Loading...
1979-001AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXA~, GRANTING TO GOLDEN TRIANGLE COMMUNICATIONS, A PARTNERSHIP OF SUBSIDIARIES OF DENTON PUBLISHING COMPANY ~ND COX CABLE COMMUNICATIONS, INC OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA, THEIR SUCCESSES AND ASSIGNS, A FRANCHISE TO ERECT, MAINTAIN AND OPERATE A CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEM, ITS STRUCTURES AND APPURTENANCES THERETO, IN, OVER, UN£ ER, ALONG AND ACROSS T~ PUBLIC STREETS, HIGHWAYS, ALLEYS, BRIDGES ND OTHER PUBLIC WAYS AND PLACES IN THE CITY OF DENTON; ESTAB- LISHING ATES TO SUBSCRIBERS AND PAYMENT TO THE CITY, ESTABLISHING CONDITIONS FOR THE USE OF THE STREETS AND OTHER PUBLIC PROPERTY, PRO- ~E~DIN~RULES GOVERNING THE OPERATION OF TEE SYSTEM, PROVIDING FOR A VERABILITY CLAUSE; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the City of Denton, Texas enacted Ordinance No 78-21 "Cable Television" on May 2, 1978, which sets out definitions, pro- vaslons ~overning the length, renewal and transfer of a certifIcate of franchise, franchIse territory, technical standards and speclf~- cat~ons; local regulatory framework and regulatIons, provision for arbitration of disputes, and other matters, and WHEREAS, the City of D~nton, Texas prepared a "Request for Cable Television Proposals" and an "Applicatlon for Cable Television System Franchise" for the awarding of a franchise, and WHEREAS, two proposals were received by the City of Denton, and WHEREAS, the City administrative staff, the CATV advisory board, and the City council, with the help of the Cable Tetev~slon InformatIon Center, evaluated the two applications and held several public hearings affording due process to all involved, and WHEREAS, Golden Triangle Communications submitted a proposal for such fra~chlse and the City of Denton desires to award the franchise to them,~and WHEREAS, said franchise shall be ~n accordance w~th Federal Com- mun~at~ns Commission rules and regulatlons and C~ty Ordinance No 78-21; NOW~ THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, HEREBY ORDAINS PART I Section %. Sub]ect to the terms and conditions mentioned an th~s ordinance and the provisions of Ordinance No. 78-21 "Cable Televls~on" and any amendments thereto, which is incorporated here~n and made a part of this franchise ordanance as ~f set out fully here~n, the C~ty of Denton, Texas, hereanafter called "City" hereby grants to Golden Traangle Communacataons, a partnershap of subsadaaraes of Denton Publ~shang Company and Cox Cable Commun~cataons, Inc of Atlanta, Georgia, hereinafter called "Golden Triangle", ats successors, lessees and assigns, consent to use the present and future streets, alleys, haghways, bradges, publac places, publac thoroughfares and grounds of the Caty for the purpose of erecting, layang, maantaanang, and operatlng therean and thereon poles, towers, anchors, wares, cables, electronac conductors, conduits, manholes, and all other pertinent equapment needed and necessary for the maantenance and operataon of a cable televlslon system for the anterceptaon, sale, transmasslon and dlstrlbutaon of televlsaon programs and other audao-v~sual electracal s~gnals and the right to transmat the same to the anhabatants of the Caty for a term of ten (10) years from the effectave date of th~s ordinance SECTION 2 Company agrees to pay and Caty agrees to accept, on or before the 31st day of March, 1980, and on or before the same day of each succeedlng year durang the lafe of th~s franchise, up to and in- cluding the year 1990, a su~ of money to be known as a street and public way rental charge whlch shall be equivalent to three (3%) percent of the gross annual revenues from all sources attrabutable to the operations of the grantee wlthan the Clty and the Servace Area, whach annual payment shall be for the raghts and prav~leges here~n granted to Golden Traangle, ancludang expressly, wlthout l~m~tataon, the raghts to use the streets, alleys and public ways of saad C~ty It is also understood and agreed that during the l~fe of th~s franohase the above charge, measured an the manner hereanabove provaded, shall be the entare and maxlmum charge which the Caty shall be entitled to make for the use of the streets, alleys and public ways In order to determane the gross receapts receaved by Golden Tr~- angle, Golden Triangle agrees that on the same date that payments are made as provided ~n thas sectaon, at w~ll fale wath the Caty -2- Secretary a sworn report showing the