1998-155 O ANCZ NO. qg -/5-5-
AN ORDINANCE WHEREBY THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, AND COSERV LLC, AN
AFFILIATE OF DENTON COUNTY ELECTRIC, AGREE THAT, FOR THE PURPOSE OF
OPERATING ITS TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS, THE TELEPHONE COMPANY
SHALL, CONSTRUCT, ERECT, BUILD, EQUIP, OWN, MAINTAIN AND OPERATE IN,
ALONG, UNDER, OVER AND ACROSS, THE STREETS, AVENUES, ALLEYS, BRIDGES,
VIADUCTS, AND PUBLIC GROUNDS OF THE CITY, SUCH POSTS, POLES, WIRES,
CABLES, CONDUITS AND OTHER APPLIANCES, STRUCTURES AND FIXTURES
NECESSARY OR CONVENIENT FOR RENDITION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SERVICES IN SAID CITY AND FOR CONDUCTING A GENERAL LOCAL AND LONG-
DISTANCE TELEPHONE BUSINESS, PRESCRIBING THE CONDITIONS GOVERNING
THE USE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY FOR THE TELEPHONE COMPANY'S
TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS, pRESCRIBING THE QUARTERLY
COMPENSATION DUE THE CITY UNDER THIS ORDINANCE, PROVIDING THE RIGHT
OF THE CITY TO USE CERTAIN FACILITIES OF THE TELEPHONE COMPANY,
SPECIFYING GOVERNING LAWS, PROVIDING FOR ASSIGNMENT, PRESCRIBING
THE TERM AND EFFECTIVE DATE OF SAID AGREEMENT, PROVIDING FOR NOTICE,
PROVIDING FOR BINDING EFFECT, PROVIDING THAT THE ORDINANCE BE
CUMULATIVE, PROVIDING FOR GOVERNMENTAL IMMUNITY, PROVIDING FOR
CONSENT AND ACCEPTANCE, PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, PROVIDING FOR
CHOICE OF LAW AND VENUE, FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING
AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE IS PASSED IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY
LAW, PROVIDING FOR FUTURE CONTINGENCIES, PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF
CONFLICTING ORDINANCES, PROVIDING FOR RELEASE OF ALL CLAIMS UNDER
PRIOR ORDINANCES, PROVIDING FOR ALTERNATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION, AND
PROVIDING FOR METHOD OF ACCEPTANCE
WBEREAS, it Is to the mutual advantage of both the City of Denton ("City") and CoServ
("Telephone Company") that an agreement should be entered into between the
Telephone Company and the C~ty establishing the consideration for and condmons under which
the Telephone Company shall construct, maintain and operate its physical plant in the public
rights-of-way within the C~ty's corporate limits in the future
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
DENTON, TEXAS, THAT:
~ DEFINITIONS
Whenever used in this Ordinance, the following words and terms shall have the definitions and
meanings provided in this section
(a) ~ For purposes of this Ordinance, an Access Line shall be defined as
any local line provided by Telephone Company to a customer in the City, which provides
access to the public switched network, including all single line residence, party line residence,
single line business, multi-line business, Centrex, Centranet, key lines, ISDN lines, COCT lines,
semi-public pay telephone lines and PABX trunks or equivalent which are assigned to locations
inside the corporate hmits of the City.
(b) .C,~..~--: The City of Denton, Texas
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(c) ~: All Telephone Company duct spaces, manholes, poles, conduits,
underground and overhead passageways, and other eqmpment, structures and appurtenances and
all associated Transmission Media, which are located m the City Paghts-of-Way
(d) ~,~2.~F,~: All present and future public streets, avenues, highways, alleys,
bridges, viaducts, public thoroughfares, public utlhty easements, public ways, public grounds,
and without limitation by the foregoing enumeration, other pubhc property within the city bruits
of the City As used herein, the term "Rights-of-Way" does not include faelht~es dedicated to
the provision of electrical power to citizens of the City to the extent the City may own the power
utility providing electrical power m the City.
(e) T?~i,ECOMMUNICATIONS OR TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES: All
services of any nature, offered for sale by the Telephone Company to subscribers m the City,
which services are delivered to such subscribers by transmission, between or among points not
specified by the Telephone Company, of information, voice or otherwise, not chosen, created,
or offered for distribution by the Telephone Company, transmitted w~thout change m form or
content of the information as sent and received, wlueh transmission ~s offered for sale by the
Telephone Company in the City, which services are prowded in whole or part in the City to
any customers of any type whatsoever "Telecommunications" and "Telecommunications
ServiceS" do not include such services as cable services, as defined in the Cable Communications
Policy Act of 1984 (47 U S C A § 521, et seq, amended) or as recognized by the Federal
Communications Commission or any other service wherein content ~s selected for distribution by
the Telephone Company.
