[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Municipality of Kingston as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
Adopted 9-14-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-4[1]]
[1]
This ordinance also superseded former Ch.
A186, Cable Television Franchise, adopted 1-7-1991 by Ord. No. 1991-1.
This ordinance shall be known and may be cited
as the "Cable Television Franchise Ordinance."
For the purpose of this ordinance, the following
terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning
given herein. When not consistent with the text, 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 always mandatory and not merely directory.
Any facility or group of facilities which, in whole or in
part, receives, modifies or originates television, FM radio or other
electrical signals for the purpose of transmitting or distributing
such signals by wire, cable or other means to subscribing members
of the public or to selected customers as herein contemplated.
Service Electric company.
The Municipal Council of Kingston.
The Municipality of Kingston.
Any person, firm, partnership, association, incorporation,
company or organization of any kind.
The Municipality hereby grants unto the company
the nonexclusive right and privilege to construct, erect, operate
and maintain within the boundaries of the Municipality, to the extent
granted by law, all component parts and facilities necessary and proper
for the operation of a cable television system within the jurisdiction
of the Municipality. The Municipality reserves the right and privilege
to grant other cable television franchises to competing companies
that might wish to operate such a service within the Municipality.
This grant shall be for a period of 15 years
from the effective date of this ordinance with option to renew the
same after full public proceeding affording due process, for an additional
ten-year period. Twelve months preceding the expiration of the initial
fifteen-year term, the Municipality shall have the right to renew
or extend the franchise or revoke the franchise for good cause and
invite new applications for the purpose of refranchising. In either
case, the Municipality shall renew, extend or revoke the franchise
only pursuant to a full public proceeding affording due process.
Company shall serve all residents of the Municipality
except to the extent that low household density, adverse terrain or
other factors render providing service impracticable or technically
or economically infeasible. Company's cable television system shall
not be required to be installed in, or extend to, areas of the Municipality
where potential revenues from subscribers to be served therein would
produce a return insufficient to justify economically such installation
or extension without limiting the generality of the foregoing, if
otherwise practicable and technically feasible:
A.Â
Service shall be provided at normal installation and
monthly service rates to an individual customer whose point of connection
is located within one hundred fifty (150) feet on in place cable distribution
cable;
B.Â
Company, at its cost, shall make an extension of its
cable system where the number of existing households per linear mile
of cable to be passed by the extension equals or exceeds the average
number of households passed per linear mile of existing cable plant
within the Municipality.
C.Â
In no event shall company be required to make an extension
where the number of existing households to be passed per mile is less
than 50; nor shall company be required to install or extend its cable
system in areas where it cannot obtain necessary rights-of-way over
private property at an economically feasible cost, or permission to
attach its facilities to public utility poles or conduits.
The company shall pay to the Municipality a
franchise fee of 5% of the gross basic and premium service offered
by the company. Said payments shall be made semiannually. The company
may add said franchise fee as a line item on a subscriber bill. Premium
cable service shall mean the furnishing of television programming
for which a per-channel charge is made additional to that for basic
cable television service. Municipality shall have audit rights to
review the gross receipts provided by company to verify said payments.
Customer will provide twenty-four-hour access
for customer service. Service appointments will be available during
a four-hour period in the morning and afternoon (9:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m.), Monday through Friday, if requested.
Company will use its best efforts to keep up
with and provide new technologies, including digital cable television
and data services during the life of this franchise.
The company shall, upon request, provide the
installation of one outlet and basic monthly service to the Municipal
building, each firehouse and police department free of charge.
Company will make a channel available for public,
educational, and governmental access.
All transmission and distribution structures,
lines and equipment erected by the company within the Municipality
shall be so located 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 of reasonable convenience of
property owners who adjoin any of the said streets, alleys or other
public ways and places. The company shall obtain any required permits
prior to construction.
The company shall, at all times during the life
of this franchise, be subject to all lawful exercise of the police
power by the Municipality.
A.Â
The company shall save the Municipality harmless from
all loss sustained in account of any suit, judgment, execution, claim
or demand whatsoever, resulting from the operations of the company
in the construction, operation or maintenance of its system in the
Municipality.