gross annual revenues from all sources attributable to the operations within sa~d City l~mats for the calendar year preceding the date of payments C~ty may, ~f it sees fit, have the books and records of Golden Triangle examined by a representatlve of sald Caty or independent public auditor employed by the City to audit the same to ascertain the correctness of the sworn reports agreed to be flled hereln That the C~ty agrees that the consideration set forth ~n the preceding section hereof shall be pa~d and received in l~eu of any tax, llcense, charge, fee, street or alley rental or any other character of charge for use and occupancy of the streets, alleys, and publac places of the C~ty, an lieu of any pole tax or ~nspectlon fee tax, in lleu of any easement or franchise tax, whether lev~ed as an ad valorem, special, or other character of tax, and in lieu of any lmposltlon other than the usual general or special ad valorem taxes now or hereafter lev~ed Should the C~ty not have the legal power to agree that the payment of the foregolnq cash consideration shall be ~n l~eu of the taxes, l~censes, charges, fees, rentals, and easement or franchise taxes aforesaid, then the City agrees that at wall apply so much of sa~d payment as may be necessary to the satis- faction of Golden Triangle's obligations, if any, to pay any such taxes, l~censes, charges, fees, rentals, and easement or franchise taxes SECTION 3 USE OF PUBLIC PROPERTY AND CONDITIONS OF USE Golden Triangle shall use the public streets and property of the C~ty ~n order to build, construct, renew or maintain its cable television system in accordance with the provisions and requirements of Section 27-59 of Ordinance No 78-21 SECTION 4 NO EXCLUSIVE PRIVILEGES CONFERRED BY THIS ORDINANCE That nothing herein contained shall be construed as g~vlng to Golden Triangle any exclusive privileges -3- SEQTION 5 SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS That the rights, powers, llmltatlons, duties and restrictions here~n provided for shall ~nure to and be b~ndlng upon the part~es hereto and upon their respective successors and assigns SECTION 6 L/ABILITY OF CITY That during the period th~s ordlnance ~s in exlstence and enjoyed by Golden Triangle, Golden Triangle shall demnlfy and hold harmless the C~ty from any and all claims for losses, damages and ~n]ur~es occasioned to or sustained by any persons, f~rms, or corporations, or their property by reason of the existence, main- tenance, operation or continuance of th~s ordinance and the exercise of all r~ghts here~n contracted for, except as hereln otherwise pro- vlded SECTION 7 DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY That the City may delegate to a desig- nated official or officials the exercise of any and all of the powers conferred upon the C~ty hereby or by applicable State statutes and law which relate to the supervision and regulation of a cable tele- vmsmon company ~n its exercise of the r~ghts and franchises here~n conferred, but the governing body of the C~ty shall reserve to ~tself exclusmvely and to the full extent possessed, all powers, ~f any, to fix and regulate charges and rates of Golden Triangle g~ven the C~ty by law and thms franchise Ail lawful powers not delegated by the governing body of the C~ty are reserved to, and shall be exercised by, sa~d governing body exolusmvely That at all reasonable tzmes, durmng the contmnuance of the rights here~n granted, the general offmces of Golden Trmangle shall be open to the said governing body or mts deslgnated offlclal for spect~on of original contracts, books of account and cost operating records pertaining to ~ts operations covered by th~s franchise Any method of accounting heretofore or hereafter adopted or authorized by any law of the United States or of the State of Texas or under or pursuant to the authormty of any such law shall be deemed proper and suff~cment accounting as to all matters covered thereby -4- SECTION 8 RATE REGULATION That it is mutually understood and agreed that the regulation of rates to be charged by Golden Triangle to the ln- habltants of the C~ty ~s pursuant to Section 27-52 of Ordlnance No 78-21 of the C~ty of Denton The initial rates to be charged by Golden Triangle are attached to thls ordinance as Exh~blt "A" and are ~ncorporated here~n and made a part of th~s ordinance Such rates shall remain ~n effect and not be changed for a m~n~mum per~od of two (2) years after the award of the franchise It is also mutually understood and agreed