HomeMy Public PortalAboutOrd. 09-014
No.
00-14
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of t4;c
lll1orouZ14 of C1ladcrct1 ~L W~
Councilman
Presents me foUowing Ordinance Seconded by Councilman
ORDINANCE # 00-14
AN ORDINANCE GRANTING RENEWAL OF MUNICIPAL CONSENT TO
COMCAST OF NEW JERSEY II, LLC, TO CONSTRUCT, CONNECT,
OPERATE AND MAINTAIN A CABLE TELEVISION AND
COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM IN THE BOROUGH OF CARTERET, NEW
JERSEY, COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE !ViA YOR AND COUNCIL OF TIlE
BOROUGH OF CARTERET, AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1.
PURPOSE OF TIlE ORDINANCE
The Borough of eartceet hereby grants to Comcast of New Jersey II, LLC renewal
of its non-exclusive Municipal Consent to place in, upon, across, above, over and under
highways, streets, alleys, sidewalks, easements, public ways and public places in the
municipality, poles, wires, cables, underground conduits, manholes and other television
conductors, fixtures, apparatus and equipment as may be necessary for the constmction,
operation and maintenance in the Borough of a cable television and communications
system.
SECTION 2.
DEFINITIONS
For the purpose of this Ordinance, the following tenns, phrases, words and their
derivations shall have the meaning given herein. Such meaning or defmition of terms is
supplemental to those definitions of the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC")
rules and regulations, 47 C.F.R. Subsection 76.1 et sea.. and the Cable Communications
Poticy Act, 47 V.S.C. Section 521 et sea., as amended, and the Cable Television Act,
NJ.S.A. 48:5A-l et sea.. and shall in no way be construed to broaden, alter or conflict
with the federal and state definitions:
a. "City" or "Municipality" or "Borough" is the Borough ofCarteret, County of
Middlesex, State of New Jersey.
b. "Company" is the grantee of rights under tllis Ordinance and is known as Comcast
of New Jersey II, LLC.
c. "Act" or "Cable Television Act" is Chapter 186 of the General Laws of New
Jersey, and subsequent amendments thereto, N.J.S.A. 48:5A-l, et sea.
d. "FCC" is the Federal Communications Commission.
e. "Board" or "BPU" is the Board of Public Utilities, State of New Jersey.
f. "Office" or "OCTV" is tbe Office ofCahle Television of the Board.
NO.
00-11,
PAGE 2
g. "Basic Cable Service" means any service tier, which includes the retransmission
of local television broadcast signals as defined by the FCC.
h. "Application" is the Company's Application for Renewal ofMllnicipal Consent.
i. "Primary Service Area" or "PSA" consists of the area of the Municipality
currently served with existing plant as set forth in the map annexed to the
Company's Application for Municipal Consent.
SECTION 3.
STATEMENT OF FINDINGS
Public hearings conducted by the Borough, concerning the renewal of Municipal
Consent herein granted to the Company were held after proper public notice pursuant to
the tCffilS and conditions of the Act and the regulations of the Board adopted pursuant
thereto. Said hearings, having been fully open to the public, and the municipality, having
received at said public hearings all comments regarding the qualifications of the
Company to receive this renewal of Municipal Consent, the Municipality hereby finds
that the Company possesses the necessary legal, technical, character, [mancial and other
qualifications and that the Company's operating and construction arrangements are
adequate and feasible.
SECTION 4.
DURATION OF FRANCIIISE
The non-exclusive Municipal Consent granted herein shall expire 10 years from
the date of expiration of the existing Certificate of Approval issued by the Board on July
21,1995.
In the event that the Municipality shall find that the Company has not
substantially complied with the material terms and conditions of this Ordinance, the
Municipality shall have the right to petition the OCTV, pursuant to NJ.S.A. 48:5A-47,
for appropriate action, including modification and/or termination of the Certificate of
Approval; provided however, that the Municipality shall first have given the Company
written notice of all alleged instances of non-compliance and an opportunity to cure same
within ninety (90) days of that notification.
SECTION 5.
FRANCHISE FEE
Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Act, the Company shall, during each
year of operation under the consent granted herein, pay to the Municipality two percent
(2%) of the gross revenues from all recurring charges in the nature of subscription fees
paid by subscribers for cable television reception service in the Municipality or any
higher amount required by the Act or otherwise allowable by law, whichever is greater.
SECTION 6.
FRANCIIISE TERRITORY
The consent granted under this Ordinance to the renewal of the franchise shall
apply to the entirety of the Municipality and any property subsequently annexed hereto.
SECTION 7.
EXTENSION OF SERVICE
The Company shall be required to proffer service to any residence or business
alon~ anr public right.of-w~y i~ the Prima;r Sen:ice Area, as set forth in the Company's
Appl~cat~on. The Company s Lme ExtensIOn Pohcy, as set forth in the Company's
ApplIcation, shall govern any extension of plant beyond the Primary Service Area.
