112.24 TRANSFER OF FRANCHISE.

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 prior written notice to the City. No such notice 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.

112.25 PERFORMANCE EVALUATION HEARINGS/PERIODIC REVIEWS.

On the fifth and ninth anniversaries of the effective date of the franchise, the City may require a review of this franchise, subject to the following:

1.   Any such review shall be open to the public and announced in a official City newspaper. The Grantee shall reasonably notify its local subscribers of review sessions by announcing same through either public notices or inserts in subscribers’ billing statements.

2.   Topics to be discussed at any scheduled review session may include, but will not be limited to, franchise fees; free or discounted services; application of new technologies; system performance; services provided; programming offered; customer complaints; privacy; amendments to this chapter; judicial and FCC rulings; line extension policies; and existing or prospective rules or regulations of the Grantee or the City.

3.   Members of the general public may add topics by requesting of the City such topics be added to the agenda of its meeting.

4.   During review or evaluation by the City, the Grantee shall fully cooperate with the City and shall provide such non-confidential information and documents as the City may need to reasonably perform the review.

5.   As a result of the review, the City and Grantee may determine that a change in the terms of the franchise may be necessary, that the cable system or franchise requirement should be updated, changed, revised or that additional services should be provided. If the change is consistent with the terms of this franchise and implementation of the change would not unreasonably add to the cost of providing cable services, Grantee and the City will change the agreement upon mutual agreement.

112.26 AUTOMATIC TERM EXTENSION.

The term of this franchise shall be automatically extended for an additional five years for a total term length of fifteen (15) years if the Grantee is determined to be in compliance with the material terms and conditions of the franchise agreement upon completion of the performance review to be completed on or about the ninth anniversary of the effective date of the franchise. † 6

 

Notes

6	† EDITOR’S NOTE: Ordinance No. 0502 adopting a cable television franchise for the City was passed and adopted on April 25, 2005.

112.27 BOOKS AND RECORDS.

The Grantee agrees that the City, upon 30 days’ written notice to the Grantee and no more than once annually, may review such of its books and records at the Grantee’s business office, during normal business hours and on a non-disruptive basis, as is reasonably necessary to ensure compliance with the terms of this franchise. Such notice shall specifically reference the section of the franchise which is under review, so that the Grantee may organize the necessary books and records for easy access by the City. Alternatively, if the books and records are not easily accessible at the local office of the Grantee, the Grantee may, at its sole option, choose to pay the reasonable travel costs of the City’s representative to view the books and records at the appropriate location. The Grantee shall not be required to maintain any books and records for franchise compliance purposes longer than three (3) years. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth herein, the Grantee shall not be required to disclose information which it reasonably deems to be proprietary or confidential in nature, nor disclose books and records of any affiliate which is not providing cable service in the service area. The City agrees to treat any information disclosed by the Grantee as confidential and only to disclose it to employees, representatives and agents thereof that have a need to know, or in order to enforce the provisions hereof. The Grantee shall not be required to provide subscriber information in violation of Section 631 of the Cable Act.

112.28 INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS.

The Grantee shall maintain in full force and effect, at its own cost and expense, during the term of the franchise. The City shall be designated as an additional insured and such insurance shall be non-cancellable except upon 30 days’ prior written notice to the City. Upon written request the Grantee shall provide a Certificate of Insurance showing evidence of the coverage required by this section.

112.29 INDEMNIFICATION.

The Grantee agrees to indemnify, save and hold harmless and defend the City, its officers, boards and employees, from and against any liability for damages and for any liability or claims resulting from property damage or bodily injury (including accidental death) which arise out of the Grantee’s construction, operation or maintenance of its cable system in the service area, provided that the City shall give the Grantee written notice of its obligation to indemnify the City within ten (10) days of receipt of a claim or action pursuant to this section. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Grantee shall not indemnify the City for any damages, liability or claims resulting from the willful misconduct or negligence of the City.

112.30 NOTICE OF VIOLATION.

In the event that the City believes that the Grantee has not complied with any material term of the franchise, the City shall informally discuss the matter with Grantee. If these discussions do not lead to resolution of the problem, the City shall notify the Grantee in writing of the exact nature of the alleged noncompliance.