PAGE3
(f) TELEPHONE COMPANY: CoServ Communications
(g) TRANSM][$SION MEDIA: All Telephone Company cables, fibers, wires or other
physical devices used to transmit and/or receive communication signals, whether analog, d~gital
or of other characteristics, and whether for voice, video, or data or other purposes, which are
physically located in the City ~ghts-of-Way
SECTION 2. CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF TELEPHONE PLANT
AND SERVICE
(a) Pursuant to the laws of the State of Texas and this Ordinance, the Telephone Company
has the non-exclusive right and privilege to use and occupy the pubhc rights-of-way in the City
for the purpose of maintaining and operating its Transmission Media used in the provision of
Telecommumcatlons Serwces and the operation of a telecommunications system, subject to the
terms, condmons, and stipulations set forth in th~s Ordinance, the Constitutions and laws of the
Umted States and the State of Texas and the City's Charter and Ordinances to the extent such
Ordinances are not in conflict herewith The Telephone Company is not authorized to provide
cable television service as a cable operator, as that term is defined m the Cable Commumcations
Pohcy Act of 1984, m the City vnthout obtaining a separate franchise from the City The
Telephone Company's Facflmes and Transm~ssmn Media used m or incident to the provmon of
Telecommumcattons Services and to the maintenance of a telecommunications business by the
Telephone Company m the City shall remain as now constructed, subject to such changes as
under the condmons prescribed in th~s Ordinance may be considered necessary to the public
health and safety by the City m the exercise of its lawful pohce powers and such changes and
PAGE 4
extensions as may be considered necessary by the Telephone Company mn the pursmt of Its
telecommumcat~ons bus~ness The Telephone Company shall at all t~mes dunng the term of
th~s Ordinance be subject to all lawful exercise of the pohce power by the City and to such
reasonable and lawful regulation as the City shall hereafter by charter, resolution or ordinance
provide The terms of this Ordinance shall apply throughout the City and shall apply to all the
Telephone Company's Facilities used, in whole or part, ~n the provision of Telecommumcatxons
Services, and shall include the prowslon of Talecommumcatlons Serwces m any newly annexed
areas of the City upon the effective date of such annexation or the date the C~ty provides the
Telephone Company notice of such annexation, whichever occurs later The Telephone
Company shall maintain its Facilities in a reasonable operating condition at all normal t~mes
dunng the term or any extension of this Ordinance An exception to this condition Is
automatically ~n effect when service furmshed by the Telephone Company ~s interrupted,
lmpmred or prevented by fires, strikes, nots, or other occurrences beyond the control of the
Telephone Company, or by storms, floods, or other casualties, m any of which events the
Telephone Company shall do all things reasonably w~thm ~ts power to do to restore normal
service as soon as practicable
(b) Facilities Installed or relocated by the Telephone Company in the Rights-of-Way during
the term of this Ordinance shall be located underground where technologically and economically
feasible If technologically unfeasible, or ~f placement of factlltles underground presents an
undue economic burden on Telephone Company, upon proof thereof being presented to the C~ty,
Telephone Company and City wdl jointly agree to alternative ~nstallat~on of relocation options
PAGE5
SECTION 3 SUPERVISION BY CITY OF LOCATION OF POLES AND
CONDUITS
(a) The Telephone Company shall lay, maintain, construct, operate, and replace ~ts poles,
wires, anchors, cables, manholes, condmts, and appurtenances used, ~n whole or part, to prowde
Telecommumcattons Serwces so as to ~nterfere as httle as possible with traffic and shall
promptly clean up and restore, at ~ts sole cost all thoroughfares and other surfaces whtch xt may
d~sturb to as good a cond~tton as before such d~sturbance The locatmn of all Telephone
Company Faclhtxes shall be fixed under the supervtsmn of the C~ty's govermng body or an
authorized commmttee or agent appointed by satd govermng body All poles to be placed shall be
of sound material and reasonably stratght, and all poles, stubs, guys, anchors, and other above
ground facdltzes shall be so set that they wdl not mnterfere w~th the flow of water m or to any
gutter or drtun, and so that the same wall mnterfere as httle as practtcable w~th the ordinary travel
on the streets, alleys, htghways, pubhc thoroughfares, pubhc uUhty easements, pubhc ways or
s~dewalks and so that they will not compromise pubhc safety The C~ty shall have the right to
reqmre the Telephone Company, at mrs own expense, to install or relocate above-ground
Facdttzes as far from vehzcular travel lanes as reasonably possible for traffic safety purposes
Except as prowded m Sectmn 2 (b), the C~ty shall also have the right to reqmre the Telephone
Company, at mrs own expense, to tnstall underground all new Facdmes except those to whtch
above-ground access Is necessary for normal maintenance and connections, w~thout claim for
retmbursement or damages asamst the City The locaUon and route of all poles, stubs, guys,
anchors, condmts, cables and any other Facd~t~es to be placed and constructed by the Telephone
Company m the City Raghts-of-Way, and the location of all condmts to be lind by the
Telephone Company w~thm the C~ty's R~ghts-of-Way under th~s Ordinance, shall be subject to
PAGE 6
the reasonable and proper regulation, control and direction of the City's governing body or of
any C,ty! Committees department or official to whom such dut,es have been or may be
delegated
(b) The City shall have the right to change the grade, install, relocate, or w~den the pubhc
streets, sidewalks, bikeways, alleys, publ,c thoroughfares, highways, landscaping, and publ,c
way and places within the present limits of the City and w,th, n said limits as same may from
t,me to time be extended, and m such events the Telephone Company shall relocate, at ,ts own
expense, its Facilities and Transmission Media, m order to accommodate the installation,
relocation, widening, or changing of the grade of any such pubhc street, s,dewalk, bikeway,
alley, public thoroughfare, highway or public ways, including if necessary relocating such
Faciht,es and Transm,ssion Media a sufficient distance from the edge of the pavement to perm,t
a reasonable work area for mach,nery and individuals engaged ,n installing, relocating,
widening, or changing the grade of any pubhc street, s,dewalk, b,keway, alley, public
thoroughfare, highway or public way
(e) The City shall have right to lay, and permit to be la,d, sewer, gas, water, electric, and
other pipelines or cables or condu,ts, and to do and perm,t to be done any underground and
overhead installation or ,mprovement that may be deemed necessary or proper by the governing
body of the C~ty ,n, across, along, over or under any City R,ghts-of-Way occupied by the
Telephone Company, and to change any curb or s,dewalk or the grade of any street In
permitting such work to be done, the C~ty shall not be liable to the Telephone Company for any
damage so caused, nor shall the City be liable to the Telephone Company for any damages
PAGE 7
