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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance - 502-1932 - Granting A Franchise And Certain Privileges To John W. Moore Construction CO - 12/12/193212-oq-1g32 ORDINANCE NO. 502. 12 -1'2-1.932 BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF LUBBOCK : An ordiaaace granting a franchise and certain privileges to John w. Moore Construction Company, with his principal office in the City of Lubbock, Lubbock County, Texas, and establishing rules and regulations for the use of natural gas for light, heat and power, and establishing a maximum limit for price to be charged f or such gas. WHEREAS, John w. Moore Construction Company has supplied to the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Lubbock, Texas, to grant said Company 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 con~ ditions, 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, for a period of Twenty (20) years from the date of the passage and approval of this ordinance is hereby granted to John W. Moore Construction Company, hereinafter called the grantee, subject, however, to the provisions hereinafter incorporated in this ordinance and for such additional period or extensions of time as may at the expiration of the said term of years, and upon conditions then found to be satis- factory to the officials of the City of Lubbock, and to this grantee, and provided that this ordinance and franchise is to be in effect and run from and after the date and day o f its passage and approval. This franchise is granted subject to Charter and Ordinances of City of Lubbocki Section 2. That the said grantee is to have the right to lay mains, pipes and equipment, 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 adv.f.liable in their judgment for the proper performance of the service 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 equipment as may be needed from time to time during the term of this franchise, or any extensions thereof, provided that at no time shall the grantee 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 condition as before such work was done. All excavations to be properly guarded by barriers by day and by red lights at nigh, and the said grantee shall hold the said City of Lubbock harmless from any and all damages to persons or pro perty resulting from thetr negligence in the manner of con- structing such distributing plant or system and guarding the same while under construction, by a good and sufficient bond executed by the grantee 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 distributing system, and the location of regulating stations, vent pipes therefor, gate valves, gauges, stock boxes, manholes, low, intermediate and high pressure maine, pipes, feeders, service pipes and conduits, and service pipe extensions and all appurtenances ~n the streets, highways, alleys and other public places in the City shall be subject to and governed by the ~egulations, rules and ordinances now in force or that may be thereafter lawfully adopted. Section 3. That all mainsshall be laid at leasttwo (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 conduits 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 grantee. That the grantee shall not be required to extend main lines more than one hundred and fifty (150) feet to any one consumer. Section 4. That said grantee shall at all t~es after said gas distribution system has been established and placed in operation, be prepared to furnish said City and its inhabitants with a good quality of gas for light, heat and power, and other purposes, and said grantee shall furnish such gas for all purposes for which same may be used in sufficient quantities to supply the needs of the said City and its citizens. The said gas shall be furnished to said City and its inhabitants for domestic use at a net price not to exceed Forty (40¢) 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; Class 1 -Gas Used for Domestic Use: First 50,000 cu ft, per month All over 50,000 cu. ft. per month 40¢ per M cu. ft. 35¢ per M cu. ft. Minimum Bill-$1.25 per month Class 2-Gas used under boilers for Commercial purposes. Gas used under boilers in central steam heating plants. Gas used for beating offices, office buildings, apartment buildings, factories, stores, churches, hospitals, schools, colleges, theatres, hotels, auditoriums and municipal buildings. Gas used in bakeries, restaurants, newspaper plants, grain elevators and rooming houses. First 50,000 cu. ft. per month-----------------40¢ per M cu. ft., Next 50,000 cu. ft. per month-----------------20¢ per M cu. ft., Next 400,000 cu. ft . per month-----------------17¢ per M cu. ft., Next 500,000 cu. ft. per month-----------------15¢ per M cu. ft., Next 2,000,000 cu. ft. per month--···----------14¢ per M cu. ft., Next 3,000,000 cu. ft. per month-·----~--------12¢ per M cu. ft., Next 4,000,000 cu. ft. per montk--·-------·-·--11¢ perM cu. ft., All over 10,000,000 cu. ft. per month----------10¢ per M cu. ft. Minimum Bill $1.25 per month Class 3•Gas used in Gas Engines and under boilers for power purposes in manufacturing and induatri~l plants. Gas used for brick kilns, pottery kilns, cement kilns, glass plants, refinery stills, iron foundaries, steel plants, cotton oil mills, cotton gins, railroad shops, laundries, cleaning establishments and flour