HomeMy WebLinkAbout88-021
FRANCHISE AGREEMENT
MOH~VE COUNTY AND
THOMPSON COMMUNICATIONS
RESOLUTION #88-21
DATE OF AGREEMENT: March 14, 1988
LENGTH OF AGREEMENT: 25 YE!arS
RENEWAL DATE: March 14, 2013
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An agreement between Mohave County and Thompson Communications
permitting Thompson Communications to locate, construct,
maintain and operate a cable communication system within
certain unincorporated areas of Mohave County; granting
Thompson Communications the privilege of using right-of-'way of
Mohave County in accordance ~1ith established policy and
procedures of Mohave County and it's various departments;
providing for the payment of fees for the franchise. This
agreement is in accordance with ARS 9-505, 9-506, 9-507, and
9-508..
Section 1. DEFINITIONS
a) "'Board" shall mea.n the BO<31rd of Supervisors of Mohave
County, Arizona or its successor as provided by law.
b) "Permittee" shall mean Thompson Communications to whom the
franchise is being granted.
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c) "Cable Communication System (The System)" shall mean a
system of antenna, coaxial cables, wires, wave guides or other
conductors, equipment or facilities designed, constructed or
used for the purpose of providing audio, video and all forms
of digital information or FM radio service by cable or t.hrough
it's facilities as contemplated in this agreement.
d) "Gross Annua 1 ReCE~ ipts" shall mean any compensa t i on and
other consideration in any form and any contributing grant or
subsidy received directly or indirectly by permittee from
subscribers or users in payment for signals or services
received with the delivery area of the County from the
permittee, including '.:my installation charge, monthly charge
and line extension charge.
This term shall not include any taxes on services furnished by
the perml. ttee imposed di rectly on any subscri ber of user by
any town, state or other governmental uni t and collected by
the permittee for the governmental unit.
e) "service Area" shall mean th9 incorporated area of Mohave
County. See attachment A
f) "Delivery Area" shall. include all of
and made part of this agreement by words,
or maps. See attachment A
the area described
legal descriptions
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g) "Rights-Of-Way" shall mean t.he surface of and the space
above and below any County right-of-way.
h) "Subscriber" shall ';llean any person or entity receiving for
any purpose the service of permittee.
Section 2. ISSUANCE OF PERMIT
A non-e,,:clus i ve permi tis hereby granted to Thompson
Communications, its successors and assigns, to locate,
constr1lct, maintain and operate a cable communication system
in the delivery area located in the unincorporated area of
Mohave County, Ari zona. Thi s J?ermi t shall include the
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FRANCHISE AGREEMENT
MORAVE COUNTY AND
THOMPSON COMMUNICATIONS
authority, privilege and power to construct, maintain and
operate in, over, under, across and upon the County owned
rights-of-way the necessdry equipment for the operation of a
cable communication system in the delivery area consistent
with the terms and conditions stated in Section 4.
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Section 3. DURATIo.N o.F PERMIT: Co.MMENCEMENT o.F Co.NSTRUCTIo.N
This permit shall be effective for a period of 25 years. The
Board, may terminate this permit in the event the Board shall
have found, after not ice and hearing that the grantt~e has
failed to comply with any material provisions of this
agreement and has failed to correct any failure after (30)
days written notice.
Section 4. TERMS AND Co.NDITIo.NS
The permi t granted by thi s agreE:~ment shall be subject to the
following conditions:
a) This agreement shall not be deemed to limit the authority
of the Board to include any other reasonable conditions,
limitations or restrictions which it may deem necess.ary to
imposE~ in connection with the permit or the administration of
Rights-Of-Ways in general.
b) The agreement is non-exclusive.
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c) No pr i vi lege or exempt ion shall be granted or inferred
unless specifically stated in this agreement.
d) Any privilege claimed under the agreement by the permittee
in any right-of-way shall be subordinated to any prior lawful
occupancy of the right--of--way.
e) Prior to commencing any
Permittee shall submit plans of
Works Director for approval.
blueprints will be submit.ted at
by the Public Works Director.
work in a right-of-way the
work to be done to the Public
Completed or "as built"
project completion as required
f) Time shall be of the essence, however the permittee shall
not bl~ rE!lieved of its obligation to comply promptly with any
provision of this agreement by any failure of the Board or its
agents to enforce prompt compliance.
g) The permittee shall have no ,recourse against the Board or
its agent.s for any loss, costs expense or damage arising out
of any provision or requirement of this agreement or its
enforcement.