arising out of the performance by the C~ty or its contractors or subcontractors not w~llfully and
unnecessarily occasioned, provided, however, nothing herein shall relieve any other person or
corporation fi.om liability for damages to facilities of the Telephone Company, including the
C~tyts contractors and subcontractors The City shall also have the right to require the
Telephone Company to relocate, at the sole expense of the Telephone Company, any Facllmes
erected or maintained m City Rights-of-Way, if smd relocation is deemed necessary by the
governing body or its designated representative for traffic safety purposes, including traffic
signals Whenever by reason of changes in the grade of a thoroughfare or in the location or
manner of constructing a water pipe, gas pipe, sewer, or other aboveground or underground
structure, it is deemed necessary by the City to remove, alter, change, adapt, or conform the
underground or aboveground Facilities of the Telephone Company, the Telephone Company
shall make the alterations as soon as practicable when ordered m writing by the City without
claim for reimbursement or damages against the City
(e) Whenever it becomes necessary to require Telephone Company to relocate or remove
Facilities, for the completion of public works projects or for reasons of public safety, the City
will inform the Telephone Company in writing of the aforementioned requirement Except m
cases of an emergency, the City will provide at least ten (10) days' written notice to
Telephone Company of the requirement to relocate or remove said Facilities Whenever it shall
be necessary to require Telephone Company to alter, change, adapt, or conform its Facilities
within the Rights-of-Way, such alterations or changes shall be made promptly, with
consideration given to the magnitude of such alterations or changes, without claim for
reimbursement or damages against the City If any such requirements impose a financial
PAGE8
hardship ~upon the Telephone Company, the Telephone Company shall have the right to
present alternative proposals to the City, and the Csty shall give due consideration to any such
alternative proposals If the City requires the Telephone Company to adapt or conform its
Facllmes to enable any other entity or person, except the Csty (as described m Section 3(c)
above), to use, or to use vnth greater convenience, Rights-of-Way or public property,
Telephone Company shall not be required to make any such changes until such other entity or
person shall reimburse or make arrangements satisfactory to Telephone Company to reimburse
the Telephone Company for any loss and expense caused by or arising out of such change,
provided, however, that in no event shall the City be liable for such reimbursement
(f) Nothing in this Ordinance is intended to add to or detract from any authority granted by
federal or state law to the City or the Telephone Company
SECTION 4. ATTACHMENTS TO POLES AND SPACE IN DUCTS
(a) AS partial compensation for the use of the C~ty's Paghts-of-Way, the
Telephone Company shall permit the City to use, without charge, solely for its own, non-
commercial purposes, available duct space within one duct in all of the Telephone Company's
existing ducted Facilities within the City limits, upon written request by the City, if such duct
space is available when requested Alternatively, Telephone Company shall provide City with
space on existing telephone poles for the City's use, w~thout charge, solely for its own, non-
commercial purposes, if such pole space is available when requested The C~ty shall not use any
facilities ,which are prowded for the C~ty's use by the Telephone Company for power
transmission purposes, nor use any circuits in such conduits or upon such poles to carry voltage
in excess of one hundred thirty (130) volts for signal purposes, nor otherwise use any such
PAGE 9
c~remts so as to unreasonably interfere with Telephone Company's Telecommumcations
Servmes or Telephone Company Facilities
(b) The City shall not sell, lease or otherwise make available its rights to use
Telephone Company's Faell~ties to any thtrd party Such rights are provided solely for the non-
commercial exclusive use by the City However, this restriction shall not prevent the City from
using the serwcos of a third party commercial entity to manage or operate the C~ty's facilities on
behalf of the City so long as no resale or other commercial use of such faciht~es shall occur and
so long as the third party employed by the City is bound by the provisions of th~s Ordinance
(c) Should the C~ty desire to purchase or otherwtse acquire addlttonal Faclht~es from the
Telephone Company for ~ts non-commerctal use, then a further separate, non-contingent
agreement shall be a prereqmslte to such purchase or acqms~tion Telephone Company and
C~ty agree to act m good faith ~n the negotiation of such agreement(s) with C~ty
(d) The C~ty may, at any time, submit written requests to the Telephone Company for use
of Its Facilities The Telephone Company agrees to respond ~n wmmg to the City's requests
w~thm thirty (30) calendar days after receiving the request The C~ty Council shall designate one
C~ty contact person for requests for Facd~ty usage
(e) The City recogmzes that the Telephone Company cannot reserve Fac~ht~es for the
City's use at some mdefimte time in the future Accordingly, the C~ty wtll request the use of
Telephone Company's Facflit~es only after the City has an approved and funded construction
PAGE 10
plan Project construction by the C~ty must commence w~thin SlX (6) months of the
Telephone Company notifying the City that Facilities are available Unless delay is occasioned
through no fault of the City, any eqmpment or faellmes of the City placed by the City on or m
Telephone Company's Facilities must be fully operational w~thm eighteen (18) months from the
date project construction commences If such a delay occurs, City shall take all reasonable
measures to make its equipment or faciht~es placed on or in Telephone Company's Facllmes
fully operational as soon as practicable with consideration g~ven to the circumstances which
caused the delay
(f) With regard to the City's equipment or facilities placed in, or on, Telephone Company's
Facdltles, the Telephone Company shall be relieved of its obligation to reserve space m or on
~ts Facihties for the specific Facihty if construction is not started within six (6) months of the
Telephone Company notifying the City that Facdtties are available or ~f such City equipment
and facdltles are not fully operational within the time hmlts specified in Section 4 (e), unless an
extension of time is mutually agreed upon, in wrmng, by both parties Upon the City's
eqmpment or facilities being placed in, or on, Telephone Company's Faclhtles, the
Telephone Company may not charge the City an additional fee for the use of the
Telephone Company's Facdmes The City's use of Telephone Company Facllmes wdl extend
beyond the term ofth~s Ordinance free of charge to the C~ty so long as satd Facilities remain in-
place, but upon the exp~ration of this Ordinance Telephone Company shall be under no
obligation to continue to provide, maintain or operate such Facllmes for the benefit of the City
The Telephone Company w~ll not be hable for the installation or maintenance of any City
facllmes under this Ordinance or for any damage not caused solely by the negligence of the
PAGE 11
Telephone Company.
