(a) Extension.
(1) The grantee shall, except as provided in subsection (a)(2) hereof, extend its full service in accordance with the published fee schedule, to any location within any area of the City or any area that may be annexed by the City subsequent to the granting of the franchise upon the written request of five or more applicants living within 500 yards of each other.
(2) The grantee shall be entitled to recover from the applicants requesting service extensions in the City within such annexed areas the direct total cost of that portion of the combined trunk and feeder line extension which exceeds an average of 300 feet per subscriber, measured along the most practicable route from the nearest technically feasible point on the grantee's system, not including length of service drops.
(b) System Description and Service.
(1) The grantee's cable television system or any replacement thereof shall comply in all respects with the capacity, capability and technical performance requirements set forth in the FCC's Rules for Cable Television including applicable amendments thereto and including public, education, government and leased access channels.
(2) The grantee shall provide without charge one service outlet to each police and fire station, each public and private school building, each public library building and such municipally owned buildings as may be designated by the City; provided that if it is necessary to extend the grantee's trunk or feeder lines more than 300 feet solely to provide service to any such school or public building, the City shall have the option either of paying the grantee's direct costs for such extension in excess of 300 feet, or of releasing the grantee from the obligation to provide service to such building. The grantee shall be permitted to recover from any public building owner entitled to free service, the direct cost of installing when requested to do so, more than one outlet, or concealed inside wiring, or a service outlet requiring more than 250 feet of drop cable.
(Ord. 74-146. Passed 12-13-76.)
(3) Grantee shall provide nonduplication protection on grantee's cable television channels for programming broadcasts made by Station WHIZ in accordance with the Federal Communications Commissions Rules and Regulations a delineated in 47 C.F.R. 76.92, subject to the limitations contained in 47 C.F.R. 76.92, during times at which the programming on Station WHIZ is the same as other programming broadcast by grantee, grantee will broadcast WHIZ on both the channel on which grantee ordinarily broadcasts Station WHIZ and the channel on which grantee ordinarily broadcasts such other programming.
(4) Initially, grantee shall provide one channel for all of the access programming described herein. Grantee shall, upon demonstration of need by grantor, provide additional channels for access purposes.
(5) Grantor shall be permitted to have access to grantee's cable system to override the audio, on all channels broadcast by grantee, for purposes of emergency broadcast by grantor. The manner of such access and the specific purposes for such access shall be the subject of agreement between grantor and grantee.
(Ord. 83-84. Passed 5-23-83.)
(c) Operational Requirements and Records.
(1) The grantee shall construct, operate and maintain the cable television system subject to the supervision of the City and in full compliance with this chapter including applicable amendments of the Federal Communications Commission and all other applicable federal, State or City laws and regulations, including the National Electrical Safety Code. The cable television system and all its parts shall be subject to inspection by the City, provided that electrical tests shall be limited to those set forth in subsection (d) hereof.
(2) The grantee shall at all times collect and promptly remit to the appropriate government authority any tax that may be legally imposed on the grantee or the grantee's subscribers.
(3) The grantee shall maintain an office within the City which shall be open and accessible to the public with adequate telephone service during all usual business hours.
(4) The grantee shall exercise its best effort to operate and maintain its cable television system at all times so that signals carried are delivered to subscribers without material degradation in quality (within the limitations imposed by the technical state-of-the-art).
(5) Copies of petitions, reports, applications and other documents filed by the grantee with federal or State agencies having appropriate jurisdiction in matters affecting cable television system operation shall be simultaneously filed with the Mayor.
(d) Tests and Performance Monitoring.
(1) Not later than ninety days after any new or substantially rebuilt portion of the system is made available for service to subscribers, technical performance tests shall be conducted by the grantee to demonstrate full compliance with the technical standards of the Federal Communications Commission and subsection (c)(4) hereof. Such tests shall be performed by or under the supervision of a qualified registered professional engineer or an engineer with proper training and experience. A copy of the report shall forthwith be submitted to the Mayor describing test results, instrumentation calibration, and test procedures and the qualifications of the engineer responsible for the tests.
(2) System monitor test points shall be established at or near the output of the last amplifier in the longest feeder line, at or near trunk line extremities, at not fewer than four widely scattered locations. At least once every six months the following data shall be obtained and recorded for each monitor test point made available for City inspection and retained in company files for not less than five years:
A. Visual and aural carrier level on each active channel.
B. Carrier-to-noise ratio on at least four frequencies distributed across the pass band (to avoid interrupting service, these measurements may be approximate and will be used only to detect significant changes).
C. Visual inspection of picture quality on all active channels to detect degradation in quality attributable to the system.
(3) At any time the City may require additional tests, full or partial repeat tests, different test procedures or tests involving a specific subscriber's terminal. Requests for such additional tests will be made on the basis of complaints received or other evidence indicating an unresolved controversy or significant noncompliance, and such tests will be limited to the particular matter in controversy. The City will endeavor to so arrange its requests for such special tests as to minimize hardship or inconvenience to the grantee or the subscribers.
(4) A copy of the annual performance tests report required by the Federal Communications Commission shall be simultaneously submitted to the Mayor.
(5) The City shall have the right to employ qualified consultants if necessary or desirable to advise and assist in the administration of this or any other section of this chapter.
(e) Service, Adjustment and Complaint Procedure.
