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PUBLIC NOTICE
ORDINANCE NO. 381
AN ORDINANCE RE-
NEWING AND GRANTING
A FRANCHISE FOR THE
OPERATION OF A CABLE
TELEVISION SYSTEM *IN
THE BOROUGH OF
MOUNT JOY AND SET-
TING THE TERMS AND
CONDITIONS FOR THE
OPERATION OF SAID
SYSTEM.
BE IT ORDAINED by the
Borough Council of the
Borough of Mount Joy,
Lancaster County, Pennsyl-
vania as follows:
Section 1. Short Title.
This ordinance may be
cited as the Mount Joy
CATV Ordinance of 1976.
Section 2. Definitions. As
used in this ordinance, and
in regulations pertaining
hereto, unless the context
clearly requires a different
meaning, the following
terms shall have the mean-
ings ascribed to them in
this section.
(a) Borough means the
Borough of Mount Joy,
Lancaster County, Pennsyl-
vania. When used in con-
nection with the granting of
permits or exercise of other
acts of discretion, admin-
istration or regulation
hereunder, it shall mean
the Borough Council or
such officer or: agents as
the Borough Council may
have designated to perform
a particular function.
(b) Franchisee means (a)
Warner-CCC, Inc., a cor-
poration organized under
the laws of the Common-
wealth of Illinois and hav-
ing its principle office in
New York, New York, (b)
any assignee or transferee
to which the franchise
granted to said corporation
hereunder is legally trans-
ferred; and (c) any other
corporation which may be
made subject to any of the
provisions of this ordinance
under a franchise hereafter
granted.
(c) Facility, Facilities
shall mean individually or
collectively the towers,
antennas, poles, conduit,
wire, cable, amplifiers,
connectors and all other
plant, fixtures and equip-
ment or apparatus of the
franchisee required to
gather and distribute audio
and video program material
to the franchisee’s
customers. Except where
the context indicates other-
wise, these terms shall
mean such facilities instal-
led in, on or under a street
as herein defined.
(d) Street, Streets shall
mean individually or col-
lectively all public streets,
alleys, ways, parkways and
bridges, (including the
sidewalks thereof) now or
hereafter existing within
the present boundaries of
the Borough and within any
territory hereafter annexed
to the Borough.
Section 3. The Granting
of the Franchise. The
Borough of Mount Joy
hereby grants a franchise
to Warner-CCC, Inc., its
successors and assigns for
the operation, maintenance
and extension of the exist-
ing cable television system
in the Borough of Mount
Joy. The granting. of this
franchise is subject to the
conditions set forth herein
and all applicable local,
state and federal laws,
rules and regulations now
in effect or hereafter
adopted.
Section 4. State and
Federal Rules and Regula-
tions. All applicable '~cal,
state and federal laws,
rules and regulations are
incorporated into this ordi-
nance as though set out in
full and compliance there-
with is made an express
condition of the granting of
the franchise.
Any modifications of the
provisions of Section 76.31
of the rules and regulations
of the Federal Communica-
tions Commission resulting
from amendment by the
FCC, shall be incorporated
into this franchise within
one (1) year of the adoption
of the aforesaid amend-
ments or modifications or
at the time of renewal of
this franchise, whichever
occurs first.
Section S. Effective Date,
Term, Renewal and Term-
ination of the Franchise.
The effective date of this
franchise will be July 12,
1976.
The rights under this
franchise are hereby grant-
ed for a period of ten (10)
years from the effective
date mentioned above.
Renewal of franchise rights
may be granted by the
Borough of Mount Joy after
due consideration by the
Borough and after a public
hearing is held. There shall
be no obligation upon
either the Borough or the
franchisee to renew the
franchise.
Upon termination of the
franchise or any extension
thereof, the franchisee
shall remove its facilities
from the streets within one
(1) year of the termination,
except that in the case of
the removals that would
require the excavation of
the Borough streets. In that
case, those facilities shall
remain in place and shall
become the property of the
Borough unless the
Borough requires or per-
mits those facilities to be
removed. All facilities not
removed within one (1)
year shall become the
property of the Borough.
Section 6. Insurance and
Indemnity. Franchisee shall
defend and indemnify the
Borough and hold it harm-
less from any liability, loss,
damage,or expense from
any claim or demand made
upon the Borough or any
suit filed or judgment or
execution rendered against
the Borough which arises
out of the construction,
maintenance, operation or
existence of the fran-
chisee’s system or any of
its facilities, in the
Borough, and the fran-
chisee shall provide insur-
ance protection for any
person who might suffer
injury or damage caused by
or resulting from fran-
chisee’s negligence. In
order to assure the
Borough of franchisee’s
performance of the obliga-
tions herein assumed, the
franchisee shall obtain and
keep in force during the.
term of the franchise, a
policy or policies of public.
liability and property
damage insurance in {ich
franchisee shall cause the
Borough to be named as an
additional assured and pro-
viding liability coverage in
the amounts of not less
than $300,000 for injuries
resulting to any one per-
son, and $1,000,000 for in-
juries resulting to persons
in any one occurrence and
property damage coverage
in the amount of $300,000
resulting from any one
occurrence and shall
furnish certificates of such
insurance to the Borough.