(g) The City shall clearly mark all of its faclhttes that are placed tn, or on,
Telephone Company Facilities In order to protect the telephone service to the cttizens of the
city, the City agrees that all construction by the Cnty tn, or on, Telephone Company Facilities
will be m accordance w~th Telephone Company standards and procedures and any applicable
City Codes or Ordinances The Telephone Company shall have the right to make on-site
inspections dunng construction by the City In the event the City, tn making its facthttes
operational, encounters any situat~on that might tmpact Telephone Company's commumcation
service to the citizens of the City, the City shall stop construction and notify the
Telephone Company ~mmediately
(h) Except as otherwtse provided in Section 4(e) above, the Telephone Company may deny
the City's request for use of Telephone Company Facilities only tf the Telephone Company
has plans to use the requested Faclhttes by mstalhn$ telecommumcatlons equipment no later
than two (2) years from the date of the C~ty's request In the event that the
Telephone Company denies the City's request, the Telephone Company must show the City
its current engmeenng plans that demonstrate that the Telephone Company will use the
requested Facilities for Telecommumcatlons Services within two (2) years
(0 The Telephone Company is not authorized to license or lease to any person or entity the
right to occupy or use the City's Rights-of-way for the conduct of any private business except to
the extent required by law The Telephone Company will, from time to ttme, upon written
PAGE 12
request from the City provide to the City the names of resellers of telecommumcation services
using, or requesting to use, Telephone Company Facilities The Telephone Company may be
required to attach its Transmission Media to faclllttes owned and maintained by any person or
entity authorized by the C~ty or to permit the transmission media of any person or entity
authorized by the City to be attached to the Facilities owned and maintained by the
Telephone Company upon reasonable, non-discriminatory terms in a separate, non-contingent
agreement which shall include reasonable compensation The Telephone Company may require
any such person or entity to furnish evidence of adequate insurance covering the
Telephone Company and adequate bonds covering the performance of the person or entity
attaching to the Telephone Company's Facilities as a condition precedent to granting
permission to any such person or entity to attach transmission media to Telephone Company's
Facilities, provided Telephone Company's requirements for such insurance shall be reasonable
and at least in an amount to meet minimum City requirements, as determined by the City
(j) Nothing cont~uned in this Ordinance shall obligate or restrict the Telephone Company in
exercising its rights voluntarily to enter into pole attachment, pole usage, joint ownership or
other wire space or facilities agreements with light and/or power companies or w~th other
compames utilizing wire transmission of services which are authorized to operate within the
City Further, nothing contained m this Ordinance shall pre-empt any pole attachment
agreement between the City and Telephone Company wherein Telephone Company or C~ty
agrees to pay the other a fee to place its facllmes on a utility pole owned by the other
PAGE 13
SECTION 5. RIGHTS-OF-WAY TO BE RESTORED TO GOOD CONDITION
(a) The Telephone Company shall restore the surface of any and all Raghts-of-Way w~thm
the C~ty d~sturbed by the Telephone Company ~n butldmg, constructing, renewing, or
ma~ntmnm8 ~ts Facllmes or Transmission Media within a reasonable time after completion of the
work to at least as good a condmon as before commencement of the work and In comphance
w~th the apphcable prows~ons of the Code of Ordinances of the C~ty and shall further maintain
the work to the satisfaction of the C~ty's governing body, or of any C~ty official to whom such
duties have been or may be delegated, for a per~od of one (1) year following completion of the
restoration, aider which t~me respons~b~hty for the maintenance shall revert to the City During
that one (1) year per~od, the Telephone Company shall be responsible for all maintenance costs
recurred as a result of any defects, impairments or substandard condmon ~n the Rights-of-Way
caused by the construction, maintenance or restoration work of the Telephone Company. The
Telephone Company shall comply with all reasonable rules and regulations of the City relative
to street excavations, and permits therefor, provided that Telephone Company shall not be
reqmred to pay any fees reqmred by such rules, regulations and permits No such Raghts-of-Way
shall be encumbered for a longer period than shall be necessary to execute the work
(b) The Telephone Company shall submit, m a format prescribed by C~ty and reasonably
related to the purpose here stated, mformat~on describing the general nature, location, and
estimated duration of any activity which w~ll result m the d~sturbance of any l~ghts-of-Way
The Telephone Company shall not be reqmred to d~vulge proprietary ~nformatlon ~n such
submission Proprietary mformat~on may include, but is not hmited to, type and s~ze of Fac~hty
and sub-routes onto private property Th~s information shall be submitted prior to the activity
except m the case of emergencies, m which case the mformat~on shall be submitted as soon as
PAGE 14
practical This information requirement shall not apply to the Telephone Company's
installation of service wires serving a single residence or business When the Telephone
Company shall make or cause to be made excavations, or shall place obstructions m any street,
alley, highway, public thoroughfare, public utd~ty easement or public way, the Telephone
Company shall protect the pubhe by barriers and lights placed, erected and maintained by the
Telephone Company.
