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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 38 Granting a Franchise Agreement to Lone Star Gas CompanyORDINANCE NO. 38 AN ORDINANCE GRANTING TO LONE STAR GAS COMPANY, A CORPORATION, ITS SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS, A FRANCHISE TO FURNISH AND SUPPLY GAS TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC IN THE 'TOWN OF WESTLAEE, DENTON AND TARRAIVT COUNTIES, TEXAS, AND THE ENVIRONS THEREOF; PROVIDING FOR THE PAYMENT OF A FEE OR CHARGE FOR THE USE OF THE STREETS, ALLEYS AND PUBLIC WAYS, AND PROVIDING THAT IT SHALL BE IN LIEU OF OTHER FEES AND CHARGES, EXCEPTING AD VALOREM TAXES. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE TOWN OF W.ESTLAKE, TEXAS: SECTION 1. That the Town of Westlake, Texas, hereinafter called "Town," hereby grants to Lone Star Gas Company, hereinafter called "Com- pany," its successors and assigns, consent to use and occupy the present and future streets, alleys, highways, public places, public thoroughfares and grounds of Town for the purpose of laying, maintaining, constructing, operating and replacing therein and thereon pipelines and all other ap- purtenant equipment needed and necessary to deliver and sell gas to per- sons, firths and corporations, including all the general public, within the Town's corporate limits and the environs thereof, said consent being granted for a term of twenty-five (25) years from and after the date of the final passage and approval of this ordinance. SECTION 2. Company shall lay, maintain, construct, operate and re- place its pipes, mains, laterals and other equipment so as to interfere as little as possible with traffic and shall promptly clean up and re- store to an approximate original condition, at its cost, all thorough- fares and other surfaces which it may disturb. The location of all mains, pipes, laterals and other appurtenant equipment shall be fixed under the supervision of the Board of Aldermen or an authorized committee or agent appointed by said Board. SECTION 3. When Company shall make or cause to be made excavations or shall place obstructions in any street, alley or other public place, the public shall be protected by barriers and lights placed, erected and maintained by Company; and in the event of injury to any person or damage to any property by reason of the construction, operation or maintenance of the gas distributing plant or system of Company, Company shall indemnify and beep harmless Town from any and all liability in connection therewith. Company shall repair, clean up and restore to an approximate original con- dition all streets and alleys disturbed during the construction and repair of its gas distributing system. SECTION 4. In addition to the rates charged for gas supplied, Com- pany may make and enforce reasonable charges, rules and regulations for service rendered in the conduct of its business, including a charge for services rendered in the inauguration of natural gas service, and may require, before furnishing service, the execution of a contract therefor. Company shall have the right to contract with each customer with reference to the installation of, and payment for, any and all of the gas piping From the connection thereof with the Company's main in the streets or alleys to and throughout the consumer's premises. Company shall own., operate and maintain all service lines which are defined as the supply lanes from the Company's main to the consumer's curb line when mains are located in the streets and to the consumer's property line when mains are located in the alleys. The consumer shall ow.n., operate and maintain all yard lines and house piping. Yard _Lines are defined as the underground supply lines extending from the point of connection with Company's service line to the point of connection with consumer's house piping. SECTION 5. Company shall not be required to extend mains on any street more than fifty (50) feet for any one consumer of gas. SECTION 6. Company shall be entitled to require from each and every consumer of gas, before gas service is commenced, a deposit of twice the amount of an estimated average monthly bill, which said de- posit may be retained by Company until service is discontinued and all bills therefor have been paid. Company shall then return said deposit to the consumer, together with six percent (6%) interest thereon from the date of said deposit up to the date of discontinuance of service. Company shall be entitled to apply said deposit, with accrued interest, to any indebtedness owed Company by the consumer making the deposit. SECTION 7. The rights, privileges and franchises granted by this ordinance are not to be considered exclusive, and Town hereby expressly reserves the right to grant, at any time, like privileges, rights and franchises as it may see fit to any other person or corporation for the purpose of furnishing gas for light, heat and power to and for Town and the inhabitants thereof. SECTION 8. Company shall furnish reasonably adequate service to the public at reasonable rates and charges therefor; and Company shall maintain its property, equipment and appliances in good order and con- dition. SECTION 9. Company, its successors and assigns, agrees to pay and Town agrees to accept, on or before the lst day of April, 1968, and on or before the same day of each succeeding year during the life of this franchise, up to and including the year 1992, a sum of money which shall be equivalent to two percent (2%) of the gross receipts received by Company from the sale of gas to its domestic and commercial consumers within the corporate limits of said Town (expressly excluding, however, receipts derived from sales to industrial and governmental users and consumers in said Town) for the preceding calendar year, which annual payment shall be for the rights and privileges herein granted to Company including expressly, without limitation, the right to use the