1982-056 9630A (174A)
This ordinance has been amended by Ordinance No 90-108 (attached)
AN ORDINANCE GRANTING TO LONE STAR GAS COMPANY A FRANCHISE TO
SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTE GAS IN THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS,
REGULATING THE SALE AND DISTRIBUTION OF GAS, PROVIDING OTHER
REGULATIONS FOR THE CONDUCT OF THE COMPANY'S OPERATIONS,
PROVIDING FOR THE PAYMENT OF FEES FOR THE USE OF THE STREETS,
ALLEYS, AND OTHER PUBLIC WAYS, REPEALING ALL PREVIOUS GAS
FRANCHISE ORDINANCES, AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS
SECTION I
Sub]ect to the terms and conditions mentioned in this
ordinance the City of Denton, Texas, hereinafter called "City",
hereby grants to Lone Star Gas Company, a Dlvls~on of Enserch
Corporation, hereinafter called "Company", consent to use the
present and future streets, alleys, highways, public places,
public thoroughfares and grounds of the City for the purpose of
laying, maintaining, operating therein and thereon p~pe lines
and all appurtenant equipment needed and necessary to deliver
and sell gas to persons, firms and corporations, ~nclud~ng all
of the general public within the C~ty's corporate l~mlts and
the environs thereof, said consent being granted for a term of
nineteen (19) years from the effective date of th~s ordinance
SECTION II
Company agrees to pay and City agrees to accept, on or
before the f~rst day of April, 1983, and on or before the same
day of each succeeding year during the life of this franchise,
up to and including the year 2001, a sum of money to be known
as a street and public property rental charge which shall be
equivalent to two percent (2%) of the gross receipts received
by Company from the sale of gas to its domestic and commercial
consumers in said City, expressly excluding, however, receipts
derived from sales to industrial consumers in said C~ty for the
preceding calendar year, which annual payment shall be for the
r~ghts and priv~leges here~n granted to Company, Including
expressly the rights to use the streets, alleys and public ways
of the City in accordance with the terms and conditions con-
talned herein It is also understood and agreed that during
the life of this franchise the above charge, measured in the
manner herelnabove provided, shall be the entire and maximum
charge which the City shall be entitled to receive for the use
of the streets, alleys and public ways regardless of whether
said charge shall be designated as a rental or otherwise, and
whether measured by gross receipts, units of Installation or in
any other manner, provided, however, should the Legislature of
the State of Texas authorize cities and towns within the State
to levy and impose a greater charge than two percent (2%) of
the gross receipts derived from the sales of gas, then City and
Company agree to enter into negotiations for the purpose of
determining whether all or any part of such increased gross
receipts charge should be applied in the City of Denton,
Texas If the parties are unable to agree, City shall have the
right to impose such additional charge upon ninety (90) days
notice to Company In any event, the Company is not exempted
by this franchise from the usual general and special ad valorem
taxes which the City is authorized to levy and Impose upon real
and personal property
"Industrial Users or Consumers", as herein used, are those
generally and commonly classified as such by Company, and who
are billed on a schedule of rates less than the Company's
domestic and commercial schedules
In order to determine the gross receipts received by
Company from the sale of gas (expressly excluding sales of gas
to industrial consumers within the corporate limits of City)
Company agrees that on the same date that payments are made as
provided in this Section II, it will file with the City
Secretary a sworn report showing the gross receipts received
from the sale of gas to its domestic and commercial consumers
within said City Limits for the calendar year preceding the
PAGE 2-LONE STAR GAS COMPANY FRANCHISE ORDINANCF
date of payments City may, if it sees fit, have the books and
records of Company examined by a representative of said City to
ascertain the correctness of the sworn reports agreed to be
filed herein
SECTION III
Company shall lay its pipes, mains and laterals ~n the
