Division 26.5.1 - Existing Franchise Ordinances: Community Antenna Television System

Chapter 26 - Existing Franchise Ordinances
Division 5.1 - Community Antenna Television System

SEC. 26.5.1-1 GENERAL.

Substantive Legal Base. This Ordinance is adopted pursuant to authority granted by 65 ILCS 5/11-42-11; Article VII, Section 6, Home Rule Powers and Section 10, Powers of Intergovernmental Cooperation of the Illinois Constitution of 1970; and 5 ILCS 220/1 et seq. as amended. (Amended 6/7/93 by Ord. No. 4143)
Franchise Non-Exclusive. Any franchise granted by the Town of Normal hereunder will be non-exclusive and will refer to and incorporate this Ordinance by reference.
Solicitation of Proposals for Franchise. Any solicitation of proposals for granting a franchise undertaken by the Town of Normal will refer to and incorporate this Ordinance by reference.
Liberal Interpretation. When any question arises with respect to the meaning and/or effect of any aspect of this document, the terms, provisions and sections of this Ordinance shall be liberally construed to the extent possible to reach the goals of the Ordinance or particular provisions thereof.

SEC. 26.5.1-2 DEFINITIONS. For the purpose of this Ordinance, the following terms shall have the meaning specified herein:

"Commence Operation". Operation will be considered commencing when enough transmission and distribution facilities have been placed in use to offer service to the inhabitants of a minimum of two thousand (2,000) subscribers and facilities capable of the reception and retransmission of at least six (6) television stations according to the minimum technical standards herein.

"Community Antenna Television" or CATV". Any system which in whole or in part receives directly or indirectly, over the air or otherwise, signals transmitting television and audio programs and/or other electro-magnetic impulses and amplifies or otherwise modifies the signals and redistributes them by wire or cable to subscribing members of the public.

"Converter". An electronic devise which converts signals to a frequency not susceptible to interference within the television receiver of a subscriber, and by appropriate use of a channel selector permits a subscriber to view the signals delivered at designated dial locations.

"db". An abbreviation for decibel which is a standard measurement for gain or loss based on a ratio between two power levels.

"dbmv". The level in an electronic system expressed in db's above or below a power corresponding to a root mean square voltage of one millivolt across seventy-five (75) ohms.

"Distant Signal". The color signal of a television broadcast station as defined in paragraph 76.63 of the rules and regulations of the Federal Communication Commission or its successor.

“FM”. FM is used as an abbreviation for frequency modulation.

“Franchisee”. The person, persons or corporation to whom a franchise is granted by the Town Council under this Ordinance and the lawful successor or assignee of such person, persons or corporation and the boards, commissions and/or agents of the holder of a franchise.

“Gross Receipts”. All compensation and other consideration in any form whatever collected by the Franchisee which said Franchisee would not have received but for the grant of a franchise hereunder. The gross receipts shall not be abated or reduced by any formula or in any way but shall not include any taxes on the service provided by the Franchisee which are levied directly on any patrons of the system.

“Initial Service Area”. That geographical area within the incorporated limits of the Town which has a density of at least 40 residential establishments per street mile.

“Local Television Station”. A television broadcast station, commercial or noncommercial, licensed to operate by the Federal Communications Commission whose color signal is defined in paragraph 76.63 of the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission or its successor.

“NTSC Standards”. Television signal standards established by the National Television System Committee.

“Patron” or “Subscriber”. Any person or entity receiving service from the Franchisee.

“Pay TV”. Pay TV shall mean any system for basing a charge or fee on a particular program or programs received.

“Person”. Any individual, limited partnership, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind which the context of the usage of the term may indicate.

“Public Way”. Any street, sidewalk, lane, avenue, alley, bridge, highway or other public place in the Town of Normal including any easement which the Town controls where the terms of such control are broad enough to include the passage of CATV transmission and distribution lines. Included in this definition are those areas in, under, over, along, across and upon such ways insofar as the public right extends.

“Street Mile”. One mile measured along the centerline of any street, lane, avenue, alley, highway or any other public way.

“Town”. The Town of Normal, a municipal corporation of the State of Illinois in its present form or as later reorganized or consolidated. If the word “City” is used it shall in this Ordinance also mean the same as “Town” unless used in reference to the City of Bloomington.

"Two Way Capability". A signaling path provided by a cable television system to deliver to subscriber terminal signals that are intended for reception by equipment other than a television broadcast receiver only when used with auxiliary decoding equipment, or a signaling path provided by a cable television system to transmit signals of any type from a subscriber terminal to another point in the cable television system.

"TV". Television.

SEC. 26.5.1-3 CONDITIONS PERMITTED BY FRANCHISE.