B.Â
The Municipality shall notify the company, within
10 days after the presentation of any claim or demand, either by suit
or otherwise made against the Municipality on account of any damages
or losses as aforesaid resulting from the operations of the company.
Thirty days from the enactment of this ordinance, upon request, the
company shall furnish satisfactory evidence in writing that it has
in force public liability insurance of not less than $1,000,000 for
any one person and $1,000,000 for any one accident and property damage
insurance of not less than $1,000,000 duly issued by an insurance
company or insurance companies authorized to do business in this commonwealth.
The company shall maintain all parts of the
system in good working condition and in compliance with the rules
and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission.
The Municipality shall have the right to rescind
or revoke the rights granted upon any substantial violation by company
or its assignees of any of the obligations and requirements contained
herein after written notice by the Municipality to the company or
its assignees.
If the company shall decide to exercise the
rights and privileges set forth in this ordinance, it shall file in
writing its unequivocal acceptance of all of the terms and provisions
hereof with the Municipality within 30 days of the final adoption
of this ordinance. Such acceptance shall constitute an agreement on
the part of the company to comply with all of the terms, conditions
and provisions of this ordinance.
A.Â
No landlord shall demand or accept payment from company
for permitting company to provide cable television service on or within
said landlord's property or premises; provided, however, that such
landlord may be entitled to reasonable reimbursements for any direct
expenses incurred by him in connection with the installation of cable
television service.
B.Â
No landlord shall interfere with the installation
of cable television facilities upon his property or premises, nor
shall landlord discriminate in rental charges, or otherwise, between
tenants who receive cable service and those who do not. No landlord
shall demand or accept payment from any tenant, in any form, for permitting
cable television on or within his property or premises.
No person, whether or not a subscriber to the
cable system, shall willfully, maliciously or otherwise damage or
cause to be damaged any wire, cable, conduit, apparatus, appurtenances
or equipment of company operating a cable television system within
the Municipality, or commit any act with intent to cause such damage,
or to tap, tamper with or otherwise connect any wire or device to
a wire, cable, conduit, apparatus or equipment of such Franchise with
the intent to obtain a signal or impulse from the cable system without
authorization from or compensation to such company, or to obtain cable
television or other communications service with intent to cheat or
defraud said company of any lawful charge to which it is entitled.
The company shall assume the cost of publication
of this ordinance as such publication is required by law and shall
pay the same upon demand by the Municipality.
The agreement or privileges granted hereunder
shall be fully and freely assignable, but no assignment to any person,
firm or corporation shall be effective until the assignee has filed
with the governing body of the Municipality an instrument duly executed,
reciting the fact of such assignment, accepting the terms of this
franchise and agreeing to be bound by said terms.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause,
phrase or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid
or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion
shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and
such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions
of this ordinance.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict
with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed.
This ordinance shall become effective 30 days
following its publication date pursuant to Kingston Charter Section
213.
[Adopted 2-4-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-1]
The Municipality hereby grants unto Comcast of Colorado/Pennsylvania/West
Virginia, LLC (the company) the nonexclusive right and privilege to
construct, erect, operate and maintain within the boundaries of the
Municipality, to the extent granted by law, all component parts and
facilities necessary and proper for the operation of a cable television
system within the jurisdiction of the Municipality. The Municipality
reserves the right and privilege to grant other cable television franchises
to competing companies that might wish to operate such a service within
the Municipality.
This grant shall be for a period of 10 years from the effective
date of this ordinance. Extensions thereof shall be governed by and
comply with the provisions of Section 626 of the Cable Act (47 U.S.C.
§ 546, as amended).
The company shall pay to the Municipality a franchise fee of
5% of annual gross revenues received from the operation of the cable
system to provide cable service in the franchise area.
The company shall comply with all terms and conditions of the
adopted franchise agreement.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion
of this ordinance is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional
by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed
a separate, distinct and independent provision, and such holding shall
not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance.
This ordinance shall become effective 30 days following its
publication date pursuant to Kingston Charter Section 213.