SECTION 6 TEMPORARY REMOVAL OF AERIAL WIRES
The Telephone Company on the request of any person shall remove or raise or lower its wires
within the City temporarily to permit the moving of houses or other bulky structures The
expense of such temporary removal, raising or lowering of wires shall be paid by the benefited
party or par~les, and the Telephone Company may require such payment m advance The
Telephone Company shall be given not less than forty-eight (48) hours' advance notice to
arrange for such temporary wire changes The clearance of wires above ground shall conform to
the basic standards of the National Electrical Safety Code, National Bureau of Standards, United
States Department of Commerce, as promulgated at the time of erection thereof
SECTION 7 TREE TRIMMING
In the pursuit of mmntmmng its telecommunications system, the Telephone Company, its
contractors, agents, successors and assigns shall have the right to trim trees upon and
overhanging the Rights-of-Way within the C~ty, so as to prevent the branches of such trees from
coming m contact w~th the wires, cables, or other Facdmes of the Telephone Company.
PAGE 15
SECTION 8 COMPENSATION TO THE CITY
(a) As compensation for the Telephone Company's use and occupancy of the City's gaghts-
of-Way and for the City's oversight, regulation and supervision of such use and occupancy, in
consideration for all other agreements and promises made herein by the City and in lieu of and in
full compensation for any lawful tax, license, charge, right-of-way permit fee or inspection fee,
whether charged to the Telephone Company or its contractor(s), or any right-of-way easement
or street or alley rental or corporate franchise tax or other character of charge for the use and
occupancy of the Right-of-way within the City, except the usual general ad valorem taxes and
special assessments in accordance with State law, and sales taxes now or hereafter levied by the
City and in accordance with State law, the City hereby imposes upon the Telephone Company
and the Telephone Company agrees to pay a fee upon each Access Line ("Access Line Fee"),
which shall be assessed monthly upon all Access Lines in the City and which shall be paid
quarterly as described in Section 8 (b) herein The Access Line Fee shall be $1 42 per month
(for a total of $17,00 for such twelve-month period) for each residential Access Line, and $2 00
per month (for a total of $24.00 for such twelve-month period) for each business Access Line
The Access Line Fee will be prorated based upon the number of days during the billing month
the customer has service
(b) The amount paid to the City will equal the aggregate amount of Access Line Fees
assessed to the Telephone Company according to the method described above through the end
of each calendar quarter The payment due dates shall be February 28, May 31, August 31, and
November 30 of each Contract Year this Ordinance remains in effect The first payment under
this Ordinance shall be due on
PAGE 16
(c) If the Ordinance is mutually extended in writing for an addmonal five years, the Access
Line fee will be ~ncreased by three (3) percent per year above the prior year's Access Line fee on
each anniversary of the effective date Except as otherwise prowded hereto, the City waives any
right to audit or otherwise review any Telephone Company records.
(d) The Telephone Company and the Csty agree that the accuracy of the Access L~ne count
is ~mportant to both parties To satisfy any audit respons~bflmes the City may have, the
Telephone Company agrees to provide the C~ty a reconciliation report of Access Lines and a
Customer Service Address L~st, which report and hst shall be ~n a format and m sufficient detail
to enable the City to verify the accuracy of the calculation of the Access Line count and type of
local access service (e g, single party residence hne, ISDN hne or PABX trunk) provided to
customers located In the City The parties agree to hm~t Telephone Company's responsibfl~ty
to produce such reports to two occasions during the term of this Ordinance One such occasion
shall occur dunn8 the third year of the Ordinance City reserves the right to determine the other
occasion for which such information shall be made available by Telephone Company for
mspectmn City agrees to provide reasonable not,ce beforehand of each such request for
~nspectlon The parties contemplate that reports produced by Telephone Company will be as of
September 30th of the year m which inspection ~s requested The Telephone Company will
prowde a report cont~umng a summary of residence and business Access L~nes within the C~ty
and the gross amount of Access L~ne Fees billed customers w~th each quarterly remittance The
report shall ~nclude the number of Access Lines as of the end of each month m the calendar
quarter being reported, as such data is maintained m Telephone Company's REVUNIT database,
PAGE 17
or any successor database The Customer Servtce Address List shall not include any customer
names or telephone numbers If the City becomes aware of mformatton that affects the accuracy
of such List, City shall promptly inform the Telephone Company, and Telephone Company
shall review such information and, on verification, correct the Customer Servme Address List,
and Access Line count City accepts and agrees that the Customer Service Address List and
Access Line count are proprietary and the exclusive property of the Telephone Company, and
agrees to return both the Customer Service Address Ltst and Access Line count report, and any
data copied or taken therefrom m any form, to the Telephone Company wtthln sixty days of its
receipt of such List or report, unless such time is extended by the written agreement of the
parties As the Customer Service Address List ts the exclustve property of the Telephone
Company, the City agrees not to release any information contained m that List to anyone unless
ordered to do so by a court of competent junsdtctlon
(e) The compensation provided for herein constitutes reasonable compensation for the
consideration granted to the Telephone Company herein
(f) Payment of the "Annual Fee" shall not relieve the Telephone Company from paying all
applicable municipally owned utility servme charges, ad valorem and sales taxes adopted by the
City
(g) In the event that either (1) temtory within the boundaries of the City shall be disannexed
and a new incorporated munlcipahty created which includes such temtory or (2) temtory shall
be consolidated or annexed into the City, then notwtthstandmg any other provtsion of thts
PAGE 18
Ordinance, the Annual Fee shall be adjusted, effective on the effecUve date of the annexation
To accomplish this adjustment, within sixty (60) days following the action effect~ng a
d~sannexat~on/annexatlon as described above, the City shall provide the Telephone Company
with maps of the affected area (s) showing the new boundaries of the City If the C~ty fads to