alleys where practical but when laid in the streets and
avenues, they shall be laid ~n a line parallel with the curb
line thereof and such work shall be subject to the approval of
the C~ty Engineer or such representative as is designated by
the City
SECTION IV
In the opening and refilling of all openings made by the
Company, sub]ect to the ordinances applicable thereto, it shall
restore the pavements and do all other work necessary to
complete restoration of the streets, pavements, sidewalks, or
grounds to a condition equally as good as when d~sturbed All
restoration of streets shall be done within a reasonable period
of time and if not done, then the City is authorized to make
such restoration and charge the Company the cost thereof When
the Company shall open any ground in said C~ty for the purpose
of laying any gas pipes, or for any other purpose whatever, the
Company shall open no more space at any one time or at any one
place than is necessary for the work for which same shall have
been opened In all cases where work requires the ex~rclse of
sk~ll, as in the restoration of pavements and sidewalks, the
Company shall employ skilled workmen, familiar with the
execution of such work, and all of such work w~ll be done at
Company's expense, and subject to the approval of the City
Council of the City of Denton, Texas, or other proper authority
designated by it
The Company hereby agrees to fill up with tar or some other
suitable substance any and all holes made ~n the pavement by
PAGE 3-LONE STAR GAS COMPANY FRANCHISE ORDINANCE
driving bars through the pavement in checking for leaks in the
gas mains and service lines Company, at its optlon, may also
use permanently placed covered bar ho]es for the Durpose of
testing for leaks Company shall obtain a Dermlt from the City
Engineer prior to disturbing the surface of any street, alley,
public way, or any City right-of-way, however, no permit fee
shall be required for such permits
SECTION V
This franchise is granted subject to any and all valid
provisions of the existing City Charter and the Code of
Ordinances of the C~ty of Denton, Texas, and all of sa~d
provlslons~ which are not Inconsistent with the Constitution or
general laws of the State of Texas, are aDDl~cable hereto and
are hereby made a part of this franchise as fully as though
copled at length here~n
Nothing in this franchlse shall be construed ~n such a
manner as ~n any way to abridge the police power of the C~ty of
Denton, Texas, to pass the necessary ordinances for the
protectlon of the citizens of Denton, Texas, their property,
and the property of this Company, and this franchise shall be
subject to any lawful ordinances which may hereafter b~ passed
which are not Inconsistent herewith
SECTION VI
The Company shall do no permanent injury to any street,
avenue, alley, lane, bridge, stream, water course, park or
public place or C~ty r~ght-of-way nor in any manner disturb or
interfere unnecessarily with any electric lines, conduits, or
equipment or w~th any water or other p~pes, nor with any public
or private sewer now or hereafter laid or constructed by said
C~ty of Denton, or by any authorized person or corporation, but
all electric conduits or water or sewer p~pes or other pipes
shall be so laid as not to lnterfere unnecessarily w~th any gas
mains or pipes which shall be laid prior to the time of laying
such conduits, sewer or water lines or other pipes
PAGE 4-LONE gTAR GAS COMPANY FRANCHISF ORDINANCE
SECTION VII
The Company shall at all times keep and display the neces-
sary danger s~gnals and proper guards around all excavations
and obstructions and whenever possible shall keep sufficient
space in good condition for travel of vehicles on at least one
side of all excavations and obstructions, and shall, as soon as
practicable, restore all openlngs on the hfghways, streets,
avenues and alleys and other public places and rIght-of-ways to
a condition equally as good as before said openings or
obstructions were made
Company shall hold the City harmless from all expense or
liability for any act or neglect of the Company hereunder
The City shall not be liable for any damage caused by
electrolysis to Company's system by the City of Denton's
utility system, but if a condition is found to exist where
damage is being caused by electrolysis the City will use
reasonable diligence to correct the situation causing such