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h) The agreement shall not rE:~l ieve the
obligation involved in obtaining pole
department o~E the County I ut i 1 i ty company
maintaining poles in the right-of-ways.
permittee of any
space f rom any
or from others
i) The permittee shall be subject to all requirements of
County rules, regulations and specifications now in effect or
that may be adopted from time to time by the Board or its
agents.
Section 5. RECo.RDS TO. BE KEPT: REQUIRED REPo.RTS: INSPECTIo.N
o.F RECo.RDS AND PRo.PERTY BY THE BOARD
a) Permittee shall prepare and furnish the Board such reports
with respect to its operations, affairs, transactions or
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FRANCHISE AGREEMENT
MOHAVE COUNTY AND
THOMPSON COMMUNICA'rIONS
property as may be reasonably necessary or appropriate to the
performance of any of the duties of the Board and its agents
in connection with this permit.
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b) The permittee shall at all times make and keep in the
County full and complE~te plans a.nd records showing the exact
location of all cable communication system equipment installed
or in use by permittee in the streets and other places in the
County.
c) The permittee shall file with the Director of Public Works
of the County on or before the last day of December of each
year a current map or set of plans to scale showing all cable
communication system equipment installed and in use in streets
and other public places in the County.
d) At all reasonable times the permittee shall consent to any
duly authorized representative of the County to examine all
permit property, together with any appurtenant property of the
permittee situated within or without the County and to examine
and transcribe any and all maps and other records kept or
maintained by the permittee or under its control, which deal
with the operations, affairs, transactions or property of the
permittee. If any such maps or records are not kept in the
County, or upon reasonable request made available to the
Board" and if the Board shall determine that the examinat ion
is necessary or appropriate then all travel and maintenance
expenses necessarily incurred in making such examination shall
be paid by the permittee.
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e) Permittee shall maintain a local business office or agent.
Permittee shall take reasonable steps to keep its cable
communication system in good operating condition, and
permittee shall cause all subscriber complaints to be duly
investigated, and where the circumstances warrant, corrected
within a reasonable pl~riod of time. Records reflecting such
complaints and the time and manner in which the same are
disposed shall be mainta,ined by Permittee for at least one
year and shall be available for inspection by the Board.
Section 6. INSTALLATION STANDARDS
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a) All installations made by permittee shall be madE~ in a
safe substantial condition and maintained in such condition at
all times. All of such installation of equipment shall be of
a permanE~nt nature, durable and of sufficient height not to
interfere in any manner with the rights of the public or
indi vidual property owners and shall not interfere wi th the
travel and use of public places by the public nor during the
construction, repair and removal shall not obstruct nor impede
traffic. The Board reserves the right of reasonable
regulat ion of the erect ion and construction of any work by
the permittee and to reasonably designate where such works and
construction shall be placed. The permittee agrees when
requested by the Board to make minor changes in its equipment
to conform to the reasonably necessary requirements wi thin a
reasonable time.
b) Permittee will be responsible to obtain all state and
federal licenses and permits.
c) Permittee will be responsi.bLe for meeting all state and
federal installation standards.
Section 7. UNDERGROUND LINES
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FRANCHISE AGREEMENT
MOHAVE COUNTY AND
THOMPSON COMMUNICA'rIONS
Permittee shall place it's lines underground in areas which it
serves where telephonE~ and elect r i c power is underground at
it's own expense.
Section 8. ASSIGNMENT
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The permit 9ranted herE!by shall not be assigned without
wri ttl~n consent being first granted by the Board for such
assignment. Said consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.
Section 9. LOCATION OF PERMIT PROPERTY
Permit property shall be constructed or installed in a right-
of-way only at such locations and in such manner as shall be
approved by the Board or its agents acting in the exercise of
reasonable discretion. Construction or installation of permit
property in all other public places shall be subject to
approval of an regulation by Board or its agents.
Section 10. REPAIR OF STREETS ANn RIGHT-OF-WAYS
The permi t tee shall, at its expE'!nse, promptly repa i r any and
all stre€~ts, sidewalks or other public and/or private property
damaged or destroyed by permittee, its agents servants or
employees in exercisinq the privileges herein granted.