timely provide the maps of the affected areas, then the fees from such additional Access Lines
will not become payable to City until s~xty (60) days after receipt by Telephone Company of
such maps from the City
(h) In the event of an annexation or d~sannexat~on as described above, the Annual Fee pa~d to
the C~ty xanll be adjusted based on the City's gain or loss of Access Lines using the same
methodology prescribed m Section 8(a) above The effective date of the adjustment shall be the
same as the effective date of the annexat~on/dlsannexat~on action by the C~ty, prowded that the
City has supphed the approprtate annexat~on/d~sannexat~on maps to the Telephone Company m
accordance w~th the prowsmns herein The City agrees to reimburse the Telephone Company
for any port~on of any Annual Fee that may have been prod to the City after the effective date of
a d~sannexatlon but prior to the receipt by Telephone Company from C~ty of not,ce of such
d~sannexatlon
(0 In the event a regulatory agency of the State, or court of competem jurisdiction finds that
the Access Line fee compensation methodology contained m Section 8(a) of th~s Ordinance ~s
~nvahd or unenforceable, then for the remmnder of the term of th~s Ordinance or until such t~me
as the part~es agree to another compensation methodology, whtchever occurs first, Telephone
Company agrees to pay annual compensation under th~s Ordinance to City in an amount equal
PAGE 19
to the total of the previous four qua~efly payments, such compensation to be pa~d In quarterly
installments and If necessary prorated from the date of such Order of the regulatory agency or
Court
SECTION 9 SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS
The rights, powers, limitations, duties and restrictions herein provided for shall inure to and be
binding upon the parties hereto and upon their respective legal and bona fide representatives,
successors and assigns
SECTION 10 PERIOD OF AGREEMENT
This agreement shall be in full force and effect for the period beginning with the effective date
hereof and ending five (5) years aitar such date Th~s Ordinance may be extended for an
additional five (5) years if mutually agreed to in writing by both parties and such extension is
approved by the City m accordance w~th the City's Charter
SECTION 11 FUTURE CONTINGENCIES
Notwithstanding anything cont~uned m th~s Ordinance to the contrary, ~n the event that flus
Ordinance or any section, sentence, clause, phrase, or pan thereof, providing any compensation
due the City under this Ordinance, becomes, is held to be, or is declared or determined by
judicial, administrative or legislative authority exercising its jurisdiction to be excessive,
unrecoverable, unenforceable, void, unconstitutional, unlawful, invalid or otherwise ~napphcable,
m whole or m part, the Telephone Company and the City shall meet and negotiate ~n good faith
to obtain a new ordinance that is m compliance w~th the authonty's decision or enactment and m
PAGE 20
which the Telephone Company shall pay to C~ty a reasonable but constitutional and valid
compensation
SECTION 12. GOVERNING LAW AND VENUE
(a) Thts Ordinance shall be construed ~n accordance with the law of the State of Texas and
the City Charter and City Ordinances m effect on the date of passage of thts Ordinance to the
extent that such Charter and Ordinances are not m conflict with or m violation of the
Constxtutlon and laws of the Umted States or of the State of Texas
(b) Venue for any d~spute arising under this Agreement shall be in Denton County, Texas
(c) This Ordinance shall be construed and deemed to have been negotiated at arms length
and drained by the combined efforts of the C~ty and the Telephone Company
SECTION 13 DISPUTE RESOLUTION
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Ordinance, the Pa~ties hereto agree that any
claim, cause of action or other d~spute based upon or arising out of th~s Ordinance (a "dtspute")
shall be conducted, decided, determined and/or resolved pursuant to and in accordance w~th the
prov~sions of this Section The parties desire to resolve d~sputes arising out of flus Or&nance
w~thout lmgatlon Accordingly, m the event of any dispute hereunder, the Parties hereto agree to
attempt in good faith to resolve their dispute between themselves W~thm ten (10) days aider
receipt of the written request of a party, each party will appoint a knowledgeable, responsible
representative or representatives to meet and negotiate in good faith to resolve any dispute
PAGE 21
arising under this Ordinance The parties' representatives will meet within ten (1 O) days after the
appointment of such representatives and negotiate in good faith to resolve any such dispute
(b) Except for action seeking a temporary restra~mng order or injunction related to the
purposes of this Ordinance, or suit to compel compliance with this dispute resolution process, the
parties agree to use the following alternative dispute resolution procedure, and also agree not to
sue any party to this Ordinance with respect to controversy or claim arising out of or relating to
this Ordinance or its breach prior to exhausting the procedures set out in this section
(c) If the parties are unable to settle their dispute at the meeting of representatives provided
for in subsection (a), either party may, on written notice to the other party, initiate non-binding
medlatmn of the dispute before a single mediator affiliated with Judicial Arbitration and
Mediation Services, Inc (JAMS) or another mediation service mutually agreeable to the parties
Mediation is a forum in which an impartial person, the mediator, facilitate communication
between the Parties to promote reconclhation, settlement, or understanding among them A
mediator may not impose his own judgment on the issues for that of the parties Unless
expressly authorized by the parties, the mediator may not disclose to either party information
given re,confidence by the other and shall at all times maintmn confidentiality with respect to
commumcations relating to the subject matter of the dispute Unless the parties agree otherwise,
all matters, including the conduct and demeanor of the parties and their counsel during
mediation, are confidential and shall be inadmissible as settlement discussion pursuant to
Rule 408 of the Federal Rules of Evidence or the applicable state rules The mediator shall be
selected by agreement of the parties within thirty (30) days after either party first requests
PAGE 22
medmtion of the other If a single mediator cannot be agreed upon, then each party shall select
~ts own mediator from those on the JAMS approved list, those two mediators will then select a
third independent mediator who will conduct the mediation session (s) The mediator's fees will
be borne equally by both parties In the event mediation is requested, any applicable statutes of