Any franchise granted under the authority of this Ordinance shall grant the non-exclusive right and duty to the Franchisee to erect, maintain and operate television, radio and music transmission and distribution facilities and appurtenances in, under, over, along, across and upon any public way in the Town of Normal, and in addition to use, operate and provide similar facilities on properties rented or leased from a public utility authorized to do business in the Town of Normal. Such facilities at the time they are installed shall consist of proven state of the art technology and in this regard the reputation of the manufacturing company and the purpose for which the equipment is to be used shall be emphasized. Improved equipment for a basic purpose or of a basic type may be considered to be "proven" if primarily the improvements moderately modify the basic function or expand the number and/or type of functions which it may perform.
The maximum term for any franchise or renewal thereof, granted under this Ordinance shall be fifteen (15) years following the date of the award of the franchise or renewal thereof, and the specific term shall be specified in the franchise grant. However, each five (5) years, the Council may reconsider the franchise grant with respect to the extent to which the Franchisee is accomplishing projected development and/or improvement goals in its system including programming and expansion of the system in providing access channel (public, educational and governmental channels) facilities and production capability, programming assistance and technical services associated therewith. An effort will be made to resolve reopener considerations within the 120 day period of 60 days before and 60 days after the 5th and 10th anniversary dates of the franchise grant. This shall not affect the rights of the Council to terminate any franchise granted hereunder for any other reason provided for herein or in the franchise grant.
As a part of CATV service to all patrons, the following program material may be furnished:
1. Fill-in music reproduced on the Franchisee's equipment located at its studio or received off the air on the Franchisee's system and furnished as a part of CATV service to all patrons without additional charge.
2. News, stock, time and weather information furnished as a part of CATV service to all patrons without additional charge.
3. Local events of public interest such as church programs, basketball or other local sports events, local announcements and speeches and occasional closed circuit television programs furnished as a part of CATV service to all patrons without additional charge.
4. Standard AM or FM signals which may be legally redistributed after they have been received off the air on the Franchisee’s system from any AM or FM broadcast station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission.
5. Such distant signal broadcast programs as may be authorized by the Federal Communications Commission to be transmitted by radio relay or other means for use on the Franchisee’s system as a part of CATV service to all patrons without additional charge.
6. As a part of the basic CATV service to all subscribers the following program channels shall be furnished at no additional cost to subscribers.
  1. One designated public access channel shall be made available for the expression of wide and diverse points of view in order that a practical opportunity to participate in community dialogue through a mass media method will be available to citizens of the community. The first five minutes of channel and equipment use shall be available at no charge to a qualified user.
  2. One designated educational access channel shall be made available for use by School District 87, Unit 5, personnel or parochial schools, Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University and other noncommercial organizations dedicated to promoting education through formal or informal means. This channel space shall be provided for and use thereof shall be at no charge to any qualified educational person or representative of a qualified educational organization.
  3. One designated government access channel shall be made available to be time shared between the Town of Normal and the City of Bloomington. The Franchisee will provide and install at no cost to either the Town or City a character generator with a remote keyboard at the Town and City Halls for each governmental unit to be utilized in disseminating information over said channel. The Franchisee will also provide at no cost to the Town or City the necessary inter-connections between said character generating equipment and the CATV system. A two-way video link to a reasonable designated internal point in each Town/City Hall will also be provided as part of the first stage of the improvement program to allow representatives of each organization to originate live or taped video programs on the government access channel from their respective Halls.
  4. Prior to using any access channel, each user may be re-required to sign an agreement which will protect and/or indemnify the Franchisee and any other involved parties from any potential liability related thereto.
7. Pursuant to the directions of the Councils the Franchisee shall provide directly or indirectly one fully equipped full color television studio and remote production equipment to be used in the production of programs for the access channels, and the specific equipment, studio facilities, technical and programming assistance, and programming costs and fees shall be determined by future negotiations between the parties who may also develop rules with respect to who may use the equipment and under what circumstances it may be used.
Pay TV or any other transmissions, communications or programs of the Franchisee's system which it is lawful to distribute and which are not broadcast programs obtained off the air may be offered to subscribers on an optional basis.

SEC. 26.5.1-4 LIMITATIONS OF FRANCHISE.

Franchisee shall extend and provide service without discrimination to all who request it and are in areas within the present or expanded corporate limits of the Town whenever these areas develop to a density of at least forty (40) residential establishments per street mile as measured from existing CATV facilities.
No privilege or exemption except those specifically conferred by any franchise granted under this Ordinance shall be given or implied.
Any privilege in a public way granted by a franchise issued under this Ordinance shall be subordinate to any prior lawful occupancy or use of said public way.
Any franchise granted hereunder shall be a privilege to be held in trust by the original Franchisee. Said franchise shall not constitute property and cannot in any event be sold, transferred, leased, assigned, pledged, mortgaged or disposed of in whole or in part either by forced or voluntary sale, merger, consolidation of any other means by the act of the Franchisee or by the operation of law without the prior approval of the Town which shall not be unreasonably withheld and which shall be expressed by Council resolution and then only under such reasonable conditions as the Council may establish. Any such sale, transfer, lease, assignment, pledge, mortgage or disposition of any type with the required prior approval shall be subject and subordinate to the rights of Normal and Bloomington under this contract or applicable law. The granting, giving or waiving of any one or more of such approval(s) shall not make unnecessary any subsequent approvals. No such prior approval shall be required for a transfer or assignment to any person controlling, controlled by or under the same common control as Franchisee, or for the granting of a security interest in the Franchise, whether by assignment, pledge, mortgage or otherwise in connection with a financing, refinancing or otherwise.
Time shall be of the essence of all aspects of any franchise granted hereunder. The Franchisee shall not be relieved of its obligations to comply promptly with any provision of this Ordinance or by any failure of the Town to enforce prompt compliance.
Franchisee shall not have any recourse whatsoever against the Town for any loss, cost, expense or damage arising out of any provision or requirement of this Ordinance or its enforcement or non-enforcement or of any franchise granted hereunder.
All transmission and distribution structures, lines and equipment erected and/or installed by a Franchisee within the Town shall not interfere with the proper use of the streets, alleys and public ways and places, shall cause the least possible inconvenience to the general public and shall cause the least possible inconvenience to and interference with the rights or reasonable convenience of property owners who adjoin any of said streets, alleys or other public ways and places and shall not interfere with existing public utility installations. All excavations including, but not limited to plantings and any disturbances or disruptions of any paving, sidewalks, driveways, or other surfaces shall be properly guarded and protected. The replacement of fences and vegetative material shall be in accordance with the Subdivision Code. The franchisee shall comply with all excavation and related requirements of the Town. (Amended 7/6/81)
Franchisee shall not place holes, conduits, wires or other items above or below ground where the same will interfere with any gas, electric or telephone items, water hydrants or other utility equipment or material. The Franchisee shall at all times comply with any and all rules, regulations and ordinances which the Town has made or may make which relate to the type of work referred to in this Section.
The Franchisee may be required by the Town to permit joint use of its property located in the public ways of the Town by utilities insofar as such joint use may be reasonably practicable and upon payment of reasonable rental therefor; provided that in the absence of an agreement regarding such joint use the Town Council shall provide for arbitration of the terms and conditions of such joint use and the compensation to be paid therefor, which award shall be final. Any franchise granted hereunder shall not relieve the Franchisee of any obligation involved in obtaining pole use agreements or underground distribution system agreements from the utility companies or others who maintain them in the public ways of the Town where the Franchisee finds it necessary or desirable to install its distribution system to the extent that it may make use of such other distribution systems.
Franchisee shall abide by the requirements of the Subdivision Code of the Town as well as all other provisions of the Town Code with respect to the installation or alteration of all such service facilities. In areas where telephone or electric utility facilities are above ground at the time of installation, the Franchisee may install its distribution property above ground. If subsequently said telephone or electric utility facilities go underground, the facilities of the Franchisee shall be placed underground within a reasonable period of time.
Franchisee shall file with the Town Engineer an accurate copy of maps and/or plats of the location and character of all existing and proposed trunk and distribution lines (excluding “drop lines” to specific establishments) over, upon or under any public way or private property. These maps and plats shall conform to the requirements of said Town Engineer and shall be kept up to date by the submission by the Franchisee to the Town Engineer for information pertaining to any changes or additions within thirty (30) days of such changes except as they are required and may be filed as specific hereafter with respect to work in public rights-of-way.