that the C~ty of Denton may, when considering a revised rate schedule submitted by Golden Tr~- angle, consider the fair return on lnvested capital by us~nq calcu- lations for the cost of capital for Cox Communications, Inc of Atlanta, Georgia rather than the cost of capital for Golden Triangle Communl- catlons SECTION 9 CONSTRUCTION TIMETABLE Although Section 27-44 of Ordinance No 78-21 sets out the construction t~metables for servicing the C~ty of Denton w~th cable telev~slon service, at ~s mutually understood and agreed that Golden Triangle w~ll make the service available to the en- tire C~ty w~th~n fourteen (14) months from the date of th~s ordinance SECTION 10. CONDITIONS The terms of thls franchise shall be as set forth ~n the Charter of the C~ty of Denton, in Ordinance No 78-21 passed by the C~ty Council May 21, 1978, applicable Federal law and regula- tions, and the franchise appllcat~on submitted by Golden Tr~anqle on September 29, 1978, a copy of whlch is on file ~n the C~ty Secretary's Off~ce and ~s available for ~nspect~on during normal bus~ness hours, provided, however, that if any part of sald appl~catlon ~s found by the Federal Communications Commission to be ~ncons~stent w~th their rules and regulations, such rules and regulations shall prevail SECTION,ii SEVERABILITY Each sectlon of th~s ordinance and each part of each section hereof is hereby declared to be an ~ndependent section -5- or part of section, and the holding of any section or part there- of to be unconst~tutlonal, void, illegal, ~neffectlve or contrary to law for any reason, shall not effect any other sectlon or part of section of th~s ordinance S~CTION 12 ACCEPTANCE OF AGREEMENT That Golden Triangle Communications shall have thirty (30) days from and after the passage and approval of th~s ordinance to f~le ~ts written acceptance thereof with the C~ty Secretary, and to pay to the C~ty of Denton a lump sum fee of $10,000 to partlally cover expenses that the City has ~ncurred ~n preparing, revlew~ng and awarding th~s franchise Once the accept- ance has been f~led and the fee pa~d, th~s ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after the date of its passage, and shall effectuate and make b~nd~ng the agreement by the terms hereof PASSED AND APPROVED on f~rst read~nq th~s 19th day of December, A D 1978. PASSED AND APPROVED on second readlng this /~day of January, A D 1979 ATTEST: CITY OF DENTONt TEXAS APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM. ~'-PA~3L C ISF~%M, CITY ATTORNEY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS -6- EXHIBIT A PROPOSED RATES Rate Schedule Ail rates initially proposed zn applzcant's proposal must be substantzated zn the financzal pro forma state- ments by use of realistic levels of penetratzon Initial rates shall remain in effect for a minimum period of two years from the date of providing service to the first subscrzber Lzst below proposed rates to be charged for basic subscriber servzces, commercial rates, PROPOSED RATES OFFER BY APPLICANT multzple dwelling, etc INSTALLATION MONTHLY A Basic CATV Servzce Fzrst outlet $15 00' $7 50 Each additional outlet 7 50 2 00 Movzng and/or reconnection 10 00 B Commercial Rates (more than 12 units in one location) 1 Using existing master TV system first outlet cost + 7 50 each additional outlet cost + 3 00 (see note 1) -OR- 2 Where no existing master negotzatzon 4 00 TV system w/buzlding 3 00 owner (see note 2) 3 Miscellaneous charges reconnect (per unzt) $10 00 move connection wzthzn unmt 10 00 C FM Rates Installation (FM only) 15 00 5 00 Installation w/cable set 2 00 *Subscrzber installation charges may be waived durzng the 12 month perzod following commencement of service Note 1 Indivzdual billing for each unmt Note 2 Compositebzlling for all unzts OTHER RATES If deposit is requmred for converter, state amount and describe conditions relating to ownershmp, use and replacement No Deposit Required Detazl proposed rates that will be charged for Pay TV, zncludmng any charges for equzpment installatzon There are three different Pay TV channels proposed for the Czty Th~ channels and proposed rates * are as follows Home Box Office $6 95/month Fanfare $8 95/month Famzly Theatre $4 00/month The followzng lnstallatmon rates are proposed to be effectzve when CATV subscribers wmsh to add the pay servzce to thezr existzng service Home Box Office $10 00 Fanfare $10 00 Family Theatre $ 5 O0 Pay TV installation fees are waived when a subscrmber pur- chases the pay service at the