hmltatlons shall be automatically tolled until the mediator declares an impasse If either party
desires to request the production of reformation for its use m the mediation, it shall deliver such
request to the other party within five (5) days of the select~on of the mediator Any object~on to
such production shall be dehvered to the mediator and the requesting party within five days of
receipt of the request, and the mediator shall issue an opinion wnhln five (5) days of such
objection, as to whether the information ~s relevant to the issues presented for mediation and
should be produced If e~ther party refuses to proceed with the mediation In accordance with the
ruhng of the mediator, the mediation shall be deemed to be at ~mpasse, and the part,es may then
resort to any other available recourse In the event mediation occurs but falls to resolve the
dispute, the parties may then resort to means outside the scope of this Section including flhng
suit
(d) Neither the City nor the Telephone Company by accepting this Ordinance waives its
right to seek all appropriate legal and eqmtable remedies as allowed by law upon vlolauon of the
terms of this Ordinance by the other party, including seeking injunctive rehef m a court of
competent junsdlcuon Such right to seek injunctive relief is expressly reserved and all terms
and provisions hereof shall be enforceable through injunctive relief
PAGE 23
SECTION 14 GOVERNMENTAL IMMUNITY
All of the regulations provided in this Ordinance are hereby declared to be for a public purpose
and the health, safety, and welfare of the general public Any member of the governing body or
City official or employee charged with the enforcement of this Ordinance, acting for the City m
the discharge of his duties, shall not thereby render himself personally liable, and he is hereby
relieved from all personal liability for any damage that might accrue to persons or property as a
result of any act required or permitted in the discharge of his said duties
SECTION 15 GRANTING POWER
(a) The City continues to take the position that the C~ty has the power to grant or deny
consent to the Telephone Company's occupancy and use of the Rights-Of-Way within the City
The Telephone Company continues to take the posmon that Federal law and Texas law do not
permit the City to deny consent to the Telephone Company to occupy and use such
Rights-Of-Way Both the City and the Telephone Company agree that their actions in entering
this agreement by ordinance shall not in any way be a waiver of either party's position as stated
herein
(b) Nothing in this section affects the authority of the C~ty to manage the public Pdghts-Of-
Way or to require a fair and reasonable compensation from all telecommunications providers, on
a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis, and the compensation will be publicly
disclosed by the City
PAGE 24
SECTION 16 REPEAL OF CONFLICTING PROVISIONS
All other ordinances and agreements and parts of agreements and ordinances m conflict w~th the
provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency
SECTION 17 NOTICE
For any purposes related to this Ordinance, notice to the City shall be to
Office of C~ty Manager
C~ty of Denton
215 E McKmney
Denton, TX 76201
Not~ee to the Telephone Company shall be to
CoServ
Attn f~ll ~t~,~,~, Prestdent
3501 FM 2181
Connth, TX 76205
Notice wall be effective upon dehvery at the above addresses untd the City or the Telephone
Company notifies the other, m wining, ora change of address
SECTION 18 PARTIAL INVALIDITY AND REPEAL PROVISIONS
If any section, sentence, clause or phrase m th~s Ordinance ~s for any reason held to be illegal,
ultra wres, unconstitutional, vo:d, or unenforceable such mvahdlty shall not affect the vahd~ty of
the remaining port;ohs, ~t being the intent of the C~ty ~n adopting th~s Ordinance and the
Telephone Company m accepting and agreeing to it that no portion hereof or provision hereof
shall be inoperative or fa:l by reason of any unconst~tut~onahty or mvahd~ty or any other pomon,
prowsmn, or regulation, and to this end, all prov~smns of th~s Ordinance are declared to be
PAGE 25
severable This Ordinance shall be and is hereby declared to be cumulative of all other
ordinances of the City, and th~s Ordinance shall not operate to repeal or affect any of such other
ordinances except insofar as the provisions thereof might be inconsistent or m conflict w~th the
provisions of this Ordinance, m which event such conflicting provisions, if any ~n such other
ordinance or ordinances are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency All ordinances
and agreements and parts of ordinances and agreements in conflict herewith are hereby repealed
to the extent of such inconsistency Provided all other ordinances, rules, regulations, and
agreements which are not m conflict with th~s Ordinance and which m any manner relate to the
regulation of the City streets, alleys, and public places or the business of the Telephone
Company shall remmn m full force and effect
SECTION 19 EFFECTIVE DATE AND ACCEPTANCE OF AGREEMENT
The Telephone Company shall have s~xty (60) days from and after the passage and approval of
this Ordinance to file its written acceptance thereof w~th the City Secretary Upon such filing,
this Ordinance shall take effect and the effective date of this Ordinance shall be
~L~/ ///~]~]4~ , and it shall be m force from and after such date, and shall effectuate
and make binding the agreement provided by the terms hereof All costs of any pubhcatlon
reqmred by law shall be at the expense of the Telephone Company m addition to other charges
provided for herein
SECTION 20 TRANSFER OR ASSIGNMENT
This Ordinance shall not be transferred or assigned by the Telephone Company except w~th the
approval of the govornm8 body of the C~ty expressed by ordinance and subject to all terms of
such ordinance, which shall not be unreasonably withheld
PAGE 26
SECTION 21 OPEN MEETING
It ~s hereby officmlly found and determined that the meeting at whmh th~s Ordinance is passed ~s
open to the pubhc as reqmred by law and that pubhc not~ce of the t~me, place and purpose of sa~d
meeting was 8~ven as reqmred
PASSED AND APPROVED th~s the v,~ -- day of ~~ ,1998
~uncd Memb~
Councd Member
ATTEST
~ER W~TERS, CITY SEC~T~Y
fX'--V
~D~S TO LEG~
~ERT L PROUTY, CITY ATTO~Y
PAGE 27
The above and foregoing ordinance read, adopted on ~.~/dmg and passed to ~se~cond reading
by the following votes, th~s the [~¢_._/7 day of , 19ff~ at a regul~
session of the Ci~ ~uncfl
~ ~///er Mayor, vot,ng
~(~ ~~ Council Member, voting
~/~: ~r~ Council Member, vot, ng
¢ou o,,
~f~/~,--:~ Council Member, vot, ng
The abow ~d foregoing ordinance r~d, adopted on second reading and passed by the following
votes, thisthe ~ day of ~,~, ,19~ .at a re~l~ sess,on of the C,ty
Council
__
~ ~ Mayor, voting
~~~ Council Member, votmgV°tmg
Council Member, ~x.
