Spokane Municipal Code

Title 10 Regulation of Activities

Chapter 10.27A Cable Communications Code

Article III. Franchise Conditions

Section 10.27A.320 Insurance – Bonds – Indemnity

1. Upon the granting of a franchise and following simultaneously with the filing of the acceptance of the franchise and at all times during the term of the franchise, including the time for removal of facilities or management as a trustee as provided for herein, a franchisee shall obtain, pay all premiums for and deliver to the City written evidence of payment of premiums for and a certificate of insurance for the following:

1. 1. A comprehensive commercial or general liability insurance policy or policies issued by an insurance carrier licensed to do business in the State of Washington and reasonably acceptable to the City.

1. 1. 1. Said policy or policies shall pay on behalf of and defend the City, its officials, boards, commissions, agents or employees from any and all claims by any person whatsoever (including the costs, defense costs, attorneys’ fees and interest arising therefrom) on account of personal injury, bodily injury or death of a person or persons or damages to property occasioned by the operations of a franchisee under a franchise herein granted, or alleged to have been so caused or occurred, with a minimum combined single limit of one million dollars per occurrence and five million dollars in the annual aggregate.

1. 1. 2. Considering the size of the project or potential liabilities or risks thereof, the City reserves the right to revise policy limits as reasonably necessary to provide adequate coverage.

1. 2. A comprehensive automobile liability insurance policy or policies issued by an insurance carrier licensed to do business in the State of Washington and reasonably acceptable to the City.

1. 1. 1. Said policy or policies shall pay on behalf of and defend the City, its officials, boards, commissions, agents or employees from any and all claims by any person whatsoever (including the costs, defense costs, attorneys’ fees and interest arising therefrom) for bodily injury and property damage occasioned by any vehicle operation of a franchisee, or alleged to have been so caused or occurred, with a minimum liability of one million dollars per person and five million dollars in any one accident or occurrence.

1. 1. 2. The City reserves the right to revise policy or bond limits as it determines reasonably needed to protect the City from liability from construction projects or any other reason to provide adequate coverage.

2. In addition to any other generally applicable requirements for work in the public right-of-way, if a franchisee undertakes any construction with regard to the cable system, the cost of which exceeds five hundred thousand dollars, the franchisee shall maintain, at its sole cost and expense, a corporate surety bond for said construction issued by a surety company authorized to do business in the State of Washington and reasonably acceptable to the City.

1. 1. Said construction bond shall assure the City of recovery of any and all liability damages, losses, costs and expenses sustained or suffered by the City as a result of the franchisee’s construction of the cable system or the failure of franchisee to satisfactorily and timely complete its planned construction.

1. 2. In no event shall the amount of the construction bond be construed to limit any liability of a franchisee.

1. 3. The amount of the construction bond shall be up to one hundred percent of the estimated cost of the planned construction, such amount to be set by the City.

1. 1. 1. In the event that there is a dispute over the estimated cost of the planned construction, the City’s reasonable estimate shall be final and binding for purposes of this subsection.

1. 4. When a franchisee can show to the satisfaction of the City that twenty-five percent of the planned construction has been completed, the franchisee may reduce the amount of the construction bond by an amount equal to twenty-five percent of the original amount of the bond, upon written approval from the City.

1. 5. When a franchisee shows to the satisfaction of the City that fifty percent of the planned construction has been completed, the franchisee may further reduce the amount of the construction bond by an amount equal to twenty-five percent of the original amount of the bond, upon written approval by the City.

1. 6. When a franchisee further shows to the satisfaction of the City that seventy-five percent of the planned construction has been completed, the franchisee may further reduce the amount of the construction bond by an amount equal to twenty-five percent of the original amount of the bond, upon written approval by the City.

1. 7. When the planned construction is completed to the satisfaction of the City and written notice of such satisfaction has been received by a franchisee, the construction bond need no longer be maintained.

1. 8. The construction bond shall contain the following endorsement:

1. 1. 1. “It is hereby understood and agreed that this bond shall not be cancelled by the surety, nor the intention not to renew be stated by the surety, until sixty days after receipt by the City, by registered mail, of a written notice of such intent to cancel or not to renew.”

3. All bonds and insurance policies called for herein shall be in a form satisfactory to the city attorney and city risk manager. All insurance policies shall name the City as an additional named insured. The city risk manager may at any time, if he reasonably deems the policies insufficient to address risks presented, require a franchisee to provide additional sureties to any and all bonds or to replace existing bonds or insurance policies with good and sufficient sureties or insurers approved by the City. No bond or insurance policy shall be cancelable during its term.

4. A franchisee shall, at its sole cost and expense, indemnify and hold harmless the City, its officials, boards, commissions, agents and employees against any and all third party claims, suits, causes of action, proceedings and judgments for damage arising out of the operation, maintenance and construction of the cable system under a franchise, except that no such requirement shall apply where such claims, suits, causes of actions, proceedings and judgments for damage are occasioned solely by the negligence, gross negligence or intentional acts of the City or its officials, boards, commissions, agents and employees while acting on behalf of the City.

1. 1. These damages shall include, but not be limited to, penalties arising out of copyright infringements and damages arising out of any failure by a franchisee to secure consents from the owners, authorized distributors or licensees of programs to be delivered by the franchisee’s cable system whether or not any act or omission complained of is authorized, allowed or prohibited by the franchise.

1. 2. Indemnified expenses shall include, but not be limited to, all out-of-pocket expenses, such as costs and attorneys’ fees, and shall also include the reasonable value of any services rendered by the city attorney, assistant city attorneys or any outside consultants employed by the City.

5. No franchisee shall permit any policy or bond to expire and a franchisee, not less than thirty days prior to its expiration, shall deliver to the City a substitute, renewal or replacement policy or bond conforming with the provisions of this chapter.

Date Passed: Monday, June 4, 2007

Effective Date: Wednesday, July 11, 2007

ORD C34041 Section 1 (Recodification)