[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Board of the Charter Township
of Midland 1-19-1972 by Ord. No.
15. Amendments noted where applicable.]
For the purposes of this chapter the following terms, phrases,
words, and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein.
When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present
tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular
number and words in the single number include the plural number. The
word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
The Township Board of the Township of Midland.
The business of transmission and distribution of television
signals, including radio signals, by means of a cable to private subscribers
and does not include the operation of a master television antenna
system, the distribution system of which is confined to private property.
The holder of a permit issued pursuant to this chapter.
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind.
Any public highway and right-of-way thereof in the Township
without regard to how such highway may be designated or named, and
shall further be, in all cases, construed to mean the entire width
of such highway and right-of-way thereof unless the context shall
indicate that a lesser portion of such highway is intended.
The Township of Midland.
No person shall provide CATV service within the limits of the
Township without first obtaining a permit as hereinafter provided
in this chapter.
Permits to provide CATV service hereunder will be granted by
the Board as hereinafter provided and shall be applied for by written
application in form approved by the Township Supervisor and filed
with the Township Clerk, which application shall include, but not
be limited to, the name of the applicant; the local business address;
the principal officers or owners; the principal stockholders if a
corporation; the location of the antenna tower or towers; a general
description system in the Township, showing the area proposed to be
served and indicating whether the applicant will require poles in
the Township streets or whether cables and appliances to be utilized
by it in Township streets will be located on existing poles of utility
companies; the service to be provided and the rates to be charged,
including installation charge per location, the service charge for
one receiver and for each additional receiver on the same premises;
and the approximate date service is to begin, including subsequent
dates if system is to be constructed in phases.
Each applicant shall attach to his application an authenticated
statement of financial condition and net worth, sufficient in form
and content so that the Board may readily determine its financial
responsibility and its ability to finance the proposed undertaking.
The permittee shall save the Township harmless from all loss
sustained by the Township on account of any suit, judgment, execution,
claim or demand whatsoever resulting from the construction, operation,
or maintenance of its television system in the Township. The Township
shall notify the permittee within 30 days after the presentation of
any claim or demand, either by suit or otherwise, made against the
Township under which the permittee would be liable as set forth above.
Such notice shall be given, in writing, to the person and at the place
indicated in the application for the permit.
The permittee shall provide insurance in such form as shall
protect the Township and itself from and against any and all claims
for injury or damage to persons or property, both real and personal,
resulting from the construction, erection, operation, or maintenance
of said television system pursuant to the authority of the permit
granted hereunder, in limits of not less than $500,000 for personal
injury or death of any one person, $1,000,000 for personal injury
or death of persons in any one occurrence and $25,000 for damage to
property resulting from any one occurrence. Each policy shall provide
for 10 days' notice, in writing, to Township of change in the
policy or cancellation of same.
The permittee shall have the right, so long as its permit is
in force and effect, to utilize the streets of the Township to the
extent set forth in its application or as otherwise provided by the
Board in its permit for the transmission of television and radio signals,
as herein authorized, from its antenna location or locations to the
premises of subscribers. The permittee may erect all such wires, cables
and appurtenances in the said streets, subject to approval, in writing,
to Township Supervisor of the placement of any such poles or ground-level
appurtenances; or the permittee may, at its option, authorize, subject
to the same conditions as to the placement of poles and ground-level
appurtenances, the installation of such cables appurtenances by others
on a lease, rental, fee or other basis, and all such wires, cables,
conduits, appurtenances and poles placed or installed by others for
the use of the permittee shall exist and continue to exist solely
by authority of the permission granted to said permittee.
A.
Use. All transmission and distribution structures, lines and equipment
erected by the permittee or on its behalf within the Township shall
be so located as to cause minimum interference with the reasonable
use of streets, and to cause minimum interference with the rights
and reasonable convenience of property owners who adjoin any of said
streets.
B.
Restoration. In case of any disturbance of pavement, sidewalk, driveway
or any landscaping or other surfacing, the permittee shall, at its
own cost and expense and in a manner approved by the Township Supervisor,
replace and restore all paving, sidewalk, driveway or surfacing of
any street or alley disturbed in as good a condition as before said
work was commenced, and shall maintain the restoration in an approved
condition for a period of five years.
C.
Relocation. In the event that, any time during the existence of a
permit granted hereunder, the Township shall lawfully widen, realign
or otherwise alter the street right-of-way, or construct, reconstruct,
realign, change the grade of or otherwise alter street or sidewalk,
pavement or any water main, fire hydrant, sewer or appurtenance, the permittee
and anyone acting for it in connection with the use of the streets,
upon reasonable notice by the Township, shall remove, relay and relocate
its poles, wires, cables, underground conduits, manholes and other
fixtures at its own expense.
D.
Underground installation. In areas of the Township having telephone
lines and electric utility lines underground, whether required by
ordinance or not, all of the permittee's lines, cables and wires
shall be underground. It shall be the policy of the Township that
existing poles for electric and communication purposes be utilized
whenever possible and that underground installation, even when not
required, is preferable to the placing of additional poles.