(1) Except for circumstances beyond the grantee's control such as acts of God, wars, riots and civil disturbances, the grantee shall establish a maintenance service capable of locating and correcting major system malfunctions promptly. Such maintenance service shall be available, in addition to normal business hours, to correct such major system malfunctions affecting a number of subscribers which occur from the time the grantee's main office closes until 12:30 a.m. Monday through Friday and from 8:00 a.m. until 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sunday and holidays.
(2) A listed, local telephone number shall be made available to subscribers for individual service calls until 11:00 p.m. every night. Investigative action shall be initiated in response to all service calls, other than major outages, not later than the next business day after the call is received. Corrective action shall be completed as promptly as practicable. Appropriate records shall be made of service calls, showing when and what corrective action was completed. Such records shall be retained in the grantee's files for not less than five years.
(3) Within ninety days of the execution of the franchise agreement, the grantee shall furnish each subscriber written instructions that clearly set forth procedures for placing a call or requesting an adjustment. Such instructions shall also include the name, address and telephone number of the Mayor and a reminder that the subscriber can call or write the Mayor for information regarding terms and conditions of the grantee's franchise if the grantee fails to respond to the subscriber's request for installations, service or adjustment within a reasonable period of time.
(4) In the event a subscriber does not obtain a satisfactory response or resolution to his request for service or an adjustment within a reasonable period of time, he may advise the Mayor in writing of his dissatisfaction and the Mayor shall have an obligation to investigate the matter and to keep records with respect to all such complaints for the remaining life of the franchise or five years, whichever is less.
(5) The grantee shall interrupt system service after 7:00 a.m. and before 1:00 a.m. only with good cause and for the shortest time possible and, except in emergency situations, only after publishing notice of service interruption not less than twenty-four hours in advance. Service may be interrupted between 1:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. for routine testing, maintenance and repair without notification, any night except Friday, Saturday or Sunday or the night preceding a holiday.
(f) Street Occupancy.
(1) The grantee shall utilize existing poles, conduits and other facilities whenever possible. If in the grantee's opinion, it becomes necessary to construct or install any new, different or additional poles, conduits or other facilities whether on public property or on privately owned property it shall not begin such construction or installation until the written approval of the City is obtained which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
(2) All transmission lines, equipment and structures shall be so installed and located as to cause minimum interference with the rights and reasonable convenience of property owners who join on any street. Suitable barricades, flags, lights, flares or other devices shall be used at such times and places as are reasonably required for the safety of all members of the public.
(3) The grantee shall remove, replace or modify at its own expense the installation of any of its facilities as may be deemed necessary by the City to meet its proper responsibilities.
(4) Whenever all electrical and telephone utility wiring is located underground, either at the time of initial construction or subsequently, at the direction of the City, the television cable shall also be located underground, at the grantee's own expense. If the facilities of either the electric or the telephone utility are aerial, the television facilities may be located underground at the request of a property owner, provided that the excess cost over areial location shall be borne by the property owner making the request.
(5) The grantee shall, at its own expense and in a manner approved by the City, restore to its approximate original condition any damage or disturbance caused to the public ways or to private property as a result of its operations or construction on its behalf. The grantee shall keep a record of and guarantee such restoration for one year against defective materials or workmanship.
(6) Whenever, in case of fire or other disaster, it becomes necessary in the judgment of the Mayor or the Chief of the Fire or Police Department to remove or damage any of the grantee's facilities, no charge shall be made against the City for restoration and repair.
(7) At the request of any person holding a valid building moving permit issued by the City, and upon at least forty-eight hours notice, the grantee shall temporarily raise, lower or cut its wires as may be necessary to facilitate such move. The direct expense of such temporary changes, including standby time, shall be paid by the permit holder, and the grantee shall have the authority to require payment in advance.
(8) The grantee shall have the authority to trim trees at its own expense as may be necessary to protect its wires and facilities, subject to the supervision and direction of the Public Service Director.
(g) Certificate of Compliance. Upon execution of the franchise agreement, the grantee shall within thirty days file the documents required to obtain a Certificate of Compliance from the Federal Communications Commission and shall submit monthly reports to the Mayor on progress in this respect until such Certificate of Compliance is received by the grantee.
(h) Initial System Installation Construction Schedule.
(1) Upon execution of the franchise agreement the grantee shall within sixty days file the documents necessary to obtain the permits and authorizations required for the conduct of its business, and shall submit monthly reports to the Mayor on progress in this respect until all such documents are in hand.
(2) Within sixty days after accepting the franchise, the grantee shall furnish the Mayor with a construction schedule setting forth target dates, by areas, for commencement of service to subscribers.
(3) The grantee shall complete construction of the system in the City and offer and deliver cable television service in full accordance with this chapter to every dwelling unit and commercial establishment within the City within the time specified in the franchise agreement.
(4) Every three months after the start of construction, the grantee shall furnish the Mayor with a report on progress of construction until complete. The report shall include a map that clearly defines the areas wherein regular subscriber service is available.
(i) Protection of Privacy.
(1) The grantee shall not permit the transmission of any signal, aural, visual or digital, including "polling" the channel selection, from any subscriber's premises without first obtaining written permission of the subscriber. This provision is not intended to prohibit the use or transmission of signals useful only for the control or measurement of system performance.
(2) The grantee shall not permit the installation of any special terminal equipment in any subscriber's premises that will permit transmission from the subscriber's premises of two-way services utilizing aural, visual or digital signals without first obtaining written permission of the subscriber.
(Ord. 76-146. Passed 12-13-76.)