mills. First 50,000 cu. ft. per month·---------------·30¢ PerM cu. ft., Next 50,000 cu. ft. per month---·---·-·-----·-·20¢ perM cu. ft., Next 100,000 cu. ft. per month-----------------15¢ perM cu. ft., Next 300i 000 cu. ft. per month··--------·-··--·14¢ perM cu. ft., Next 5009000 cu. ft. per month····-------------13¢ perM cu. ft., Next 1,000,000 cu. ft. per month·--------------12¢ perM cu. ft., Next 1,000,000 cu. ft. per month---------------!1¢ perM cu. ft., Next 3,000,000 cu. ft. per month·--------------08¢ perM cu. ft., Next 4,000,000 cu. ft. per month····-·---------07¢ perM cu. ft., Next 20,000,000 cu. ft. per month•···-----·--··06¢ perM cu. ft., All over 30,000,000 cu. ft. per month----------05¢ per M cu. ft., Minimum bill•$15.00 per month That all 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 nonpayment within said t~e, the grantee shall have the right to discontinue service 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 made application to have services re-established and gas re-connected with his premises, he shall be required to pay all delinquent bills, together with the penalty thereto, and to pay a cut on charge not to exceed $1.50 for domestic use and beating purposes, and $2.50 for inductrial use. It is further provided that the grantee shall be allowed to make a minimum charge of $1.50 per month for gas for domestic and heating service and $25.00 per month for industrial gas service. All gas furnished or supplied by grantee shall be metered, and for this purpose the grantee shall, at his 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 his 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 his proper cost and expense facilities for testing gas meters, to be to the satisfaction of and approved by the City Commission; and said grantee shall also provide and maintain, at his proper cost and expense a standard meter prover of not less than five cubic feet capacity, to be selected by the City Commission, equipped with suitable thermometers and other necessary accessories which shall be maintained to the accepted standard of accuracy, all to be to the satisfaction and approved by the City Commission. Such meters shall be and remain the property of the said grantee, and the grantee shall have the right to require the cuatomer or consumer to deRosit with it a sum equal to the maximum monthly bill of the consumer, proviaed, however, that no deposit shall be in a less sum than $10.00 for domestic meter, and $15.00 for induetrial meter. Section s. 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 grantee's mains at any point or 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 customer's bills for gas during such month a proportionate amount, based upon the deficiency below said eight hundred Bri~ish t~ermal heat units. In any month when such tests are being made, the City shall advise the grantee of the result of each test within a reasonable time after it is made, and the official report of such analyst, of which said grantee is so adv.tsed, 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 stmilar manner; said grantee shall furnish gas to consumers at a pressure of not less than four ounces, nor greats• than eight ounces, measured at the consumer's meters outlet. Said grantee shall supply and install not less than four, and as many as may be needed approved self-registering pressure and gas gauges capable 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 Commission, fairly represent •he pressure on adjacent territory; and such station shall be securely inclosed under locks, and duplicate keys to said stations shall be retained by the Ctty 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 by the City Commission shall cause to be removed or remove from said pressure gagues the pressure records of the preceding period, and provide the gauges with recording blanks for the next period during which such record is desired by the City; and each ~ecord taken from such pressure gauges 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 by the said Ctty Secretary; and the said City Manager, or some representative authorized by said City Commission, shall keep self-recording dials in said pressure gauges continuously 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, subject 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 the 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 Qnderground work that m4Y be deemed neca1fary pr proper by the City Commission, 1n, a~rosa, along or und&r any street, al ey, highway, or other public place occupied by the grantee; 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 unde~around structure, it shall be deemed necessary by the City Commission to alter, change, adopt or conform gas mains and service pipes of grantee,·auch alterations or changes shall be made by the grantee when ordered in writing by the City Commission or any supervisor or other representative of the City Commission so authorized to act, without any cla~ for reimbusement for damages against the City; said grantee shall indemnify and save harmless the City of Lubbock from any and all claims for injury or damages to persons or pwoperty occasioned by or arising out of tbe construction, maintenance, operation or repair of said grantee's transmission, transportation and distributing system, and by the conduct of the business in the