E.
Construction standards. The permittee's distribution system in the
public streets shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations
and ordinances, and all its wires and cables suspended from poles
in the streets shall comply with the minimum clearances above the
ground required for telephone lines, cables, wires and conduits.
F.
Permit fee. The permittee shall pay to the Township for the privilege
of operating a CATV system under the permit granted pursuant to this
chapter a permit fee equal to a sum equivalent to 5% of the annual
gross operating revenues received by it, and not refunded, in fees
from service charges to subscribers located within the Township, payable
quarterly. This percentage figure shall be subject to review at the
end of each five-year term. Nothing in this chapter shall exempt any
permittee from the payment of ad valorem taxes on its property or
equipment or on the income earned by it or from any other tax which
it might be validly obligated to pay if it were not subject to the
permit fee herein imposed.
[Amended 3-8-1972 by Ord.
No. 15A; 3-29-1972 by Ord. No. 15B]
G.
Special service. The permittee shall, at the option of the Township,
provide free CATV service to buildings owned by the Township, free
drop installation to also be included excepting where, due to unusual
installation conditions, the cost of such would considerably exceed
a usual CATV drop installation; in such case, the excess cost to be
paid by the Township. The installation referred to above does not
include interior of building CATV distribution systems or TV sets.
H.
Annual financial statement. The permittee shall file with the Township
Clerk annually an audited statement of revenues received from its
operation under its permit issued pursuant to this chapter within
60 days after the close of its fiscal year; shall make its financial
records relating thereto available to the Township for inspection,
at a place designated by it within the Township, at any reasonable
time; and shall maintain separate records as to its business conducted
pursuant to its permit issued hereunder.
A.
The permittee's receiving and distributing equipment and facilities
shall be constructed, operated and maintained so as to provide usable
signals at subscribers' television receivers essentially of the
same quality as received at the antenna site.
B.
The permittee shall, in the operation of its CATV system, comply
with all applicable laws, ordinances and rules, regulations and requirements
of the Township, the State of Michigan and federal regulatory agencies.
C.
The permittee shall not originate or insert advertisements in any
network program distributed by it, except that advertisements may
be inserted in locally originated programs.
D.
The permittee shall not, without prior approval of the Board, utilize
the streets of the Township for the furnishing of the service commonly
known as "Pay TV." Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prohibit,
as incidental to the transmission of television signals, the origination
and transmission of weather, time, local civic events and civil defense
announcements, or programs for which no additional charge is made.
E.
The permittee shall not repair, service, or sell television or radio
receiving sets, parts or accessories to its CATV subscribers.
The permittee shall make its CATV service available to all residents
of the Township who can be reached by its distribution system as mutually
agreeable between the Board and permittee.
The Board shall grant a CATV permit hereunder to each applicant
who makes proper application as determined by the Board, establishes
its qualifications as herein set forth, furnishes the required insurance
and assurances and who establishes that its operations will not impose
an unreasonable burden on the Township streets. No permit granted
hereunder shall be exclusive.
[Amended 3-8-1972 by Ord.
No. 15A]
Each permit issued hereunder shall be for the term of five years
and each five years thereafter, until terminated as herein provided.
Permits granted hereunder are not transferable except upon approval
of the Board. The proposed transferee shall file an application in
form approved by the Township Supervisor and shall satisfy all other
requirements of this chapter.
A.
The permittee may surrender its permit at any time, in which event
it shall refund all prepaid and unearned service and other charges
collected from subscribers.
B.
The Board may terminate the permit of any permittee who shall default
in any of its obligations hereunder, except for causes beyond the
reasonable control of the permittee, provided that the permittee shall
be given 60 days' written notice to correct any such default
or noncompliance before the Board may proceed to terminate the permit
under this section. The permittee shall be entitled to a hearing before
the Board to determine the propriety of termination of the permit
by it pursuant to this section, and the decision of the Board shall
be final.
C.
Upon termination of its permit, the permittee shall at its own expense
remove from the Township streets all its facilities and equipment
therein utilized by it in its CATV operation, unless the Board shall
specifically authorize it to leave all or part of such facilities
and equipment in place.
The permittee shall furnish free, without monthly fees or installation
charges, its standard community antenna television facilities, CATV,
to all schools, fire and police stations in Midland Township, providing
that such building is within 400 feet of an existing line of the system,
and provided further that the permittee will not have any responsibility
or cost as to any wiring inside the public buildings.
Any person who shall violate the provisions of this chapter
shall be subject to a fine of not more than $100 or imprisonment in
the County jail, not to exceed 90 days, or both such fine and imprisonment,
in the discretion of the court.
This permit is granted subject to the right of the Township
and the permittee to renegotiate the terms of this permit at any time
after the effective date of this permit upon 30 days' notice
to the permittee if federal or state regulations substantially alter
the service, conditions or standards upon which the CATV system is
to operate.
