Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 03-14-06 ‎(regular)‎ — reading text

construed as any limitation upon the right of the City to grant to other persons rights, 36 privileges, or authorities similar to the rights, privileges, and authorities herein set forth, in 37 the same or other streets, alleys, or other public ways or public places. The City 38 specifically reserves the right to grant at any time during the term of this Franchise or 39 renewal thereof, if any, such additional franchises related to a cable communications 40 system or the provision of cable service as it deems appropriate in accord with the 2  1 provisions of 9166. 046, Florida Statutes ( 2005) as constituted on the effective date of this 2 franchise. 3 SECTION 8. INCORPORATION OF THE CABLE ORDINANCE BY 4 REFERENCE AND RESOLUTION OF CONFLICTS. 5 All terms, conditions and provisions of the Cable Ordinance shall be deemed to be 6 embodied in this Franchise; however, the express terms of this Franchise shall prevail 7 over specific, directly conflicting provisions of the Cable Ordinance. 8 SECTION 9. DEFINITIONS. 9 All definitions set forth in the Cable Ordinance pertain to the Franchise and shall be 10 relevant to the purposes and meaning of this Franchise. 11 SECTION 10. SERVICE AREA. 12 A. Cox shall make cable service available to all areas of the City which are 13 within the corporate limits of the City of Fort Walton Beach as they may exist from time to 14 time in accordance with the following paragraphs B, C, and D. 15 B. Residential Developments. Cox shall, upon receipt of a request for service, 16 make service available to any new developments or a new home within the City limits, as 17 of the effective date of this Franchise, within ninety ( 90) days of receipt of such request for 18 service provided that all applicable permits have been secured upon a timely request for 19 same by Cox. The failure of Cox to make such service available as a direct result of 20 strikes, acts of nature, or other matters beyond the control of Grantee shall be exempted 21 from the computation of the ninety ( 90) day period. Cox shall have sufficient funds 22 budgeted and sufficient inventory of equipment and materials to extend service to all 23 housing units located in such developments within the time frame specified above. Cox 24 shall use its best efforts to meet with developers and City staff in advance of housing 25 construction to ensure that the cable communications system is constructed in a joint 26 trenches when feasible. The City shall notify Cox of joint trench opportunities as permits 27 are issued by the City. 28 C. Annexation. Unless otherwise authorized by the City Council, all areas 29 annexed into the City subsequent to the effective date of this Franchise shall be serviced 30 by the cable system within nine ( 9) months of the effective date of annexation provided 31 that any such area is not already served by another cable operator as that term is defined 32 in 9602( 5) of the Cable Act. If Cox has or anticipates unusual problems in meeting this 33 deadline, Cox may request from the City Manager a reasonable extension of time 34 commensurate with the difficulty experienced or expected. The City may require such 35 information as needed to make a determination on any such extension. The approval of a 36 request for an extension by Cox shall not be unreasonably withheld. 37 D. Commercial Areas. Cox shall, upon receipt of a request for service from 38 a commercial entity, provide service to any commercial establishment located within one 39 hundred fifty ( 150) feet of the existing cable communications system within ninety ( 90) 40 days of such request provided that Cox has the legal right to access to the commercial 41 property. Any commercial establishment located farther than one hundred fifty ( 150) feet 3  1 from the cable communications system shall pay for reasonable construction job costs for 2 any construction beyond one hundred fifty ( 150) feet. 3 SECTION 11. SYSTEM AND CAPACITY. 4 A. System Uparades. System upgrades shall be constructed as 5 subsequently decided by Cox with input from the City. 6 B. Applicable Law. In constructing, operating and maintaining the 7 system, Cox shall at all times comply with the Cable Ordinance, this Franchise, and all 8 applicable laws and regulations. 9 C. Eauipment. Equipment used for the distribution system, headend and 10 reception facilities shall be of good and durable quality and be serviced and repaired on a 11 regular basis and shall at all times be of equal or better quality than the equipment being 12 replaced. 13 D. Emeraency Alert. Cox shall comply with the requirements of 47 C. F. R. 14 9911. 