NO. 00-14
PAGE "I
SECTION 8.
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS
Restoration: In the event that the Company or its agents shall disturb any
pavement, street surfaces, sidewalks, driveways, or other surface in the natural
topography, the Company shall, at its sole expense, restore and replace such places or
things so disturbed in as good a condition as existed prior to the conmlcncement of said
work.
Relocation: If at any time during the period of this consent, the Municipality shall
alter or change the grade of any street, alley or other way or place the Company, upon
reasonable notice by the Municipality, shall remove, fe-lay or relocate its equipment, at
the expense of the Company.
Removal or Trimming of Trees: During the exercise afits rights and privileges
under this franchise, the Company shall have the authority to trim trees upon and
overhanging streets, alleys, sidewalks or other public places of the municipality so as to
prevent the branches of such trees from coming in contact with the wires and cable of the
Company. Such trimming shall be only to the extent necessary to maintain proper
clearance of the Company's wire and cables.
SECTION 9. CUSTOMER SERVICE
In providing services to its customers, the Company shall comply with NJ.A.C.
14:18-1, et sea. and all applicable state and federal statutes and regulations. The
Company shall strive to meet or exceed all voluntary company and industry standards in
the delivery of customer service and shall be prepared to report on it to the municipality
upon writtcn request of the Municipality Administrator or Clerk.
a. The Company shall continue to comply fully with all applicable state and federal
statutes and regulations regarding credit for outages. the reporting of same to
regulatory agencies and notification of same to customers.
b. The Company shall continue to fully comply with all applicable state and federal
statues and regulations regarding the availability of devices for the hearing inlpaired
and the notification of same to customers.
c. The Company shall use every reasonable effort to meet or exceed voluntary standards
for telephone accessibility developed by the National Cable Television Association
(NCTA).
d. Nothing herein shall impair the right of any subscriber or the Municipality to express
any comment with respect to telephone accessibility to the Complaint Officer. or
impair the right of the Complaint Officer to take any action that is pennitted under
law.
SECTION 10.
MUNICIPAL COMPLAINT OFFICER
The Oft1ce of Cable Television is hereby designed as the Complaint Officer for
the Municipality pursuant to'NJ.S.A. 48:5A-26(b). All complaints shall be received and
processed in accordance with N.lA.C. 14:17-6.5. The Municipality shall have the right to
request copies of records and reports pertaining to complaints by Municipality customers
from the OCTV.
SECTION II.
LOCAL OFFICE
During the term of this franchise. and any renewal thereof, the Company shall
maintain a business oftice or agent in accordance with N.lA.C. 14: 18-5.1 for the purpose
of receiving, investigating and resolving all local complaints regarding the quality of
service. equipment malfunctions. and similar matters. Such a business office shall have a
publicly listed toll-free telephone nwnber and be open during standard business hours,
and in no event (excepting emergent circumstances) less than 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.,
Monday through Friday.
NO. 00-14
PAGE
4
SECTION 12.
PERFORiYlANCE BOND
During the life of the franchise the Company shall give to tbe municipality a bond
in the amount ofhvcnty-five thousand ($25.000.00) dollars. Such bond shall be to insure
the faithful performance of all undertakings of the Company as represented in its
application for municipal consent incorporated herein.
SECTION 13.
SUBSCRIBER RATES
The rates of the Company shall be subject to regulation as pemitted by federal
and state law.
SECTION 14.
PUBLIC, EDUCATIONAL AND GOVERNMENTAL
ACCESS
a. The Company shall continue to provide residents with a system.wide public
access channel maintained by the Company. Qualified individuals and
organizations may utilize public access tor the purpose of cablecasting non-
commercial access programming in conformance with the Company's published
public access rules.
b. The Company shall continue to provide a system-wide leased access channel
maintained by the Company for the purpose of cablecasting commercial access
programming in confomlance with the Company's guideline and applicable state
and federal statutes and regulations.
c. The Company shall continue to provide a dedicated local access channel
maintained by the Company for the purpose of cablecasting non-commercial
access programming in conformance with the Compan>"s guidelines and
applicable state and federal statutes and regulations.
d. The Company shall take any steps that are necessary to ensure that the signals
originated on the access channel are carried without material degradation, and
with a signal whose quality is equal to that of the other standard channels that the
Company transmits.
SECTION 15.
CO!V1MIT!VffiNTSBYTIIECO!V~ANY
a. The Company shall provide standard installation and basic cable television
service on one (1) outlet at no cost to each school in the Municipality, public and
private, elementary, intermediate and secondary, provided the school is within
200' of active cable distribution plant. Each additional outlet installed, if any,
shall be paid for on a materials plus labor basis by the school requesting service.
