(a) Grantee shall, concurrently with the filing of an acceptance of award of the franchise granted under this chapter, deposit in a financial institution selected by the city the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars in a joint account with grantees and the city cosignators. This sum shall be maintained in an interest-bearing joint account during the period of construction of the cable communications system within the city limits, but in no event in excess of three years. The return of the sum plus interest to grantee shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of grantee, and upon the further condition that in the event grantee shall fail to comply with any one or more of the provisions of this chapter or of the franchise issued to grantee hereunder, there shall be recoverable from this sum any damages or loss suffered by the city as a result thereof, including the full amount of any compensation indemnification or cost of removal or abandonment of any property of grantee as prescribed herein which may be in default, plus a reasonable allowance for the attorneys' fees and costs, up to the full amount of the account.
(b) No performance deposit shall be required for a franchise renewal of an applicant who owns an existing cable communications system and for which new construction is not contemplated. (Ord. No. 1097, § 1 (part).)