In addition to any other franchise limitations hereunder or as herein provided, the following limitations shall apply to any franchise granted or renewed by the Village Council under this subchapter.
(A) Nature of franchise. Such franchise shall be nonexclusive, and neither the granting thereof nor any of the provisions contained herein or in such franchise shall limit, abridge, diminish, alter or affect the right, privilege, power or authority of the Village Council; and the Village Council hereby reserves and preserves the right to grant any identical or similar or different franchise to any person, firm or corporation other than the grantee, either within or without or partly within or partly without the franchise area of any grantee, subject only to the restrictions provided in § 113.04(A) of this subchapter. No privilege or exemption shall be granted or conferred by any franchise granted hereunder except those specifically prescribed in this subchapter.
(B) Subordination of franchise privileges. The grant of any privilege by any franchise hereunder shall be subordinate to any prior lawful occupancy of any street or public property or to the grant of any privilege under any other franchise of prior date, insofar as there shall be any conflict.
(C) Transfer of franchise. Any franchise granted hereunder shall be a privilege to be held in personal trust by the original grantee. It cannot, in any event, be sold, transferred, leased, assigned or disposed of in whole or in part, either by forced or involuntary sale, or by voluntary sale, merger, consolidation or otherwise without prior written consent of the Village Council, and then only under such conditions as may therein be prescribed.
(1) Notice and request for approval of any proposed sale or transfer of this franchise must be given to the Village Council not later than 90 days before the proposed sale or transfer. Any such transfer or assignment shall be made only by an instrument in writing, such as a bill of sale, or similar document, a duly executed copy of which shall be filed in the office of the Village Clerk within 30 days after any such transfer or assignment. The said consent of the Village Council may not be unreasonably refused; provided, however, the proposed assignee must show financial responsibility as determined by the Village Council and must agree to comply with all the provisions of the franchise and of this subchapter; and provided, further, that no such consent shall be required for a transfer in trust, mortgage or otherwise, in whole or in part, to secure an indebtedness, except that when such transfer shall exceed 50% of the market value of the property used by the franchisee in the conduct of the cable television system, prior consent of the Village Council shall be required for such a transfer. Such a consent shall not be withheld unreasonably.
(2) In the event that the grantee is a corporation, prior approval of the Village Council, expressed by resolution, shall be required where there is an actual change in control or where ownership of more than 30% of the voting stock of the grantee is acquired by a person or group of persons acting in concert, none of whom already own 30% or more of the voting stock, singly or collectively.
(D) Term of franchise. No franchise granted or renewed by the Village Council under this subchapter shall be for a term shorter than five years, unless terminated prior to its expiration as herein provided, nor shall any such franchise be granted or renewed for a term longer than 15 years. Any franchise renewal shall be subject to the prior approval of the Village Council utilizing the same procedures as prescribed herein for the granting of a new franchise.
(E) Review of franchise. Every five years after the effective date of the franchise the Council and the grantee shall jointly review the performance of the grantee’s operation and specifically the Village Council will inquire whether the grantee is supplying a level and variety of services equivalent to those being generally offered at the time in the industry, in comparable market situations. In the event that the grantee desires to change or modify its obligations under its franchise, it may negotiate with the Village Council to do so at that time. Within 60 days of the conclusion of the review the Village Council and the grantee shall report in public proceeding the result of their review and their conclusions. The Village Council may then order unilateral changes in the franchise rights and obligations of the grantee where said changes cause no economic impact. Any changes that cause substantial adverse economic impact shall be the subject of negotiations with the grantee. Any disputes hereunder shall be resolved by arbitrators, one selected by each party and the third selected by the other two, whose decision shall be final. The arbitrators are to base their decision on what is fair and equitable to all concerned.
(F) Recourse against village. The grantee shall have no recourse or remedy whatsoever against the village for any loss, cost, expense or damage arising out of or with respect to any franchise hereunder, or this subchapter, or the enforcement thereof.
(G) Village rules and regulations. The grantee shall be subject to all ordinances, rules, regulations and specifications of the village heretofore or hereafter established including but not limited to, those pertaining to works and activities, in, on, over, under and about streets.
(H) Prohibited activities of the grantee. The grantee shall be prohibited from directly or indirectly doing any of the following:
(1) Engaging in the business of selling at retail, leasing, renting, repairing or servicing of television sets or radios;
(2) Soliciting, referring or causing or permitting the solicitation or referral of any subscriber to persons engaged in any business herein prohibited to be engaged in by the grantee;
(3) Providing information concerning the viewing patterns of identifiable individual subscribers to any person, group or organization for any purpose, without the consent of the subscriber;
(4) Entering or encroaching upon or interfering with or obstructing any private property without the express consent of the owner; and
(5) Providing any repair service to its subscribers for a fee, which repair extends beyond the connection of its service or the determination by the grantee of the quality of its signals to the recipients thereof.
(Ord. 77, passed 8-6-1981)