Sec. 34-23. Termination.
34-23.1. Removal of Cable System.Upon revocation or cancellation of a Grantee’s Franchise, or upon any other termination of a Franchise by passage of time or otherwise, the City shall have the right to require the Grantee to remove, at the Grantee’s expense, its cable system from streets, public property, and any private property occupied pursuant to the revoked, canceled, or terminated Franchise. The City shall notify the Grantee in writing that the cable system should be removed, and identify any period during which the Grantee will be required to continue to operate the cable system as provided in the Franchise. In removing its cable system, a Grantee shall refill and compact, at its expense, any excavation that shall be made and shall leave all streets, public property, and private property in as good a condition as that prevailing prior to the Grantee’s removal of the cable system. The Insurance, Indemnity, and Damage provisions of the Grantee’s Franchise shall remain in full force and effect until the cable system is removed.
34-23.2. City’s Right to Purchase System.Upon revocation or cancellation of a Franchise, or upon any other termination of a Franchise by passage of time or otherwise, the City shall have the alternative right to buy the Grantee’s cable system. If the Franchise is terminated for cause, the City may purchase the cable system at an equitable price, within the meaning of the Cable Act; otherwise, the cable system may be purchased at fair market value, less the value of the Franchise, within the meaning of the Cable Act. The Grantee shall sell its cable system subject to such warranties and terms as are appropriate under the circumstances.
34-23.3. Transfer or Abandonment.If the City does not purchase a Grantee’s cable system as provided in Section 34-23.2, and the Grantee has failed to commence removal of its cable system within ninety (90) days after termination of the Franchise, or such other date specified by the City under the Franchise, or if the Grantee has failed to complete such removal within six months after removal is required to have begun, the City may:
A.declare all right, title, and interest to the Grantee’s cable system to be in the City or its designee with all right of ownership including, but not limited to, the right to operate the cable system or transfer the cable system to another for operation by it (upon such declaration by the City, the Grantee shall be entitled to receive an equitable price from the City for the value of the cable system, less any costs and damages suffered by the City as a result of the delay in removal); or
B.declare the cable system abandoned and cause the cable system, or such part thereof as the City shall designate, to be removed at no cost to the City (the cost of said removal shall be recoverable pursuant to Sections 34-18 - Section 34-20 herein, or from the Grantee directly).