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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-O-18 - GRANTING UNITED TELEPHONE OF TEXAS, INC. D/B/A SPRINT A FRANCHISE ORDINANCE NO. 1997-18 AN ORDINANCE GRANTING UNITED TELEPHONE OF TEXAS, INC. DB/A SPRINT A FRANCHISE TO USE THE STREETS, AVENUES, BOULEVARDS, ALLEYS, AND OTHER PUBLIC PLACES IN THE CITY OF STEPHENVILLE, STATE OF TEXAS, TO CONTINUE TO CONDUCT THE BUSINESS OF CONSTRUCTING, INSTALLING, MAINTAINING,MANAGING,AND OPERATING A TELEPHONE SYSTEM WITH ALL NECESSARY POLES, WIRES, CABLES, FIXTURES, CONDUIT AND APPARATUS. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS, AS FOLLOWS: United Telephone of Texas, Inc. d/b/a Sprint, Grantee, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Texas, with a license to do business in the State of Texas, and its successors and assigns, is hereby granted the right, in operating a telephone system, to construct, install, maintain, and repair all the necessary poles, wires, cables, pole and wire fixtures, telephone plant, and telephone apparatus of whatsoever nature for the purpose of conducting such business; to erect, maintain, and repair such telephone poles and string the same with wire and cable along, upon, across or below the streets, avenues, boulevards, alleys, and other public places of the City of Stephenville, Grantor or City; and to construct, lay, maintain, and repair such cable as Grantee, its successors and assigns, may require, under those streets, avenues, boulevards, alleys, and other public places for the purpose of such business under the following terms and restrictions: The term of this grant shall begin November 1, 1997, and shall end October 31, 2009. Grantee, its successors and assigns, shall conduct telephone business in such a manner as shall be to the benefit of the City and its inhabitants, rendering good telephone service at reasonable rates as authorized by the Texas Public Utility Commission or any other state or local governmental agency charged by law with the power to regulate telephone public utilities. All poles and overhead wires or cables erected in accordance with this ordinance shall be placed, whether on streets, avenues, boulevards, alleys, or other public places, so as not to interfere with ordinary travel on such streets, avenues, boulevards, alleys, or other public places. All poles erected under this ordinance shall be located so as not to injure any drains, sewers, catch basins, or other like public improvements and, if such be injured, Grantee shall repair any damages caused to the satisfaction of the City and, in default thereof, the City may repair such damage and charge the cost to Grantee. Grantee shall make good faith, reasonable efforts to maintain its system in good operating condition at all normal times during the continuance of this agreement. An exception to this condition is automatically in effect when service furnished by Grantee is interrupted, impaired, or prevented by fires, strikes, riots, or other occurrences beyond the control of Grantee, or by storms, floods, or other casualties, in any of which events Grantee shall do all things, reasonable within its power to do, to restore normal service. Telephone Franchise-Page 1 The poles of Grantee, its successors and assigns, shall be placed and erected in such a manner so as not to interfere unreasonably with the orderly conduct of the business and rights of any other public service corporation having a right or franchise to operate its business in the City. Grantee shall remove, raise, or adjust its aerial plant, after forty-eight (48) hours notice by a properly authorized city official, for the purpose of permitting the moving of houses or other structures along the streets of the City. The person or persons for whose benefit such telephone plant is removed, raised, or adjusted, however, shall first secure proper permission from the City for the movement and agree to pay Grantee for its related costs and damages. An advance deposit from the mover may be required by Grantee. Permission is hereby granted to Grantee to trim trees upon and overhanging streets, alleys, sidewalks, and public places of the City so as to prevent the branches of such trees from coming into contact with Grantee's wires and cables. All such trimming will be done under the supervision and direction of any City official to whom such duties have been or may be delegated. In consideration for rights and privileges herein granted, Grantee shall pay to the City in arrears, $0.70 per local access line per month served by Grantee located wholly within the corporate limits of the city. Such payment shall be made on or before the 1st day of March of each year during the term or this ordinance. The City agrees to accept those sums as full and fair compensation, which sums shall be in lieu of any general or special license tax, occupation tax, or any other such tax for the term of this ordinance. The rights herein granted shall not be exclusive, and the City reserves the right to grant like rights and privileges to use the public streets, avenues, alleys, ways, grounds, and places within the City to others for similar and other uses, and