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The Company shall construct, extend, operate and maintain its facilities in accordance with the applicable regulations of the Iowa Utilities Board or its successors and, to the extent not inconsistent, with lawful City ordinances. Additionally, the Company agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to serve the entire corporate limits of the City.
The Company shall have the right to erect all necessary poles and to place thereon the necessary wires, fixtures and accessories as well as to excavate and bury conductors for the distribution of electric energy and communications signals in and through the City, but all of said conduits and poles shall be so placed as not to interfere with the construction of any water pipes, drain or sewer, or the flow of water therefrom, which have been or may hereafter be located by authority of the City.
The Company is authorized and empowered consistent with this franchise to prune or remove at Company expense any tree extending into any street, alley, right-of-way or public grounds to maintain electric reliability, safety, to restore utility service and to prevent limbs, branches or trunks from interfering with the wires and facilities of the Company. The pruning shall be completed in accordance with nationally accepted safety and utility industry standards, ANSI A300-2001, American National Standard for Tree Care Operations, and ANSI Z133-2006 Pruning, Repairing, Maintaining and Removing Trees, and Cutting Brush Safety Requirements, or subsequent revisions to these standards.
During the first quarter of each year, the parties shall cause their respective representatives to meet to discuss each party’s planned construction projects for the remainder of the year in order that each can be coordinated with the plans of the other to the extent practicable.
The Company shall, at its cost and expense, locate and relocate its installations in, on, over, or under any existing or proposed public street or alley in the City in such manner as the City may at any time reasonably require for the purposes of facilitating the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, or repair of the street or alley or any public ground or public place or the improvement of, in, or about any such street or alley or reasonably promoting the efficient operation of any such improvement. If the City has a reasonable alternative route for the street, alley, or public improvement, which alternative route would not cause the relocation of the Company installations, the City shall consider but is not required to select said alternative route. If relocation of the Company facilities could be avoided by relocating another franchisee’s or facility user’s equipment and facilities or by using a different method to perform the street and/or curbing construction, and said other cost of construction or relocation is less than the Company’s, the City shall consider but is not required to select the route or method that is less expensive for the Company.
In making excavations in any streets, avenues, alleys, and public places for the excavation of conduits or the erection of poles and wires or other appliances, the Company shall not unreasonably obstruct the use of the streets and shall replace the surface, restoring the original condition as nearly as practicable and deemed acceptable by the City.
The City reserves the right, upon written notice to the Company, to place upon Company poles, without charge, within the City limits, wire and pole fixtures for municipal purposes, excluding the sale or delivery of electrical energy. Prior to the installation of any City-owned equipment on the Company-owned distribution system, the City will enter into a pole attachment agreement with the Company. The City shall reimburse the Company for any modifications required to accommodate the City equipment. Free access to the Company facilities shall not be allowed or continued for any communications or information or data transmittal systems owned or leased by the City for which subscribers pay a fee. In the event that a clearance, guying, grounding, or other system design or construction problem is identified by the Company or the Iowa Utilities Board or its inspectors and said problem is a result of City facilities, the City shall correct the problem within the time limits of the Iowa Utilities Board or the Company. If the City fails to correct the problem, the Company is authorized to remove the City facilities with no liability for the loss of system integrity. The City shall reimburse the Company for its costs and expenses.
The Company shall indemnify and save harmless the City from any and all claims, suits, losses, damages, costs or expenses, on account of injury or damage to any person or property, caused or occasioned, in whole or in part, by the Company’s negligence in construction, reconstruction, excavation, operation, or maintenance of the electric facilities authorized by the franchise; provided, however, the Company shall not be obligated to defend, indemnify, and save harmless the City for any costs or damages except to the extent attributable to the negligence of the City, its officers, employees, or agents. Damages alleged to have arisen by virtue of City staff issuance of permit or plan approval shall not be included in the exception to the indemnification provided by the Company.
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