At least ten (10) days prior to the construction or substantial maintenance or substantial replacement of any part of the CATV system in public right-of-way, the Franchisee shall file with the Town Engineer of the Town of Normal copies of maps, plats or other drawings and other documents which accurately show the nature of the proposed construction or improvements which must be approved and required permits obtained herefore before work is begun. This shall not excuse the Franchisee from contacting all utilities who may have a distribution system in the area and obtaining information which will enable well done work to be completed without damaging any utility’s property and it shall be the Franchisee’s duty to do so.
The Franchisee, its affiliated subsidiary or parent organizations shall not, within the corporate limits of the Town or within five (5) miles in any direction, engage in the sale, renting or leasing of radios or television sets.
Any franchise granted under this Ordinance may be terminated and canceled by an Ordinance to that effect prior to its expiration if after the specified thirty (30) written days notice to the Franchisee by the Town or other proper authority of Franchisee’s failure to comply with a material provision of this Ordinance or notice to cease violation by act or omission of any condition of this Ordinance or of a franchise granting Ordinance, said failure, act or omission continues to exist. The Council shall have the right to cancel and terminate any franchise if the Franchisee becomes insolvent, unable or unwilling to pay its debts or is adjudged bankrupt. The Council shall have the right to cancel and terminate any franchise if the Franchisee evades any of the provisions of this Ordinance or practices any fraud or deceit upon the Town or subscribers to the system. The Council shall have the right to cancel and terminate any franchise if a Franchisee fails to establish, construct and operate the system substantially in compliance with schedules developed pursuant to this Ordinance, due consideration having been given to the nature and cause of any delays. In all cases prior to any termination of the franchise, the Franchisee shall be given not less than thirty (30) days prior written notice setting forth the reasons for any proposed termination of the franchise, and the franchise shall not be terminated if within said thirty (30) day period the Franchisee shall take such reasonable actions as may be necessary in order to cure any default by Franchisee in the performance of its obligations under this Ordinance if such actions may reasonably be taken within such thirty (30) day period. If such actions may not reasonably by taken within such thirty (30) day period, the franchise may not be terminated if Franchisee shall commence within said thirty (30) day period to take such actions and shall proceed thereafter with due diligence to cure any such default. The foregoing shall not be a limit upon any other remedy the Town may have under this Ordinance or otherwise. In no event shall any franchise granted under this Ordinance be terminated prior to the Franchisee being given an opportunity to be heard in accordance with due process. Upon termination of the thirty (30) day cure period, and if the violation still exists the Town shall give Franchisee not less than twenty (20) days written notice of the date, time and place of the public hearing to be held before the Town Council, notice of which shall be published at least once, ten (10) days before such meeting in a newspaper of general circulation within the Town. Franchisee shall be entitled to the right to present evidence and the right to be represented by counsel.
The Franchisee shall not be excused from complying with any of the terms, conditions and provisions of this Ordinance by any failure of the Town upon any one or more occasions to insist upon or to seek compliance with any terms, conditions or provisions of this Ordinance.
Whenever any two-way capability is offered, activation and/or use of the return communication shall always be at the subscriber’s option. Whenever any two-way capability is offered, the Town shall have the right and authority to require any Franchisee to adopt reasonable procedures, rules and regulations for the protection, security and safety of persons who may be affected directly or indirectly by the di-semination or use of any type of information which is obtained by this or any related aspect of the system.

