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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 12/18/2007 - ITEMS RELATING TO THE RECYCLED BIKE PROJECT ITEM NUMBER: 17 A-B AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: December 18, 2007 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Dave Kemp SUBJECT Items Relating to the Recycled Bike Project. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Resolution and the Ordinance on First Reading. FINANCIAL IMPACT There are no direct costs to the City for either of these items, nor is any additional funding required to enact this Ordinance and Resolution. Minor costs associated with these items include the repairs of the detached building at 222 Laporte Avenue. The City Facilities department has conducted these repairs using existing resources. FC Bike Co-op will pay the City$5 per year as the lease payment and will provide the necessary materials/equipment and volunteers to staff this project. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. Resolution 2007-109 Authorizing the Lease of a Portion of the City-owned Property at 222 Laporte Avenue to Friends of the Fort Collins Bike Program, Inc., for up to Two Years as Part of the Recycled Bike Project. B. First Reading of Ordinance No. 151,2007,Amending City Code Sections 23-127 and 23-130 Pertaining to Disposition of Stolen, Found or Abandoned Personal Property. The Recycled Bike Project enables the partnership between the City of Fort Collins and the FC Bike Co-op to collect,store,and repair found,abandoned/donated bicycles,and to place these refurbished bicycles back into the community,rather than being shipped to California for auction. Refurbished bicycles will be used in an Earn-a-Bike program,the future Bike Library, and/or given to those who qualify as financially challenged or "at risk." Bicycle frames and parts that cannot be repaired or reused will be recycled. This Code change is needed to permit the processing of the abandoned/donated bicycles. The Resolution authorizing the lease agreement is intended to permit a two year lease to the FC Bike Co-op to occupy 222 Laporte Avenue(old Poudre Valley Creamery building) in order to conduct these community services. December 18, 2007 -2- Item No. 17 A-B BACKGROUND The Fort Collins Bike Co-op is a component of Friends of the Fort Collins Bicycle Program, Inc., a non-profit organization, commonly known as "Bike Fort Collins." The Bike Co-op has been providing a wonderful community service since 2003 in Fort Collins. The Co-op has been a drop- off point for donated bicycles as well as a receiving location for hundreds of unfortunate and "at risk" citizens who need bicycles for transportation. The Bike Co-op has also taught the skill of bicycle maintenance to a large number of youths and adults and has contributed positively to the thriving bike culture in Fort Collins. In October 2006, leaders of the Bike Co-op approached the City's FC Bikes program with a need to expand and further develop its organization. One of the challenges was operational space. The Bike Co-op had been operating out of a garage on Smith Street and had outgrown its location while also experiencing difficulties with zoning issues. The FC Bikes program coordinator worked collaboratively with multiple City departments to find a mutually workable and beneficial solution so that the Bike Co-op could grow and continue to provide its valuable service to the Fort Collins community. The Poudre Valley Creamery building (222 Laporte Avenue)was identified as a potential venue for the program. The large garages, small detached office with restroom and sinks, and large south facing parking lot would lend itself perfectly for such a program. Other attractive qualities included the proximity to the Mason Corridor, Poudre River Trail, and central downtown area. The Planning and Zoning Department classified the Recycled Bike Project as a "Community Facility"which is an allowed use of the Sub Downtown District. The City applied for a"change of use"permit for this site and followed all requirements of the City's Development Review Process. As required, trees were planted by the City's Forestry department and the Facilities department has worked to bring the building up to standards. Prior to the development of this new Recycled Bike Project, hundreds of unclaimed abandoned bicycles that had been brought to FCPS and cleared as not being stolen were being shipped to California each year at the City's expense to be auctioned online without the proceeds being returned to the City. FC Bikes and Police Services agreed to work together along with the Bike Co-op to develop a way to get these local bicycles back in to use in the Fort Collins community. Through this collaborative partnership among the various City's departments,including the FC Bikes program, Police Services, City Attorney's Office, Facilities, and Purchasing, and the Bike Co-op community organization, a detailed procedural plan has been created to collect, store, repair, and place bicycles back into the community. Abandoned or found bicycles will be brought to, and stored by the Bike Co-op while the bike descriptions and serial numbers are cross referenced with Police Services to determine if a bike has been stolen and whether there is an identifiable victim to which the bike must be returned. After 40 days of storage and cross checking with the Purchasing Deptartment and Police Services,bicycles become eligible for community use. Eligible bicycles are utilized a variety of ways: The Earn-a- Bike program enables citizens of any age to trade volunteer time at the Bike Co-op for a bike of their December 18, 2007 -3- Item No. 17 A-B own. This program will work especially well with "at risk" youth (ages 10-17) and will provide extracurricular activities and teach life skills such as collaboration with others and bicycle maintenance. For individuals and families who qualify as financially challenged, specifically with Larimer County and local churches,the Bike Co-op will be able to provide these individuals and/or families with bicycles without volunteering