1- 11. 62. Notwithstanding these provisions, however, Cox shall broadcast state or 15 local alerts as identified by the City to the extent that those alerts are included in Local 16 Area Messages. 17 E. Standby Power. Cox shall provide standby power-generating 18 capacity at the headend. Cox shall maintain standby power system rated for a supplies, 19 least two ( 2) hours duration throughout the distribution network. 20 F. Converters. Cox shall make converters available to subscribers. Cox 21 shallcomply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding subscriber equipment 22 necessary to accommodate the transition from analog to digital transmission technology. 23 G. Internal wirina. Cox shall install and/ or maintain internal wiring for 24 subscribers for a fee. The subscriber may install, own, maintain or have other vendors 25 install, own, and/ or maintain internal wiring provided (i)that such wiring is compatible with 26 Cox's system and applicable laws and regulations, and ( ii) such shall not be used wiring 27 by subscriber to attach to any of Cox's facilities without the knowledge and written consent 28 of Cox. 29 H. Remote Controls. Cox shall allow subscribers to use remote control units 30 purchased or rented from other vendors pursuant to the provisions of 47 CFR 976. 630. 31 I. Parental Control Devices. Upon request, the Grantee shall provide 32 parental control devices to any subscriber in accordance with the obligations set forth in 47 33 U. S. C. Secs. 544(d)( 2) and 560 and as such obligations may be amended in the future. 34 Cox agrees to sell or lease to any requesting customer a " lockout" device that will permit 35 customers to prohibit viewing of any channel on which objectionable programming may 36 appear. Cox also agrees to fully scramble or block the audio and video portions of 37 programming services not specifically subscribed to by a household, free of charge, upon 38 the customer' s request. 39 J. Minimum Interference. AII transmission lines, equipment, and structures 40 shall be installed and located so as to cause minimum interference with the rights and 4  1 reasonable convenience of property owners and at all times kept and maintained in a safe 2 and adequate condition, and in good order and Cox shall, at all times, repair. employ 3 necessary and reasonable care to prevent failures and accidents which are likely to cause 4 damage, injury, or nuisances to the public. Suitable barricades, flags, lights, flares, or 5 other devices shall be used at such times and places as are reasonably required for the 6 safety of all members of the public. 7 K. Technical Standards. The cable communications system permitted to be 8 installed and operated hereunder shall be installed, operated, tested and maintained in 9 conformance with FCC rules and regulations and the Cable Ordinance as the same may lObe amended from time to time. Any FCC technical or testing standards related to the 11 cable communications system and facilities shall be deemed to be regulations under this 12 Franchise. At such time as the FCC does not regulate technical or testing standards, then 13 such FCC standards as were last in force and effect immediately preceding such 14 deregulation shall govern and be deemed regulations under this Franchise. 15 L. Performance Testina. Cox shall conduct all tests of its cable 16 communications system and shall make the results of such tests available as required by 17 FCC regulations. 18 M. Emplovee Identification. Cox shall provide a standard identification 19 document or badge to all employees, including employees of subcontractors, who will be 20 in contact with the public. Such document or badge shall include a telephone number that 21 can be used to verify identification. In addition, Cox shall use its best efforts to clearly 22 identify all personnel, vehicles, and other major equipment that are operating under the 23 authority of, or under contract to, Cox. 24 SECTION 12. CONSTRUCTION AND INSPECTION. 25 A. Construction Schedule and System Desian. Cox shall maintain its cable 26 telecommunications system with a minimum bandwidth capacity of 750 MHz, two-way 27 capabilities and 2 hour stand- by power capability. 28 B. Riaht of Inspection of Construction. The City shall have the right to 29 inspect and test all construction and installation work for compliance with all applicable 30 laws, ordinances, and regulations, provided that the City shall give Cox prior notice of any 31 such inspection which requires attachment of testing equipment to its onto systemor entry 32 private property. 33 C. As Built Maps. Subject to being treated as a trade secret