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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 8306 CABLE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS RATE ORDINANCE ORDINANCE NO ~3 D ~o TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE 1 Standard Installation 2 2 Residential Installation 2 3 Nan-Residential Installation 3 4 Installation to Public and Nonprofit Schools and Colleges Municipal Buildings and Public Libraries 3 5 Prewiring Projects 4 6 Standard Monthly Service Rates 5 7 Special Monthly Service Rates ~ 8 Transfers ~ 9 Early Extension ~ 10 Reconnections 8 11 Relocation or Extension of Cable 8 12 Service Calls $ 13 Deposits 8 14 Parental-Control Lock-Out Devices 9 15 Other Rates 9 16 Penalty 12 17 Publication 12 18 Engrossing 13 19 Effective Date 13 Exhibit A - Services 14-15 ORDINANCE NO AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING RATES TO BE CHARGED FOR CABLE COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE WITHIN THE CITY OF FORT WORTH BY SAMMONS OF FORT WORTH (.HEREINAFTER "COMPANY"), PURSUANT THE THE CABLE COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE ORDINANCE NO 8291 ADOPTED MARCH 17, 1981 BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH (HEREINAFTER "CITY") PROVIDING FOR INSTALLATION, MONTHLY AND OTHER RATES RECONNECTION, RELOCATION, AND EXTENSION CHARGES DEPOSITS SPECIAL AND PREMIUM RATES SERVICE CALLS PARENTAL-CONTROL DEVICES PRE-WIRING EARLY EXTENSION PENALTY PUBLICATION AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Fort Worth has adopted a Cable Communications Franchise Ordinance No 8291 for "Sammons of Fort Worth" (hereinafter Company") which will be in effect after Company acceptance and publication, on and after April 9, 1981 and WHEREAS, Company has agreed on March 17, 1981 to be bound by all the terms and conditions of said franchise in its acceptance thereof and WHEREAS, Company has submitted a proposed maximum rate .schedule for service to be charged by Company pursuant to the franchise and WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Fort Worth has held public hearings, has considered the information and documents, and has fully heard and considered the matter before it NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE: CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS SECTION 1 STANDARD INSTALLATION Unless as otherwise specifically provided, a standard installation shall be an aerial drop of no more than one hundred fifty (150) feet SECTION 2 RESIDENTIAL INSTALLATION a The following maximum rates shall apply in service Tiers I, II, III, and IV for standard installation to residential units or any change or modification of converters (1) First outlet per service call $15 95 (2) Additional outlet per service call $15 95 {3) FM outlet per service call $15 95 In only the first three Tiers, no standard installation charge will be made if done in first 60 days after service is available and such charges may be waived in other future promotional periods All Tier IV customers shall pay the installation charge of $15 95 b Aerial drops in excess of one hundred fifty (150) feet shall be the same as standard installation plus an additional charge equal to the Company's actual cost for that portion of the drop in excess of one hundred fifty (150) feet from pole attachment Company may request advance payment for such installation c Underground residential drops shall be charged at a fee equal to the Company's actual cost less Company's rate for standard installation Company may request advance payment for such installation -2- d A residential unit shall be any single family dwelling, apartment unit or apartment building recreation area or condominium unit or condominium common area An apartment shall be any building with two or more residential units of which at least one is a rental unit SECTION 3 NONRESIDENTIAL INSTALLATION Except as otherwise provided herein, the maximum charge for installation to nonresidential facilities shall be a fee egual to the Company's actual cost SECTION 4 INSTALLATION TO "PUBLIC AND NONPROFIT SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES MiJNICIPAL BiJILDINGS AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES a A standard installation shall be made upon request at public, tax-supported schools, institutions of higher education, and municipal facilities Institution shall reimburse the Company at Company's actual cost for such installation c Should the school district or City desire to provide its own exterior/interior distribution, the Company shall render technical .assistance without charge Such installations are subject to inspection and approval by the Company d Company shall be reimbursed at its actual cost for underground installations 1 -~- SECTION 5 PREWIRING PROJECTS The owner or builder of a residential or commercial building or other project