Monthly service charges shall be waived on all additional outlets.
b. The Company shall provide standard installation and basic cable television
service at no cost on one (I) outlet to each police, flre, emergency management
facility and public library and municipal senior citizen's facility and municipal
community center in the Municipality, provided the facility is located within 200'
of active cable distribution plant. Each additional outlet installed, ifany, shall be
paid for on a materials plus labor basis by the Municipality. Monthly service
charges shall be waived on all additional outlets.
c. The Company shall provide standard installation and one free non-networked
Internet connection and service via high.speed cable modem (one outlet at each
location) at the public library and all public and private schools. Connections are
to be located in areas accessible to student and community use and cannot be
restricted to administrative use. All facilities must be located within 200' of
active cable plant.
NO.
00-14
PAGE 5
d. Within twelve (12) months of the issuance ora renewal Certificate of Approval
(COA) by the BPU, the Company shall provide to the Municipality a one~time
grant for cable-related needs in the amount 01'$40,000.
e. Within twelve (12) months of request from the Borough, the Company shall
construct and maintain at its sole expense an additional fiber optic return to allow
non-commercial access programming to originate from site of City's choosing.
Site must be located within 200' of active cable plant.
f. The Company shall continue to make available to the Borough, a mobile
production vehicle for the purpose of producing non-conunercial community
governmental or educational access programming, consistent with company's
written rules and regulations on use of said vehicle. The Company shall continue
to provide basic training to uses of production vehicle; and will provide other
technical assistance and training upon written request for Borough residents for
the purpose of producing PEG access programming, to the extent that the
Company offers such technical assistance and training.
g. Comcast will, throughout the term of this franchise, insofar as it is technically,
economically and operationally practicable, maintain and make available to
Borough subscribers product availability, signal integrity, and system reliability
comparable with all other municipalities in Comcast's cable television system in
Middlesex, Union and Essex Counties.
h. The Company shall provide a dedicated digital access channel and return line only
after the Borough demonstrates programming on the Current access channel equal
to 40 hours ofullduplicated original programming per week for a period of 13
consecutive weeks. A digital converter box will be required to view tltis channel.
SECTION 16.
EMERGENCY USES
The Company will comply with the Emergency Alert System ("EAS") rules in
accordance with applicable state and federal statues and regulations.
The Company shall in no way be held liable for any injury suffered by the
municipality or any other person, during an emergency, if for any reason the municipality
is unable to make full use of the cable television system as contemplated herein.
SECTION 17.
LIABILITY INSURANCE
The Company shall at all times maintain a comprehensive general liability
insurance policy with a single limit amount of$I,OOO,OOO covering liability for any
death, personal injury, property damages or other liability arising out of its construction
and operation of the cable television system, and an excess liability (or "umbrella")
poliey in the amouot 0[$5,000,000.
SECTION 18.
INCORPORATION OF THE APPLICATION
All of the statements and commitments contained in the Application or annexed
thereto and incorporated therein, and any amendment thereto, except as modified herein,
are binding upon tbe Company as terms and conditions oftrus consent. The Application
and other relevant writings submitted bv the Cnmnanv shall be annexed hereto and made
a part hereof by reference provided same do not conflict with applicable State or Federal
law.
NO. 00-14
PAGE 6
SECTION 19.
COMPETITIVE EQUITY
Should the Municipality grant a franchise to construct, operate and maintain a
cable television system to any other person, corporation or entity on tenns materially less
burdensome or more favorable than the tenns contained herein, the Company may
substitute such language that is more favorable or less burdensome for the comparable
provision of this Ordinance subject to the provisions ofN.lA.C. 14:17-6.7.
SECTION 20.
SEPARABILITY
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this Ordinance is
for any rcason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court or federal or state agency of
competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent
provision, and its validity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of the Ordinance.
SECTION 21.
TIIIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES
Nothing in this Franchise or in any prior agreement is or was intended to confer
third-party beneficiary status on any member of the public to enforce the terms of such
agreements or Franchise.
SECTION 22.
EFFECTIVE DATE
This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon issuance of a Renewal
Certificate of Approval from the BPU.
00 NOT USE SPACE BELOW THIS LINE
COUNCIUIAN
RECORD OF COUNCIL VOTE
YES NO NV A.B. COUNCiLMAN
KID!
fWUiS
Sill\RZ
YES NO NV A.B.
X
CII!N
DIAZ
X -Indicate Vote AB - Absent NV - Not Voting XOR -Indicates Vote to Overrule Veto
Adopted on first reading of the Council of the Borough of Carteret, N.J., on
Adopted on secomYddr~g'~-ft'~7Hraring on
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APPRhED..BY ,,__..~-t. . (
'1/ ~ / IAYOR /
ON .~/ /'-./.