~ ~ ~ ~.~' Council Member, voting
STATE OF ~S
CO~TY OF DENTON
I, ~O~,t~ /])~ ,C,~Secret~oftheC,tyofDenton. Texas, dohereby
cem~ th~'~ve ~d-{o~m~ ~s a tree and co~ect copy of the right-of-way rental
agreement~etwee~ the C~ of Denton, Texas, ~d COSERV, ~ ~hate of Denton Coumy
Electric, as tndmated hereto The same ~s now recorded m Volume ~ Page of the
Ordinance Records of the Ci~ of Denton, Texas
~SS ~ ~ this the~day of ~P. AD 1~
PAGE 28
ACCEPTANCE
~..~4HEREAS, the C,ty Council of the City of Denton, Texas, did on the ~-~day of
&-- ,19._q_.~_, enact an Ordinance entitled
AN ORDINANCE WHEREBY THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, AND COSERV,
AN AFFILIATE OF DENTON COUNTY ELECTRIC AGREE THAT, FOR THE
PURPOSE OF OPERATING ITS TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS, THE
TELEPHONE COMPANY SHALL CONSTRUCT, ERECT, BUILD, EQUIP, OWN,
MAINTAIN AND OPERATE IN, ALONG, UNDER, OVER AND ACROSS, THE
STREETS, AVENUES, ALLEYS, BRIDGES, VIADUCTS, AND PUBLIC GROUNDS
OF THE CITY, SUCH POSTS, POLES, WIRES, CABLES, CONDUITS AND OTHER
APPLIANCES, STRUCTURES AND FIXTURES NECESSARY OR CONVENIENT
FOR RENDITION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES IN SAID CITY AND
FOR CONDUCTING A GENERAL LOCAL AND LONG-DISTANCE TELEPHONE
BUSINESS, PRESCRIBING THE CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE USE OF
PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY FOR THE TELEPHONE COMPANY'S
TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS, PRESCRIBING THE QUARTERLY
COMPENSATION DUE THE CITY UNDER THIS ORDINANCE, PROVIDING THE
RIGHT OF THE CITY TO USE CERTAIN FACILITIES OF THE TELEPHONE
COMPANY; SPECIFYING GOVERNING LAWS, PROVIDING FOR
ASSIGNMENT, PRESCRIBING THE TERM AND EFFECTIVE DATE OF SAID
AGREEMENT, PROVIDING FOR NOTICE, PROVIDING FOR BINDING EFFECT,
PROVIDING THAT THE ORDINANCE BE CUMULATIVE, PROVIDING FOR
GOVERNMENTAL IMMUNITY, PROVIDING FOR CONSENT AND
ACCEPTANCE, PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, PROVIDING FOR CHOICE OF
LAW AND VENUE, PROVIDING FOR FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE
MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE IS PASSED IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
AS REQUIRED BY LAW, PROVIDING FOR FUTURE CONTINGENCIES,
PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF CONFLICTING ORDINANCES, PROVIDING FOR
RELEASE OF ALL CLAIMS UNDER PRIOR ORDINANCES, PROVIDING FOR
ALTERNATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION, AND PROVIDING FOR METHOD OF
ACCEPTANCE,
and
WHEREAS, said Ordinance was on the c~q~--°/day of k,7-/ZtqJ~7' 19._~
duly approved by the Mayor of smd City and the seal of smd City was thereto affixed and
attested by the City Secretary,
NOW, THEREFORE, CoServ, An Affihate of Denton County Electric, hereby in all
respects ,accepts, approves, and agrees to smd Ordinance, and same shall constitute and be
binding contractual obligation of CoServ, An Affiliate of Denton County Electric and of the City
without wmver of any other remedy by CoServ, An Affllate of Denton County Electric, or the
City an&files this its written acceptance with the City Secretary of the City of Denton, Texas, ~n
h~s/her office.
PAGE 29
Datedth~s bp~fl dayof ~aJ,~ AD 19~
COSERV, AN AFFILIATE OF
DENTON COUNTY ELECTRIC
ATTEST
Assistant Secretary
Ack. led in the office of the C~ty Secretary of Denton, Texas, this /'~day of
AD 19qO~v
PAGE 3O