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HomeMy WebLinkAbout073 - 08/01/1978 - REPEALING ARTICLE 14 OF THE CITY CODE AND ESTABLISHING PROCEDURES FOR THE GRANTING OF CABLE COMMUNIC ORDINANCE NO 73 , 1978 BEING AN ORDINANCE REPEALING ARTICLE 14 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AND ESTABLISHING PROCEDURES FOR THE GRANTING OF CABLE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FRANCHISES. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS Section 1 That Article 14 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins be, and the same hereby is, repealed Section 2 Franchise Required No person, corporation, or other business entity shall own or operate a cable television system in the City of Fort Collins, Colorado, except by virtue of a franchise granted by the City. No exclusive franchise shall ever be granted Section 3. Term of Franchise. No franchise shall be granted for a period in excess of fifteen (15) years nor shall any franchise be renewed before one year prior to its expiration Section 4 Public Hearing Required. The City Council shall award a franchise only after a public hearing on the application or proposal, notice of which hearing shall be published in a local newspaper of general circulation at least twenty (20) days before the date of the hearing Section 5 S stem Construction and Extension Any franchise granted by the City of Fort Collins s al require service to be made available to all occupied dwelling units of the City of Fort Collins within five (5) years of the date of the granting of the franchise Section 6 Franchise Agreement An applicant awarded a franchise by the City Council shall execute a franchise agreement with the City of Fort Collins in addition, the franchisee shall, within sixty (60) days of the date of the execution of the franchise agreement, submit his filing of an application for a certificate of compliance with the Federal Communications Commission The failure of the selected applicant to file an application for certificate of compliance in the time limits herein specified shall be grounds for immediate revocation of any rights the applicant may have had in the franchise. Section 7 Franchise Revocation. Any franchise granted hereunder shall be subject to the right of the City by resolution of its Council to revoke the franchise for cause shown Section 8. Immediate Construction Required. Within six (6) months of the granting of the franchise pursuant to this ordinance, the franchisee shall agree to commence construction of its main office and headend facilities Barring delays caused by factors beyond the control of the franchisee, said facilities shall be completed and in operation within one (1) year of the granting of the franchise. Section 9. State of the Art Each franchise shall upgrade its facilities, equipment and service so that it's system is, within reason, as advanced as a current state of economically feasible production technology will allow. In furtherance of this goal, on the fifth, tenth, and fifteenth anniversary of the granting of any franchise pursuant to this ordinance, the City Council shall con- duct a public hearing to examine the performance of the franchisee and to consider recommendations for changes in its facilities, equipment and services Section 10. Local Access. The cable system shall have avail- able on one or more channels, public access, education access, local government access and leased access. Until such time as there is a demand for each channel full time for its designated use, public, educational, governmental, and leased access channels programming may be combined on one or more cable channels. To the extent time is available therefor, access channels may also be used for other broadcast and non-broadcast services. Section 11. Right of the City to Purchase Cable System Upon expiration of the term o e ranchise, or upon other termination thereof, the City, may, upon the payment therefor of its fair valuation, purchase and take over the property and plant of the franchisee in whole or in part. Section 12 Insurance, Bond and Indemnification (1) Liability and Indemnification of City The franchisee shall indemnify and hold harmless the City of Fort Collins at all times during the term of the franchise and specifically agree that it will pay all damages and penalties which the City may be legally required to pay as a result of a granting of the franchise (2) Performance Bond. Concurrent with its acceptance of a franchise, a franchisee shall file with the City Clerk and at all tames thereafter, maintain in full force and effect a -2- corporate surety bond in the amount of fifty-thousand dollars ($50,000 00) renewable annually and conditioned upon the faithful performance of the terms and conditions of the franchise agreement The City Council may in its sole discretion waive said bond or reduce the required amount thereof after five years of operation of a system under the franchise (3) Insurance. The franchisee shall be required to maintain insurance in such forms and in such companies as shall be approved by the City, such approval not to be unreasonably with- held, to protect the City and the franchisee from and against any and all claims, in3ury or damage to persons or property, both real and personal, caused by construction, erection, operation or maintenance of any aspect of the system. Section 13. Complaint Resolution Procedure Any franchise granted pursuant to the terms of this or finance shall contain a specified complaint resolution procedure which shall have been determined by the Council of the City of Fort Collins to be satisfactory in every respect. Section 14 . Franchise Fees. During the term of any franchise granted pursuant to this ordinance, the franchisee shall pay to the City for the use of its streets, public places, and other facilities, as well as the maintenance, improvements, and super- vision thereof, an annual franchise fee in the amount to be determined by the Council of the City of Fort Collins. This payment shall be in addition to any other tax or payment owed to the City by the franchisee. In lieu of a franchise fee for the first year, and as good faith evidence of the franchisee's intention to proceed, the franchisee shall be required to pay to the City of Fort Collins the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10 ,000 00) in cash within thirty (30) days of the granting of the franchise. Section 15 Unlawful Acts. A. It shall be unlawful for any person to make any unauthorized connection, whether physically, electrically, acoustically, induc- tively, or otherwise, with any part of the franchisee's cable television system for the purpose of enabling himself or others to receive any television signals, radio signals, pictures, programs, sounds, or any other information or intelligence transmitted over franchisee's cable system without payment to franchisee or its lessee. -3- f B It shall be unlawful for any person, without the consent of the owner, to willfully tamper with, remove, or injure any cable, wires, or other equipment used for the distribution of television signals, radio signals, pictures, programs, sounds, or any other information or intelligence transmitted over franchisee's cable system. C It shall be a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars ($300 00) , or by .imprisonment for a term not to exceed ninety (90) days or both, for any person to violate any of the provisions of this section Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 18th day of July , A D 1978, and to be presented for final passage on the 1st day of August , A.D. 1978. Ma ATTEST City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading th t day of August, A D 1978 . r ATTEST 40-,Y�Ot, Yip 4 'pkftLkCity Clerk -4-