City. Section 7. The ~ight to use the streets, alleys, highways or other public ways or places of the City of Lubbock by the grantee, as provided in Section 2 above, shall be and is subject to the following restrictions, limitations and conditions, viz: that in building additional mains or lines of pipe,sa'd grantee 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 insofar 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 therewith, and under the direction and to the satisfaction of the City Commission or the City Engineer. Section 8. That the City Commission hereby reserves the right to install at the point where said grantee receives his gas for distribution in the city a meter through which all gas distributed to the City and its inhabitants shall be passed, an adequate self-registering pressure gauge adequate to record the amount of gas distributed to the City and its inhabitants and the pressure at which the same was received by the grantee. Said grantee shall also supply and install one distant pressure gauge under the direction of the City Commission and at the place designated by the City ComBission, which will indicate the pressure at such designated point, said guage to be placed in the City Hall in the office of the City Engineer. Section 9. That said grantee 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 rec•ived from the business done within the city in payment of charges of gas for the six months next 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 grantee shall then fail to substantially comply with the conditions of the • franchise, the City of Lubbock shall have the right by Ordinance duly passed therefor to forfeit all the right and franchises herein granted to the said grantee, provided that the City of Lubbock shall give the said grantee, sixty (60) days' notice in wrtting, specifying the conditions claimed to have been violated, and 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 anddlall be signed by the Ctty Secretary under the seal of said City, after having been properly authorized by the Mayor and City Commission of the said City; provided, however, that the said grantee shall have sixty (60) days after receiving euch notice in which to rectify and correct such violations and to substantially comply with theterms 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 accountd the violations specified in said notice. That in case of forfeiture as herein provided, the City of Lubbock, reserves the right to purchase the distributing plant of the grantee at its fair appraised value or to allow the grantee to ·remove same within one year from the date of such forfeiture, provided, that before any of said property may be removed, the grantee shall be required to give to 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, it 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 violation; and if the breach or v'olation shall be a continuous one, each day during which such breach or violation continues shall be deemed a separate breach or violation and a separateggourid of recovery against the grantee. Section 11. That in further consideration of the privileges and franchise granted to John W. MOore Construction Company, he shall adopt and use any and all reasonable sa~eguards to provide for the protection of p~rsons or property against injury or damage growing out of the use ~f gas and that they shall construct and maintain in good order all mains, pipes and 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 explosion or accidents of any character or nature, beyond the control of grantee, to the main lines or to the distributingsystem provided herein, or shortage of gas supply in the fields from which the grantee secures the gas and the grantee is not able on account of such unavoidable conditions to furnish gas for all purposes, that p~eference shall be given domestic consumers, schools and 'hospitals in the use of gas until such t~e as the supply may prove adequate for all purposes. Provided further that grantee shall not be liable for any damage resulting from such accidents either to the lines of the grantee or to the lines on property of consumers. Section 12. The grantee shall in good faith begin the construction of its main lines and distributing systems by May 15, 1933, and diligently pursue such construction in good faith and shall complete such main line by November lst, 1933, and shall be prepared to serve gas to consumers on or before November let, 1933 provided, however, that grantee shall not be liable for time consumed out o} . . ' such period by strikes, acts of providence, acts of constituted legal authorities, or acts beyond the control of grantee. If grantee fails or refuses to begin, prosecute, complete, or operate said lines or syste~ within time stated this franchise shall expire and forfeit. Section 13. That the Grantee herein shall not have the right or privilege thereunder of assigning this Franchise or any rights or privileges without the consent and approval of the City Commission of the City of Lubbock, Texas. Section 14. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval and publication as provided by law. PASSED AND APPROVED THIS the 9th day of Dec., A.D. 1932. PASSED AND APPROVED THIS the 12th day of Dec., A.D. 1932. ATTEST: lsi J. L. Holt City Secretary. Lsi J.J. Clements Mayor, City of Lubbock, Texas