06-D City Cab FranchiseDRAFT
J:\Attorney\ALICE\ORDWORK\CiJRRENT\CiTy Cab-Nelms Franch 2002.wpd
July 5, 2002
ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL 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, 2002, AND
ENDING AUGUST 9, 2003, 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. That 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, 2002, and ending August 9, 2003, 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. That 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.
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Section 5. That 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. That 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 lOth 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. That 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. That, notwithstanding what may be said in any other portion of this
instrument with reference to the termination hereof, this right is granted subj ect 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
$20,000 per person and $40,000 for any single occurrence for bodily injury or death, and
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$15,000 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 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. That 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. That 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. That 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,
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(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. That 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. That 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 non-exercise 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. That. 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.
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Section 20. That 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.
Section 21. That 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 July 8, 2002, at a regular
meeting of the City Council of the City of Paris; read and passed on second reading on August
8, 2002, at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Paris; and, read and passed on
third and final reading on August 12, 2002, 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. That this ordinance shall become effective in accordance with the terms and
provisions of the City Charter of the City of Paris, and shall be effective for a period of time as
stated herein.
PASSED AND ADOPTED on third and final reading this 12th day of August, 2002.
Michael J. Pfiester, Mayor
ATTEST:
Mattie Cunningham, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Larry W. Schenk, City Attorney
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