§ 30-20. Construction, installation, system capability and operation.

(a)

Authority to construct.

(1)

The franchisee shall apply for any needed contracts for pole use. Pole space and other facilities obtained from the county, utilities, and other lawful users of the public way shall be at the cost and expense of the franchisee. The franchisee shall apply for all additional licenses from the state, county, or other necessary parties, such as the railroads for crossing under or over their property. In any event, all necessary applications for permits, licenses, certificates and authorization shall be applied for in a timely fashion so that such filing and processing shall not interfere with or cause delay with the construction scheduled as outlined in the franchise. Failure to make such timely application and timely filing shall constitute a substantial violation of this chapter.

(2)

Upon grant of a franchise and in order to construct, rebuild, operate and maintain a system in the county, the franchisee may enter into contracts with any public utility companies or any other owner or lessee of any poles or underground areas located within or without the county, obtain right-of-way permits from appropriate state, county and federal officials necessary to cross or otherwise use highways or roads under their respective jurisdiction, obtain permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to erect and maintain antennae, and obtain whatever other permits a county, state or federal agency may require.

(b)

Construction and technical standards.

(1)

The franchisee shall construct, rebuild, install operate and maintain its system in a manner consistent with all laws, ordinances, construction standards or guidelines, governmental requirements, and FCC technical standards.

(2)

The system will be spaced to permit operation with cable-ready television sets and shall provide a minimum of 78 channels. The franchisee shall maintain its system facilities in a manner which will continue to enable it to add new services and associated equipment as they are developed, available, and proved marketable to subscribers and appropriate to FCC rules and regulations. Upon request of the county, such new services and associated equipment may be added to the system facilities where such request is reasonably feasible, and where such new services are provided in any other similarly sized market.

(3)

No erection or installation of any tower, pole conduit, or fixture or any rebuilds or upgrading of the system shall be commenced by any person until proper permits have been received from the county. Permit approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.

(4)

Any contractor proposed for work of construction, installation, operation, maintenance, and repair of system equipment must be properly licensed under laws of the state and all local ordinances and county codes.

(5)

The franchisee's system and associated equipment erected by the franchisee within the county shall be so located as to cause minimum interference with the proper use of streets, alleys, and other public ways and places, and to cause minimum interference with the rights and reasonable convenience of property owners who adjoin any of the streets, alleys or other public ways and places. No pole or other fixtures placed in any public ways by the franchisee shall be placed in such a manner as to interfere with normal travel on such public way.

(6)

The county does not guarantee the accuracy of any maps showing the horizontal or vertical location of existing substructures. In public rights-of-way, where necessary, the location shall be verified by excavation.

(7)

Construction, installation, operation, and maintenance of the system shall be performed in an orderly and workmanlike manner, in accordance with the current technological standards. The franchisee shall utilize its best efforts to have all cables and wires installed parallel with electric and telephone lines as much as reasonably possible. Multiple cable configurations shall be arranged in parallel and bundled with due respect for aesthetic and engineering considerations as much as reasonably possible. Nothing herein shall preclude underground installation.

(8)

The construction, installation, operation, maintenance, and/or removal of the system shall meet all of the following safety, construction, and technical specifications and codes and standards:

a.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations (OSHA).

b.

The National Electrical Code.

c.

The National Electrical Safety Code (NESC).

d.

The National Cable Television Standard Code.

e.

All federal, state and county construction requirements, including FCC rules and regulations, all building and zoning codes, and all land use restrictions as the same exist or may be amended hereafter.

(9)

The county or its designee shall have the right to inspect at any time all construction or installation work performed subject to the provisions of this chapter and the franchise and to make such tests as it shall deem necessary to ensure compliance with the terms of this chapter, the franchise and all other applicable law. The franchisee shall cooperate fully with the county during all inspections and tests and shall provide access to all equipment, records, and other materials and information necessary for such inspections and tests. Such inspections shall be limited to not more than four times annually during the upgrade of the system. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, the franchise, law, or regulation, all inspections and tests performed by the county shall be initially at the county's sole cost and expense. If the franchisee is found not to be in compliance with the terms of the chapter and all other applicable law, then the franchisee must reimburse the county for the reasonable costs of such inspections and tests. This reimbursement is not to be considered a part of the franchise fee.