SEC. 26.5.1-5 RIGHTS RESERVED TO THE TOWN

The Town reserves the right to require the Franchisee at its expense to protect, support, temporarily disconnect, relocate or remove from the public way any property of the Franchisee by reason of traffic conditions, public safety, sidewalk, street or freeway construction or vacation, change of establishment or street grade, installation of sewers, drains, water pipes, power or communication lines owned by the Town, tracks or other types of structures or improvements by governmental agencies or any other developments or structures of public improvement.
Upon failure of the Franchisee to complete within a reasonable time any work required by (A) above or any other work required by law or Town Ordinance within the time established and to the satisfaction of the Town, the Town may cause such work to be done and the Franchisee shall pay to the Town the cost thereof within thirty (30) days after receipt of an itemized list of the costs.
After a thirty (30) day written notice has been served and opportunity to cure the defect has been given pursuant to SEC. 5.1-4(M), the Town reserves the right to remove or contract for the removal or in any other manner removed at the Franchisee’s expense, all or any part of the Franchisee’s system that has been placed in the public way on the occurrence of any of the following:
1. Such property has been installed without complying with the conditions of the franchise or this Ordinance;
2. Such property has not been used for service for a continuous period of twelve (12) months;
3. The franchise has been terminated or canceled or has expired.
In the event of removal by the Franchisee of any plant, structure, works, pipe(s), main(s), conduit(s), cable, pole(s), wire or other thing for any reason, the Franchisee shall, at its own expense, refill any excavation that may be made and shall repair and/or return such items to and leave all of them, including but not limited to, any affected private property in at least as good condition as prevailed prior to said removal and/or work and shall include reasonable expected improvements thereof at no expense to the owner or occupant of the property or to the Town.
The Town may permit certain properties of the Franchisee otherwise required to be removed to be abandoned in place. In such case, abandonment shall be accomplished in such manner as the Council may prescribe and the Franchisee shall submit to the Town an instrument, satisfactory to the Corporation Counsel transferring ownership of such property to the Town.
The Town reserves all rights not specifically herein granted to the Franchisee, and further reserves the right to issue more than one such franchise and to amend the requirements of any franchise from time to time within the general standards herein set, provided that any amendment which negatively affects an existing franchise shall be negotiated in good faith by both parties. Such an amendment might include but in no way would be limited to the right to additional free connections and service to and in education and municipal buildings within the corporate limits.
The Franchisee shall, on request of any person holding a moving permit issued by the Town, temporarily move affected parts of its system to permit the reasonable moving of buildings or other large items, and the expense of such temporary removal shall be paid by the person requesting the removal, and the Franchisee shall be given not less than forty-eight (48) hours advance notice to arrange for such temporary changes, except in an emergency.
If at any time during the period of the franchise, the Town shall elect to alter or change the grade or location of any sidewalk, street, alley or any other public way, the Franchisee shall upon reasonable notice by the Town, remove and relocate affected Franchisee facilities temporarily or permanently at its own expense and in each instance the Franchisee shall comply with the requirements of the Town.

SEC. 26.5.1-6 INSURANCE AND INDEMNIFICATION OF THE TOWN OF NORMAL

Franchisee shall indemnify and hold the Town, and all of its officers, boards, commissions, agents and employees, fully harmless from any and all claims and actions, litigation, judgments or other damages (including reasonable attorney's fees) of any kind arising directly or indirectly out of the construction, installation, erection, maintenance or operation of any of its property with respect to the authority of any franchise granted hereunder. Franchisee shall be required to defend in the name of the Town any such claims made against the Town and its indicated representatives arising directly or indirectly out of any aspect of a franchise awarded hereunder.
All obligations of the Franchisee to indemnify the Town or any other party or person are subject to the following conditions:
1. The party seeking indemnification shall promptly notify the other of any claim or litigation to which indemnification relates:
2. The party seeking indemnification shall permit the other to fully control any compromise, settlement, or other resolution or disposition of any such claim or litigation and shall fully cooperate with the reasonable requests of the other in its efforts;
3. If the claim against the party seeking indemnification is not in excess of $100,000 such party shall not be entitled to indemnification for the expense of employing counsel of its own choice, provided that nothing herein shall prevent such party from employing at its own expense counsel of its own choice and nothing herein shall affect the obligation of the party against whom indemnification is sought to the extent of any judgment being rendered against the party seeking indemnification.
Franchisee shall at all times during the existence of any franchise granted hereunder maintain in force at its own expense (and on request shall furnish information with respect thereto and to the extent reasonably available copies of) insurance policies with an insurance company or companies authorized to do business in the State of Illinois and in forms approved by the Corporation Counsel and certificates of insurance or other proof evidencing the payment of premiums therefor against risks as are customarily insured against by businesses of like size and type, including but not limited to:
1. A general comprehensive public liability insurance policy to protect, defend and hold fully harmless the Town, its boards, commissions, officers, agents and employees against liability for loss or any damages for personal injury, death and property damage, including loss of use, and shall defend the Town and said persons in any civil suit occasioned directly or indirectly by the operation of any franchise granted hereunder or work or activity of any person or of any type related thereto with a minimum liability limit of $1,000,000.00 for personal injury or death of one person and $3,000,000.00 for personal injury or death of any two or more persons in any one occurrence and $500,000.00 for damage to property resulting from any one occurrence;
2. Workmen's Compensation Insurance within the statutory limits and Employer's Liability insurance of not less than $100,000; and
3. Comprehensive Automobile Liability Insurance to the extent of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence against liability for bodily injury including death and to the extent of not less than $300,000 per occurrence against liability for damage to property including loss of use occurring on, arising out of, or in any way related to the franchise.
This subsection (C) shall not be a limit on the Franchisee’s requirement of subsection (A) of this Section. Nothing herein shall be construed so as to restrict the Council from reasonably amending the insurance amounts at any time after the award of a franchise.
The policies mentioned in the foregoing subsection © shall name both the Town of Normal and the City of Bloomington and all of their boards, commissions, officers, agents and employees as insured parties and shall also contain a provision that a written notice of cancellation or reduction in coverage of said policy shall be delivered to the Town and the City not less than thirty (30) days in advance of the effective date thereof. If such insurance is provided in either case by a policy which also covers the Franchisee or any other entity or person than those above named, then such policy shall contain the standard cross liability endorsement.
The Franchisee shall also, at its sole expense, fully indemnify, defend and hold fully harmless the Town and all of its boards, commissions, agents, officers and employers against any and all claims, suits, actions, liability and judgments for damages (including but not limited to expenses for reasonable legal fees) and disbursements and liabilities assumed by the Town in conjunction therewith for:
1. libel, slander, invasion(s) of the right of privacy and/or defamation of any person, firm or corporation which may occur with respect to any type of use of the system including but not limited to programs on the station produced locally such as those on the public, government or educational access channels, except for instances caused by representative(s) of the Town for which acts the Town is legally responsible and except which acts the Town is legally responsible and except for programs over which the Franchisee has no control;
2. infringement of any copyright, trademark, trade name, service mark, or of any other right of any person, firm or corporation; or
3. from and against all claims for the infringement of any patent(s) arising from combining or using any apparatus, systems, facilities or equipment; and
4. arising out of the Franchisee’s failure to comply with or violation(s) of the provisions of any Federal, State or local statute, ordinance, rule or regulation applicable to the Franchisee.
No franchise granted under this Ordinance shall become effective unless and until the Franchisee has filed with the Town, in a form satisfactory to the Corporation Counsel, certificates indicating compliance with all statutory or ordinance insurance requirements.

