(A) Operation of telecommunications system - excavation of the rights-of-way.
(1) The telecommunications system shall, at all times, be installed, operated and maintained in good working condition as will enable the grantee to furnish adequate and continuous service to all of its residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The telecommunications system shall be designed installed, constructed, and replaced in locations and at depths which comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations regarding minimum safety standards for design, construction, maintenance, and operation of a telecommunications system.
(2) The grantee shall have the right to disturb, break, and excavate in the rights-of-way of the city as may be reasonable and necessary to provide the service authorized by the franchise subject to the provisions of this chapter and the provisions of the applicable city code of ordinances.
(3) Grantee agrees to give prior notification to the city of any construction work by grantee on or in any rights-of-way that will necessarily involve the cutting of any blacktop or concrete on the rights-of-way, or any other excavation or work in the rights-of-way that is reasonably expected to interrupt the flow of traffic on the rights-of-way. In the event a street, sidewalk, curb or gutter is to be cut, the grantee agrees to obtain the applicable permit from the city. Grantee’s notice to the city shall include traffic control plans to be implemented during the construction work and specific traffic control devices to be utilized. Additionally, grantee shall notify the city of the hours the construction will take place at least seven days prior to beginning construction. Nothing in the above provisions is intended to require grantee to give a notification for any routine maintenance or repair work not involving the cutting of the rights-of-way, curb, or gutter or not involving an interruption of traffic flow on a city street. Nothing in the above is intended to impose on grantee any obligation to give notification or obtain a city permit for work on customers’ service lines, unless such work extends into the rights-of-way. However, grantee shall be required to give advance notification to the city of the installation of a new service line within the city limits and provide a copy of the plans for the new service line.
(4) To the extent reasonably practicable, grantee agrees to notify the city and to schedule and coordinate installation, construction, maintenance, replacement, or repairs of its telecommunications system with proposed improvements to the rights-of-way that have been designated (and which grantee has been specifically advised of for improvement, resurfacing, or repair prior to the commencement thereof. In the event grantee develops a written program for the replacement or repair of its telecommunications system located in the rights-of-way, grantee shall provide a copy of that written program to the city’s Public Works Department. Any replacement or repair program shall, to the extent reasonably practical, be developed to coincide with the city’s pavement program.
(5) The grantee agrees to provide the city and other emergency response officials on an annual basis the names, addresses, and phone numbers of emergency 24-hour on-call personnel. After being notified of an emergency by the city, the grantee shall cooperate with the city and make every effort to respond as quickly as possible with actions to minimize damage and to protect the health and safety of the public and property.
(B) Degradation/restoration of rights-of-way.
(1) In the event grantee enters upon any rights-of-way for the purposes of constructing, erecting, installing, operating, maintaining, repairing and/or removing any part of its telecommunication system, it shall promptly and diligently prosecute the work to completion at its sole expense and shall repave, cover, and restore all trenches and exposed areas as quickly as circumstances permit and shall leave all rights-of-way in as good a condition as existed when grantee entered upon them. Grantee agrees to perform such restoration work in compliance with all applicable city standards. Any repairs to rights-of-way necessitated by reason of grantee’s failure to comply with city standards shall be performed by grantee, at its expense, for a 12-month period following the date grantee completed the particular restoration work. However, notwithstanding the foregoing requirements, grantee shall upon the request of the city and at its sole expense, repave all street pavement located within an entire street block if grantee, its employees, contractors, or agents undertook an authorized excavation of rights-of-way that has been repaved within two years of the excavation where grantee knew or should have known that it would need to excavate the pavement within two years of the city notifying grantee of the streets that will be repaved. The above provisions shall not apply to the extent the excavation was necessitated by an act of the city or by an act of God or by an act of a third party with whom grantee is not in privity or contract or over whom grantee has no control or, in order to fix or repair a potentially or actual dangerous condition or to accommodate a request for service by a new customer. In the event grantee is required to repave an entire street block of pavement or rights-of-way and the work by the grantee is determined to be in compliance with the applicable city requirements, the city shall assume responsibility for the maintenance of the improved rights-of-way. All restorations or repairs of rights-of-way shall be performed in compliance with applicable city requirements and may be subject to inspection by the city at any time. In the event grantee fails, refuses, or neglects to comply with the applicable city provisions, or to repair to restore the affected rights-of-way, the city may undertake such repairs and the costs and expenses incurred by the city shall be paid to the city by the grantee within ten days from the date on which an itemized bill is submitted to the grantee.
(2) In the construction, installation, maintenance, repair, or removal of any of its telecommunications system, or any part thereof, grantee shall exercise due regard for the rights of the city, pedestrians, and motorists and shall not unreasonably or unnecessarily interfere with or injure city property or the private property of others. Grantee shall comply with all applicable laws with respect to signalization, placement of lights, danger signals, or warning signs. All work performed by grantee shall be done in a workmanlike manner and shall not unnecessarily interfere with the public use of the rights-of-way.
(3) Grantee shall, upon request by the city, remove, move, modify, relocate, reconstruct, or adjust any of its telecommunications system located within the rights-of-way, at its own expense, if the city, in its sole discretion, constructs, reconstructs, widens, alters, excavates, repairs, changes, or improves any rights-of-way as part of any public improvement project and such work requested by the city shall be accomplished by grantee within 30 days after notice by the city; provided, however, if the work requested of grantee cannot be reasonably completed within that time period, grantee shall have such additional time to complete its work as may be mutually agreed upon between grantee and the city.
(4) If the city requires the grantee to adapt or conform its telecommunications system or to in any way construct, reconstruct, remove, alter, relocate, adjust, or its telecommunications system to enable any other person, firm, corporation, entity, whether public or private, other than the city, to utilize rights-of-way, grantee shall be reimbursed for all costs incurred by the grantee from the person, firm, grantee, corporation, or entity requesting or required by the city to perform such change, construction, removal, repair, maintenance, alteration, or relocation.
(5) In the event that the grantee is a party to a poles, towers, or support structures attachment agreement, and the owner of such poles, towers, or support structures elects to replace its poles, towers, or support structures , the grantee shall be required to remove its facilities and equipment and apparatus from the affected poles, towers, or support structures immediately. If the grantee fails to remove its facilities and equipment and apparatus from the affected poles, towers, or support structures within 30 days of the poles, towers, or support structures owner’s removal of its own facilities or equipment and apparatus from the poles, towers, or support structures the grantee shall be assessed a fine of up to $1,000 per day until such facilities and equipment and apparatus are removed or relocated.
(C) Unless otherwise provided an extension by the Board of Commissioners, the grantee must make telecommunications services available within the city within 180 days from the date of the award of the franchise. This requirement shall not apply to a grantee that does not provide, or has no intention of providing, any telecommunications services to the city customers.
(D) The grantee shall maintain accurate telecommunications system design drawings, maps and improvement plans of the telecommunications system, in a form acceptable to the city, in a manner consistent with industry construction standards. The grantee shall furnish the city, without charge, with a complete set of “as-built” drawings within 60 days of completion of construction of the telecommunications system. Such maps and improvement plans shall also be furnished to city in digital form and shall be provided pursuant to a lawful protective agreement.
(E) The city shall have the right, during the term of any franchise granted pursuant to this chapter, to install and maintain, free of charge, upon the poles, towers, or support structures owned by grantee and located in the streets, any wire or fiber optic cables, pole fixtures and antennas that do not unreasonably interfere with the telecommunication system operations of grantee.
(Ord. 22-08, passed 4-12-22)