Section 11. FAILURE TO PERFORM STREET WORK OR TO MAKE REPAIRS
IN RIGHTS-OF WAY
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a) Upon failure of the permittee to complete any work
required in compliancE'! with this agreement the Board or its
agents ~Iill notify thE! permittee of non compliance by
registered mail. The permittee shall have fourteen (14) days
from rec€!ipt of the not ice to complete the repai rs or to enter
into an agreement with the Board for completion of the
repairs.
b) If, in the opinion of the Public Works Director or County
Manager, the fa i lure to repa:l r or complete construct ion
presents a serious and immediate danger to the public welfare
or safety, they may take immediate action to mitigate the
danger. Costs associated with these actions will be the sole
responsibility of the permittee and due and payable thirty
(30) days after receiving an itemized bill.
Section 12. REMOVAL AND ABANDONMENT OF PERMIT PROPERTY
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a) In the event that the use of any permit property is
discontinued for any reason a continuous period of twelve (12)
months of that permit property has been installed in any
street without complying with the requirements of the permit,
or the permit has been terminated, cancelled or has expired,
the permi.ttee shall promptly remove from the streets all such
propeJ::-ty other than any which the Board may permi t to be
abandoned in place. In the ev.~nt of any such removal, the
permittee shall promptly restore the street or other area from
which such property has been removed to a condi tion
satisfactory to the Board.
b) Any property of the permi ttee remaining in place thirty
(30) days after the termination or expiration of the permit
snaIl be considered permanently .:lbandoned. The County t-lanager
may extend such time not to exceed an additional thirty (30)
days.
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FRANCHISE AGREEMENT
MOHAVE COUNTY AND
THOMPSON COMMUNICA'rIONS
c) Permit property to be abandoned in place shall be
abandoned in such manner as the Board shall prescribe. Upon
permanent abandonment of any permi t property in place, the
permittee shall submit to the Board an instrument,
satisfactory to the County Attorney, transferring to the
County the ownership of such property.
Sect ion 13. CHANGES REQUIRED BY PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS
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The permi t tee shall, ,3.t its expense, protect, support
temporarily disconnect, relocate, in the same street, alley or
public place, or remove from any street, alley or public
place" any permi t property when required by the Board by
reason of traffic conditions, public safety, street vacation,
freeway and street construction, change or establishment of
street grade, i nsta lla t i on of sewers, dra i ns , water pipes,
power lines, signal lines and tracks abandonment of the right-
of-way or any other type of structures or improvements by
governmental agencies when acting in a government.al or
proprietary capacity, or any other structures or public
improvements provided, however, that permi ttee shall in all
such cases have the privileges and be subject to the
obligation to abandon permit property in place; as provided in
Section 12.
Section 14. INDEMNIFICATION OF COUNTY
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The permi ttee shall defend the County against all claims for
injury to any person or property caused by the negligence of
the permittee in the construction or operation of its
property, and in the eVI~nt of a determination of liability
shall indemnify the County. More particularly the
per mi t tee~, its successors and ass i gns, does hereby agree to
indemni fy and hold harmless thE! County, from any and all
liability, claim, demand or judgment growing out of any injury
to any person or property, as a result of the violat ion or
failure on the part of the permittee, its successors and
assigns, to observe their proper duty or because of negligence
in whole or in part arising out of construction, repair,
extension, maintenance or operation of its equipment of any
kind or character used in connection with this permit.
Section 15. LIABILITY INSURANCE REQUIRED
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a) Permittee agrees that at all times during the existence of
this permit it will maintain in force, furnish and file with
the Board, at its own expense, a general comprehensive
liability insurance policy, in protection of County,
its boards, commissions, officers, agents, employees, and the
public, in a company authorized to do business in the State of
Arizona, and in form satisfactory to the Risk Manager,
protect ing the County and all persons against 1 iabi 1 i ty for
loss or damages for personal injury, death and property damage
occasioned by the operations of permittee under this permit,
with minimum liability limits of $1,000,000 for personal
injury or death of anyone occurrence, and $1,000,000 for
damages to property resulting from anyone occurrence.
b) The policies mentioned in the foregoing paragraph shall
name the County, its officers, boards, commissions, agents and
employees as additional insured and shall contain a provision
that a written notice of a cancellation or reduction in
coverage of said policy shall be delivered to the Board
fifteen (15) days in advance of the effective date. If such
insurance is provided in ei ther case by a pol icy which also
covers pl~rmittee or any other entity or person than those
above named, then such policy shall contain the st.andard
crOSS-liability endorsement.
