GOOD HOPE, Ala. – At its first May meeting on Monday night, the Good Hope City Council kicked things off by recognizing Good Hope senior Tyler Wright, this year’s City of Good Hope Future Foundation Scholarship recipient. Wright is the fourth Good Hope student to receive the scholarship since the city began awarding them in 2022. He will attend Wallace State Community College next year and plans to become an accountant.
Scholarship guidelines:
- Recipients will receive a scholarship award to fund up to full tuition, fees, books and supplies.
- Open to all graduating seniors from Good Hope High School
- Recipient must have a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher
- Recipients must demonstrate financial need (as determined by the FAFSA and additional funds awarded from other sources) and an essay explaining their need for scholarship assistance and why they have chosen their career field.
After recognizing Wright, the Council moved on to other business, approving an ordinance to renew its franchise agreement with Charter Communication.
Ordinance No: 011-2025 Franchise Agreement Renewal
“This Franchise Agreement (“Franchise”) is between the City of Good Hope, Alabama
hereinafter referred to as the “Grantor” and Spectrum Southeast, LLC, locally known as
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, hereinafter referred to as the “Grantee.”
The Grantor hereby acknowledges that the Grantee has substantially complied with the material terms of the current Franchise under applicable law, and that the financial, legal, and technical ability of the Grantee is reasonably sufficient to provide services, facilities, and equipment necessary to meet the future cable-related needs of the community, and having afforded the public adequate notice and opportunity for comment, desires to enter into this Franchise with the Grantee for the construction and operation of a cable system on the terms set forth herein.
1. Definitions:
A. “Cable Act” means the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, P.L. 98-549, 47
U.S.C. §521 Supp., as it may be amended or superseded.
B. “Cable System,” “Cable Service,” and “Basic Cable Service” shall be defined as set forth in the Cable Act.
C. “Franchise” means the authorization granted hereunder of a franchise, privilege, permit, license or otherwise to construct, operate and maintain a Cable System within the Service Area.
D. “Gross Revenue” means any revenue, as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, received by the Grantee from the operation of the Cable System to provide Cable Services in the Franchise Area, provided, however, that such phrase shall not include: (1) any taxes, fees or assessments collected by the Grantee from Subscribers for pass-through to a government agency, including, without limitation, any state or federal regulatory fees, the franchise fee, or any sales or utility taxes; (2) unrecovered bad debt; (3) credits, refunds and deposits paid to Subscribers; (4) any exclusions available under applicable State law.
E. “Service Area” shall mean the geographic boundaries of the Grantor.
F. “Streets” means the public streets, avenues, highways, boulevards, concourses, driveways, bridges, tunnels, parks, parkways, waterways, alleys, all other rights-of-way and easements, including but not limited to public utility easements, dedicated utility strips, or rights-of-way dedicated for compatible uses now or hereafter, and the public grounds, places or water within the geographic boundaries of Grantor.
G.”Subscriber” means any person lawfully receiving any Cable Service from the Grantee.
C. The Cable System shall be designed, constructed and operated so as to meet those technical standards adopted by the FCC relating to Cable Systems contained in part 76 of the FCC’s rules and regulations as they may, from time to time, be amended.
6. Service
A. The Grantee shall continue to provide Cable Service to all residences within the Service Area where Grantee currently provides Cable Service. Grantee shall have the right, but not the obligation, to extend the Cable System into any other portion of the Service Area, including annexed areas. Cable Service offered to Subscribers pursuant to this Franchise shall be conditioned upon Grantee having legal access on reasonable terms and conditions to any such Subscriber’s dwelling unit or other units wherein such Cable Service is provided.
B. The Grantor shall promptly provide written notice to the Grantee of its annexation of any territory which is being provided Cable Service by the Grantee or its affiliates. Such annexed area will be subject to the provisions of this Franchise upon sixty (60) days’ written notice from the Grantor, subject to the conditions set forth below and subsection (a) above. The Grantor shall also notify Grantee in writing of all new street address assignments or changes within the Service Area. Grantee shall within ninety (90) days after receipt of the annexation notice, pay the Grantor franchise fees on revenue received from the operation of the Cable System to provide Cable Services in any area annexed by the Grantor if the Grantor has provided a written annexation notice that includes the addresses that will be moved into the Service Area in an Excel format or in a format that will allow Grantee to change its billing system. If the annexation notice does not include the addresses that will be moved into the Service Area, Grantee shall pay franchise fees within ninety (90) days after it receives the annexed addresses as set forth above. All notices due under this section shall be sent by electronic or certified mail, return receipt requested to the addresses set forth in Section 13 with a copy to the Director of Government Relations. In any audit of franchise fees due under this Agreement, Grantee shall not be liable for franchise fees on annexed areas unless and until Grantee has received notification and information that meets the standards set forth in this section.
7. Insurance/Indemnity
A. The Grantee shall maintain throughout the term of the Franchise insurance in amounts at least as follows:
Workers’ Compensation
Statutory Limits
Commercial General Liability
$1,000,000 per occurrence,
Combined Single Limit (C.S.L.)
$2,000,000 General Aggregate
Equal Protection
If any other provider of cable services or video services (without regard to the technology used to deliver such services) is lawfully authorized by the Grantor or by any other state or federal governmental entity to provide such services using facilities located wholly or partly in the public rights-of-way of the Grantor, the Grantor shall, within thirty (30) days of a written request from Grantee, modify this Franchise to insure that the obligations applicable to Grantee are no more burdensome than those imposed on the new competing provider. If the Grantor fails to make modifications consistent with this requirement, Grantee’s Franchise shall be deemed so modified thirty (30) days after the Grantee’s initial written notice. As an alternative to the Franchise modification request, the Grantee shall have the right and may choose to have this Franchise with the Grantor be deemed expired thirty (30) days after written notice to the Grantor. Nothing in this Franchise shall impair the right of the Grantee to terminate this Franchise and, at Grantee’s option, negotiate a renewal or replacement franchise, license, consent, certificate or other authorization with any appropriate government entity. Nothing in this Section 9 shall be deemed a waiver of any remedies available to Franchisee under federal, state or municipal law, including but not limited to Section 625 of the Cable Act, 47 U.S.C. § 545.
Compliance with Laws
Grantor and Grantee shall conform to all applicable state and federal laws and rules regarding cable television as they become effective. Grantee shall also conform with all generally applicable Grantor ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations heretofore or hereafter adopted or established during the entire term of the Franchise. In the event of a conflict between Grantor ordinances, resolutions, rules or regulations and the provisions of this Franchise, the provisions of this Franchise shall govern.
Change in Law
Notwithstanding any other provision in this Franchise, in the event any change to state or federal law occurring during the term of this Franchise eliminates the requirement for any person desiring to provide video service or Cable Service to obtain a franchise from the Grantor, then Grantee shall have the right to terminate this Franchise and operate the system under the terms and conditions established in applicable law. If Grantee chooses to terminate this Franchise pursuant to this provision, this Franchise shall be deemed to have expired by its terms on the effective date of any such change in law, whether or not such law allows existing franchise agreements to continue until the date of expiration provided in any existing franchise.
Confidentiality
If Grantee provides any books, records or maps to the Grantor, the Grantor agrees to treat as confidential such books, records or maps that constitute proprietary or confidential information. Until otherwise ordered by a court or agency of competent jurisdiction, the Grantor agrees that, to the extent permitted by state and federal law, it shall deny access to any of Grantee’s books, records or maps marked confidential to any person.
Notices, Miscellaneous
A. Unless otherwise provided by federal, state or local law, all notices, reports or demands pursuant to this Franchise shall be in writing and shall be deemed to be sufficiently given upon delivery to a Person at the address set forth below, or by Grantor. In the event any other cable franchise or authorization to provide video service provides for a lesser franchise fee than this Franchise, Grantee’s obligation to pay a Franchise Fee under this Section 15 shall be reduced by an equivalent amount.
C. Each year during which the Franchise is in force, Grantee shall pay Grantor no later than ninety (90) days after the end of each calendar year the franchise fees required by this section. The Grantor shall have the right to review the previous year’s books of the Grantee to the extent necessary to ensure proper payment of the fees payable hereunder.
Effective Date
The Franchise granted herein will take effect and be in full force from such date of acceptance by Grantee recorded on the signature page of this Franchise.”
Good Hope’s Sizzlin’ Seniors will meet at Good Hope City Hall Tuesday from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. for a fish fry. The Good Hope City Council will hold its next meeting at Good Hope City Hall on Tuesday, May 27, the day after Memorial Day.
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