their time. Other eligible bicycles may enter the future Fort Collins Bike Library program which is planned to begin in 2008. Bicycle frames and parts that cannot be repaired or reused will be recycled. No bike frames or bike parts will enter the landfill under this program. The current City Ordinance governing the process for handling, storage and disposition of property found or delivered to the City currently does not allow for recycling such property into the community. The proposed amendment would allow found or abandoned bicycles to be processed and disposed of in the manner described above. The way other property found or abandoned property is handled will remain unchanged. Related to this Code amendment to perform the Recycled Bike Project,is a request to approve a two year lease to allow Friends of the Fort Collins Bicycle Program, Inc., specifically, the FC Bike Co- op, to occupy a portion of the property at 222 Laporte Avenue. This project is still in the conceptual and developmental phases and City staff will continue to work as a unified team with the community organizations to refine the Recycled Bike Project over time. The project team consists of several City departments, non-profit organizations (Bike Fort Collins and the FC Bike Co-op), and local businesses. This project helps the ongoing efforts to create community collaborations and partnerships that include the public, private, and non-profit sectors. The bicycle is interwoven throughout the community and the implementation of projects like the Recycled Bike Project will help to build community relationships, reduce carbon emissions, and strengthen economic development opportunities as part of ongoing efforts to promote Fort Collins as a bicycle friendly community. RESOLUTION 2007-109 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AUTHORIZING THE LEASE OF A PORTION OF THE CITY-OWNED PROPERTY AT 222 LAPORTE AVENUE TO FRIENDS OF THE FORT COLLINS BIKE PROGRAM, INC., FOR UP TO TWO YEARS AS PART OF THE RECYCLED BIKE PROJECT WHEREAS, the City of Fort Collins is the owner of the property located at 222 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, Larimer County, Colorado, more particularly described as Lots 38 through 43, inclusive, in Block 32, City of Fort Collins, Colorado, together with the vacated portion of LaPorte Avenue adjacent to said lots, and commonly known as the Creamery Property (the "Property"); and WHEREAS, the City wishes to cooperate with the Friends of the Fort Collins Bicycle Program,Inc.,a Colorado non-profit corporation(the"Friends"),on various programs including the Recycled Bike Project, which will refurbish lost, abandoned and donated bicycles and place them back in the community, and the creation of a `Bike Library' to be operated by the Friends for the benefit of the community; and WHEREAS, the Friends' programs will benefit the community by promoting bike riding, a desirable transportation alternative that will reduce traffic and improve air quality; and WHEREAS, in exchange for the various community benefits, and specifically for the operation of the Bike Library, the City desires to lease to the Friends a portion of the Property as shown on Exhibit "A", attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference (the "Premises"), consisting of a garage, office space and bicycle storage area, along with non-exclusive, secondary use of the parking area, for the purpose of performing activities necessary to promote community bike riding, including the repair of bikes and operation of the Bike Library; and WHEREAS, the lease term will be for a period of two years at a lease rate of$5 per year, with the Friends being responsible for the costs of all necessary utilities; and WHEREAS, under Section 23-114 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins, the Council is authorized to lease, for a definite term of two (2)years or less, any and all interests in real property owned in the name of the City, provided that Council first finds, by resolution, that the lease is in the best interests of the City. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the Council hereby finds that leasing the Premises located at 222 Laporte Avenue under the terms listed above is in the best interests of the City. Section 2. That the City Manager is hereby authorized to execute a lease agreement for the Premises on terms and conditions consistent with this Resolution,together with such additional terms and conditions as the City Manager, in consultation with the City Attorney, determines to be necessary and appropriate to protect the interests of the City,including any necessary changes to the legal description of the Premises, as long as such changes do not materially increase the size or change the character of the leased premises. Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins this 18th day of December, A.D. 2007. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk ORDINANCE NO. 1519 2007 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING CITY CODE SECTIONS 23 - 127 AND 23 - 130 PERTAINING TO DISPOSITION OF STOLEN, FOUND OR ABANDONED PERSONAL PROPERTY WHEREAS , Transportation Planning has worked with the Fort Collins Bike Co-op, a component of Friends of the Fort Collins Bicycle Program, Inc . , a local non-profit organization commonly known as "Bike Fort Collins", to enhance the use of bicycles in the City including the creation of a program to recycle unclaimed, lost or abandoned bicycles back into the community (the "Recycled Bike Project"); and WHEREAS , the current manner of disposing of the unclaimed, lost or abandoned bicycles is to hold them in evidence at Fort Collins Police Services and then, after forty (40) days, ship any unclaimed bicycles to California for auction at considerable expense to the City; and WHEREAS , the Fort Collins Police Services Evidence Unit and the physical space for property and evidence storage at Fort Collins Police Services can no longer accommodate the storage of non-evidentiary, unclaimed bicycles ; and WHEREAS , the proposed Recycled Bike Project will significantly reduce