shall have the right to prewire an entire project for cable service A project for the purpose of this section shall be any new construction which at the time of prewiring is not past the normal stage of electrical wiring a OWNER OR BUILDER PREWIRING Company shall provide a standard installation to a prewired project at the standard installation rate if the owner or builder complies with the following procedure (1) Owner or builder uses methods and materials approved in advance or supplied by the Company Upon request, Company shall supply specifications and materials at a rate equal to its actual cost (2) Owner or builder request inspection and approval according to a schedule supplied by .Company Upon request, Company shall inspect and provide technical assistance at a rate equal to its actual cost b COMPANY PREWIRING Company shall provide a standard installation to a prewired project at the standard installation rate if Company has prewired the project Upon request of an owner or builder, Company shall prewire a project at a rate equal to its actual cost Reguest for prewiring shall be sufficiently in advance for Company to arrange for prewiring except in no event shall such advance notice be required to exceed forty-five (45) days prior to commencement -4- c Any aerial installation in excess of 150 feet to a prewired project shall be charged according to Section 3b and any underground installation shall be charged according to Section 3c d Nothing herein shall prevent Company from charging the standard installation charge to individual subscribers within the project at the time they request service SECTION 6 STANDARD MONTHLY SERVICE RATES a Except as otherwise specifically provided for, Company may charge maximum monthly service rates to commercial establishments, institutions, single-family dwellings, single-apartment units, single-condominium units, apartment building recreation areas or condominium common areas as follows PRIMARY OUTLET ADDITIONAL OUTLET(S) FM OUTLET(S) w/cony w/o cony w/cony w/o cony Tier I $ 3 95 $ 2 45 $ 2 95 $ 1 45 $ 1 45 Tier II 5 95 4 4'5 3 95 2 45 2 45 Tier III 7 95 5 45 4 95 2 45 2 45 Tier IV 10 95 -- 7 95 -- 2 45 b The services expected to be offered initially in each tier are listed in Exhibit A, attached hereto, and made a part hereof It is anticipated that there will be changes in the ,-- -5- offerings as time passes, some caused by cessations of the services by the originators, and others caused by changes in demand perceived by the Company Any services eliminated shall be replaced by similar services of equal or higher quality SECTION 7. .SPECIAL MONTHLY SERVICE RATES a HOTELS, MOTELS AND INSTITUTIONS (1) Company may negotiate individual monthly service rates to hotels, motels, nursing homes, hospitals and other similar buildings where there is 100 percent subscription, to the cable communications service, but the rates may not exceed the standard residential rates These discounted rates shall be available only for subscribers billed on a bulk basis (2) One hundred (100) percent subscription shall mean that each habitable unit in the building has at least (1) outlet (3) A hotel or motel shall mean any building containing multiple units for human habitation providing lodging for the transient public and charging a daily rate only for its units Any hotel or motel unit with both full kitchen and bathroom facilities, or being let at other than a daily rate, may be charged the standard rate (4) A nursing home shall be any building containing multiple units for human habitation operated by a nonprofit institution and used primarily for the extended care of aged or infirmed people =6- b PUBLIC AND NONPROFIT SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS, AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES There shall be no monthly charge for service to public tax-supported schools, institutions of higher education and municipal facilities SECTION 8 TRANSFERS When a current customer moves from one address within the franchised area to a second address within the franchised area and there is no lapse in service, a maximum transfer charge of Fifteen and 95/100 Dollars ($15 95) may be made SECTION 9 EARLY EXTENSION Company shall extend service pursuant to the early extension provisions of the franchise at a rate equal to its actual cost which shall be apportioned equally among those requesting the early extension Costs may be required to be paid in advance or Company may require reasonable assurance of payment prior to commencement of such extension In the event the area into which early extension has been made reaches the density required for mandatory extension, such payments shall be treated as consideration for early extension service -7- SECTION 10 RECONNECTION Company shall restore service to customers wishing restoration of service, provided customer shall first satisfy