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~ 23. 2fX'f)
2009
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AFFIDAVIT OF PUBLICATION
The following is a true copy of an Ordinance or Resolution of
the Borough of Carteret that has appeared in the Home News
Tribune, a newspaper which is printed in Freehold, New
Jersey and published in Neptune, in said County and State and
of general circulation in said county. One ill time(s), once in
each issue as follows:
September 26. 2009
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Notary Public of New Jersey
LINDA A RIVERA
NOTARY PUBLIC OF NEW JERSEY
MY COMMISSION EXPIRES MAY 2, 2011
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. athleen M. Barney, MMC ~
Municipal Clerk
BOROUGH Of CARIEREI
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BOOOlGHOfCARTERET
ORDINANCE #09-14
AN ORDINANCE GRANTING RENEWAL
OF MUNICIPAl CONSENT TO COM
Jt~T9fu~-iYf:6~~SlcVlb~~"M\~
AND MAINTAIN A CABLE TELEVISION
AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM IN
".'E BOROUGH OFCARTERET, NEW
~RSEY, COUNT OF MIDDLESEX
ioreglirg Ordirrilnce Wi'15 irtrowced al
i4ing of the CounC~ of the Bmough rJ
_u,teret held Septemb-~ 23, 2009 when it
was adopted OIl first Reading. nw. said oldi-
nilnoo will be further Corl...-Jdere-d 00 S<<:Ol1d
Reaong for Final Ad9j)ting at a meeting of
silid Council of H~ Boroogh of Carten':t on
October 8, 2009 at apprutimiltdy 6:00
P.M., Memorial Municipal BUilding, 61
Cooke A\.'eIllre, Ci.lrteret, New Jmse'j ill
wnen time and place all person5 irteresl:ed
will re given an otlpmhmiw to b;) maId
KATHLEEN M. BARNEY, Ro'v\C
Municipal Clerk
($15.66) 031608
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AFFIDAVIT OF PUBLICATION
The following is a true copy of an Ordinance or Resolution of the
Borough of Carteret that has appeared in the Home News Tribune, a
newspaper which is printed in Freehold, New Jersey and published
in Neptune, in said County and State and of general circulation in
said county. One ill time(s), once in each issue as follows:
October 16. 2009
_""7'
( ~/n.lfto-/ 0 ~/\K~
Notary Public of New Jersey
LINDA A RIVERA
NOTARY PUBLIC OF NEW JERSEY
MY COMMISSION EXPIRES MAY 2, 2011
Sworn and subscribed before
me thisJa.e: day of () c;t;,y(~
f
;2 C:V '1;
80ROUGH Of tAR!ERE!
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&l\OLGHll'CAR1EREl
ORDINANCE 09-14
AN ORDINANCE GRANTING RENEWAL OF
MUNICIPAL CONSENT TO COMCAST OF
tb~~tJ}S~&,& ~RD~~rrW.M~A
CABLE TELEVISION AND COMMUNICA-
~'')NS SYSTE1\.-1IN mE BOROUGH OF
I lTEREf, Np.~5~~~'COUNTY OF
2.bo~OVEDMlD ADOPTED: Octob<:r B,
INTRODUCED: Septemoo 23, 2009
Adveltired ~s <loopted on fir5t reading --
with notice of Public Hearirg: September
26, 2009
Hearire Held: October 8~ 2009
ApprCN,w By: MAYOR DJ\N1El J. RETMAN
~~e9ti&'ld as finally i1dopted: October 16,
KATHlEEN M. BARNEY,
MUNICIPAL CLERK
($14.50) 043160
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@omcast
Government and Community
Affairs Department
800 Rahway Avenue
Union, New Jersey 07083
908.258.8143 Ph.
908.851.8293 Fax
November 9, 2009
Hon. Daniel J. Reiman
And Members of the Governing Body
Borough of Carteret
61 Cooke Avenue
Carteret, NJ 07008
Dear Mayor Reiman and Members of the Governing Body:
We received (on October 26, 2009) a certified copy of the Borough ofCarteret's
Ordinance # 09-14, adopted on October 8, 2009, granting Renewal of Municipal
Consent to Comcast of New Jersey II, LLC, to continue to operate and maintain a
cable television and communications system in the Borough of Carteret
Please accept this letter as formal acceptance of the ordinance. As you may know,
Comcast must now petition the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities for issuance of a
Renewal Certificate of Approval.
~
Area Director of Govemment and Community Affairs
cc: ~n M. Barney, Borough Clerk
Robert J. Bergen, Borough Attorney
Celeste M. Fasone, NJBPU Office of Cable Television
Laura Talafous, Comcast Eastem Division
William J. Kettleson, Comcast Regional Vice President Government Affairs, /
Dennis C. Linken, Esq. Stryker, Tams & Dill Y /
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