SEC. 26.5.1-7 TIME OF PERFORMANCE.

Within thirty (30) days of the award of any franchise under this Ordinance, a new Franchisee shall proceed to apply and/or secure all pole attachment agreements and other permits as required for the construction of its system which shall commence no later than 180 days after date of franchise award.

A new Franchisee shall commence operation as defined in SEC. 26.5.1-2 herein within 360 days of the date of its franchise award and shall complete construction to offer service to all inhabitants within an agreed upon initial service area within 540 days of franchise award.
Upon acceptance of a renewal franchise issue pursuant hereto, the Franchisee shall proceed to establish, construct and operate its proposed system and shall provide full services thereof to subscribers as soon as reasonably possible. The time for the construction, establishment and operation of any renewed system or any aspect thereof and the providing of services related thereto shall be according to the twelve (12) month construction and development schedules which shall be submitted to the Town Clerk on or before the dates specified in a franchise or in the absence thereof on or before January 30 of each year during the term of any franchise granted hereunder.
Extension of the time limits established pursuant to SEC. 5.1-7(A) and 7(B) for delay for inclusion of any distant signals proposed for carriage on Franchisee’s system may be granted by the Council for unusual or excessive delays caused by regulatory or other proceedings or hearings, required by the Federal Communications Commission. Such waiver of time of performance requirements established herein shall apply to all other facets of the CATV system.
The Council may extend construction and work times in the event that the Franchisee can demonstrate that delays are caused by circumstances beyond the Franchisee’s control that cannot be overcome by the exercise of reasonable diligence on the Franchisee’s part. Such extension, however, will not extend the other time limits established herein and delay not thus excused shall be deemed a material failure to perform under the terms of the franchise and said franchise may be terminated or forfeited by declaration thereof by the Council.
All days specified herein shall be calendar days including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays of all kinds.

SEC. 26.5.1-8 CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION STANDARDS.

The system shall be installed and when replaced by the Franchisee, shall be replaced with proven state of the art equipment (as indicated in SEC. 26.5.1-3(A) and operated and maintained in accordance with all local laws and ordinances, local utility company practices and the technical standards of the Federal Communications Commission which are applicable and are in existence during any part of the terms of any franchise granted hereunder. Specifically, but not limited thereto, the system shall be installed, operated and maintained in accordance with the following Codes:
1. National Electrical Safety Code
  National Bureau of Standards Handbook 81, Part 2
2. National Electrical Code of the National Board of Fire Underwriters
3. All applicable existing ordinances and regulations of Normal and Bloomington and all related requirements of the local power and telephone companies.
All equipment installed as part of the system shall be designed for continuous, 24 hour per day operation. The system shall be designed to pass the entire VHF television and FM broadcast spectrum, and shall pass NTSC color television signals and signals of all local television broadcast stations and all other signals of the system without noticeable degradation.

The system shall comply with all technical standards listed in FCC Rules and Regulations, Part 76.605. All television channels carried on the system shall comply with the following specifications or stricter specifications in Part 76.605:
1. 24 hour gain variation, any channel: 4dB maximum
2. Peak to peak video signal to CCIR weighted RMS noise ratio: 40dB
3. RF carrier to single intermodulation beat ratio: 63dB
4. RF carrier to cross modulation distortion ratio: 52dB
5. Peak to peak hum modulation as a percentage of peak RF carrier: 5%
6. Amplitude vs. frequency response from visual carrier –0.5MH to visual carrier +3.75MG : dB maximum
7. 8Differential gain: 2dB
8. Differential phase: 3
9. Level difference between adjacent carriers at subscriber terminal: 3dB
10. Subscriber terminal level at the 75 ohms side of matching transformer: 0dBmv to +17dBmv
11. Carrier to echo: 34dB
12. Signal leakage (spurious radiation). Comply with FCC 76.605(a)(12), all locations
If radio links are installed by the operation as part of the CATV system, the transmission standards listed in this Section shall include the radio links as well.

