A permit fee in the amount of $25 shall be submitted for each public telephone for which a permit is sought under this chapter. In lieu of such permit fee, the provider may pay the gross receipts and franchise taxes required under N.J.S.A. 54:30A-18 for such use of the sidewalks for placement of the public telephones, provided that such amount equals or exceeds the permit fee(s) that would otherwise be required.
All public telephones shall be installed, operated and maintained in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations. All public telephones shall be maintained in satisfactory working order and promptly repaired when required. Telephones shall permit emergency calls to be placed to the 911 emergency number and to be placed through operator assistance to the Police and Fire Departments. Current telephone rates for a local coin call shall be posted on the telephone or on the telephone booth if applicable. Toll rate quotations must be available from the operator upon request and shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations and with all applicable tariffs filed with the New Jersey Board of Regulatory Commissioners and Federal Communications Commission, and their successor agencies.
A. 
Each public telephone shall have affixed to it, in a place visible to everyone who uses the public telephone, the name of the provider(s) of the public telephone and the telephone number to report a malfunction, secure a refund, or to provide any notice provided for in this chapter.
B. 
Public telephones shall be placed, or otherwise secured, so as to prevent their being blown down or around the public sidewalk or other public areas, but shall not be chained or otherwise secured to any traffic or street signs, signals, hydrants or mailboxes.
C. 
Telephones shall be maintained in a neat and clean condition and in good repair at all times. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, every public telephone shall be serviced and maintained so that:
(1) 
It is not capable of receiving incoming calls.
(2) 
It is reasonably free of chipped, faded, peeling and cracked paint in the visible painted areas thereof.
(3) 
It is reasonably free of rust and corrosion in the visible unpainted metal areas thereon.
(4) 
Any clean plastic or glass parts are unbroken and reasonably free of cracks, dents, graffiti, blemishes and discolorations.
(5) 
Any paper or cardboard parts or inserts are reasonably free of tears, peeling or fading.
(6) 
The structural parts thereof are not broken or unduly misshapen.
(7) 
The telephone receiver is attached to the telephone.
D. 
Upon the written request of the Borough or the Police Chief acting on behalf of the Borough, the provider shall block incoming calls at any public telephone when the Borough certifies that receipt of incoming calls at that public telephone adversely impacts the Borough's law enforcement objectives.
The provider of any public telephone for which a permit has been granted under this chapter shall notify the Borough of any removal or relocation of such public telephone.
Installation of any public telephone without a permit in violation of this chapter shall subject the violator to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500. If any violation of this chapter is not corrected by the violator within 30 days of receipt of notice from the Borough of such violation, then the Borough may revoke the permit for such public telephone and require the public telephone to be immediately removed at the sole expense of the provider. If such public telephone is not immediately removed within 10 days of such written notice of revocation from the Borough, then such public telephone shall be subject to removal by the Borough without further notice, and the Borough shall have no liability whatsoever in connection with any such removal of such public telephone or any resulting loss or damage to such public telephone. Any such removal by the Borough shall be at the sole expense of the provider.
The provider of any public telephone located in the sidewalks shall indemnify and hold the Borough harmless from any claims and liabilities for bodily injuries or damage to real or tangible personal property caused by any dangerous condition of the provider's public telephone or by any negligent acts or omissions of the provider in connection with the installation or maintenance of its public telephones. In addition, the provider shall maintain in effect comprehensive general liability insurance in amounts not less than $500,000, with respect to such public telephones, at all times during which such public telephones are located within the sidewalks of the Borough, or the provider shall furnish to the Borough satisfactory evidence that it is self-insured in accordance with applicable laws and that it has sufficient resources satisfactory to the Borough to support such self-insurance program.
Public telephones installed prior to the effective date of this chapter shall be granted "grandfathered status," provided that the Borough receives a list of such public telephones within 90 days after the approval of this chapter from the location owner or the provider(s) of such public telephones. Permits shall not be required under this chapter for public telephones which are granted grandfathered status, but all other requirements of the chapter shall apply to such public telephones. The Borough will review all lists submitted for grandfathered status and reserves the right to reject any or all public telephones submitted for approval based upon their existing conformance to this chapter.