(10)

Antennae structures used in the system shall comply with construction, marking, and lighting of antenna structure standards as required by federal and state law or regulation.

(11)

All worker facilities, conditions, and procedures that are used during construction, installation, operation, and maintenance of the cable system shall comply with any applicable standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

(12)

The franchisee shall comply with all federal laws and regulations regarding signal leakage.

(13)

The franchisee shall maintain equipment capable of providing standby power for a minimum of eight hours for the headend and two hours for the distribution system.

(c)

System construction schedule. The franchise shall specify the upgrade or rebuild or the initial construction timetable.

(d)

Construction reporting requirements.

(1)

Progress reports. In situations involving initial construction of a system or a systemwide upgrade, the franchisee shall provide the county with a written progress report upon request detailing work completed to date and a schedule for completion of construction. Such report shall include a description of the progress in applying for any necessary agreements, licenses or certifications and any other information the county manager and/or public works director may deem necessary for the monitoring of the construction schedule.

(2)

Time frame for reports. Such written progress reports shall be submitted to the county on a bi-monthly basis throughout the entire construction or upgrade or rebuild process.

(3)

Subscriber information. Prior to the commencement of any major system construction, the franchisee shall produce an informational document to be distributed to all residents of the area to be under construction, which shall describe the activity that will be taking place.

(e)

Use of streets.

(1)

All installations shall be underground in those areas of the county where public utilities providing telephone and electric service are underground at the time of installation. In areas where telephone and electric utility facilities are above ground at the time of installation, the franchisee may install its service above ground, provided that at such time as those facilities are required to be placed underground by the county or are placed underground, the franchisee shall likewise place its services underground without additional costs to the county, or to the individual subscribers so served within the county so long as the franchisee is provided with access to the open trenches at the time of excavation. Where not otherwise required to be placed underground by this chapter or the franchise, the franchisee's system shall be located underground at the request of the adjacent property owner, provided that the excess cost over the aerial location shall be borne by the property owner making the request. All cable passing under the roadway shall be installed in conduit. The franchisee shall be responsible for its costs in placing equipment underground to the extent all other utilities are responsible for their costs to do the same.

(2)

Any pedestals to be located in the public rights-of-way shall be approved by the county. All such buried equipment shall be shown in plan and cross-section on the design plans for permits. Such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.

(3)

Prior to construction or alteration, the franchisee shall, in each case, file plans with the appropriate county agencies, complete use agreements with the utility companies, and obtain all construction permits.

(4)

The franchisee shall give appropriate notice to the county and affected residents within a reasonable period of time of proposed construction, excavation, laying or stringing of cable under streets or on poles, but in no event shall such notice be given less than five business days before such commencement.

(5)

The franchisee's system and facilities, including poles, lines, equipment and all appurtenances, shall be located, erected and maintained so that such facilities shall not:

a.

Endanger or interfere with the health, safety or lives of persons;

b.

Interfere with any improvements the county or state may deem proper to make;

c.

Interfere with the free and proper use of public streets, alleys, bridges, easements or other public ways, places or property, except to the minimum extent possible during actual construction or repair;

d.

Interfere with the rights and reasonable convenience of private property owners, except to the minimum extent possible during actual construction or repair;

e.

Obstruct, hinder or interfere with any pre-existing gas, electric, water or telephone facilities or other utilities located within the county.

(6)

In the case of any disturbance of pavement, sidewalk driveway or other surfacing, the franchisee shall, at its own cost and expense and in a manner approved by the county, replace and restore all paving, sidewalk, driveway, landscaping or surface of any street or alley disturbed, in as good a condition as, or better than, before said work was commenced and in a good workmanlike, timely manner in accordance with standards for such work set by the county. Such restoration shall be undertaken within no more than ten business days after the damage is incurred and shall be completed as soon as possible thereafter.