Operation of any system or equipment by the Franchisee shall be accomplished in such manner as to avoid causing interference with off-the-air reception for non-subscribers to the system and other communications systems.
Annual Tests. The Franchisee shall conduct annual proof of performance tests in accordance with FCC Rules and Regulations, Parts 76.601, 76.605 and 76.609. The Franchisee shall maintain copies of the test results at his local offices for a period of not less than five (5) years from the date of testing, and shall make copies available to the Town upon written request.
Disclaimer. The specific provisions of this Section have been provided by the existing Franchisee, and are accepted with the understanding that properly amplified and distributed signals which meet these standards will produce for receipt on subscribers TV receivers which are in good working order, high quality pictures and audio free from any significant interference, distortion or ghosting or other problem which could cause the picture or sound to have any significant degradation of video or audio quality.

SEC. 26.5.1-9 FEES.

Applicants for a franchise and for the renewal of a franchise hereunder shall pay a filing fee of $500.00, which sum shall be due and payable concurrently with the filing of said application. Any application for a franchise for which the filing fee has not been paid will not be considered.
The Franchisee shall provide without charge designated connections to each existing and future elementary and secondary public or parochial school building, to the Town Hall and to all other existing and future municipal buildings within the corporate limits and shall provide basic CATV service to these connections without charge.
Franchisee shall provide an emergency alert system. Authorized public officials shall be provided with the capability of cutting into all of the Cable Television system channels simultaneously with audio announcements of local or national emergency situations. The facilities for this shall be placed in the Police Department, the Sheriff’s Office, and the designated Civil Defense Headquarters, and upon request of the Mayor, each Franchisee shall make available its full facilities to the Town and/or County for emergency use during the period of such emergency and shall provide such personnel as is necessary to operate its facilities properly under the circumstances.
Monthly during the term of any franchise granted hereunder and in addition to any state or municipal service, utility or other tax now and hereafter in effect, the Franchisee shall pay to the Town a sum equal to five percent (5%) of the total gross receipts received during the prior month.
Unless otherwise altered in the franchise grant, on or before the 30th day of April of each year hereafter, the Franchisee shall file with the Director of the Finance Department a certified financial statement prepared by a Certified Public Accountant showing in detail the gross receipts as defined herein and the income statement, balance sheet and other explanatory financial information requested by the Mayor. At the time said financial statements are filed, the Franchisee shall also file an annual report describing the development of the system’s size, the number and type of subscribers, program availability of the access channels, use of the access channels during the period covered by the report, and projected development of the system as required herein. The Franchisee shall not pay less than Two Thousand Four Hundred Dollars ($2,400.00) per year in franchise fees. The actual amount of franchise fees paid by the Franchisee shall be computed on the basis of the gross receipts received by the Franchisee for services as indicated in subsection (D). (Amended 4/15/85)
Authorized employees and agents of the Town of Normal shall at any reasonable time have access to the books and records of the Franchisee for the purpose of auditing or for other consideration thereof. On request, a complete list of all connections of subscribers shall be supplied to designated representatives of the Town and in the local office of the Franchisee such complete list shall be kept current and available for consideration on request by authorized representatives of the Town. No acceptance of any payment by the Town shall be construed as a release of or an accord or satisfaction of any claim the Town might have for further or additional sums payable under the terms of this Ordinance or for any other performance or obligation of the grantee hereunder.
The connection and service without charge and the fees established herein shall be in lieu of any license tax or any similar levy but not in lieu of the present or future general utility tax.
In the event a franchise should be terminated or forfeited prior to the end of a term, the Franchisee shall immediately submit to the Town an income statement, balance sheet and other financial statements showing the gross receipts and other financial aspects of the Franchisee’s business for the time elapsed since the last period for which the Franchisee has submitted financial reports and specifically as part thereof the period(s) since Franchisee has paid to the Town the required percentage of gross annual receipts and the Franchisee shall pay to the Town not later than thirty (30) days following the termination of the franchise a like percentage of such gross receipts as indicated in subsection (D).

SEC. 26.5.1-10 BID AND PERFORMANCE/SURETY BOND.

Each applicant seeking award of a franchise hereunder shall submit a bid bond in a form acceptable to the Corporation Counsel or a certified check on a bank that is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, payable to the order of the Town in an amount of Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00). Such bid bond or check shall be held by the Town until a franchise is awarded on the basis of the proposal and a satisfactory performance bond is furnished by the successful applicant or for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days after the date set for submission of proposals.
Should the successful applicant fail or refuse to accept the franchise or fail or refuse to furnish the Performance Bond within twenty (20) days after written notification of the award of the franchise by the Town, said applicant will be considered to have abandoned the proposal and the Town shall enforce the bid bond in accordance with its terms or retail the proceeds of the certified check. The term “successful applicant” shall be deemed to include any applicant whose proposal is accepted by the Town.
The successful applicant, if required by highway or road authorities, shall furnish to such authorities a bond or meet other guarantee requirements to assure prompt repair of all damages to highway and roads and their associated rights-of-way caused by construction of the CATV system. This requirement is in addition to and independent of the bid and performance bond required by this Ordinance.
The Franchisee shall concurrently or as soon thereafter as possible with the filing of its acceptance of the award of any franchise awarded under this Ordinance, file with the Town Clerk, and at all times thereafter maintain in full force and effect for the term of the franchise at Franchisee’s sole expense a corporate performance/surety bond in a company authorized to do business in the State of Illinois and in a form to be approved by the Corporation Counsel in the amount of Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00) renewable annually. Said bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance by the Franchisee of each term and/or condition of this franchise ordinance and in the event the Franchisee shall fail to comply with any one or more of the material provisions of this Ordinance that there shall be recoverable, jointly and severally from the principal and surety of such bond, the full amount of the bond as liquidated damages; said condition to be a continuing obligation for the duration of this franchise and, therefore, until the Franchisee has liquidated all of its obligations with the Town that may have arisen from or be related to acceptance of this franchise by the Franchisee or from its exercise of any privilege herein granted. The bond shall provide that thirty (30) days prior written notice of intention not to renew, cancellation or material change, be given to the Town. Any such bond shall be written or at least countersigned by an agent of the company who is a resident of the State of Illinois.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Town Council may, by resolution or ordinance, reduce the amount of any corporate surety bond required of a Franchisee in specific situations where the Council specifically finds that a given Franchisee has substantially complied with one or more of the provisions of this Ordinance and thereby has liquidated all or a part of its liabilities and obligations with the Town that may have arisen from the acceptance of the franchise by the Franchisee or from its exercise of any privilege herein granted or granted by a franchise provided, however, said bond shall not be reduced below Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) and provided further that after Council action by resolution or ordinance authorizing the reinstatement of the requirement of a larger corporate surety bond and upon thirty (30) days written notification to the Franchisee, Franchisee may either be required to post such a corporate surety bond in a company authorized to do business in the State and Illinois and in a form to be approved by the Corporation Counsel in the amount of Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00) or in a lesser amount as so specified, renewed annually.
Bid bonds or certified checks received in lieu thereof from applicants whose proposals are not accepted by the Town shall be returned to the applicant as soon as the proposal is rejected.
No recovery by the Town of any sum by reason of any bond required herein shall be any limitation upon the liability of the Franchisee to the Town except that any sum received by the Town by reason of any bond required herein shall be deducted from any recovery which the Town might have against the Franchisee.