same tmme as the CATV servzce · It ms mutually understood and agreed that the pay TV rates are on a per subscriber basms, and not a per outlet baszs OTHER RATES Detazl studmo and equzpment usage rates Noncommerczal users (publmc access, governmental, non-profzt groups, etc ) Access users may reserve the studmo and facmlmtzes for one half hour free of charge This half hour may be used for setup, l~ghting, rehearsal, etc When actual tapmng begzns, the fzrst fzve minutes of the program are free of charge Thus, access users who produce a finished tape w~th a runnzng tzme no longer -2- than five mmnutes, wmthmn the lnztial half hour, will do so at no cost Users who produce a tape wmthzn the znltzal half hour wzth a running time longer than fzve mmnutes wmll be charged fzfty cents ($ 50) per minute for each mznute recorded beyond the fzrst f~ve minutes As the length of studzo and vzdeo tape time zncreases, szxty mznutes, nznety mznutes, etc , the charges gradually increase accordzngly and reach a hzgh of one dollar ($1 00) per minute These costs and examples of dzfferent situatzons are spelled our mn detail mn our Polzcmes and Procedures and we refer you to this sectzon for more mn-depth mnformatzon Commerczal users Commerczal f~rms deszring to use the system's color studzo for televmsion production purposes may do so at an hourly rate of $100 00 This charge includes full facmlmtmes, director and crew Descrmbe rates for governmental and educatzonal facmlmtmes (See also znstructzons to applicants ) Installation fees No Charge One cable outlet (per factlzty) No Charge More than one outlet (per faczlmty) Cost of tzme and materials only Monthly Charges None Describe advertmsmng rates Rather than copying the advertzszng rate methods hmstorzcally employed by televmsion and radzo statzons Golden Trzangle Communications would prefer a realzstmc and relatmvely simple -3- advertising rate structure The below listed rates do not contain involved frequency discount formulas, special pro- vlszons for fzxed ad0acenczes or other charges for run of schedule announcements The Company wishes to make a fair return on zt's programming by providing the entzre Denton buszness communzty an opportunity to sponsor community programmzng The rate schedule proposed is one that a small busznessman can both afford and comprehend Only by znvolving a broad cross-sectzon of local advertisers wzll local progra~mng become self-sustaznzng 60 Second Announcements 30 Second Announcements $10 50 $6 00 mzscounts 10 announcements per month - 10% 20 announcements per month - 15% Descrzbe leased channel rates Noncommerczal A total of 2 channels have initzally been set aszde for leased access purposes It is the intentzon of Golden Trzangle to make these channels available on a first-come, fzrst-serve baszs Qualified non-commerzcal users will be provided access to either full-tzme or shared channels at no cost Two-way circuits and service wzll be available to government agencies, educational, medical and other mnstitutions via the Denton system's Special Services Network Cable There wmll be no cost to the institutions for use of thms two-way video/ audio link Commercial At the present time, there ms lzttle experience wmthln the cable television industry concernzng the use of leased channels for such purposes as digmtal transmzsslon meter readzng, sub- scriber polling, etc The leased channel rate wzll be determzned -4- zn part by the extent of the system's znvolvement through additional equipment and manpower These varzables make zt zmpossible to predetermine rates or prooect revenues for leased channels at this tzme Rates wzll be fair and conpen- satory to the system A low lease tariff that does not re- flect the true value of the channel creates a sztuatlon where the system's basic cable subscrzbers are zn effect subszdzz~ng a leased channel business Golden Trzangle wzll make every effort to asszst zn the development of sound, productive uses of the cable system's leased channel capacity by local busznesses and other groups The Company belzeves proper utzlzzatzon of the system's leased channels to be an zmportant community servzce As a result Gold~ Triangle wzll be extremely flexible zn zts polzczes so as to encourage full use of these channels New approaches, experimentatzon and trial and error wzll all be necessary be- fore these channels can become szgnzfzcant factors in the community or viable buszness enterprzses State any other rates antzc~pated but not mentzoned above N/A