damage
SECTION VIII
All service pipes shall be constructed and maintained by
the Company at its own expense to the curb line where ~ts ma~n
is located in a street or to the property line where its main
is located in an alley Company shall have the right to
contract w~th each customer with reference to the Installation
of, and payment for, any and all of the gas piping from the
connection thereof with the Company's main in the streets or
alleys to and throughout the consumer's premises Company
shall own, operate and maintain all service lines, which are
defined as the supply 31nes extending from the Company's main
to the customer's meter where gas is measured bv Company The
consumer shall own, operate, and maintain ali yard lines and
house piping Yard lines are defined as the underground supply
lines extending from the point of connection with Company's
PAGE 5-LONE STAR GAS COMPANY FRANCHISE ORDINANCE
customer meter to the point of connection with consumer's house
piping
SECTION IX
Company shall not be required to extend its plpe lines or
laterals more than 100 lineal feet in order to serve any one
consumer
The Company shall maintain its gas system and equipment in
good operatIng condition at all times, and meters shall be
ma~ntained w~thln the range of accuracy required by the laws
and regulations of the State of Texas
SECTION X
The Company shall furnish to City annually a map showing
the add~tions, changes and extensions to its gas plant in the
City of Denton
SECTION XI
The City reserves the r~ght to require and the Company
agrees to make reasonable reports in the same manner as to
other regulatory authorltles including the Railroad CommIssion
of the State of Texas w~th respect to Company's gas
dIstribution system in the City of Denton, Texas The City
also reserves the right to have Company's books, records and
accounts examined and audited by Its authorized agents and
representatives, such examinations or audits to be done and
performed after reasonable not~ce to Company and within
Company's usual hours of operation
SECTION XII
Th~s franohlse shall not be transferred by Lone Star Gas
Company except with the approval of the C~ty Council of the
City of Denton expressed by ordinance
SECTION XIII
The City reserves the right by resolutlon or otherwise to
designate the location of any gas mains or gas service lines
w~th reference to other municipal street facilities such as
PAGE 6-LONE STAR GAS COMPANY FRANCHISE ORDINANCE
sewer and water mains and services, in such a manner as to
promote the public safety and to protect public property Any
designation or location or inspection authorized herein shall
be accomplished so as not unnecessarily to delay the Company
any of its operations
Whenever the City shall pave or repave any street or shall
change the grade or line of any street or public place or shall
construct or reconstruct any conduit, water main, sewer or
sewer connection or other municipal public works or utility,
shall be the duty of the Company, when so ordered by the City,
to change, replace, repair, recondltlon or relay Its maln~,
services and other property in the streets or public places at
its own expense so as to conform to the establIshed qrade or
line of such street or public place and so as not to interfere
with the conduits, sewers and other mains as constructed or
reconstructed and so as to properly protect said new pavement
and make the normal life of such p~pe equal to the normal l~fe
of such new pavement
SECTION XIV
In addltlon to the rates charged for gas supplied, Company
may make and enforce reasonable charges, rules and regulations
for service rendered in the conduct of its business, lncludlnq
a charge for services rendered in the Inauguration of natural
gas service, and may require, before furnishing service, the
execution of a contract therefor Company ~hall be entitled to
require from each and every consumer of gas, before qas service
is commenced, a deposit of twice the amount of an estimated
average monthly bill, which said deposit may be retained by
Company until service is discontinued and ail bills therefor
have been paid Company shall then return sa~d deposit to the
consumer, together with six percent (6%) interest thereon from
the date of said deposit up to the date of discontinuance of
service Company shall be entitled to apply said deposit, with
