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Home My WebLink About3975 June 21, 1985 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BREMERTON, GRANTING A NON EXCLUSIVE FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, INSTALL AND OPERATE LINES, WIRES, COAXIAL CABLE AND APPURTENANCI:S FOR ORIGINATING, RECEIVING, DISTRIBUTING AND SUPPLYING RADIO, TELEVISION AND OTHER CABLE COMMUNICATION SERVICES ALONG, ACROSS AND UPON THE PUBLIC'S STREETS, WAYS, ALLEYS, AND PLACES WITHIN THE CITY OF BREMERTON. THE CITY COUNCIl. OF T}IE CITY OF BREMERTON DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1: Purpose. Thi_s franchise shall constitute an agreement between the City of Bremerton and Nation Wide Cablevision, Inc., (hereinafter the "Operator"). The Operator promises to construct, maintain, and operate a cable television system for the distribution of television and other electronic signals pursuant to the terms of this franchise. The City agrees to grant the Operator all necessary rights and privileges to use Dublic right:~ of way necessary for a cable television system. This agreement shall, as of %~%~ \~) \~_~_~__, if previou:;ly accepted by the Operator, supersede and rep]ace ail existing franchises previously granted by the City of Bremerton to the Operator or any of its predecessors, subsidiaries or affiliated companies. Section 2: Length of Flanchise. The length of this franchise shall be for a term of ten (10) years from ~[~1 ~ through midnight ~/I I ~ Section 3: Terms of the Franchise. This franchise granted to the Operator, shall not be deemed exclusive and shall not in any manner prevent the City of Bremerton from granting other franchises. The Operator agrees to all the valid terms, conditions, requirements, obligations, and duties as outlined in Ordinance No. ~ dated ~ ! ~ ~ ~ , __, of the City of Bremerton (hereafter "Cable Communications Regulatory Ordinance"). All terms used hereunder and not defined, shall have the same meaning as in the Cable Communications Regulatory Ordinance. Section 4: Service Area. The Operator's service area shall be the entire incorporated area of the City of Bremerton, in its present incorporated form or in any later reorganized, consolidated, enlarged, or re-incorporated form. Section 5: Rates. Operator will file with the City a complete schedule of all rates to be charged to subscribers, including but not limited to: (a) Installation of Basic Service. (b) Periodic charges for Basic Service. (C) Installation of Premium Service. (d) Periodic charges for Premium Service. (e) Installation of FM service. (f) Periodic charges for FM service (including rates for FM service as a primary service). (g) Charges for relocation and reconnection. (h) Converter charges. (i) Charges for parental control keys. --2-- (j) Installation charges for bulk/commercial service. (k) Periodic charges for bulk/commercial service. (1) Installation charges for additional outlet service. (m) Periodic charges for additional outlet service. (n) Discounts for multiple premium services, etc. (o) Interactive service charges. (p) Extended drop installation charges. (q) Teletext type service and equipment charges. (r) All other charges. The Operator will notify the City in writing of all such modifications in said rates. The rates charged to subscribers for non premium programming shall be no more than $11.95 (Eleven dollars and ninety-five cents) for the period from the date of this franchise agreement until December 29, 1986. The programming of such services shall consist of CBUT, Community Programming, KOMO, KING, CHEC, KIRO, ESPN, KCTS, WTBS, KSTW, KVOS, KCPQ, C-SPAN, CBN, CHN, CNN, USA, MTV, SCN, Nashville or equivalent programming recognizing also the necessity to comply with present and future Federal Communications Conumission regulations and the provisions of Sections 624 and 625 of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984. Section 6: Franchise Fee. The Operator shall pay the City quarterly, on or before the tenth (10th) day of each January, April, July and October, a sum equal to five percent (5%) of the Gross revenues of the Franchisee. ' The Operator will estimate its total gross revenues for each quarter. At the end of the year a final report will be submitted together with final adjusted payment for the year no later than forty-five (45) calendar days after the relevant computation date. Interest shall be paid at a rate of twelve percent (12%) per annum on any variance in the final report that resulted in quarterly underpayment(s). Each payment shall be accompanied by a financial report showing the basis for the computation separately showing revenues received within the City from basic service, pay service, installations, second outlets, converter charges, advertising, other sources of revenue and such other relevant facts as may be reasonably required by the City. The City shall have the right, and reasonable time, to inspect the books and records of the Operator for the purpose of ascertaining the actual Subscriber charges. No acceptance of any payment shall be construed as a release of any claim the City may have for further or additional sums payable under the provisions of this Ordinance. All amounts paid shall be subject to audit and recomputation by the City. In the event that recomputation results in additional amounts due, such additional fees shall be subject to a twelve percent (12%) interest charge computed from such times as the amount should have been paid. Nothing in this section shall limit the Operator's liability to pay applicable