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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance - 342-1926 - Purchase And Certain Privledges To AJ Mcmahan And George Broadwell. - 06/17/1926ORDINANCE NO. llt-2 AN ORDINANCE GRANTING A FRANCHISE AND CERTAIN PRIVILEGES TO A. J. MCMAHAN AND GEORGE R. BROADWELL, OF OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA, AND R. A. TIPTON, OF AMARILLO, TEXAS, AND ESTABLISHING RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE USE OF NATURAL GAS FOR LIGHT, HEAT AND POWER, AND ESTABLISHING A MAXLMUM LIMIT FOR PRICE TO BE CHARGED FOR SUCH GAS. WHEREAS, A. J. MCMAHAN, GEORGE R. BROADWELL, AND R. A. TIPTON HAVE APPLIED TO THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSIONERS OF THE CITY OF LUBBOCK, TEXAS TO GRANT THEM AND THEIR ASSOCIATES THE RIGHT TO LAY AND MAINTAIN AND OPERATE A GAS PLANT FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF NATURAL GAS FOR LIGHT, HEAT AND POWER WITHIN THE CITY OF LUBBOCK, TEXAS, UPON THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS, AND RESERVATIONS, SUCH RIGHTS AND FRANCHISES TO BE AS FOLLOWS, TO-WIT: SECTION 1. That the right to furnish, distribute and sell natural gas for light, heat and power, for all such other purposes for which gas may be used within the City of Lubbock, Texas, and for a period of twenty years from the date of the passage and approval of this ordinance is hereby granted to A. J. McMahan, George R. Broadwell, and R. A. Tipton, hereinafter called the grantees, subject, however, to the provisions hereinafter incorporated in this ordinance and for such additional period of extensions of time as may at the expiration of the said term of years, and upon conditions then found to be satisfactory to the officials of the City of Lubbock, and to these grantees, and provided that this ordinance and franchise is to be in effect and run from and after the day and date of its passage and approval. SECTION 2. That the said grantees are to have the right to lay mains pipes and equipments, and to construct such buildings and install such machinery or equipment and to sell or lease such equipment to the Citizens of Lubbock, Texas, as may be necessary or advisable in their judgment for the proper performance of the services to be rendered to the City of Lubbock, and to its citizens and inhabitants to the best interest of the gas consumers and to have, at all times, access to the streets and alleys of said City for the purpose of laying such mains, pipes and equipments as may be needed from time to time during the term of this franchise, or any extension thereto provided, that at no time shall the grantees obstruct such streets or alleys so as to interfere with the public use thereof for a period longer than twenty four hours, and that immediately ·such mains, pipes or equipment is laid and tested same shall be covered and such streets or alleys shall be replaced in the same or as good conditions before such work was done. All excavations to be properly guarded by barriers, by day and by red lights at night, and the said grantees shall hold the said City of Lubbock, harmless from and all damages to persons or p~operty resulting from their negligence in the manner of constructing such distributing plant or system and guarding the same while under construction, by a good and sufficient bond executed by the grantees and some reputable surety company permitted to do business in the State of Texas, in the penal sum of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00). The work done in connection with the construction, maintenance and operation of said plant and transmission, transportation, and distributipg system, and the location ~f regulating stations, vent pipes, therefor, gate I I I - -2· valves, gauges, stock boxes, man-holes, low, intermediate and high pres• sure mains, pipes, feeders, service pipes, and conduits, and service pipe extensions and all appurtenpnces in the streets, highways, alleys and other public places in the.City shall be subject to and governed by the rules, regulations, and ordinances now in force or that may be thereafter lawfully adopted. SECTION 3. That all mains shall be laid at least two (2) feet below the surface of the ground, and so laid as not to interfere in any manner with water mains or pipes or sewer lines of said City, or pipes or con- duits of other utilities already installed; and that the connections with the gas mains and pipes shall be placed and laid to the property line of the consumer at the expense of the grantees~ The grantees shall not be required to extend main lines more than one hundred and fifty (150) feet to any one consumer. SECTION 4. That said grantees shall at all times after said gas distribution system has been established and placed in operation, be pre· pared to furnish the said City and its inhabitants with a good quality of gas for light, heat and power and other purposes, and said grantees shall furnish such gas for all purposes for which same may be used in sufficient quantities to supply the needs of said City and its citizens. The gas shall be furnished to said City and its inhabitants for domestic use at a net price not to exceed sixty-seven and one-half (67~) cents per thousand cubic feet for all gas used; provided however that gas used for heating public buildings, churches, hotels, and apartments, shall be sold at the following rates: set For the first 50,000 cubic feet used per month 67~ cents per M For the first 100,000 cubic feet used per month 50 cents per M For all used in excess of 150,000 cubic feet per month 40 cents per M That the maximum rates for industrial gas shall not exceed the rates out in the following schedule: For the first 50,000 cubic feet used per month 45 cents per M For the next 150,000 cubic feet used per month 35 cents per M For the next 300,000 cubic feet used per month 30 cents per M For the next 500,000 cubic feet used per month 25 cents per M For the next 10,000,000 cubic feet used per month 22\ cents per M For the next 20,000,000 cubic feet used per month 20 cents per M For the next 29,000,000 cubic feet used per month 18 cents per M For the next 60,000,000 cubic feet used per month 1~ cents per M For all above 120,000,000 cubic feet used per month 15 cents per M That all the above rates are to be charged for gas used through one meter only. That all bills shall be due and payable monthly, and within ten days from date rendered, and in case of default or non-payment within said time the grantees shall have the right to discontinue services to said consumer, and to make an additional charge for the gas used for any purpose equal to one-ninth (1/9) of the bill rendered, and in case said consumer shall make application to have services reestablished and gas re-connected with his premises, he shall be required to pay a cut on charge not to exceed $1.50 for domestic use and heating purposes and $2.50 for industrial use. It is r--, I further provided that the grantees shall be allowed to make a minimum charge of $1.50 per month for gas for domestic and heating service and $25.00 for industrial gas service. All gas furnished or supplied by grantee shall be metered, and for this purpose the grantee, shall, at their own cost and expense, provide and install for each consumer a good and accurate meter of standard make, to be approved by the City Commission and when grantee reads their meters to determine the amount of gas furnished each month, a copy of such reading shall be left with or at the residence or place of business of the consumer. Grantee shall also provide and maintain at their proper cost and expense and expense a standard meter prover of not less than five cubic feet capacity, to be se- lected by the City Commission equipped with suitable thermometers and other necessary accessories which shall be maintained to the accepted standard accuracy, all to be to the satisfaction and approval of the City Commission. Such meters shall be and remain the property of the said grantees, and the grantees, shall have the right to require the customer or consumer to deposit with them a sum equal to the maximum monthly bill of the consumer, provided however, that no deposit shall be in a less sum that $10.00 for domestic meter, and $15.00 industrial meter. SECTION 5. The natural gas to be furnished hereunder shall be at all times kept to a standard of eight hundred British thermal heat units or higher per cubic foot at the point of consumption, at a temperature of thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit, or zero Centigrade; and to determine whether the gas supplied is of the heating value above specified, the City of Lubbock, may have tests made by a competent analyst under recognized and scientific processes, according to the approved method of making such tests and said tests shall be from samples of gas collected from the grantees mains at any points within the City. If the result of such tests show that during a month the daily average of the gas supplied was below eight hundred British thermal heat units, then there shall be deducted from the customers bills for gas during the such month a proportionate amount, based upon the deficiency below said eight hundred British thermal heat units. In any month when such tests are being made, the City shall advise the grantees of the result with each test within a reasonable time after it is made, and the official report of such analyst, of which said grantees are so ad- vised shall be taken and accepted as the agreed prima facie correct test of the heating value of the gas furnished during such month and thereafter until a different result is determined or ascertained in a similiar manner; said grantees shall furnish gas to consumers at a pressure of not less than four ounces, nor greater than eight ounces, measured at the consumers meters out- let. Said grantees shall supply and install not less than four, and as many as may be needed and approved self-registering pressure and gas gauges cap- able of recording the pressure of the gas, in the mains at points in the City designated by the City Commission, and said self-registering pressure gauges shall be placed at stations which, in the opinion of the City Commis- sion, fairly represent the pressure on adjacent territory; and such station shall be securely inclosed under locks and duplicate keys to said stations shall be retained by the City Manager, or some officer authorized by the City Commission; and such self registering pressure gas gauges shall be equipped with removable recording dials to record the pressure, and the said City Manager, or some representative authorized b~ the City Commission shall remove ·4· or cause to be removed from said pressure gauges the pressure records of the proceeding period; And provide the gauges with recording blanks for the next period during which such record (s desired by the City; and each record taken from such pressure gauge shall be filed in the office of the City Secretary of the City of Lubbock, and a record thereafter be entered upon the books of the City of Lubbock by the said City Secretary; and the said City Manager, or some representative authorized by said City Commission shall keep self-recording dials in said pressure gauges continously for a month or as often as is required by the City Commission, and the said gauge record and the said book record shall each be competent and prima facie proof of the pressure at the point at which such record was made at the time as shown by said gauge record. Each consumer of gas shall install and maintain suitable piping within his property lines and suitable appliances and fixtures, except meters, subM ject to the approval of the City Commission, or such supervisor, inspector or other representative as may be authorized by said City Commission to pass upon same. SECTION 6. The city reserves the right to lay and permit to be laid electric conduits, water and other pipe lines or cables, and to do and permit to be done any underground work that may be deemed necessary or proper by the City Commission in, across, along or under any street, alley, highway, or other public place occupied by the grantees, and whenever, by reason of changes in the grade of any streets, or in the location or manner of constructing any water pipes, electric conduits, sewers, or other under- ground structure, it shall be deemed necessary by the City Commission to alter, change, adapt or conform gas mains and service pipes of Grantees such alterations or changes shall be made by the Grantees when ordered in writing by the City Commission, or any supervisor or other representative of the City Coamission so authorized to act, without any claim for reim- bursement for damages against the City; said Grantees shall indemnify and save harmless the City of Lubbock from any and all cla~s for injury or damages to persons or property occasioned by or arising out of the con~ struction, maintenance, operation or repair of said grantees transmission, transportation, and distributing systems, and by the conduct of its business in the City. SECTION 7. The right to use the streets, alleys, highways or other public ways or places of the City of Lubbock by the grantees, as provided in Sec- tion 2 above, shall be and is subject to the following restrictions, limit- ations, and conditions, viz; that in building additional mains or lines of pipe, said grantees shall build and construct the same along and under the alleyways, where alleys exist, rather than along and under streets, and shall only use the streets for same in so far as may be necessary in connecting from one alley to another; and said mains and pipe line shall be so laid that the top of said main or pipe line shall be placed below the surface of the street or alley and so as to protect all paving, wire cables, water pipes, underground wires or sewer laterals, and shall be so constructed and located with reference to water lines and sewer mains as not to interfere herewith, and under the direction and to the satisfaction of the City Commission or the City Engineer. SECTION 8. That the City Commission hereby reserved the right to install at the point where said grantees receive their gas for distribution in the I I ., ( ' .. s. city a meter through which all gas distributed to the City and its inhab- itants shall be passed, and adequate self-registering pressure gauge ade- quate to record the amount of gas distributed to the City and its inhabi· tants and the pressure at which the same was received by the grantees. Said Grantees shall also and supply and install one distant pressure gauge under the direction of the City Commission and at the place designat- ed by the City Commission, which will indicate the pressure at such designat- ed point, said gauge to be placed in the City Hall in the office of the City Engineer. SECTION 9. That said grantees shall make, not oftener than each six months, reports to the City Secretary of the City of Lubbock, under oath of the President, treasurer or superintendent of such company, showing the gross amount received from the business done within the city in payment of charges of gas for the six months preceding. SECTION 10. That after the said gas distribution system shall have been fully constructed, equipped and in operation as herein provided in the City of Lubbock, if the said grantees shall then fail to substantially comply with the conditions of this franchise, the City of Lubbock shall have the right, by ordinance duly passed therefore to forfeit all the rights and franchises herein granted to the said grantees, provide, that the City of Lubbock, shall give the said grantees, their successors and assigns sixty (60) days notice in writing, specifying the conditions claimed to have been violated and in giving full and fair opportunity to be heard thereon before declaring such forfeiture, which notice shall fairly and fully set out all of the conditions claimed and complained of and shall be given by the said City and shall be signed by the City Secretary under seal of said city, after having been properly authorized by the Mayor and City Commissioners of the said city; provided, however, that the said grantees shall have sixty (60) days after receiving such notices in which to rectify and correct such violations and to substantially comply with the terms and conditions of the ordinance; should the violations of this ordinance so complained of not have been rectified and corrected and the terms and conditions of this ordinance fully complied with at the end of said sixty (60) days, then and in that event the City shall have the power to forfeit this franchise on account ot the violations specified in said notice. That in case of forfeiture as here- in provided, the City of Lubbock reserved the right to purchase the distri- buting plant of the ~antees at its fair appraised value or to allow the grantees to remove same within one year from the date of such forfeiture, provided, that before any of said property may be removed, the grantees shall be required to give the City a good and sufficient bond that the streets and alleys will be placed and left in as good condition as found. For each and every breach or violation of any of the provisions of this ordinance by the grantee they shall be liable to a penalty of Twenty-five Dollars, to be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction by suit, of any person, firm or corporation injured or damaged by such breach or viola• tion; and if the breach or violation shall be a continueous one, each day which the breach or violation continues shall be deemed a separate breach or violation and a separate ground of recovery against the grantees. SECTION 11. That in further consideration of the privileges and £ranch• ise granted to A.J. McMahan, George R. Broadwell, and R.A. Tipton, they shall adopt and use any and all reasonable safe-guards to provide for the proted· tion of pe~sons or property against injury or damage growing out of use of gas and that they shall construct and maintain in good order all mains, pipes, equipment used in said City for the distributing of gas, and shall always be prepared to furnish said City and its inhabitants a sufficient quantity of gas for all purposes; provided, however, that in case of explosions or acci· dents of an character or nature beyond the control of grantees, to the main lines or to the 41stributing system provided herein, or shortage of gas supply in the fields from which the grantees secure the gas and the grantees are not able on account of such unadvoidable conditions to furnish gas for all purposes that preference shall be given domestic consumers, schools and hosp- itals in the use of gas until such time as the supply may prove adequate for all purposes. Provided, further that grantees shall not be liable for any damages resulting from such accidents either to the lines of the grantees or to the lines of property of the consumers. SECTION 12. That this franchise is granted to the grantees herein on the representations and distinct understanding that similiar franchises have been will be or may be granted to them by the Cities, of Canyon, Tulia, Plainview, and Slaton and that each franchises will provide for the sale of gas at the same price and that payment therefore will be made on the same terms as pro· vided herein, and it is hereby provided that if at any time any one or more of the above cities make the requirements that gas shall be sold at a lesser price, or on more favorable terms, and the same are acquised in by the grantees, or if the grantees at any time sell gas to any of the above cities, and the inhabitants thereof at a lesser price, or on more favorable terms of payment, then and in that event the City shall have and hereby reserves the right to amend this franchise to provide for the sale of gas at the same price or prices for like use, and on the same terms of payment granted to any one or more of the above Cities and the inhabitants thereof, the purpose of this provision being to provide that the rates for the sale of gas for like use and the terms of payment therefore, shall be uniform in this and all of the above names cities, provided however, that in the event gas is found at or near of the above cities, of sufficient quality and in such sufficient quanit· ities to be used therein, that the above provisions as to the equalization of rates shall not apply. SECTION 13. It is provided that the grantees shall in good faith begin the construction of their main lines and distributing systems by September fifteenth, 1926, and shall complete such main line by December first, 1926, and shall be prepared to serve gas to consumers on or before January lst, 1927, provided, however, that grantees shall not be liable for tiMe consumer out of such period by strikes, acts of providence, act of constituted legal authorities, or acts be~ond the control of grantees. SECTION 14. That the grantee herein shall have the right and privilege of assigning this franchise and all the rights and privileges granted therein, subject to all the conditions and restrictions contained herein, and wherever the work "grantees" appears herein it shall be construed as applying to their successors and assigns. SECTION 15 . This ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval and publication as provided by law. PASSED FIRST READING, JUNE 16, 1926. PASSED SECOND READING, JUNE 17, 1926. PASSED AND APPROVED THIS 17th DAY OF JUNE, 1926. ATTEST: /s/ Pink L. Parrish City Secretary MAYOR, CITY OF LUBBOCK, TBXAS