any previous obligations owed A maximum reconnection fee of Ten Dollars ($i0 00) may be charged customer SECTION 11 RELOCATION OR EXTENSION OF CABLE Except as otherwise provided, when a current customer requests an extension or relocation of cable to be made, the Company may charge a maximum of Ten Dollars ($10 00) SECTION 12 SERVICE CALLS Service requests for maintenance or repair of cable facilities are performed at no charge unless such maintenance or repair is required as a result of damage caused by subscriber The Company may charge a maximum of Fifteen and 95/100 Dollars ($15 95) for service calls to subscribers' homes not the result of a cable failure Each subscriber shall be entitled to one free service call without regard to reason during each calendar year SECTION 13 DEPOSITS a Company may require an advance deposit of a part or all of the estimated costs for installation Company may require a deposit for each converter in an amount not to exceed the cost of converters at the time of installation 8~ b No converter deposit will be required Company shall retain ownership of the converter and will provide maintenance service free of charge Company shall charge the subscriber for non-returned or severely damaged converters The converter policy shall be carefully explained to each new subscriber at the time of installation c The subscriber may purchase any non-pay converter, including a cordless remote selector, for cost plus a minimum handling charge The Company will honor the manufacturer's warranty and provide repair or replacement during the warrantyv period for defective equipment A cordless remote converter will be made available at an additional charge in Tiers II, III, and IV SECTION 14 PARENTAL CONTROL "LOCK-OUT DEVICES Parental digital discretion code "lock-out" devices (both audio and. video) shall be provided at no cost to subscribers, upon receipt of their written request(s) SECTION 15. OTHER RATES a PAY CABLE-PREMIUM SERVICE(S) (1) No standard installation charge if done in first 60 days after service is available After that, reduced to $5 95 if done concurrently with primary installation, and subject to promotional discounts _g~ (2) A parental digital discretion code available at no additional charge MONTHLY RATE TIER I Home Theatre Network $3 95 Home Box Office -- Galavision -- Showtime -- EVEN (includes MSN and Action Theatre) Bravo Movie Channel HBO Cinemax Premiere/PACE Video Games Pay-Per-View Special Events, Movies, Sports Educational Enrichment Shop-At-Home Bank-At-Home II III IV $3 95 $3 95 $3 95 6 95 6 95 6 95 6 95 6 95 6 95 6 95 6 95 6 95 -- -- 8 9S 8 95 -- -- 5 95 5 95 -- -- 8 95 8 95 -- -- 7 95 7 95 -- -- * * -- -- -- -- per event per event -- -- per course per course -- -- per use per use -- -- per use per use * To be determined when available b SECURITY SERVICES - ALL TIERS INSTALLATION MONTHLY Basic Medical Emergency/Police Alert* $99 95 $ 9 95 Basic Medical Emergency/Police Alert Depending On 16 95 with Fire Alarm and/or Intrusion Service Package Alarm** * Includes manually activated subscriber alarm with two (2) alarm option ** Full automatic/manual alarm services with installation costs dependent on extent of areas of protection requested by customer -10- c LEASED CHANNEL FOR OTHER SECURITY COD9PANIES $3 OCl per month per security customer d LEASED ACCESS CHANNELS [Rates will be _determined later and will be designed to recover institutional network costs and the leased channels on a reasonable life-expectancy basis plus a reasonable return and recovery of operating costs commensurate with the requirements of specific clients ] e STUDIO AND EQUIPMENT USAGE Charges will be assessed. for studio and equipment usage by private profit oriented organizations Rates wi1Z be set on an individual project basis and negotiated per each use Non-commercial users from the educational governmental arts human services religious and community access sectors of the Fort Worth community will be able to utilize all of Sammon s Community Program facilities at no charge f (i) (a) (b) (2) SERVICE TO GOVERNMENTAL AND EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES Installation Fees One cable outlet (per facility) More than one outlet (per facility) Monthly Rate w -11- $ FREE $ AT COST $ FREE-One Outlet t g ADVERTISING RATES Charges for commercial messages on the Local Origination Channel will initially be set at $ 70 per one thousand (1,000) subscribers on the system These charges will be adjusted once viewing data has been established by Sammons and reviewed with the City of Fort worth Citizens Cable Advisory Board No charges will be assessed for non-profit public service announcements SECTION 16 PENALTY That any person violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and each such person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each day or portion thereof during which any violation of any of the provisions of this ordinance is committed, continued, or permitted and each violation shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding Two Hundred Dollars ($200 QO) SECTION 17 PUBLICATION That the City Secretary of the City of Fort worth is hereby directed to publish the caption and penalty clause and effective date of this ordinance for five (5) days in the official newspaper of the City of Fort Worth, as authorized by Article 1176b-1, TEXAS REVISED CIVIL STATUTES -12- SECTION 18 That the City Secretary of the City of Fort worth is hereby directed to engross and enroll this ordinance by copying the caption and penalty clause of same in the minutes of the City Council of Fort Worth and by filing the ordinance in the ordinance records of said City SECTION 19 That this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after the date of passage and publication as above specified APPROV TO FORM AND GAL TY ~~ ~ ~_____ City Attorney ADOPTED ~ _ ~~~~~~/~~~ EFFECTIVE (Exhibit A, attached) -i3- EXHIBIT A The Company shall carry all television broadcast signals on the system which are Bowe under FCC rules Additionally, the Company has freely offered and the City accepts the following four level service that will initially be offered to all subscribers at the time cable television service becomes operational The rate structure described in this Ordinance shall be in effect for the next 24 months, following the connection and installation of the first Fort North System customer (1) Tier I Service ($3 95/mo) CHANNEL 2 Home Theatre Network, Pay TV (optional $3 95/mo) 3 KXTX, Ch 39, CBN 4 KDFW, Ch 4 CBS 4+ Municipal Access/Emergency Video 5 KXAS, Ch 5, NBC 6 Public Access A-2 Leased Access A-1 Leased Access A Ch 33, KNBN, STV B Ch 27, Future UHF, STV C Educational Access D Fcc~cational Access E Educational Access F Educational Access G Educational Access H Educational Access I C-SPAN/Cinemerica/BET 7 Time/NOAA Weather/UPI News/Emergency Phone Numbers 8 WFAA, Ch $, ABC 9 Ch 21, Future UHF, IND 10 Job Listing/Community Bulletin Board/Consumer Shopping Guide 11 KTVT Ch 11, IND 12 Locai Origination/Community Programming Guide 13 KERA., Ch 13, PBS J Optional Security Interrogation Digital K Optional Data and Information Retrieval Digital -1~- ' ~3 L.= (2) Tier II, All of Tier I services, plus Basic $5 95/mo CHANNEL L Entertainment Guide/Video Radio M People That Love, Religious N Home Box Office, Pay TV* 0 Showtime, Pay TV* P Galavision, Pay TV* Q Woman's Channel R MSG/TCS/UPI Sports/TNB/English Channel S WOR, Ch 9, New York, Independent T WTBS, Ch 17, Atlanta, Independent U National Christial Network, Religious V Satellite Programming Network, Entertainment Service W Classical Carousel/Calliope/WGN, Ch 9, Chicago, IND AA Spanish International Network, Spanish Programming BB ACSN/KTVU, Ch 2, Oakland, IND CC Nickelodeon, Children's Service (3) Tier III, All of Tiers I and II services, plus Basic $7 95/mo DD Pay-Per-View* EE Bravo, Pay TV* FF HBO Cinemax, Pay TV* GG The Movie Channel, Pay TV* HH Cable News Network II ESPN JJ AMX/NYX Business and Financial News KK CoLor Weather Radar LL PACE or Premiere, Pay TV* MM CBS Cable NN LVEN, Pay TV/MSN* 00 Action Theatre* PP Educational Enrichment QQ Future RR Future S5 Future TT Future UU Future VV Future WW Edit Channel (4) Tier IV, All of Tiers I, II and III plus Basic $10 95/mo - all interactive capabilities and facilities * Optional 15- DATE REFERENCE NUMBER SUBJECT (',able Communications Ordinances PAGE 3/31/81 G-4931 > °r '- Background On July 8 1980 (M&C G-x+612) the City Co¶;ncil approved a cable communicati®n system request for proposals and four draft ordinances By its action the Council declared its intent to adopt upon award of a franchise ordinances which would contain provisions substantially similar to those included in the attached general franchise ordinance ordinance relating to content ordinance establishing rates ordinance defining tenant and landlord rights and responsibilities with regard to cable service The general franchise ordinance was approved by the Council on March 17 1981 (CP-81) and adoption of the remaining three ordinances which have been finalized by the Department of Law is proposed at this time Recommendation:: It is recommended that the City Council adopt the following cable communication system ordinances /I++ 1) Program Content Ordinance ~1~~~ ~ ~~ ~~~~ygs~~-~~ ~~~ i~~, ~ ~ (~~ 2) Rate Ordinance ADCPTE CI~~?I~~~~~~C~ I~0 830 3) Landlord/Tenant Ordinance A~®~~~~ ~~~~ ,~ , ~ ~6 0 ~ ~~ ~ ~ J RAM j c Attachments APPROVED BY CITY C0~INCIL MAR 3~ 19~~. ~ Ci, ecz ci C C of ):'ort W®~th~ Tarr; v Y,' SUBMITTED FOR THE `~ ~ CITY MANAGER'S DISPOSITION BY COUNCIL: PROCESSED BY OFFICE BY ^ APPROVED ORIGINATING pawl Isham ^ OTHER (DESCRIBE) DEPARTMENT HEAD• CITY SECRETARY FOR ADDITIONAL INFORM~~I,~~ Isham Ext X623 CONTACT DATE