SEC. 26.5.1-11 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

All applications for a franchise hereunder shall state the proposed address of the office and service department for said applicant, and upon being designated as a Franchisee, written notice of both the location of the office and the service department for said Franchisee shall be given to the Town Clerk of the Town of Normal within ten (10) days after the issuance of said franchise or within ten (10) days after the change of any such location subsequent to the issuance of a franchise.
All notices to be served upon the Town Hall shall be served upon the Town Clerk at the Town Hall presently located at 100 East Phoenix Avenue, Normal, Illinois, until notice of change by the Town is given in writing to the Franchisee. All notices to be served upon Franchisee at the address provided by Franchisee to Town with Franchisee's acceptance of this franchise ordinance until notice of change by the Franchisee is given in writing to the Town.
Applicant shall include his or its proper legal name and address at the time of submitting the application and no advertising shall be allowed by Franchisee until after a franchise has been granted by the Town and all moneys collected for advance sales shall be placed in an escrow account with an established banking institution whose accounts are insured by the F.D.I.C. until such time as the minimum requirements of this franchise ordinance are met, at which time same may be released as the sole property of Franchisee.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Ordinance, the Franchisee shall at all times comply with all applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations for any administrative agency thereof; provided, however, that if any such ordinance, law, rule or regulation shall require or permit the Franchisee to perform or shall prohibit the performance of any service in conflict with the provisions and items of this Ordinance or of any law, rule or regulation, then as soon as possible following obtaining knowledge thereof, representatives of the Franchisee shall notify the Town of the point of conflict believed to exist. If the Town determines that a material provision of this Ordinance is affected by such situation, the Town shall have the right to modify or amend any of the provisions herein to carry out the full intent and purposes of this Ordinance.
Intentional interruptions or alterations of network and/or local programs may only be had under the rules of the Federal Communications Commission, and in case of extreme emergency, such as matters pertaining to civil defense for which the Franchisee agrees to make its services and programs available.
Franchisee shall simultaneously file with the Town a copy of all petitions, applications and communications filed or submitted by the Franchisee with any government entity or agency, specifically including but not limited to the Federal Communications Commission, having jurisdiction with respect to any matter affecting the status of the Franchisee, the system or the company's undertakings or proposed undertakings with respect to the Ordinance.
The Franchisee, upon reasonable request, shall file with the Town copies of all general agreements, contracts and rules, regulations, terms and conditions established or imposed by the company in connection with the establishment, construction, operation and maintenance of the CATV system.
Rates to subscribers shall abate on a prorata basis in the event service is not provided to a subscriber for more than twenty-four (24) consecutive hours. There shall be no proration of rates for interruption of service caused by negligent or willful acts of subscriber or his/her agent, invitee, or pet or failure of subscriber’s equipment.
The Franchisee on request shall file with the Town Clerk copies of all of its rules and regulations in connection with the handling of inquiries, requests and complaints. The Franchisee shall maintain an office serving both cities at a central location which shall be open during all usual business hours. The Franchisee shall have at least one telephone listed in the yellow pages of the local telephone directory which may be used to make complaints, request repairs or request adjustments to its service and on which such calls may be made at any reasonable time. The Franchisee shall respond to all service calls and correct malfunctions in its equipment as promptly as possible.
The Franchisee shall keep full records with respect to requests and complaints involving the CATV system which shall include the identity of the requesting or complaining person, the subject matter of the contact and the decision, action and/or resolution with respect to the subject matter of each contact.
It shall be illegal for the Franchisee or any person, agency or entity to maintain or arrange for the monitoring of any cable, line, signal input device or subscriber outlet or receiver for any purpose whatsoever without the specific written authorization of affected persons, subscribers or appropriate representatives of the Normal Police Department. The only exception to the foregoing is that the Franchisee may perform monitoring which is necessary to the normal delivery of system services, provided such monitoring is done in a manner that does not infringe upon the rights of subscribers or any other persons. With respect to any information which may come into the possession of the Franchisee, the Franchisee shall protect the rights of the privacy of subscribers and of all other persons.
The word “shall” is always mandatory and shall not be considered to be merely directory. When not inconsistent with the context, words in the plural shall include the singular number, and words used in the singular number shall include the plural number.
Should any of the provisions of any of the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission referred to herein cease to be operative, the Franchisee shall continue to follow said rules until the Council releases the Franchisee from the requirements thereof and the Council may adopt such rule(s) and/or regulation(s) as its own and/or may adopt other rule(s) and/or regulation(s) which must be followed by the Franchisees hereunder.
At the request of the Council, the Franchisee shall file with the Town Clerk a current list of its officers with their current addresses and of its shareholders who hold 5% or more of the outstanding stock of the Franchisee.

