[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
A. 
Any person, for himself or herself or representing any other person, who desires or shall be required by this Article to lay, repair and make connection with any water, gas, sewer pipes or other conduits, in and underneath the public highways, parks or other public grounds within the City, or who shall desire or be required to install any poles, railroad tracks and appurtenances, or to make connections with such pipes or other things, on the ground and underneath the surface of such highways, parks or other public places, including not only the work already installed but also that to be constructed, shall first make application for and take out a permit, stating therein the purpose of making the excavation necessary for the installation of the things to be done as mentioned in this Section, and such application shall give the location and extent, the time of making such excavation, when such excavation shall begin, and when it will be completed and properly refilled and tamped in accordance with the specifications recited in this Article. He/she shall make such application to the Mayor/designee, and such permit, if issued, shall show the requirements mentioned in this Section, together with the approximate amount to be charged by and to be paid to the City by the applicant for making necessary repairs of such excavation and restoring the excavation to the finished top of the street, sidewalk or other improvement to its original condition as near as may be, and as provided in this Article. The person applying for the permit shall sign an agreement to permit the City to make repairs of the excavation and to pay to the City the actual cost of the repairs as set out and itemized in the report of the City Engineer for the cost of repairing and restoring all of such excavated surfaces of the street, sidewalk, pavement and other improvements so removed.
B. 
Provided, however, the Mayor/designee, after consultation with the City Engineer, may, if deemed in the best interests of the City, permit a private contractor retained by the permit holder to make repairs of the excavation. In such event, the private contractor shall be responsible for workmanship and materials, and shall remedy any defects which shall appear within a period of three (3) years from the date of final acceptance of the finished work. Additionally, any utility company for whom work is to be performed pursuant to a permit issued to a private contractor other than such utility company shall be jointly responsible with the private contractor for all repairs required pursuant to such permit. Before such permit is issued, the permit holder, private contractor and utility company shall each sign an agreement obligating each of said parties to the provisions of this Subsection
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
Any person having complied in all respects with this Article shall have the right to make an excavation in case of emergency without waiting to procure a permit, but a permit shall be taken out by such person for such excavation as soon as the permit can be procured from the office of the Mayor/designee, and such person shall be, both before the permit is issued and afterward, controlled by the provisions of this Article.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
The excavation permit fee shall be seventy-five dollars ($75.00). The Board of Aldermen shall review the costs of services associated with all user fees at least on a biannual basis during the budget process to determine the appropriateness of the fee charge.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
Whenever any person shall have been granted a permit to make excavation in the street for installing any of the things described and required to be installed by this Article and it should afterwards become necessary to install some other connection or pipes or other things in the same ditch before the ditch is closed, then the person taking such permit, by making application to the Mayor/designee, may have the permit changed to include such other work, if in the judgment of the Mayor/designee such additional work would be proper and to the best advantage.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
Should any person as shall have been granted a permit as provided for in this Article in any way excavate any or all of a ditch which has been excavated and properly refilled under a former permit, the last person doing such excavation shall be held responsible for such excavation as if no other permit had ever been granted.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
A. 
As a guarantee to the City that all of the requirements of this Article shall be complied with in all respects, and that the City shall be saved harmless from all claims for damage or injury to person or property, every person desiring to obtain a permit under this Article shall, before being granted any permit, execute a license and permit bond in the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) to the City conditioned that all requirements as set forth in this Article, including the guarantee to save the City harmless, will be faithfully and promptly carried out. Such bond shall be issued yearly and subject to the approval of the City Attorney. The sureties of such bond may either be personal or surety companies. Should any bond be successfully attacked for any reason, another bond of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) with the same conditions shall be given before any other permit shall be granted to such person whose bond shall have been attacked.
B. 
Any person described under this Chapter shall carry insurance in an amount not less than three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00) combined single limits for bodily injury or property damage.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
All public service firms or corporations using the streets, alleys or public places in the City, or such firms and corporations as shall be granted franchises or rights-of-way on public highways or public grounds within the City, or being otherwise authorized by ordinance to do or have done any of the work outlined in this Article, shall furnish to the Mayor/designee any information pertaining to, and all locations of, any such public service corporation's appurtenances as shall be required by the Mayor/designee. If deemed necessary by the Board of Aldermen, a full and detailed report of all or any part of the company's properties, appliances and appurtenances shall be filed with the Mayor/designee, including a plan of all parts which have been removed and not previously so reported.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
No tunneling or boring under the streets will be allowed except where absolutely necessary and mentioned in the permit. Where the ditch under the sidewalk shall be less than two (2) feet wide, it may be tunneled, but all that part so tunneled under the sidewalk shall be refilled in compliance with specifications on file with the City Clerk.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
Where permits are given for making excavations in streets to lay mains, such excavations shall not be made more than one (1) block in length, and not more than one (1) street intersection shall be excavated at a time for laying any of such improvements, but the permit may be granted for any distance.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
Where streets are widened or where it becomes necessary for any reason to change any telephone poles, telegraph poles, light poles, etc., old pole holes must be refilled to the top of the new pavement subgrade, with either concrete or crushed stone, as specified.
[Ord. No. 326 § 1, 4-10-2017]
A. 
It is hereby declared to be an ordinance violation for any person to make any excavation for any of the purposes mentioned in this Article in any streets, alleys, avenues or other highways or public parks or other public grounds within the City without first having obtained a permit as provided for under and by the requirements of this Article.
B. 
It is also declared an ordinance violation for any person, after having obtained a permit for doing the work for the purpose provided in this Article, to excavate under such permit any considerable amount more than such permit calls for, or make excavation at any other place except that designated in the permit, and any person violating any of the other requirements of this Article shall be deemed guilty of an ordinance violation; and as an additional penalty, the Mayor/designee is hereby prohibited from issuing to any person or other parties as outlined in this Article any permit for any of the purposes set forth in this Article if the applicant shall owe the City any money on any permits which shall have been granted under and by virtue of this Article, or if he/she shall fail to fully and faithfully comply with all requirements in this Article, especially the requirements for refilling and properly tamping, barricading and lighting all trenches.