PAGE 7-LONE STAR GAS COMPANY FRANCHISE ORDINANCE
accrued interest, to any indebtedness owed Company by the
consumer making the deposit
SECTION XV
All ordinances or parts of ordinances heretofore adopted by
the City Council of the City of Denton, Texas, granting gas
franchises to any person, firm or corporation, are hereby
expressly repealed and are of no further force or effect
SECTION XVI
Each section of this ordinance and each part of each
section hereof ~s hereby declared to be an ~ndependent section
or part of section, and the holding of any section or part
thereof to be unconst~tutional, void, illegal, Ineffective or
contrary to law, for any reason, shall not affect any other
section or part of section of this ordinance
SECTION XVII
Nothing contained herein shall change the present rates now
in effect in the City of Denton, Texas, but it is understood
that such rates and charges shall be subject to revision and
change by either the Clty or the Company from time to time in
the manner authorized by law
SECTION XVIII
The City Council of the City of Denton shall have the right
to select and engage rate consultants, accountants, auditors,
attorneys, engineers, or any combination thereof, to conduct
investigations, present evidence, advise and represent the City
of Denton on public utility rate making proceedings under this
ordinance and/or to assist wlth litigation on public utility
rate making proceedings, appeals and rate cases, and Lone Star
Gas Company shall be required to relmburse the City of Denton
for the reasonable costs of such services
SECTION XVIV
This franchise ordinance shall be effective thirty (30)
days after its final passage and approval, pending such time
PAGE 8-LONE STAR GAS COMPANY FRANCHISE ORDINANCE
the full text of this ordinance shall be published once each
week for three consecutive weeks in the Denton Record-
Chronicle, the official newspaper of the City of Denton,
Texas Company shall file ~ts written acceptance of this
franchise ordinance w~th the office of the C~tv Secretary of
the City of Denton within thirty (30) days after its effective
date and this ordinance shall be of no force and effect if not
accepted within sa~d period S~__
PASSED AND APPROVED on first reading this the day
of ~.~,~.- , 1982
PASSED AND APPROVED on second reading this the ~-'day
PASSED AND APPROVED on third reading thi~ the day
of ~ , 1982
ATTEST
C~Rn0TTE' ~LLEN, CY~? SECRETARY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM
C J TAYLOR, JR , CITY ATTORNEY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
PAGE ~-LONE STAR GAS COMPANY FRANCHISE ORDINANCE
ORDINANCE NO ~__~
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, AMENDING SECTION II OF
THE FRANCHISE GRANTED TO LONE STAR GAS COMPANY BY ORDINANCE NO 82-
56 TO PROVIDE FOR AN AMENDED FRANCHISE FEE TO BE PAID BY LONE STAR
GAS COMPANY FOR THE USE OF THE PUBLIC STREETS, AND DECLARING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS
SECTION I AS of the effective date of this amendatory
ordinance, and upon acceptance by Lone Star Gas Company of the
provisions hereof, Section II of the aforesaid captioned franchise
ordinance enacted on July 20, 1982, shall be changed to substitute
a three percent (3%) gross receipts fee for the use of streets and
alleys instead of two percent (2%), as now provided in said
section The other provisions of Section II shall remain un-
changed
~ The terms and provisions of th~s amendatory
ordinance shall be deemed to be severable, and if the validity of
any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this amendatory
ordinance should be declared to be invalid, the same shall not
affect the validity of any other section, sentence, clause or
phrase of this amendatory ordinance
~ Except as heretofore and herelnabove changed and
amended, the terms, provisions, conditions and requirements of the
aforesaid franchise ordinance shall remain in full force and
effect
SECTION IV This amendatory ordinance shall become effective
thirty (30) days after its final passage and approval, pending such
time the full text of this ordinance shall be published one each
week for three consecutive weeks in the Denton Record-Chronicle,
the official newspaper of the City of Denton, Texas
Only gas sold by the Company after the effective date of this
Ordinance shall be assessed at three percent (3%) The payment
