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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-10-1978 Regular MeetingCOUNTY OF BALDWIN The City Council of the City of Fairhope, Alabama met in regular ses on Monday, April 10, 1978, at 7:00 P.M., at the City Administration Building, 387 Fairhope Avenue, Fairhope, Alabama with the following members present: Mayor James P. Nix; Councilmen: David E. Bishop, Henry G. Bishop, Sam E. Box Jack A. Stipes and Billy Don Wiggins. The minutes of the March 27th, 1978 meeting were approved. Councilman Henry G. Bishop moved, seconded by Councilman Jack A. Stipes to approve the issuance of a beer license to Marina Management Corp- oration, P.O. Box 109, Point Clear Alabama. Motion carried. Councilman Jack A. Stipes moved, seconded by Councilman Billy Don Wiggi for final adoption of Ordinance No. 615; AN ORDINANCE TO PROHIBIT THE PANT OF PRIVILAGE LICENSES IN INSTALIMSNT PAM=S. Motion carried. Fire Chief Les Bung came before the Mayor and Council to request monies to send five (5) men to fire college, and said that the cost to send these men would be approximately $ 1,500.00. Councilman Henry G. Bishop moved, seconded by Councilman Jack A. Stipes for the City to appropriate the money to send men to fire school. Motion carried. Mr. Bill Talbert came before the Mayor and Council regarding the possibl installation of Cable T.V. in Fairhope. Mr. Talbert said that his company has the material, technical know how and the financial resources available to provide the best possible service for Fairhope. Mr. Talbert presented letters of recommendation from the Mayor of Troy Ala., and from a Daleville'Ft.Rucker Cable T.V. company to the Mayor and Council. Mr. Mulcahey came before the Mayor and Council regarding the issuance of a building permit in the area of Gayfer and Grand Avenues. The Council told Mr. Mulcahey that they would let the Planning Commission make a recommendation as per their request regarding the issuance of a building permit in that area and get with Mr. Mulcahey after they have received the Planning Commission's recommendation. This being the date set for a public hearing on the Destruction of Obsolete -'Records that have been retained for the required period of time the hearing was called to order. No objections were heard from those present regarding the destruction of the obsolete records. Councilman Henry G. Bishop moved, seconded by Councilman Billy Don Wiggins to notify the State Department of Archives and History Director by certified mail of the City's intent to destroy said obsolete records. Motion carried. Councilman Jack A. Stipes reported on his canvass of the people that lived within a block of the Bayview parking area. Mr. Stipes said that the people did not grant any trees or shrubbery removed and also did not want diagonal parking. Mr. Stipes said that the Fairhope Single Tax Colony said that they will give their portion of the money if there was parallel parking and no shrubbery was removed. Mr. George McKean was present at the meeting and requested that the Council give their approval to diagonal parking. The following resi- dents stated their opinions on the parking situation: (d) "Person" is any person, firm, partnership, association, cor- poration, company or organization of any kind. (e) "Grantee" is Fairhope Cable TV, Inc. a corporation citizen of the State of Alabama (f) "Company" is used interchangeably with "Grantee". (g) "Gross Subscriber Revenues" are the gross revenues of grantee, including all forms of consideration and any initial lump sum payments, derived born sales of telovision and radio signals to its customers within the City. Section 4. Grant of Non -Exclusive Revocable Authority. The right to use and occupy said streets, alleys, public ways and c> places for the purposes herein set forth shall not be exclusive, and the city reserves the right to grant a similar use of said streets, alleys, public ways and places, to any person at any time. This franchise shall not be construed to create any right beyond the terms, conditions and periods of the franchise. Section 5. Liability and Indemnification. (a) The grantee shall pay and by its acceptance of this franchise agrees that it will pay all damages and penalties which the city maylegally be required to pay as a result of granting this franchise. These damages or penalties shall include, but shall not be limited to, damages arising out of the installation, operation, or maintenance of the CATV system authorized herein, whether or not any act or omission complained of is authorized, allowed, or prohibited by this franchise. 0 (b) The grantee shall pay and by its acceptance of this franchise agrees that it will pay all expenses incurred by the city in defending itself with regard to all damages and penalties mentioned in subsection (a) above. These expenses shall include all out-of-pocket expenses, such as attorney fees, and shall also include the reasonable value of any services rendered ,.)v tre city attorney or his assistants or any employees of the city. (c) The grantee shall maintain, and by its acceptance of this f,°,d :(_hise ..green, -Mat it will ma ntain th-..