19A NCAC 02E .1107. CONTRACTS WITH THE DEPARTMENT

(a)  The Department shall perform all installation, maintenance, removal and replacement of TODS panel(s).

(b)  Applications shall be submitted to the Division Engineer for the Division in which the attraction is located, and must include a layout of the proposed TODS. 

(c)  Upon approval of the application for participation in the TODS program, the applicant must agree to submit the required annual fee within 30 days of notification.

(d)  No TODS panel shall be displayed which, in the opinion of the Department, is unsightly, badly faded, or in a state of dilapidation.  The Department shall remove, replace, or mask any such TODS panel.  Ordinary maintenance services shall be performed by the Department.   

(e)  The Department shall remove the TODS panel upon failure to pay the annual fee or for violation of any provision of the rules in this Section and the TODS panel shall be removed.

(f)  When a TODS panel is removed, it shall be taken to the Division Traffic Services Shop of the Division in which the attraction is located. The participant shall be notified in writing of such removal and given 30 days in which to retrieve his sign.  After 30 days, the TODS panel shall become the property of the Department and shall be disposed of as the Department shall see fit.

(g)  Should the Department determine that trailblazing to an attraction is desirable as described in 19A NCAC 02E .1103(6), it shall be done in conformance with the standards for a TODS trailblazer as defined in 19A NCAC 02E .1102(2).  The participant shall furnish trailblazing signs required by the Department.  In such trailblazer installations, only one TODS trailblazer shall be used per each TODS intersection signed.

(h)  Should an attraction qualify for TODS signage at two intersections, the TODS panel shall be erected at the nearest intersection.  If the participant desires signing at the second intersection also, it may be so signed provided it does not prevent another attraction from being signed.

(i)  An attraction under construction shall not be allowed to apply for participation in the program if its participation would prevent an existing open attraction applicant from participating, unless the open attraction has turned down a previous opportunity offered by the Department to participate in the program as provided in the program.  After approval of an application, an attraction under construction shall be allowed priority participation over another eligible attraction that opens for business prior to the time specified for opening in the application by the attraction under construction.

(j)  The closest interested eligible attractions at an intersection up to a total of six TODS panels per approach to submit signed contracts shall be allowed TODS panels at that approach.  Should the number of attractions at an approach increase to more than the maximum number of TODS panels allowed at that approach and a closer interested eligible participant requests installation of its TODS panels, the farthest qualifying participant shall be removed at the renewal date.  Program participants may renew their respective contracts annually provided the attraction maintains program eligibility. An attraction with more than one sign displayed on any intersection approach leg shall have the additional sign(s) removed at the end of a contract period when other eligible attractions apply for space on that approach.

(k)  An attraction which has been closed for remodeling or repair shall be granted one year to complete the construction, renovation, or restoration, provided the annual fee is paid and the same type of qualifying service is provided after reopening, even if under a different business name.

(l)  Should a participating attraction cease to be in compliance with G.S. 136-140.16 and the rules in this Section, the Division Engineer shall notify the participant that it shall be given 30 days to bring the attraction into compliance or its TODS panel(s) shall be removed.  If the attraction is removed and later applies for reinstatement, this request shall be handled in the same manner as a request from a new applicant.  When a participating attraction is determined not to be in compliance with G.S. 136-140.16 and the rules in this Section for a second time within two years of the first determination of non- compliance, its TODS panel(s) shall be permanently removed.  If an attraction under construction is not open on the specified date in the agreement, the participant shall be given 30 days notification to request the TODS panel installation or forfeit its panel.  Future applications shall be treated in the same manner as a new applicant.

(m)  The transfer of ownership of an attraction for which an agreement has been lawfully executed shall not affect the validity of the agreement for the TODS agreement provided that the appropriate Division Engineer is given notice in writing of the transfer of ownership within 30 days of the actual transfer and the application is updated.

(n)  The Department shall not maintain waiting lists for the program.

 

History Note:        Authority G.S. 136-89.56; 136-130; 136-140.15; 136-140.16; 136-140.17; 136-140.18; 136-140.19; 143B-346; 143B-348; 143B-350(f);

Temporary Adoption Eff. January 1, 2003;

Eff. August 1, 2004.