same not to interfere, however, with the enjoyment of the rights and privileges herein granted to the Grantee. Nothing herein shall affect any prior or existing rights of Grantee to maintain a telephone company within the City. The City reserves the right to lay, and permit to be laid, sewer, gas, water, and other pipelines or cables and conduits, and to do and permit to be done, any underground and overhead work that may be deemed necessary or proper by the governing body of the City, in, across, along, over or under any street, alley, highway, or public place occupied by the Grantee and to change any curb or sidewalk or the grade of any street provided the City shall give reasonable notice thereof to the Grantee. In permitting such work to be done, the City shall not be liable to the Grantee for any damage occasioned thereby, nor shall the City in doing any such work be liable to the Grantee for any damages not willfully and unnecessarily occasioned; provided however, nothing herein shall relieve any contractors, permittees, or other persons doing such work for the City or for others from liability under applicable laws. Whenever by reason of the changes in the grade or location of any curb, sidewalk, alley or street or in the location or the manner of construction any water pipes, gas pipes, sewers, or any other underground or overhead structure for any purpose whatever, it shall be deemed necessary by the City to alter, change, adapt or conform the underground or overhead facilities of Telephone Franchise-Page 2 Grantee thereto, such alterations or changes shall be promptly made by the Grantee when ordered in writing by the governing body of the City, without claim for reimbursement or damages against the City; provided however, Grantee shall have the right to present alternative proposals to the City which shall give due consideration to such alternative proposals, and further provided, however, that the City shall not require the Grantee to remove its facilities entirely from such street, alley, highway or other public place. The City shall not require the Grantee to conform its facilities, or in any way or manner to alter, relocate or change its property to enable any other corporation or person, except the City, to use or to use with greater convenience said street, alley, highway or public place, unless and until such other corporation or person shall have undertaken, with solvent bond, to reimburse the Grantee for any loss and expense which may be caused by, or arise out of such change, alteration or relocation of the Grantee's property; provided however, that the City shall never be liable for such reimbursement. The recovery of the charges for Grantee's customers is subject to the jurisdiction of the regulatory and state authorities and not the City. The obligation of Grantee to pay compensation under this Ordinance is contractual; the City makes no requirements as to the method Grantee uses to recover the payments. The franchise and all rights hereunder may be assigned by the Grantee, as well as all succeeding Grantee's, subject to approval by the City, and the successors and/or assigns shall succeed to all the rights, duties, and liabilities of the Grantee hereunder. During the period that this ordinance and the franchise herein granted remain in force and effect, the Grantee shall indemnify and hold harmless the City from and against all damages to any person or property through any unlawful or negligent act or omission of the Grantee in its occupancy of the public streets, avenues, alleys, ways, grounds, and places of the City under the terms hereof; provided, however,that the City shall give written notice to the Grantee within forty-eight (48) hours of any claim made known in writing and delivered to the City and asserting a right to damages against the City by reason of any act or omission of the Grantee in the exercise of the rights herein granted, whether or not legal action with respect thereto has been commenced, and the Grantee shall be entitled to control jointly with the City the conduct and settlement of any litigation and negotiations had or conducted with respect to any such claim. The City shall cooperate in good faith with the Grantee to avoid and minimize the amount of each claim. All ordinances and agreements or parts of ordinances and agreements in conflict with this ordinance are hereby repealed. The rights, powers, limitations, duties, and restrictions herein provided for shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the City and the Grantee and their respective successors and assigns. If any portion of this ordinance for any reason is held to be invalid, such portion shall be considered severed from the remainder of this ordinance and the remainder shall be unaffected and continue in full force and effect. Telephone Franchise-Page 3 Read three times and finally passed by the Governing Body of Stephenville, Texas, this 16th day of September, 1997. John ollan, Mayor ATTEST: • By • , Cindy Ldy/p< taffor,, City etary /6taj:.. aidti4N Reviewed by Donald B. Davis, City Administrator Approved as to form and content by Randy Thomas, City Attorney Telephone Franchise-Page 4