-o .gnout the term of this franchise t iaa.L, _1- insurance insuring the city and the grantee with regard to all damages mentioned in subsection (a) above in the minimum amounts of: 1. One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150, 000. 00) for injury to one person in one occurrence. 2. Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300, 000.00) for in- jury to two (2) or more persons in the same occurrence. Cane Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100, OQO, 00) for pro- perty damage in one occurrence. (d) The grantee shall maintain, and by its acceptance of this franchise specifically agrees that it will maintain throughout the term of this franchise, a feasible performance bond running to the city, with surety approved by the city, in the penal sum of Twenty -Five Thousand Dollars ($25, 000.00) con- ditioned that the grantee shall well and truly observe, fulfill, and perform each term and condition of this franchise and that in case of any breach of condition of the bond, the amount thereof shall be recoverable from the principal and sureties thereof by the city for all damages proximately re- sulting from the failure of the grantee to well and faithfully observe and per- form any provision of this franchise. (e) The insurance policy and bond obtained by the grantee in com- pliance with this section must be approved by the governing body, and such insurance policy and bond, along with written evidence of payment of required premiums, shall be filed and maintained with the Clerk of the City of Fairhope during the term of this franchise. Section 6. Color TV. The facilities used by the grantee shall be capable of distributing color signals, and when the signals the grantee distributes are received in color they shall be distributed in color where technically feasible. Section 7. Signal Quality Requirements. The grantee shall: (a) Produce a picture, whether in black and white or in color, that is undistorted, free from ghost images, and accompanied with proper sound on typical standard production TV sets in good repair; (b) Transmit signals of adequate strength to produce good pictures with good sound at all outlets without causing cross -modulation in the cables or interfering with other electrical systems; (c) Limit failures tg a rninimurin by lgeating and ggrreEting rnal= functions promptly; (d) Demonstrate by instruments and otherwise to subscribers that a signal of adequate strength and quality is being delivered. Section 8. Operation and Maintenance of System. (a) The grantee shall render efficient service, make repairs promptly, and interrupt service only for good cause and for the shortest time practicable. Such interruptions insofar as practicable shall be preceded by notice and shall occur during periods of minimum use of the system. The company hereby expressly warrants that no interference to off -the -air reception by any per- son, whether subscriber or non -subscriber, will be caused by its operation. In addition, the company hereby expressly warrants that the signals of all local television stations will be carried on the cable without receiving any interference, including interference from signals of other broadcast stations. Whenever a legitimate complaint of interference is made to the company, the company hereby expressly warrants that it will promptly take all steps necessary to eliminate the interference. (b) Service Area. The grantee shall begin cable service within one and one-half (1-1 /2) years after the grant of this franchise and the FCC Certificate of Compliance is received as approved. Section 9. Carriage of Signals. The grantee shall receive and distribute television and radio signal: which are disseminated to the general public without charge by broadcasting stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission. All FCC regulations shall be complied with regarding the carriage of the programming of any existing or future television broadcasting station which covers the city of Fairhope in its principal broadcasting area. Section 10. Program Alteration. All programs of broadcasting systems carried by the grantee shall he carried in their entirety as received, and at the time received, with announcements and advertisements, and without additions, except as may be allowed to be altered as to content or delivery by FCC regulations, c> Section 11. Service To Schools. The grantee shall provide service to public school locations and teaching stations within the city for educational purposes upon request by the city and at no cost to it or to the public school system. The grantee may at its election provide similar services without cost to private schools, in- cluding parochial or other religious schools. Section 12. Emergency Use Of Facilities. , In the case of any emergency or disaster, the grantee shall, upon request of the governing body, make available its facilities to the city for emergency use during the emergency or disaster period. Section 13. Other Business Activities. (a) Grantee shall not engage in the business of selling, repairing, or installing television receivers, radio receivers, or accessories for such receivers within the city during the term of this franchise. - (b) This franchise authorizes only the operation of a CATV system as provided for herein, and does not take the place