(7)

The franchisee shall, at its sole cost and expense, protect, support, temporarily disconnect, relocate in the same street, or other streets and public grounds, or remove from any street or any other public ways and places, and of its property as reason of traffic conditions, public safety, street construction, change or establishment of street grade, or the construction, of any public improvement or structure by any county department.

(8)

The franchisee shall be subject to all laws, ordinances or regulations regarding private property or regulations regarding private property in the course of constructing, installing, operating or maintaining the system in unincorporated Brevard County. The franchisee shall promptly repair or replace all private property, both real and personal, damaged or destroyed as a result of the construction, installation, operating or maintenance of the system at its sole cost and expense.

(9)

The franchisee shall, upon the request of any person holding a building moving permit issued by the county, temporarily raise or lower its wires to permit the moving of buildings. The expense of such temporary removal, raising or lowering of wires shall be paid by the person requesting the same, and the franchisee shall have the authority to require such payment in advance. The franchisee shall be given not less than 15 working days' advance notice to arrange for such temporary wire changes.

(10)

The franchisee may trim trees or other vegetation owned by the county to prevent branches, leaves or roots from touching or otherwise interfering with its wires, cables, or other structures, as approved by the county.

a.

All tree/root trimming or pruning provided for herewith shall be done under the supervision and direction of the appropriate county agency and only with its prior written approval.

b.

All trimming or pruning shall be at the expense of the franchisee.

c.

The franchisee may contract for such trimming or pruning services with any person approved by the county's public works director or designee prior to rendering of such services.

d.

Any and all persons engaged by the franchisee to provide tree trimming or pruning services shall be deemed, for purposes of the franchise, an employee or agent of the franchisee when engaged in such activity, and in no event shall such person be deemed to be an employee of the county.

e.

The franchisee shall use its best efforts to obtain the prior permission of the owner of any privately owned trees or vegetation before it prunes or trims same.

(11)

All necessary easements over and under private property shall be arranged for by the franchisee.

(12)

In addition to the requirements of this section, the franchisee shall, prior to performing any underground construction, receive county permits prior to construction and the franchisee shall use its best efforts to locate, in advance, any water, sewage and drainage lines. Where any damages or alterations occur to the county's water, sewage or drainage lines or to any other county structures in the streets during the construction due to the presence, negligence, operation or maintenance of the system, the sole cost of such repairs including all services and materials will be billed against the franchisee, and these charges shall be paid immediately or the county may foreclose on performance bonds, or invoke other appropriate sanctions provided for in this chapter.

(13)

The franchisee shall adhere to its manual which sets forth the specifications, standards and procedures for construction and installation of its system. The manual shall be consistent with the highest standards of the cable television industry and shall, at a minimum, establish procedures to ensure quality work and provide for the safety and protection of residents and property.

(f)

Safety.

(1)

The franchisee's work performance, equipment and job sites shall be in compliance with all applicable state and federal requirements. A franchisee's work, while in progress, shall be properly protected at all times with suitable barricades, flags, lights, flares or other devices as are required by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (FDOT) to protect all members of the public having occasion to use the portion of the streets involved or adjacent property.

(2)

The franchisee shall at all times employ due care and shall install, maintain and use commonly accepted methods and devices for preventing failures and accidents which are likely to cause damage, injuries or nuisances to the public. All structures and all lines, equipment and connections in, over, under and upon the streets of the county wherever situated or located shall at all times be kept and maintained in a safe, suitable, substantial condition, and in good order and repair. The franchisee shall install and maintain its wires, cables, fixtures and other equipment in accordance with the requirements of the National Electrical Safety Code promulgated by the National Bureau of Standards and the National Electrical Code of the National Fire Protection Association.

(g)

Technological improvements to the system. In addition to any upgrades required herein, it is the responsibility of the franchisee to periodically upgrade its system to integrate advancements in technology as may be required to meet the needs and interests of the community in light of the costs during the remaining term of the franchise. The franchisee shall be required to make the improvements if such technological improvements can be instituted through technology which has been demonstrated to be feasible for its intended purpose, in an operationally workable manner, and in a profitable manner in this franchise area.

(Code 1979, § 7-118; Ord. No. 98-45, § 20, 8-18-98)