SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND DEFINITIONS
1. Short Title. This Franchise Ordinance shall be known and cited as the Cable Franchise Ordinance.
2. Definitions. For the purposes of this Franchise, the following terms, phrases, words, and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory. The word "may" is directory and discretionary and not mandatory.
a. "Basic Cable Service" means any service tier which includes the lawful retransmission of local television broadcast signals and any public, educational, and governmental access programming required by the Franchise to be carried on the basic tier. Basic Cable Service as defined herein shall not be inconsistent with 47 U.S.C. ß 543(b)(7).
b. "City" means City of _______________, a municipal corporation, in the State of Minnesota, acting by and through its City Council, or its lawfully appointed designee.
c. "City Council" means the governing body of the City.
d. "Cable Service" or Service means Cable Service as defined by Minn. Stat. ß 238.01 et seq. and 47 U.S.C ß 521 et seq., as may be amended from time to time, including cable modem service to the extent consistent with federal law, but also including Institutional Network services.
e. "Cable System" or "System" means a network or facility consisting of antennas, fiber optic cables, transmitters and receivers, cables and amplifiers, towers, microwave transmission links, cablecasting studios, power supplies, pedestals, and any other conductors, converters, equipment or other facilities, designed and constructed for the purpose of producing, receiving, amplifying, storing, processing, switching, or distributing audio, video, or data signals, including digital or other forms of electronic signals, to customers within the City. System as defined herein shall not be inconsistent with the definitions set forth in Minn. Stat. ß 238.02, subd. 3 and 47 U.S.C. ß 522(7).
f. "Class IV Cable Channel" means a signaling path provided by a Cable System to transmit signals of any type from a Subscriber terminal to another point in the System.
g. commercial Need or marketplace Need means such need or market demand which Grantee independently determines or City and Grantee may jointly determine requires action or performance by Grantee as specifically set forth in this Franchise. Any such joint determination shall be based upon evidence and information presented by City, Grantee and other interested parties at a duly noticed public proceeding. Grantee shall have an opportunity to present evidence regarding the level of market demand, the cost of meeting such demand and the availability of technologies to meet such demand. Any decision regarding Commercial or Marketplace Need which requires action by Grantee shall not be unreasonable.
h. Commission means the Ramsey/Washington Counties Suburban Cable Communications Commission II, a municipal joint powers consortium comprised of the municipalities of Birchwood, Dellwood, Grant, Lake Elmo, Mahtomedi, Maplewood, North St. Paul, Oakdale, Vadnais Heights, White Bear Lake, White Bear Township and Willernie, Minnesota. In the event the City lawfully withdraws from the Commission, any reference to the Commission in this Franchise shall thereafter be deemed a reference to the City, and the rights and obligations related thereto shall, where possible, accrue pro rata to the City, pursuant to a transition agreement to be negotiated at such time by and between City, Commission and Grantee. The total burden of Grantee's obligations under this Franchise and Grantee's Franchise with the other member cities of Commission shall not be increased as a result of any such withdrawal.
i. "Converter" means an electronic device which converts signals to a frequency acceptable to a television receiver of a Subscriber and by an appropriate selector permits a Subscriber to view all Subscriber signals included in the service.
j. "Drop" means the cable that connects the ground block on the Subscriber's residence or institution to the nearest feeder cable of the System.
k. "FCC" means the Federal Communications Commission and any legally appointed, designated or elected agent or successor.
l. "Franchise" or "Cable Franchise" means this ordinance and the regulatory and contractual relationship established hereby.
m. "Grantee" is MediaOne North Central Communications Corp., its lawful successors, transferees or assignees.
n. "Gross Revenues" means all revenue received directly or indirectly by the Grantee, its affiliates, subsidiaries, parent, or person in which Grantee has financial interest of five percent (5%) or more, from operation of its System within City to provide Cable Services including, but not limited to, all Cable Service fees, Franchise Fees, PEG Fees, late fees, Installation and reconnection fees, upgrade and downgrade fees, Converter rental fees, Lockout Device fees, fees related to commercial and institutional usage of the I-Net, Internet access, cable modem service fees, and interest. The term Gross Revenues shall not include advertising revenues, FCC regulatory fees, bad debt, or any taxes on services furnished by Grantee imposed by any municipality, state, or other governmental unit or refundable subscriber deposits.
o. "Installation" means the connection of the System from feeder cable to the point of connection with the Subscriber Converter or other terminal equipment.
p. "Institutional Network" or "I-Net" means the discrete communications network and services related to such network provided by Grantee to identified institutions as required by this Franchise.
q. "Lockout Device" means an optional mechanical or electrical accessory to a Subscriber's terminal which inhibits the viewing of a certain program, certain channel, or certain channels provided by way of the Cable System.
r. memorandum of Understanding or MOU means that certain agreement dated March 9, 1995 regarding PEG access funding, creation of a PEG Fee and certain rate regulatory issues.
s. Node means the transition point between optical light transmission (fiber optic cable) and the RF transmission (coaxial cable) of video and data signals being delivered to and received from the Subscriber's home, and all necessary equipment related to such transition point.
t. "Ramsey/Washington System" means the Cable System operated pursuant to this Franchise and located in the member municipalities of the Commission.
u. "Pay Television" means the delivery over the System of pay-per-channel or pay-per-program video signals to Subscribers for a fee or charge, in addition to the charge for other Basic Cable Services or other Cable Services.
v. "Person" is any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, or other legal entity.
w. "Proposal" means the Proposal for Franchise Renewal dated August 19, 1997, submitted to the Commission by MediaOne which is incorporated herein by reference and attached hereto as Exhibit A.
x. "Right-of-Way" or "Rights-of-Way" means the area on, below, or above any real property in City in which the City has an interest, and any public street, road, highway, freeway, lane, path, public way, alley, court, sidewalk, boulevard, drive, bridge, tunnel waterway, easement or right-of-way, parkway, park, skyway, or any other place, area, or real property owned by or under the control of City, or dedicated for use by City, use by the general public or use compatible with Cable System operations, including other dedicated Rights-of-Way for travel purposes and utility easements.
y. Right-of-Way Ordinance means any ordinance of City codifying requirements regarding regulation, management and use of Rights-of-Way in City, including registration and permitting requirements.
z. "Standard Installation" means any residential installation which can be completed using a Drop of 250 feet or less.
aa. "Subscriber" means any Person who lawfully receives service via the System. In the case of multiple office buildings or multiple dwelling units, the "Subscriber" means the lessee, tenant or occupant.