the storage issue at Fort Collins Police Services by serving as the clearinghouse for any unclaimed, lost or abandoned bicycles ; and WHEREAS the Recycled Bike Project will immediately notify Fort Collins Police Services of the serial number of bicycles it receives and the case officer will either authorize release of the bicycle to its rightful owner or require the Recycle Bike Project to transport it to the Fort Collins Police Services Evidence Unit for storage as evidence; and WHEREAS , all other unclaimed, lost or abandoned bicycles will be stored for 30 days after which their serial numbers will again be submitted to Fort Collins Police Services and if they remain unclaimed a description of the bicycles will be sent to the Purchasing Agent to be advertised as unclaimed property as required by Code; and WHEREAS , if any bicycles remain unclaimed after the Purchasing Agent has advertised the descriptions, ownership of the bicycles will be transferred to the future Fort Collins Bike Library program which is planned to begin in 2008 , or to the Recycled Bike Project for use in that program, or otherwise disposed of pursuant to the Purchasing Agent' s policies and guidelines ; and WHEREAS , any bicycles transferred to the Recycled Bike Project will be inspected and returned to the community through several community-focused programs such as the Earn-a-Bike program, or through donations to "at risk" youth (ages 10- 17) and individuals or families who qualify as financially challenged; and WHEREAS , any bicycles that cannot, after inspection, be repaired or reused will be reduced to their component parts and recycled so as to ensure that no bicycle frames or parts enter the landfill; and WHEREAS , the City Council believes it to be in the best interests of the health, safety and welfare of the community and the citizens of Fort Collins to amend the City Code to authorize this program. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows : Section 1 . That Section 23 - 127 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows : Sec. 23-127. Disposition of stolen property. (a) The provisions in this Division shall control the disposition of all stolen property found, seized or otherwise delivered into the possession of the City and remaining unclaimed by the lawful owner. (b) Upon a determination that property coming into the possession of the City is stolen or as soon thereafter as is practicable, such property shall be delivered to the Chief of Police as custodian, who shall keep a record of all such property together with the date when and the place from which the property was obtained. (c) With respect to bicycles, any bicycle that is identified as stolen and that is no longer necessary as evidence in a criminal prosecution may be delivered to Transportation Planning and disposed of pursuant to § 23 - 130 . Section 2 . That Section 23 - 130 ( 1 ), (2) and (3 ) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins are hereby amended to read as follows : Sec. 23 - 130. Disposition of lost, abandoned or other unclaimed property. Except as otherwise specifically provided for by law or ordinance, any property seized or otherwise obtained by the City and not sold or destroyed as perishable, hazardous or illegal property and which property has not been claimed by or surrendered to the rightful owner may be disposed of in the following manner: ( 1 ) All such property must first be retained for a period of no less than thirty (30) days from the date that possession was acquired by the City; (2) After the expiration of such period of time and as soon thereafter as is practicable, the purchasing agent must cause to be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the City a general description of the -2- articles of property to be disposed of, which notice must contain the following information: a. The met that a detailed list of each and all articles of such property is available and may be obtained from Purchasing, including the address and the hours during which such list may be obtained; b. Tile-factthat if such property is not claimed by the rightful owner within ten ( 10) calendar days from the date of the publication, such property will become the property of the City to be disposed of by public auction or otherwise and if by public auction provide with-the date, place and location of any such public auction . (3) If within ten ( 10) days from the publication of the notice, no claim for such property described in the notice shall have been made by the rightful owner, such property shall become the property of the City and shall be disposed of in the following manner: a. Any property which was delivered to the City, the possession or use of which is not illegal or dangerous, may be returned to the person who delivered the same to the City. The City shall thereupon relinquish any claim of ownership to such property and shall thereafter be relieved of any liability to the original owner of such property or any other person; b. Any other such property may, in the discretion of the Purchasing Agent, be retained and used by the City in the administration of City affairs or for use in City or community events or programs, so long as with-the use and distribution of such property is in accordance with to be the Purchasing Agent' s according established policies and guidelines approved by the City Manager; c . All other property shall be sold at public auction in the manner and upon the terms described in the above notice, with the proceeds of any such sale or sales to be paid to the Financial Officer to be placed in the general fund of the City after deducting the cost of storage, advertising and selling. d. Any unclaimed property which is of little or no marketable value may be destroyed. -3 - Introduced and considered favorably on first reading and ordered published this 18th day of December, A.D . 2007 , and to be presented for final passage on the 15th day of January, A . D . 2008 . Mayor ATTEST : City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading this 15th day of January, A .D . 2008 . Mayor ATTEST : City Clerk -4-