Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 01/15/2008 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 151, 2007, AMENDIN ITEM NUMBER: 8 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: January 15, 2008 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Dave Kemp SUBJECT Second 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. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of this Ordinance on Second Reading. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 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 Ordinance,unanimously adopted on First Reading on December 18, 2007, will amend the City Code to allow the processing of the abandoned/donated bicycles. ATTACHMENTS 1. Copy of First Reading Agenda Item Summary- December 18, 2007. ATTACHMENT ITEM NUMBER: 17 A-B AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: December18, 2007 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL FF: 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 y e. er e 1 or 1 any additional funding required to enact this Ordinance and Re lution. inor t iat ith these items include the repairs of the detached building at 222 orte A nue ity Facil 'es department has conducted these repairs using existing resources. ike -op wr pay the 1 $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 and23-130 Pertaining to Disposition of Stolen, Found or Abandoned Personal Property. The Recycled Bike Project ena s th ers )to Ci of Fort Collins and the FC Bike Co-op to collect,store,and rep found, do e les,and to place these refurbished bicycles back into the commun rat r an b g ippe alifornia for auction. Refurbished bicycles will be used in an Earn-a- i e program,the 'ture 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 one f FP e F Collins Bicycle Program, Inc., a non-profit organization, co only wno o ns." The Bike Co-op has been providing a wonderful comm ty servi sinc ort llins. The Co-op has been a drop- off point for donated bicycles as e tion r 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 1 aci' parking lot would lend itself perfectly for such a program Other racti q 1' s i ed the proximity to the Mason Corridor, Poudre River Trail, cents o w 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 partVledpro o ev ' s ' ' d ments,including the FC Bikes program, Police Services, Cit Of 1 ci 'es, urchasing, and the Bike Co-op community organization, a dedural been eated to collect, store, repair, and place bicycles back into the co 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 Dept. and Police Services,bicycles become eligible for community use. Eligible bicycles are utilized a variety of ways: The Eam-a-Bike program enables citizens of any age to trade volunteer time at the Bike Co-op for a bike of their own. December 18, 2007 -3- Item No. 17 A-B 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 churc B -o e t ovide these individuals and/or families with bicycles without lunte g the i he i ble bicycles may enter the future Fort Collins Bike Library pro whi pl d begin i 008. Bicycle frames and parts that cannot be repaired or reused wi ecyc e tram 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 contseal dev opmental Phases and City staff will continue to work as a unified team with the cor iza n o in he ecycled Bike Project over time. The project team consists ofy e non-pr t 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. ORDINANCE NO. 151, 2007 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING CITY CODE SECTIONS 23-127 AND 23-I30 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 theCodeof the Cityof 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: See. 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 ce must contain the following information: a. Tthat 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. That 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 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 the use and distribution of such property is in accordance with the Purchasing Agent's 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 maybe destroyed. -3- Introduced and considered favorably on first readi n rdered published this l h day of December, A.D. 2007, and to be presented for final pas ge the 15t da Jan A.D 08. i k Mayor ATTEST: 4uL�k I City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading this 15th day of January, A.D. 2008. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk -4-