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FRANCHISE AGREEMENT
MOHAVE COUNTY AND
THOMPSON COMMUNICATIONS
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Section 16. FEES
a) The permittee shall pay the County of Mohave, Arizona an
annual fee of an amount equal to three (3) percent of the
gross receipts for the calendar year. The fee owed by
permi t tee for the previ ous year shall be paid to the County
not later than the May first following the end of each
calendar year and shall be a use fee upon the permi ttee in
lieu of all other licensl~ or permit fees. A failure to pay
such license or permit fee by May first following the calendar
year in which it is due shall terminate this agreement and
render the same null and void.
b) The Board shall have the right to inspect permittee's
records showing the gross annual receipts from which its
permit payments are computed clnd the right of audit and
recomputation of any amount paid under this section. No
acceptance of any payment shall be construed as a release or
as an accord and satisfaction of any claim the County may have
for further or additional sums payable under this section or
for the performance of any obligation under this agreement.
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c) The percentage of gross annual receipts due the County and
the insurance provisions of this Ordinance shall be subject to
reevaluation and renegotiations by the County every five (5)
years. If renegotiations of the amounts referred to results
in a dispute, the dispute shall be presented to a neutral
arbitration board for decision. The board shall consist of
either one person mutually acceptable to both parties, or, one
person selected by the Board, one person selected by the
permittee and one person mutually acceptable to both parties.
The standard procedures and policies of arbitration shall
apply in all cases.
Section 17. OTHER PROVISIONS
a) Permittee shall provide free service to all public schools
and municipal buildin9s within the delivery area as may be
desired by the Board.
b) The permittee's service and extension policies shall show
no preferential or discriminatory practices and shall be on
file with the County Clerk.
c) The rate charged by p,ermitteE,' shall be fair and reasonable
and designed to meet the necessary costs of the of the service
including a fair rate of return on its investment of its
property devoted thereto under efficient and economical
management.
d) No person in the existing delivery area of permittee shall
be arbitrarily refused service provided, that permittee shall
not be required to provide service to any subscriber who does
not pay the appl icable connection fee or monthly service
chargE! .
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e) The delivery area may be
permittee with Board approval.
agreement will remain in force.
expanded upon request
All other terms of
by
the
Section 18. SEVERABILITY
If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause,
phrase or port ion of th is agree,ment is for any reason held
invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent
jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed separate, distinct
and independent provisions and such holding shall not affect
the validity of the remaining portions hereof.
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FRANCHISg AGREEMENT
MOHAVE COUNTY AND
THOMPSON COMMUNICATIONS
Section 19. RESERVATION OF POWERS
a) There is hereby resE~rved to the Board every rig~ht and
power which is required to be reserved and the permittee, by
its acceptance of this permit agrees to be bound thereby, and
to comply with any a~tion or requirements of the Board in its
exercise of any such right or power enacted or established.
b) Neither the grantinq of this permit nor any of the
provisions contained herein shall be construed to prevent the
Board from granting any identic.:il, or similar permit to any
person or corporation other than the permittee.
Section 20. OFFICIAL NOTICES
Notices concerning this agreement shall be sent to:
For the County
Clerk of the Board
Mohave County
P.O. Box 390
Kingman, AZ 86402
For the Permittee:
Thompson Communications
P.O. Box 743
Eloy, AZ 85231
Section 21. EFFECTIVE DATE
This permit shall take effect upon the effective date of this
ordinance.
PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE
COUNTY OF MOHAVE this 14th day of March, 1988.
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APPROVED AS TO FO'RM, this
/i/,lh
, 1988:
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day of
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ACCEPTED WITHOUT CHANGE:
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PERMITTEE (OR AGENT)
TITLE
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FRANCHISE AGREEMENT
MOHAVE COUNTY AND
THOMPSON COMMUNICATIONS
APPENDIX A
GOLDEN VALLEY AND VICINITY
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SECTIONS 1-36 T21N, Rl9W
SECTIONS 1-36 T21N, R18W
SECTIONS 1-36 T22N, R19W
SECTIONS 1-36 T22N, R18W
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