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(a) The term of this Franchise shall be twenty (20) years from the effective date of this Ordinance.

(b) Upon written request of either the City or the Company, the franchise may be reviewed after five (5) years from the effective date of this Ordinance and either the City or the Company may propose amendments to any provision of this Franchise by giving sixty (60) days written notice to the other of the amendment(s) desired. The City and the Company shall negotiate in good faith in an effort to agree upon mutually satisfactory amendment(s).

(c) Upon written request of either the City or the Company, the franchise shall be reopened and renegotiated at any time upon any of the following events:

(1) Change in federal, state, or local law, regulation, or order which materially affects any rights or obligations of either the City or the Company, including but not limited to the scope of the grant to the Company or the compensation to be received by the City; or

(2) Change in the structure or operation of the natural gas industry which materially affects any rights or obligations of either the City or the Company, including but not limited to the scope of the grant to the Company or the compensation to be received by the City; or

(3) Any other material and unintended change or shift in the economic benefit to the City or a change the Company did not anticipate upon accepting the grant of this Franchise.

(d) The compensation provision of this Franchise shall be reopened and renegotiated if energy consumers within the City have access to alternative natural gas suppliers or other suppliers of energy which use the Right-of-Way and/or easements granted on publicly owned property and do not pay a franchise fee or other payment substantially equivalent to this Franchise, which results in a material and unfair disadvantage to the Company. The use of the Right-of-Way provision of this Franchise shall be reopened and renegotiated if energy consumers within the City have access to alternative natural gas suppliers or other suppliers of energy which use the Right-of-Way and do not have requirements on the use of the Right-of-Way substantially equivalent to the requirements of this Franchise, which results in a material and unfair disadvantage to the Company. Upon any such event, the City shall have up to one hundred twenty (120) days after receiving written request from the Company in which to restore competitive neutrality, provided that any adjustment in compensation resulting from renegotiations under this Subsection (d) shall be effective no later than one hundred twenty (120) days after such notice.

(e) Failure of the City and Company to successfully renegotiate the materially affected provisions of the franchise under subsection (c) or (d) shall give rise to dispute resolution as follows: At the expiration of one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of the written request (or sooner if requested by both the City and the Company) the City or the Company may then file suit either in the District Court of Shawnee County, Kansas, or in some other court of competent jurisdiction, and pursue all remedies available at law or in equity.

(f) Amendments under this section, if any, shall be made by ordinance as prescribed by statute. The franchise shall remain in effect according to its terms pending completion of any review or renegotiation pursuant to subsections (b), (c), (d), or (e). (Ord. 18295 § 3, 7-20-04.)