made for gas sales prior to the effective date of this ordinance
shall remain at two percent (2%)
Lone Star Gas Company shall file its written acceptance of
this amendment to the franchise ordinance with the office of the
City Secretary of the City of Denton within thirty (30) days after
its effective date and this ordinance shall be of no force and
effect if not accepted within said period
APPROVED on first reading this the ~day of
, 1990
~PAS~ED AND APPROVED on second reading this the /~4~day of
--~~ , 1990
APPROVED on third reading this the __~_~ day of
, 1990
BOB CASTLEBERRY, MAYO~
ATTEST
JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY
DEBRA' A DRAYOVITCH, CITY ATTORNEY
ACCEPTED
LONE STAR GAS COMPANY, GRANTEE
ATTEST
lonestar 2/7/19/90
PAGE 2
AMENDED FRANCHISE ACCEPTANCE
STATE OF TEXAS
COUNTY OF DALLAS
WHEREAS, there was finally passed and approved on August 7, 1990, Ordinance
No 90-108 amending the Lone Star Gas Company franchise enacted by the City of
Denton, Denton County, Texas, on July 20, 1982, of record ~n the M~nutes of the City
Council, to change the street and alley rental fee ~n Section 9 of sa~d franchise, which ~s
recorded ~n Book of the M~nutes of the City Council of sa~d City, and
WHEREAS, Section IV of sa~d amendatory ordinance prowdes as follows
"SECTION IV Th~s amendatory ordinance shall become
effecbve thirty (30) days after its final passage and approval,
pending such brae the full text of th~s ord;nance shall be
published one each week for three consecutive weeks in the
Denton Record Chronicle, the official newspaper of the C~ty of
Denton, Texas
Only gas sold by the Company after the effective date of th~s
Ordinance shall be taxed at three percent (3%) The payment made
for gas sales prior to the effective date of th~s ordinance shall remain
at two percent (2%)
Lone Star Gas Company shall file ~ts wntten acceptance of th~s
amendment to the franchise ordinance with the office of the C~ty
Secretary of the City of Denton w~th~n thirty (30) days after its
effective date and this ordinance shall be of no force and effect ~f not
accepted w~th~n sa~d penod
AND WHEREAS, ~t ~s the desire of Lone Star Gas Company, a D~ws~on of
ENSERCH CORPORATION, to comply w~th the above quoted prows~ons of Secbon IV
thereof
NOW, THEREFORE, premises considered, Lone Star Gas Company, a D~ws~on of
ENSERCH CORPORATION, acting by and through ~ts duly authonzed officers, and w~th~n
the bme prescnbed by Section IV quoted above, does hereby accept the prows~ons of
the above amendatory Ordinance No 90-108 ~n accordance w~th ~ts terms prows~ons
conditions and requirements, and subject to the sbpulabons and agreements there~n
contained
WITNESS THE EXECUTION THEREOF, on th~s the 12 ~ day of
ATTEST LONE STAR GAS COMPANY, A
DIVISION OF
- / ?.~ ENSERCH CORPORATION
~ AssiStant Secr~r~/ V ident
STATE OF TEXAS
COUNTY OF DENTON
CITY OF DENTON
I, ~ [~(l~lm5 L~,~,J¢~,, City Secreta~ of the City of Denton, Texas, do
hereby ce~ that the above and foregoing ~s a true and correct copy of a formal
acceptance of Ordinance No 90-108 finally passed and approved by sa~d City on
August 7, 1990, and of record ~n Book of the Minutes of the City, and I do
fu~her ce~ that sa~d acceptance has been duly presented to the C~ty Council and filed
~n connection w~th and as a pa~ of sa~d amendatow ordinance
iOF WHICH, w~tness my official s~gnature and the seal of sard C~ty on th~s the
City S~ctetary
City of Denton, Texas
accept the franchise granted to it by the above-described ordi-
nance, ~n accordance w~th its terms, provisions, conditions,
and requirements, and subject to the stipulations and
agreements there~n ~ntalned
WITNES~ THE EXECUTION HEREOF, on this the ~1 day
of
ATTEST LONE STAR GAS COMPANY, a
D~v~s~on of ENSERCH
i s ta ~t Secretary
STATE OF TEXAS
COUNTY OF DENTON
CITY OF DENTON
I, ~~~ ~/j~_--~, Se crc ts ry of
the Clty of DentoS, Texa~, do hereby certify that the above and
foregoing is a true and correct copy of a formal acceptance of
a franchise finally passed and approved by said City on July
20, 1982, and of record ~n the M~nutes of the Clty, and I do
further certify that sa~d acceptance has been duly presented to
the C~ty Council and f~led in connection w~th and as a part of
sa~d franchise ordinance
OF WHICH, witness m~ offlclal~lgnatu~e and the seal
of sa~d City on this the /~--'_ day of ~~_~ 1982
C~ty of Denton
-2-