SEC. 26.5.1-12 APPLICATIONS FOR FRANCHISE. Applications for a franchise hereunder shall be filed with the Town Clerk and shall contain the following:

The name and address of the applicant, date of application, signature of applicant or appropriate corporate officer;
Payment of the specified filing fee;
Bid bond, or certified check as required by SEC. 5.1-10(A) herein;
A general description of the applicant’s proposed operation with shall include service to the initial service area with plans for ultimate service to all areas within the corporate limits of the Town;
A statement of the television and other channels proposed for carriage on the system including details of those proposed initially and the tentative schedule for those to be added later;
A statement of maximum fees which said applicant would charge for installation and service for the first two years after applicant shall commence operation as defined in SEC. 26.5.1-2 hereof. Said maximums will be binding on the applicant for such two year period and thereafter the rate schedule must have the approval of the Council, except as hereinafter provided;
A statement detailing the corporate organization of the applicant, if any, including the names and addresses of its officer and directors;
A statement of all subsidiary, parent or otherwise related companies affiliated with the applicant;
A statement setting forth all agreements and understandings whether written or oral existing between the applicant and any other person, firm, group or corporation with respect to the proposed franchise and its proposed operation;
If applicant is a corporation, said applicant shall furnish a financial statement for the last available fiscal year together with a resolution from the corporate Board of Directors authorizing the expenditure of such funds as are required to build the proposed system;
Suitable written evidence from a recognized lending or funding agency addressed to the applicant and the Town Council advising that said lending or funding agency has analyzed the applicant’s financial ability and that this lending or funding agency has agreed to make the required funds available to the applicant for construction of the proposed system if said applicant is awarded a franchise.

SEC. 26.5.1-13 ACCEPTANCE AND COMPLIANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS.

No franchise granted hereunder shall become effective until all requirements of this Ordinance are fully met including the filing of the bonds and certificates of insurance required herein.
This Ordinance and its terms and provisions and any franchise grant hereunder shall be accepted by the Franchisee by a written instrument executed and acknowledged by it as a deed is required to be, and filed with the Town Clerk within twenty (20) days after the passage of this ordinance or of the franchise grant whichever is later. Such written instrument shall state and express the acceptance of this Ordinance and of the franchise grant and their terms, conditions and provisions and said Franchisee shall agree in said instrument to abide by, to observe and to perform same and shall declare that statements and recitals herein and in the franchise grant are correct and that it does agree to accept all of them. Amendments hereto or to the franchise grant shall be accepted in the same manner as provided for the basic acceptance of this Ordinance and of the franchise grant and if one or both of the aforementioned acceptance statements is not filed as required, the franchise grant shall not take effect but shall be void. All instruments of acceptance shall be filed of record in the office of the McLean County Clerk at the Franchisee’s expense within thirty (30) days after the same is filed with the Town Clerk. The recorded copies of such acceptance shall be held by the Town Clerk. Franchisee shall pay any publication costs of this Ordinance or of its franchise grant ordinance and any future Franchisee shall pay the publication costs of its franchise grant ordinance.
After the thirty (30) day written notice and cure provision provided in SEC. 4(M), failure of Franchisee to comply with any material requirement of this Ordinance or any rights granted hereunder shall result in the forfeiture of bond required by Section 10(D) above and title to any then existing plant shall belong to the Town.

SEC. 26.5.1-14 LIMITATIONS ON THE FRANCHISEE’S RECOURSE.

Except as expressly provided in this ordinance or in a franchise grant Ordinance, the Franchisee shall have no recourse whatsoever against the Town for any loss, cost or expense or damage arising out of the provisions or requirements of its franchise or of this Ordinance or because of the enforcement thereof by the Town.
The Franchisee expressly acknowledges that it did or will accept its franchise relying of its own investigation and understanding by the power and authority of the Town to grant the franchise. By the acceptance of its franchise the Franchisee agrees that it will not at any time set up against the Town in any claim or proceeding that any condition or term is unreasonable, arbitrary or void or that the Town had no power or authority to make such term or condition of the franchise.

SEC. 26.5.1-15 INVALIDATION CLAUSE. If any provision of this Ordinance or the application of such provision to any circumstances is held invalid for any reason whatsoever the remainder of this Ordinance or the application of the provision of other circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

SEC. 26.5.1-16 RENEWAL OF FRANCHISE. After a franchise has been granted under this Ordinance, the Franchisee may apply for renewal of said franchise. The Town may act to extend the franchise but it has no obligation to do so.

(Entire Division Amended 3/2/81)(ENTIRE DIVISION RE-CODIFIED BY ORDINANCE NO. 3326, 7/16/84)(Entire Division Amended 10/19/98 by Ord. No. 4556)(Entire Division Amended 9/2/03 by Ord. No. 4888)

Chapter 26 - Existing Franchise Ordinances Division 5.1 - Community Antenna Television System

Chapter 26 - Existing Franchise Ordinances
Division 5.1 - Community Antenna Television System