local taxes. This reservation includes, but is not limited to any applicable amusement taxes, business and occupation taxes, utility and property taxes. · ..... Section 7: Access Equipment. The Operator shall supply without charge such broadcast, recording, playback, editing, etc. equipment or its commercially available equivalent as specified in the Operator's proposal of December 3, 1984. Such equipment will be made available to residents and/or officials of the City no later than nine months from the award of this franchise. All equipment remains the sole property of Nation Wide. Public access equipment will be available for check-out and maintained at the system office and/or studio when available. Section 8: Interactive System Services. The Operator will provide without charge return bi-directional cable connections to a specified location at Olympic College and City Hall. Such facilities will enable cablecasts to be originated at each source over the public access channel(s). Operator will build an additional return line to an access studio, later established by the City, when requested by the City, without charge provided such location is within normal installation distance of a trunk or feeder line. Section 9: System Capability. Franchisee shall provide the minimum of a 300 MHz system capable of thirty-five (35) channels and will be activated with an initial minimum of twenty-nine (29) channels of service. Such system will be fully operational no less than twelve (12) months from the date of the award of the franchise. Furthermore, at such time as thirty percent (30%) of other systems operated by Tele-Communications, Inc. of similar demographics, as determined by trade reference books, --5-- have installed or are upgraded to a 400 MHz operation, then the City Council may direct the Franchisee to make a similar upgrade capability. Such system will be completed within eighteen (18) months of such notification to Franchisee. Section 10: Training. As necessary, Franchisee will make available, without charge to the City, technicians and others to assist interested citizens of the City of Bremerton in participating in community programming. These training facilities and personnel will be made available to civic groups, individuals and will extend to students. The Franchisee will develop a set of procedures for both the training and for proper use of equipment provided for under Section 7 of this Ordinance. Section 11: Institutional Network. Franchisee will provide one (1) forward channel on the subscriber network solely for institutional usage. This signal will be coded exclusively for use with decoders to be supplied by the~ Franchisee without charge. The location of such institutions will be designated by the City of Bremerton and service installed free of charge, so long as site(s) are within 150 feet of system trunk. Costs incurred for installation of sites further than 150 feet from the trunk will be borne by the City. When not in use by the institutions the Franchisee may have the right to use such facility. All such institutional system upgrade will be cOmPleted within nine (9) months from the date of reques~t for' such services by the City. --6-- Section 12: Addressability. The Franchisee will install and maintain addressable equipment in the City if technologically desirable and economically feasible. This system will be capable of handling billing, connects and disconnects, program charges and pay per view programming by devices within the subscriber's residences. Addressable equipment (which may include converters for eligible subscribers) will be installed within twelve ~(12) months from the granting of the franchise. Section 13: Other Interactive Services. The Franchisee will install an interactive system available to all subscribers. This system may provide such services as security, computer interaction, banking, shopping, etc. on a "two-way" basis. This facility shall be provide at such time when thirty percent (30%) of Tele-Communications, Inc.'s other systems of similar demographics as determined by trade reference books have installed such systems. Section 14: Public Municipal Buildings. The Franchisee shall, as a part of its commitment to social responsiveness to the needs of all of the citizens of Bremerton, provide without charge, one outlet and converter, if required, to municipal buildings as so designated by the City which are within one hundred-fifty (150) feet of a trunk or feeder line. Section 15: Acceptance. This grant of franchise and its terms and provisions shall be accepted by the Operator by the submission of attached written instrument, executed and sworn to by a corporate officer of the Operator before --7-- a Notary Public, and filed with the City Clerk within forty-five (45) days after the date of this franchise award. Such instrument will consti- tute teh unconditional acceptance of this franchise and the promise to comply with and abide by all its provisions, terms and conditions. Section 16: Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in effect thirty (30) days from and after its passage and publication, provided, however, the franchise granted by this ordinance shall not become effective until franchisee files written acceptance thereof. 1985.APPl~DVED ~ first reading this ~ ~---~ day of~~. , PASSED BY ~ City Council, City of Bremerton, signed by the Mayor and attested by the Ctiy Clerk in authentication of such passage this day of ~z//~ , 1985. INS, Mayor City of Bremerton ATI~EST: J~N L. U~, City,Clerk Director of Administrative Services