of any other franchise, license, or permit which might be required by law of the grantee. Section 14. Safety Requirements. (a) The grantee shall at all times employ the highest degree of care as is commensurate with the practical operation of its business and shall install and maintain in use commonly accepted methods and devices for pre- venting failures and accidents which are likely to cause damage, injuries, or nuisances to the public. (b) The grantee shall install and maintain its wires, cables, fixtures, and other equipment in accordance with the requirements of the National Electric Safety Code promulgated by the National Bureau of Standards and the National Electrical Code of the National Board of Fire Underwriters, as well as applicable regulations of the city, as the same may, from time to time, be amended, and in such manner that they will not interfere with any o installations of the city or of a public utility serving the city. (c) All structures and all lines, equipment, and connections in, over, under, and upon the streets, sidewalks, alleys and public ways or places of the city, wherever situated or located, shall at all times be kept and maintained in a safe, suitable, substantial condition, and in good order and repair. (d) The grantee shall maintain a force of employees at all times sufficient to provide safe, adequate, and prompt service for its facilities. Section 15. New Developments. It shall be the policy of the city liberally to amend this franchise, upon application of the grantee, when necessary to enable the grantee to take advantage of any developments in the field of transmission of television and radio signals which will afford it an opportunity more effectively, efficiently, or economically to serve its customers; provided, however, that this section shall not be construed to require the city to make any amendment or to prohibit it from unilaterally changing its policy stated herein. Section 16. Company Rules. The company shall have the authority to promulgate such regulations, t,l.rrris, conditions and other rules governing the conduct of its business as shall be reasonably necessary to enable the company to exercise its richrs j_ and perform its obligations under this franchise, and to assure uninterrupted services to each and all of its customers; provided, however, that such rules shall not be in conflict with the provisions of this franchise. Such rules shall be maintained by the company as a part of its records. Section 17. Conditions On Street Occupancy. (a) All transmission and distribution structures, lines, and equip- ment erected by the grantee within the city 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 join any of such streets,C> alleys or other public ways and places. (b) In case of disturbance by grantee of any street, sidewalk, alley, public way, or paved area, the grantee shall, at its own cost and expense and in a manner approved by the governing body, replace and restore such street, sidewalk, alley, public way, or paved area in as good a condition as before the work involving such disturbance, and shall maintain the restoration in an approved condition during the term of this franchise. (c) If at any time during the period of this franchise the city shall lawfully elect to alter or change the grade of any street, sidewal, alley, or other public way, the grantee, upon reasonable notice by the city, shall remove, relay, and relocate its poles, wires, cables, underground conduits, manholes, and other fixtures at its own expense. (d) Wherever practical the company shall use existing pole facilities of public utilities under negotiated contracts. (e) Any poles or other fixtures placed in any public way by the grantee shall be placedin such manner as not to interfere with the usual travel of such public way. (f) The grantee shall, on. the request of any person holding a build - r: rnoving permit issued by the city, temporarily raise or lower irs wirc:5 to permit the moving of buildings. The reasonable expense of such tem- porary removal or raising or lowering of wires shall be paid by the person requesting the same, and the grantee shall have the authority to require such payment in advance. The grantee shall be given not less than forty- eight (48) hours advance notice to arrange for such temporary wire changes. (g) The grantee shall have the authority to trim trees upon and over- hanging streets, alleys, sidewalks, and public ways and places of the city so as to prevent the branches of such trees from coming in contact with the wires and cables of the grantee. (h) In all sections of the city where the cables, wires, or other like,, facilities of public utilities are placed underground, the grantee shall place its cables, wires, or other like facilities underground to the maximum extent that existing technology reasonably permits the grantee to do so. Section 18. Preferential Or Discriminatory Practices Prohibited. The grantee shall not, as to rates, charges, service, service facilities, rules, regulations, or in any other respect, make or grant any undue pre- ference or advantage to any person, nor subject any person to prejudice or disadvantage. Section 19. Removal of Facilities Upon Request. Upon termination of service to any subscriber, the grantee shall promptly remove all its facilities and equipment from the premises of such subscriber upon his request. Section 20. Filings and Communications With Regulatory Agencies. Copies of all petitions, applications and communications submitted by the grantee to the Federal Communications Commission, Securities and 'Exchange Commission, or any other federal or state regulatory commission O.r agency having jurisdiction in respect to any matters affecting CATV ,pal -cations authorized pursuant to this franchise, shall be made available �., t e governing body upon req�!est. Fairhope City Council Minutes for meeting April 10, 1978 Page No. 2 1. Mr. Brownell- opposed to diagonal parking. 