ACCEPTANCE OF FRANCHISE Golden Triangle Communlcatlons, a partnership of Golden Triangle Communlcatlons, Inc and Cox Cable of Texas, Inc (these companies belng wholly-owned subsidiaries of Denton Publ~shlng Company and Cox Cable Communications, Inc , respectlvely) hereby accepts the franchise granted to it under Ordinance No 79-1 to erect, maintain and operate a cable televls~on system w~thln the C~ty of Denton for a term of ten (10) years Golden Triangle Communications further accepts the cable televlslon Ordinance and all the terms, conditions and pro- v~slons ~ncorporated by means of Ordinance No 78-21 and agrees to ab~de by, observe and perform all the terms, con- d~t~ons and provisions of said Ordinances Golden Triangle Communications hereby declares that the statements and recltals set forth ~n said Ordinances are correct and Golden Triangle does hereby make all of the agreements, statements and admissions required by the terms of and under the Ordinances The undersigned afflants assert that they are officers of Golden Triangle Communlcat~ons, Inc and Cox Cable of Texas, Inc and are authorized to execute this acceptance on behalf of the Partnership IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Golden Triangle Communications has caused th~s acceptance to be executed the 18th day of January, 1979 PARTNER PARTNER Golden Triangle Communlcatlons, Inc Cox Cable of Texas, Inc By Roy A~pleton, Jrf W~a A Pitney l Vice President Vice President nx ^~~`a 'Sr KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS: COUNTY OF DENTON ~ jYHEREAS, Golden Triangle Communications has .been avrarded a cable television franchise for the City of Denton, Texas; and WHEREAS, City of Denton Ordinance No. 78-21, Section 27-43 requires Golden Triangle Communications to deposit $30,000 in monies or securities, as securit for the faithful~~~-`~ y performance by it of all the provisions of the franchise ordinance; and ..WHEREAS, Golden Triangle Communications, Party of the First Part, has deposited with the First State Bank of Denton, Texas, Party of the Second Part, the sum of $30,000 to serve. as the. security fund. NOW, THEREFORE, Party of the First Part agrees that said sum will be held on account with the Party of the Second Part for the use and benefit of the City of Denton tinder the follow- ing conditions: -= -. 1. If-Golden--Triangle-6emmun=icatons fail-s-to-pay-to-the__ _ City of Denton any compensation due the City within a time period fixed by City of Denton Ordinance No. 78-21; or ,.fails, after ten (10) days notice to repay to the City any taxes due and unpaid; or, fails to repay to the City, within ten (10) days, any damages, costs, or expenses which the City shall. be compelled to pay by reason of any act or default of 'the Company in connection with the cable television; or, fails, after three (3) days notice of such failure by the City Manager, to comply with any provision of the franchise ordinance which the City Manager reasonably determines can be remedied by an rexpenditur.e,; of__the_security;,--the=Director ~---}---~----= of Finance will notify in rvriting the Party of the Second Part of the monies due the City of Denton, with interest and any penalties accrued thereon, and the Party of the Second Part will immediately pay such.sum to the City of Denton. 2. Party of_the Second Part will give written notice to the Party of the First Part that an amount has been paid to the City of Denton from this fund, and within ten (10) days after notice to ., - _ - 4. Party of the First Part will be entitled to any interest which may accrue on the fund provided that the fund balance is $30,000 at the time that the interest is payable. '"- 5, It is agreed that this deposit agreement is made for the -convenience of the Party of the First Part, that the City of Denton could require such fund_to be_depositedw.i.th_it.,_and_P-ar_t.y_of.--the - -- Second Part will not withhold funds to the City of Denton when re- quested to pay same to the City of Denton by its Director of Finance. Both Party of the First Part and City of Denton shall hold Party of the Second Part harmless for paying any funds to the City of Denton pursuant to this agreement and City of Denton Ordin- ante No. 78-21. tiYITi.ESS our hands this the /2 ~~ day of February, A. D, 1979. _.__~_ _ r-~-~= ~.~-~-T-_=...+._ ~_--_..r _ _ _.-_ _ ACCEPTED: CITY OF DEiQTON, TEXAS BY: VV ~~~ {VILLIA~4 bICNARY DIRECTOR OF FINANCE -2- FIRST S~TA E BANG OF DENTON BY •~R~r~-`~"~~ HO;~iER BLY, PRESIDF,PdT