The franchisee shall also
post with the Borough and
keep in force a bond with
corporate surety in the
amount of $2,000 to insure
the franchisee’s compliance
with its obligations and
duties hereunder.
Section 7. Service and
Rates. Franchisee shall
provide the necessary
facilities and service
sufficient to meet the needs
of the public and shall
maintain its facilities and
service up to date and in
keeping with technical pro-
gress. The franchisee shall
maintain, operate and ren-
der efficient service on a
minimum of eight (8) T.V.
channels with an all band
system capable of provid-
ing twelve (12) T.V.
channels and a full range
of F.M. radio stations. The
system shall be operated so
as not to adversely affect or
interfer with existing radio
or television reception. The
installation and construc-
tion of all facilities or
transmission lines shall be
done in conformity with the
standards of the National
Electric Safety Code.
Whenever it is necessary
to shut off or interrupt
service for the purpose of
making repairs, adjust-
ments or installations, the
franchisee shall do so at
such times as shall cause
the least amount of incon-
venience to its customers,
perferably between the
hours of 11:00 p.m. and
11:00 a.m. The service
furnished shall be contin-
uous daily during the
regular telecasting hours of
the stations whose T.V.
broadcasts are being trans-
mitted.
Franchisee agrees to re-
spond to and investigate all
complaints received from
its subscribers within the
Borough and to resolve
said complaints in an
efficient and timely manner
if at all technically and.
reasonably possible, and
franchisee’s agents shall be
available for such purposes
in the Borough. For the
purpose of taking com-
plaints from customers, the
Borough and franchisee
agree that the business
office of the franchisee
shall be the place designat-
ed to receive said com-
plaints. If service com-
plaints are not resolved in
a manner satisfactory to
the customer by the fran-
chisee, the Borough Mana-
ger is hereby authorized to
receive and resolve said
complaints. Notice of the
complaint procedure shall
be given by franchisee to
each new subscriber at the
time of initial regular
subscription to the cable
system and shall be pub-
lished in a newspaper of
general circulation in the
Borough by the franchisee
at least once a year Or
whenever a change occurs.
The franchisee shall have
the right to promulgate and
put into effect such rules,
regulations and conditions
respecting the sale, furn-
ishing or use of the system
and services it will provide
as shall be necessary to
permit the franchisee to
carry on its business in an
efficient manner, to exer-
cise the rights granted to it
under this ordinance and to
conduct its operations in
the manner it believes is
most likely to assure its
ability to provide uninter-
rupted service to its
customers. :
The rates for regular
subscriber services are
attached hereto as Exhibit
“A”. Rates shall be non-
discriminatory throughout.
No increase in said rates
for service shall be made
except as authorized by the
Borough after a public pro-
ceeding affording due pro-
cess. It will be the fran-
chisee’s responsibility to
prepare and present in
writing any request for a
rate increase to the
Borough. The Borough
shall base its authorization
for a rate increase on the
facts presented by the
franchisee. Any request for
a rate increase shall be
acted upon within sixty (60)
days after submission of
the rate increase request to
the Borough. If the
Borough does not act
within said time, the re-
quest shall be deemed to
have been approved by the
Borough. Rates for regular
subscriber services shall be
just, reasonable and ade-
quate and shall at all times
be maintained consistant
with the franchisee’s capi-
tal and operating costs.
Requests for rate increase
shall be limited to one per
calendar year. If any in-
creased costs are imposed
on franchisee due to copy-
right fees, increased pole
attachment fees, and/or
increased on new city or
state regulatory fees, such
increased costs may be
automatically passed on-to
the subscriber in increased
charges, without the
Borough’s prior approval,
on a pro rata basis. Fran-
chisee shall advise the
Borough of such increases
and shall substantiate.
Section 8. Franchise Re-
numeration to Borough.
During the life of the
franchisee, an annual fran-
chise fee will be paid to the
Borough in the amount of
three percent (3%) of the
franchisee’s gross sub-
scriber revenues per year
as derived from regular
cable television and radio
operations in the Borough.
Said fee shall be paid to
the Borough on or before
March 1st of every calen-
dar year for the period
covering the previous
calendar year. An annual
report of operations, shall
accompany said fee, and
the Borough reserves the
right to inspect the records
of the franchisee as a check
on the correctness of the
fee paid or have the annual
report certified by a C.P.A.
as correct. In addition to
the annual franchise fee
paid to the Borough, the
franchisee shall provide
free cable television service
to any public school, fire-
house or municipal building
if requested to do so.
Section ‘9. Location of
Facilities and Use of Public
Streets. The franchisee
shall have the right to
utilize all public streets
and alleys in the Borough
for the location of the
facilities necessary to pro-
vide the service to the
citizens of the Borough.
Wherever possible, the
franchisee shall utilize the
existing facilities of the
other utilities to erect,
extend or maintain its ser-
vice. The Borough reserves
the right to determine the
location of all the facilities
within the Borough limits
and to forbid erection of
any facility in a location it
deems to be hazardous. In
all new residential
developments, the fran-
chisee shall locate all
facilities underground.
The franchisee shall in-
stall, maintain and operate
its facilities in accordance
with good engineering and
construction practices, and
only in full compliance with
all applicable statutes,
ordinances, rules and
regulations now or here-
after made effective and in
such manner and places as
to not unreasonably interfer
with travel upon and use of
the streets or access to
adjacent properties. All
wires, cables, and other
overhead facilities shall be
at such minimum heights
as are or may be required
by the Borough or Pennsyl-
vania Department of
Transportation or other
entity having jurisdiction.
The franchisee also
agrees that all work will be
done in compliance with all
state and local ordinances,
laws, rules and regulations
and that the franchisee will
be responsible to secure all
necessary permits for the
required work.
Section 10. Transfers of
Franchise. The franchisee
shall not sell, transfer or
assign this franchise nor
any rights hereunder with-
out written approval of the
Borough. Said approval will
not be unreasonably with-
held; provided that no
assignment shall be
approved or become
effective until the assignee
has filed with the Borough
evidence that satisfies the
Borough of the assignee’s
financial responsibility and
anticipated ability and
competence to render the
public service contemplated
by the franchisee. If action
by the Borough is not
forthcoming within 90 days
after application is filed,
consent shall be deemed
granted. Assignee must
agree to the same terms as
did the franchisee in the
first instance. This para-
graph shall not. apply . to.
: " July 28, 1976
transactions covered herein
between franchisee and
wholly owned subsidiaries
of Warner-CCC, Inc.
Section 11. Forfeiture of
License. The Borough may
at anytime declare for-
feiture of the grant of this
franchise after a full public
hearing for violation or
default by franchisee of any
of the terms of the grant,
provided that none of the
terms of this grant shall be
deemed to be violated so as
to permit such forfeiture
unless the franchisee shall
first be given notice by the
Borough of such violation
or default and of the
attempt to declare a for-
feiture and thereafter if
such violation or default
shall continue for a period
of ninety (90) days or if
franchisee has made an
attempt to correct the
defect during the ninety
(90) day period, all rights
and privileges of said fran-
chise under the provisions
of the agreement may be
forfeited and revoked pro-
vided, however, the fran-
chisee shall not be deemed
to be in default for per-
formance of this franchise
nor shall any forfeiture be
invoked for any violation or
failure to perform due to
" natural causes beyond the
control of the franchisee.
The Borough shall have the
right to determine if the
franchisee has complied
with the Borough’s notice
of violation or if a reason-
able attempt has been
made to comply.
Section 12. Notices.
Notices required by this
ordinance shall be given in
writing by personal
delivery or by certified mail
as follows:
To the Borough, add-
ressed to: Borough Mana-
ger, Borough of Mount
Joy, 21 East Main Street,
Mount Joy, PA 17552.
To the franchisee, add-
ressed to: Warner-CCC,
Inc., P.O. Box 129, Mari-
etta, PA 17547.
With a copy to: Warner
Cable Corporation, 75
Rockerfeller Plaza, New
York, NY 10019.
Section 13. Repeal of
Previous Ordinances. The
Borough hereby repeals the
ordinance of July 11, 1966
know as the Mount Joy
CATV Ordinance of 1966.
Section 14. Severability.
If any part of this ordi-
nance is deemed or de-
clared unconstitutional,
void or invalid, the remain-
der of the ordinance shall
remain in effect, not with-
standing such unconstitu-
tional, void or invalid pro-
vision.
Section 15. Acceptance
and Effective Date. This
ordinance shall become
effective immediately upon
the acceptance of the or-
dinance by the franchisee
and the entry by the fran-
chisee into an agreement in
writing with the Borough
evidencing such accep-
tance.
SUBSCRIBER RATES
$6.50 per month for
initial connection.
$2.00 per month for
additional connection.
$2.00 per month for F.M.