2. Norma Clapp- said that the parking was necessary since it was presently hazardous to people when they -visited the Social Security Office. 3. T. Williamson- said additional parking spaces were desperately needed, 4. Doris Perdue- said that more parking was needed because of the problems it was presently causing the elderly and handicapped when they visited the Social Security Office, Councilman Jack A. Stipes moved, seconded by Councilman David E. Bishop, for Mr. Stipes and City Engineer Ack Moore to meet with the Fairhope Single Tax Council in order to check the prints for accuracy to insure that there will be no encrouchment on the park property and also to see if they will approve diagonal parking on Bayview. Motion carried. Councilman Jack A. Stipes moved, seconded by Councilman Henry G. Bishop for the City to bid out the rest of the project for rest rooms at the Pier. Upon being put to vote the following vote was recorded: AYES: Jack A. Stipes. NAPES: David E. Bishop, Henry G. Bishop, Sam E. Box and Billy Don Wiggins. Motion denied. Councilman Sam E. Box moved, seconded by Councilman David E. Bishop, for the City to go out on bid for a pick-up truck for the Water and Sewer Department. Motion carried. This being the date set for the opening of bids on a truck for the Gas Department the following bids were received: Bill Steber Chevrolet: ( chassis ) $ 5,530.99 141.00 ( 80 AMP ALT 5,671. Gaston Motor Company: ( chassis ) $ 5,574.50 Truck Equipment ( Body ) $ 1,875.00 Councilman Sam E. Box moved, seconded by Councilman Jack A. Stipes for the City to accept the low bid providing it meets with specifications. Motion carried. Councilman Jack A. Stipes suggested to Council members the possibility of additional funding at the beach which could go to the ambulance service or the possibility of charging Daphne for the work done for them by the Fairhope Police Department to go towards the ambulance service. Mr. Stipes recommended that rather than requiring physical examinations the applications for employment list medical history and physicals, with the department head along with the appointing authority to decide whether or not to require the employee to have a physical. Councilman Billy Don Wiggins moved, seconded by Councilman Henry G. Bishop to open the beach on Friday April 14, 1978 thru Labor Day with collection of money to be seven (7) days a week at a charge of $ 2.00 per car load or pick-up regardless of the number of people in a vehicle. Motion carried. Fairhope City Council Page No. 3 Minutes for April 10, 1978 Mr. Cam Maury came before the Mayor and Council regarding the removal of the stairs at the foot of Perdido. Mr. Maury requested that the Mayor and Council remove the stairs stating that they have been a nusiance to him since they were put there. No action was taken. Councilman Sam E. Box moved, seconded by Councilman Jack A. Stipes for the City to buy two (2) motors ( one pressure motor and one pump motor ) for the Water and Sewer Department where the City can get the fastest delivery possible under an emergency situation. Motion carried. Mayor Nix informed Council members of a grant that was available to the City from the State Highway Department of Traffic Safety in the amount of $ 1,016.00 for radar unit for the Police Department and also a grant in the amount of $ 1,150,00 for the purchase of lights and a police band radio for the Police Department. Councilman Henry G. Bishop moved, seconded by Councilman David E. Bishop for th City to accept the grant from the State of Alabama. Office of Highway and Traffic Safety for the radar unit for the Police Department. Motion carried. Councilman David E. Bishop moved, seconded by Councilman Billy Don Wiggins, to authorize the purchase of the lights and police band radio for the Police Department. Motion carried City Engineer Ack Moore said that the tank contractor should be finished by the upcoming weekend on the painting of the water tank and has requested that he would like to draw 50 % of the contract price once he has completed the project. Councilman Henry G. Bishop moved, seconded by Councilman Sam E. Box that upon receipt of the Engineers certificate of approval the City will pay 50 % of the contract price for the painting of the water tank. Motion carried. Councilman Jack A. Stipes moved, seconded by Councilman Billy Don Wiggins to pay the bills as presented. Notion carried. There being no further business on a motion duly made, seconded and carried, the meeting adjourned. Motion carried. APPROVED MAYOR ATTEST: