Loading...
16-B - City Cab FranchiseAGENDA INFORMATION SHEET PROJECT: Consider adoption on third and final reading of Franchise Ordinance to Dennis Nelms to operate a new taxi-cab company. BACKGROUND: The City is in receipt of a request from Mr. Dennis Nelms, dba City Cab Company, for a franchise agreement to operate a taxi-cab service within the city limits of the city of Paris. Currently the City has one existing franchisee, Yellow Cab Company, which provides a similar service. Mr. Nelms has requested the City consider approval of a franchise in a form similar to that for Yellow Cab for his new cab company. DESCRIPTION: The proposed Franchise Ordinance is very similar to the existing franchise agreement which the City has with Yellow Cab Company. However, there are some discrete differences. First of all, the insurance requirements have been raised to conform to similar requirements in other city ordinances as well as the standard for such coverage. The coverage limits now will be $25,000 per individual, $50,000 per occurrence, for personal injury coverage, and $25,000 for property damage coverage. Secondly the proposed ordinance will include a term of one year. The proposed ordinance will have only a one-year term because the City Legal Department pursuant to the instructions of City Council some time ago, is currently preparing an ordinance implementing a new licensing procedure for vehicles for hire. When this ordinance is presented to City Council, and assuming it is considered favorably and adopted, it will simplify the process for licensing taxi-cab companies in that the laborious franchising process will no longer be necessary. Anticipating presentation of such an ordinance within a years time, this proposed franchise would have a one year term. It also includes language recognizing that the City may consider a new regulatory ordinance in the future, and specifically provides that if the City adopts such a new ordinance, this franchise, at City Council's discretion may be superceded by the new regulatory ordinance. COST: There is no outstanding cost to the City for adopting this ordinance. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Consider for approval on third and final reading the proposed franchise agreement. STAFF CONTACT: Larry W. Schenk, City Attorney SCHEDULE: This item was considered for approval on first reading at City Council's regular meeting of May 10, 2001, with subsequent consideration for approval at City Council's May 14, 2001, meeting, and final approval upon third reading at City Council's June 11,2001, regular Council meeting. Approval in this manner is consistent with the City's Charter. COUNCIL DATE: Consider for approval on third and final reading at City Council's June 11,2001, regular Council meeting. ADDITIONAL MATERIALS See enclosed proposed Franchise Ordinance. MEMO.1A4ND UM TO: Ms. Mat~ie Cunningham, City Clerk City of Paris, Texas By Fax: (903) 794-179g FROM: Stepha~ie DeAnn Harvey, CPCU, CIC, Senior Underwriter DATE: June 6, 2001 Taxi Insurance Requiremcnts Dear Mattie: Pe~ our convemation, tho information I have indicates: Texas Departmem of Insurance - No special limit - State Mandatory Min. 20/40/15 Or 55 CSL Tex~ D,paxtmcnt of Tremsportation- 15-26 ~mils - 5500.000 CSL Over 26 units-S5,000.000 Each City may set their own limit. Hope this helps let me know if there are additional questions. 01/20/94 Memo ~ MUNICIPAL I.e~.AOUE IN'I'F. ROOVF..IllqMFv.2q'I~L l~1'~I¢_ POOL 1821 Rutherford Lane, FirstFloor · AUb'IL~T~X~ 7ff754 ' (51~)491-.~300 * (g00)537-6655 RO. Box 149194 · Austin, Texas 78714-9194 DRAFT ALICE\ORDWORK\CURRENT\City Cab Franch-Nelms 2001 June 7, 2001 ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PARIS, PARIS, TEXAS, GRANTING TO DENNIS NELMS, DBA CITY CAB COMPANY, A FRANCHISE TO USE THE PUBLIC STREETS, ALLEYS, AND HIGHWAYS OF THE CITY OF PARIS FOR THE PURPOSE OF TRANSPORTING PASSENGERS FOR HIRE IN MOTOR VEHICLES FOR A PERIOD OF ONE (1) YEAR, BEGINNING AUGUST 10, 2001, AND ENDING AUGUST 9, 2002, UPON THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS HEREINAFTER PRESCRIBED; PROVIDING FOR THE REGULATION OF SAID BUSINESS; PROVIDING FOR THE PAYMENT OF A TAX FOR SUCH PRIVILEGE AND USE OF SUCH STREETS, ALLEYS, AND HIGHWAYS; PROVIDING FOR THE TERMINATION OF SUCH GRANT UPON SPECIFIED CONDITIONS; PROVIDING FOR TAXICAB STANDS FOR USE OF SAID GRANTEE; PROVIDING FOR PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE ON THE MOTOR VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT OF SAID GRANTEE; PROVIDING FOR THE SUPERVISION OF SAID BUSINESS AND INSPECTION OF ITS VEHICULAR EQUIPMENT BY THE OFFICIALS OF THE CITY OF PARIS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, PARIS, TEXAS: Section 1. There is hereby granted to Dennis Nelms dba City Cab Company, hereinafter called grantees, the right, privilege and franchise for a period of one (1) year, beginning August 10, 2001, and ending August 9, 2002, to operate a taxicab service in the City of Paris and on the streets, alleys and public ways within the City Limits of said City for the transportation of passengers for hire. The grantees herein shall maintain the principal office and place of business of said business within the corporate limits of the City of Paris, where the headquarters of said business shall be maintained. Section 2. The right, privilege and grant herein contained shall not be transferred or assigned without the formal action and consent of the City Council of the City of Paris, first had and obtained, and any attempted assignment or transfer of said rights and privileges by the grantees without first having had and obtained such consent and permission from the City Council of the City of Paris shall operate, ipso facto, as a termination of the rights, privileges and grant herein contained. Section 3. That the taxicabs operated or maintained under this franchise shall be used for the purpose of the transportation of passengers and the personal luggage of such passengers. Section 4. That all automobiles or vehicles used in connection with this taxicab service shall be operated in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas and ordinances of the City of Paris, and such future amendments thereto, or either of them, relating to or regulating the operation of motor vehicles upon streets or highways. Section 5. The City of Paris, in granting this franchise, fully retains and reserves all the rights, privileges and immunities that it now has under the law to fully patrol and police the streets, alleys and public ways within the City, and the granting of this franchise shall in no way interfere with the rights of the City of Paris to fully use said streets, alleys and public ways for any other public utility, nor shall this franchise in any way interfere with the improvement or maintenance of any other streets, alleys, and public ways, and the rights of the grantees herein to use said streets shall, at all times, be subservient to the right of the City Council of the City of Paris to fully exercise its rights or control over said streets, alleys and public ways. Section 6. The grantees shall, during the life of this franchise, pay to the City of Paris, at the office of the City Clerk of the City of Paris, 150 1 st Street S.E., Paris, Texas, in lawful money of the United States, a sum equal to $50.00 per vehicle used in the operation of said taxicab business, which remittance shall be made annually on or before the 10th day of December each year. The payments stipulated and provided in this section shall be in lieu of any other tax assessment or charge by the City of Paris which may now or may hereafter be in force during the term of this franchise, excluding only ad valorem taxes. Section 7. The City of Paris expressly reserves the right to modify, amend, alter, change or eliminate any of the provisions of this franchise, during the life of the same, for the following purposes, to-wit: (1) To eliminate or delete from the same such conditions as then prove obsolete or impractical; and, (2) To impose such additional conditions upon the grantees as may be deemed necessary and reasonable, such conditions to be those as may be deemed necessary for the purpose of insuring adequate service to the public. Section. 8. Notwithstanding what may be said in any other portion of this instrument with reference to the termination hereof, this right is granted subject to the provisions of Article I, Sections 17 and 26 of the Constitution of the State of Texas, all applicable state laws, charter provisions and such future laws as may be enacted by the Legislature, or amendments to the Constitution and the Charter of the City of Paris. Furthermore, the City Council of the City of Paris reserves the absolute right, upon notice and hearing, which said notice shall be given to the grantees not less than thirty (30) days before such hearing, to absolutely terminate this grant for any violation of the terms and provisions of this ordinance. Section 9. That it shall hereafter be unlawful for the grantees, their agents or employees, while operating any automobile for hire within the City of Paris, to cruise. Cruising shall consist of seeking, searching or soliciting employment while operating an automobile for hire by repeatedly and persistently driving such automobile for hire to and fro on the public streets of the City of Paris and offering accommodations thereof to prospective passengers, whether by signal, word of mouth or by carrying a sign with the word "Vacant" thereon, or some other word of similar import, or otherwise, or in any manner whatsoever operating said vehicle upon the public streets of the City of Paris for the purpose of soliciting passengers, or driving an automobile for hire upon the public streets while unoccupied by a passenger without having a fixed destination thereof. Section 10. That the grantees shall, at all times during the effective period of this franchise, keep and maintain, in full force and effect, a policy, or policies, of public liability insurance covering each motor vehicle to be operated under this franchise, providing at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 for any single occurrence for bodily injury or death, and $25,000 for any single occurrence for injury to or destruction of property, indemnifying all persons for any and all damages, personal injuries or property damages sustained as a result of the negligent operation of any motor vehicle by the grantees, their agents or employees, and shall pay all premiums due thereon when due. It is expressly provided that such insurance policy, or policies, shall, and must, be written and issued by 2 a reputable insurance underwriter, or underwriters, authorized to do business in the State of Texas, with the City of Paris as an additional insured, subject to approval by the City Attorney of the City of Paris, and the grantees, or their insurance carrier or carriers, shall deliver a copy of any such policies to the City Clerk of the City of Paris, 150 1 st Street S.E., Paris, Texas 75460, or furnish to said City Clerk a current letter or certificate from such company, or companies, evidencing the fact that such insurance is in full force and effect at all times during the effective period of this franchise, and specifically noting thereon that the City of Paris is an additional insured. All such policies shall be written so that the City of Paris will be notified of cancellation or of any restrictive amendment of the policies at least thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of such cancellation or amendment. Notice shall be by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the City of Paris at the following address: City Clerk, City of Paris, P. O. Box 9037, Paris, Texas 75461-9037. The grantees shall well and truly pay directly to every judgment creditor who has been injured through the negligent operation of any motor vehicle by the grantees, their agents or employees, or whose property has been damaged, any amount, or amounts, of money that shall have been awarded by final judgment of any court of competent jurisdiction against such grantees on account of any such injury or damage. Section 11. In the event of the failure of grantees to fully discharge any claim for damages established by final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction within sixty (60) days after the same has been so established, this franchise shall automatically be forfeited. Section 12. Every taxicab operated by grantees under this franchise shall, at all times, have painted, or otherwise impressed upon the front doors thereof, easily visible signs bearing proper identification of the company operating under this franchise. All such vehicles shall be owned by and registered in the names of the grantees, and no other vehicle may be used under this franchise. Each of such vehicles shall be registered with the City Clerk of the City of Paris by motor vehicle in numerical order, beginning with the number 1, which number shall, at all times, be displayed at some convenient location on both sides of said vehicles. Section 13. It shall be the duty of the City Council of the City of Paris to enforce the provisions of this ordinance and all applicable regulations, which, when approved by the City Council, shall become binding upon the grantees herein. Among other things, the City Council shall, from time to time during the term of this franchise, have the power and authority to promulgate effective regulations concerning the following, to-wit: (1) To make reasonable orders respecting character, extent, quality and standard of service of grantees to be provided under this franchise; (2) To fix such rates for service to the public as are not in conflict with the express provisions hereof and as will provide for grantees a reasonable and fair rate of return upon the fair value of the property used and useable in connection with the rendering of service to the public under this franchise; and, (3) To make such other rules and regulations as may be reasonably necessary to facilitate adequate service to be rendered to the public under this franchise, any such rules and regulations, when adopted, to be binding upon the grantees herein. Section 14. Motor vehicles operated by grantees under this franchise shall be known as "public service vehicles" and, when not in use in the exercise of the privileges granted herein, shall be stationed or parked at the headquarters of the grantees, which headquarters shall be located on private property. Section 15. The word "taxicab", as used in this ordinance, shall mean any passenger vehicle with not more than three rows of seats and a normal capacity not in excess of seven passengers which is not operated over a fixed route or routes and which is engaged for the purpose of carrying a passenger, or passengers, by special trips to and from specified addresses as designated by any such passenger or passengers. Section 16. That the grantees shall promptly pay all lawful ad valorem taxes and such other levies and assessments, if any, that may be lawfully imposed upon them. Failure to pay any of such charges, or either of them, shall be deemed a breach of the privilege granted herein, and the City, upon the happening of such event, may declare the rights of the grantees hereunder forfeited for such breach. Section 17. This grant is made upon the express condition that the nonexercise of the power to regulate rates and charges which the grantees may charge to the public in the operation of their business shall never be construed as an acquiescence or recognition of the justness or correctness of said grantees' established rate, and that, so long as the City Council of the City of Paris does not exercise its legislative and governmental power to fix and regulate the rates that the grantees shall charge to the public, the question of property values used and useful in the rendering of the service prior to rate regulation shall never stop the City from determining the real or actual value of property used or useful in rendering such service. If, and when, the City Council or other governing body shall exercise the power to fix the rates to be charged for such service in the City of Paris, no allowance in the way of said rate shall be made as compensation for any property used or consumed in rendering the service by the grantees for such service. If, and when, the City Council decides to regulate rates, then, at such time, the Council will fully exercise its rate regulatory power under the provisions of law applicable thereto, and the failure to provide under this ordinance the machinery for the administration, legislative or executive control of such matter shall not preclude the Council from fully exercising that power and providing suitable provisions to enforce such power. Section 18. Should it be determined that any clause, condition, or covenant of this franchise is, for any reason, illegal or unenforceable, such clause, condition or covenant shall be disregarded, and the existence of the same shall not affect the remaining clauses, conditions or covenants of this franchise. Section 19. That any unwarranted and intentional neglect, failure or refusal of the grantees to comply with any of the conditions and stipulations contained in this franchise shall thereupon immediately, ipso facto, effect a forfeiture hereof, and the City Council may, thereupon, declare this franchise forfeited and may exclude the grantees from further use of the streets of the City under this franchise, and the grantees shall thereupon and immediately surrender all rights in and to the same, and this franchise shall become null and void and of no effect. Section 20. The grant of this franchise shall be and is hereby expressly conditioned upon the right of the City Council to adopt an ordinance or ordinances regulating the activities authorized herein, and upon adoption of said ordinance or ordinances, the City Council reserves the right at its discretion to supersede this ordinance with the requirements of said regulatory ordinance or ordinances, even if the term of this ordinance has not expired. 4 Section 21. Within ten (10) days after the passage of this ordinance by the City Council, the grantees herein shall file with the City Clerk, in writing, the acceptance of the terms and provisions of this grant. Section 22. Introduced, read, and passed on first reading on May 10, 2001, at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Paris; read and passed on second reading on May 14, 2001, at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Paris; and, read and passed on third and final reading on June 11,2001, at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Paris, the same being three (3) separate regular meetings of the City Council of the City of Paris, and the last reading being not less than thirty (30) days from the first. Section 23. This ordinance shall become effective sixty (60) days from the date of the third and final reading, and shall be effective for a period of one (1) year thereafter. PASSED AND ADOPTED on third and final reading this 1 lth day of June, 2001. ATTEST: Michael J. Pfiester, Mayor Mattie Cunningham, City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: Larry W. Schenk, City Attorney