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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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FIRST S~TA E BANG OF DENTON
BY •~R~r~-`~"~~
HO;~iER BLY, PRESIDF,PdT