streets, -2- alleys and public ways of said Town. And it is also expressly agreed that the aforesaid annual payment shall be in lieu of any and all other and additional occupation taxes, easement and franchise taxes, or charges (whether levied as an ad valorem, special or other character of tax or charge), in lieu of municipal license and inspection fees, street taxes and street or alley rentals or charges, and all other and additional municipal taxes, charges, levies, fees and rentals of whatsoever kind and character which Town may impose or hereafter be authorized to levy and collect, excepting only the usual general or special ad valorem taxes, which Town is authorized to levy and impose upon real and personal property. Should Town not have the legal power to agree that the payment of the foregoing suns of money shall be in lieu of taxes, licenses, fees, street or alley rentals or charges, easement or franchise taxes or charges aforesaid, then Town agrees that it will apply so much of said sums of money paid as may be neces- sary to satisfy Company's obligations, if any, to pay any such taxes, licenses, charges, fees, rentals, easement or franchise taxes or charges. In order to determine the gross receipts received by Company from the sale of gas (expressly excluding the sale of gas to industrial and governmental consumers) within the corporate limits of Town, Company agrees that on the same date that payments are made as provided in the preceding paragraph of this Section g, it will file with the Town Clerk a sworn report showing the gross receipts received from the sale of gas to its domestic and commercial consumers within said corporate limits for the calendar year preceding the date of payment. Town may, if it sees fit, have the books and records of Company examined by a represent- ative of said Town to ascertain the correctness of the sworn reports agreed to be filed herein. Receipts from sales to governmental users or consumers, shall in- clude all those receipts derived from the sale of gas to federal, state, county or city governments or branches and subdivisions thereof, school districts or other similar districts, it being the intention to include within the term "governmental users and consumers" all tax -supported institutions owned or operated directly or indirectly by said govern- ments and branches or subdivisions thereof, such as schools, colleges, hospitals, eleemosynary institutions, army or training camps, airports, courthouse, city hall and other institutions of like or similar kind and character. "Industrial users or consumers," as herein used, are those generally and commonly classified as such by Company. -3- The payment herein provided shall be for the period January 1 to December 31 of the respective year that the payment is made. SECTION 10. Company shall file its written acceptance of this franchise ordinance within sixty (60) days after its final passage and approval by said Town. PASSED AND APPROVED on this the .3 ' ` day of A.D • 19 ATTEST: -" `r f Secretary STATE OF TEXAS § COUNTY OF DENTON § COUN'T'Y OF TARRANT § r Mayor Town of Westlake, Texas I, 0/0"11 __, Secretary of the Town. of Westlake, Denton and Tarrant Counties, Texas, do hereby certify that the above and foregoing is a true and correct copy of an ordinance passed by the Board of Aldermen of the Town of Westlake at a session held on the s 't day of J jr , 19 �''i , as it appears of record in the Minutes of said Board of Aldermen, in Book` , page dy' '• WI'T'NESS MY ILA.ND AND SEAL OF SAID TOWN, this the - y � day of A.D . 19. l Secretary Town of Westlake, Texas -4- THE STATE OF TEXAS COUNTY OF TARRANT WHEREAS, there was passed and approved on June 3, 1967, an ordinance granting to Lone Star Gas Company, a corporation, its successors and assigns, a franchise to furnish and supply gas to the general public in the Town of Westlake, Denton and Tarrant Counties, Texas, and the environs thereof, which is recorded in Book 2, pages 373-376 of the Minutes of the Board of Aldermen of said Town; and WHEREAS, Section 9 of said ordinance provides that Lone Star Gas Company and its successors agree to pay "on or before the lst day of April, 1968, and on or before the same day of each succeeding year during the life of this franchise, up to and including the year 1992, a sum of money which shall be equivalent to two percent 2% of the gross receipts received by Company from the sale of gas to its domestic and commercial consumers within the corporate limits of said Town ... for the preceding calendar year;" and WHEREAS, Lone Star Gas Company improperly coded many customer accounts as being inside the city limits of Westlake wherein actually said accounts were outside the city limits of Westlake. Due to this improper coding, Lone Star Gas Company made overpayments to the Town of Westlake totaling $1,849.51 for the years 1973, 1974, and 1975; and WHEREAS, it is the desire of the Town of Westlake to acknowledge this overpayment and to reimburse Lone Star Gas Company by crediting payments pursuant to Section 9 of the above-mentioned ordinance due in 1976 and thereafter. NOW, THEREFORE, premises considered, Lone Star Gas Company, acting by and through its duly authorized officers, and the Town of Westlake, acting by and through its duly authorized officials, do hereby agree that the Town of Westlake shall credit Lone Star Gas Company with payments under Section 9 of the above -noted ordinance each year beginning in 1976 and thereafter each year until said payments to the Town of Westlake authorized under Section 9 total $1,849.51. After Lone Star Gas Company has received credit in full from the Town of Westlake for the amount of $1,849.51, Lone Star Gas Company will resume payments as required in Section 9 of the above -noted ordinance. WITNESS THE EXECUTION HEREOF, on this day of , 1978. S retary LONE STAR GAS COMPANY, a Division of ENS, CH CORPORATION By Vice President -2- Mayor City of West Lake, Texas