Ordinance & Legal Review Committee

CITY OF BELLEVILLE ORDINANCE & LEGAL REVIEW COMMITTEE AUGUST 13, 2013 -- 7:00 PM COUNCIL CHAMBERS Members Present: Alderman James Musgrove (Chairman), Alderman Melinda Hult, Alderman Ken Kinsella, Alderman Trent Galetti, Alderman Jim Davidson Meeting Guests: Bob Sabo, Director of Health and Housing Bill Clay, Belleville Police Chief Bob White, Alderman Ward 6 Terry Denton, Animal Control Michael Hagberg Jacqueline Lee Chairman Musgrove called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. To start the meeting the guests were allowed to present their comments to the committee. Each guest, before speaking, was to give his name and address. Guest Comments: Michael Hagberg, 701 Centreville Ave, was the first guest speaker. He was talking about the sticker that is attached to a vehicle that is not registered with license plates. He did say he has settled this problem with Chief Clay. However, he said they can sticker the car and show up later, just take the car and he feels that is just taking people’s property without due process. He also said that the language on the sticker is not the same words in the City Ordinance. He thinks the City should change the wording on either the sticker or adopt a change to the Ordinance to read the same as the sticker. Belleville Police Chief spoke next. He stated that he and Mr. Hagberg had discussed the wording on the sticker that is placed on derelict vehicles and the wording of the ordinance. He further quoted the Nuisance Ordinance Section 26-4-1 that declares a Derelict Vehicle is “any inoperable or unregistered vehicle”. The sticker is an enforcement document. It gives direction to the police officers and direction to the owner of the derelict vehicle. It gives more information than the ordinance.as guidance to the officers and the owner of the vehicle that is subject to a tow. He said the wording in the ordinance says they only have to give the owner a 7 day notice but on the sticker they have included more information such as information about placing the vehicle in an enclosed structure and phone numbers. Chief Clay said that they provide phone numbers in case the owner wants to call and explain his situation. If he has a good excuse the officers may give an extension. They want to be fair about the problem and the violation. Approval of Minutes: Chairman Musgrove asked for a motion to approve the Minutes from the July 9, 2013 Ordinance and Legal Review Committee. Motion was made by Alderman Ken Kinsella, Seconded by Alderman Melinda Hult. Alderman Trent Galetti stated that he found a misspelled word “INDEF Page 1 INATELY” on the third page, in the second paragraph from the bottom. It should be spelled “INDEFINITELY”. A second misspelled word was found by Chairman Musgrove in the word “server” on the second page, in the third line from the bottom. It should be “serve” without the added “r”. Chairman Musgrove called for a vote on the motion with the two noted corrections. All members present voted Aye, motion passed. Agenda Item A – Discussion on adding a change to the ANIMAL CONTROL ordinance, Section 13-1-14 Micro-chipping dogs that have been impounded for running at large the second time. Affecting dogs that are a nuisance. Chairman Musgrove said this change does not affect all dogs, only dogs declared a nuisance. Alderman Melinda Hult asked where does it say the dog is declared a nuisance? Chairman Musgrove asked Bob Sabo for help to answer the question. Bob Sabo answered by reading Section 13-1-14 which is to be added to the complete ordinance Chapter 13. The addition to the complete ordinance does not mention the word nuisance. However, in Section 13-1-1 of the complete ordinance, in the Definition Section, it clearly states “The term ‘public nuisance animal’ shall mean and include, but not be limited to, any animal that is repeatedly found at large, attacks other domestic animals;…….” Terry Denton, from the Animal Control Department, added information about when animals are picked up for running at large, and are checked for any tags or a Micro-Chip to help find the owner. If the animal has no micro-chip, or the owner cannot be identified or if the owner fails to pick up the animal, the animal is turned over to St. Clair County where it is examined and evaluated for possible adoption. Then Alderman Trent Galetti asked about what happens if you pick up an animal for the third time. Terry Denton said the animal may be sent to St. Clair County. If the County Pound is full and the animal is chipped, he will try to take the animal home. Alderman Jim Davidson said for clarification, we just do not want stray dogs running around, Terry said that is correct and especially if they are not spayed or neutered. The males become more aggressive. Alderman Melinda Hult said she had a real problem with the spayed and neutered part. She said that is stepping way over the bounds. Alderman said is that section new but Terry Denton said that is a state law and is not new. Alderman Ken Kinsella said when he had a dog and it got out, usually one of the neighbors would call him and he would go pick it up. He said if we let dogs that are not spayed or neutered run around we will have a real problem. Alderman Jim Davidson said he does not have a problem with the law. If an owner is irresponsible enough to let his dog run at large three times and it is not spayed or neutered then the public has a right to demand it is spayed or neutered. Alderman Hult stated she is against putting the animal through the operation just because someone left the gate open. Alderman Trent Galetti said he was against spaying and neutering the dogs also. He started a long discussion on what information could be read on the chip. He wanted to know if you tell how many times an animal has been picked up from the information on the chip. He was told the chip usually contains an identification number and the name of the company who installed the chip. Terry Denton mentioned that St. Clair County had this same ordinance on their books so if they picked up the animal the same things would happen. Alderman Ken Kinsella made a motion to approve the ordinance as presented. Alderman Jim Davidson seconded the motion. Chairman Musgrove chose to use a roll call vote, as follows: Alderman Melinda Hult, No, Alderman Ken Kinsella, Aye, Alderman Trent Galetti, No, Alderman Jim Davidson, Aye, Alderman James Musgrove, Aye. Motion Passed. The ordinance is approved to be presented to the full Council. Page 2 Agenda Item B – Discussion on wording of the sticker placed on unregistered vehicles by the Belleville Police Department that does not agree with the wording in the existing Belleville Ordinance Section 26-3 for Inoperable Motor Vehicles. Alderman Melinda Hult said she is against the intent of the ordinance in general. Alderman Trent Galetti said he thinks the wording on the sticker should be exactly the same as the words in the ordinance. He thinks the ordinance should be changed. Alderman Ken Kinsella asked if there was something that says the sticker must have the exact wording as the ordinance, Chief Clay said the sticker is an enforcement tool. Also, the added wording on the sticker was included to help both the officers and the owner by providing additional phone numbers and information. He also stated that the owner could use the phone numbers provided to ask for an extension in time if he had some extenuating circumstances. Alderman Jim Davidson said that when you get a parking ticket do you expect the complete wording of the ordinance to be on the ticket? These questions led into a more diverse group discussion, Alderman Jim Davidson talked about cars with antique license plates. Sometimes they sit for longer periods of time. Alderman Hult said they many have restrictions on the number of miles driven. The key in this discussion is cars without license plates are a problem. Too many people switch plates and drive and do other illegal activities and should be checked. It was mentioned that the phone number on the sticker is out of date and when they make the new stickers they could change the wording. Mike Hagberg mentioned that nine vehicles were tagged in his neighborhood probably because one of the neighbors got angry about something and called the police. Alderman Hult said this strikes her as too much government. Alderman Davidson said that you cannot get insurance for a car that does not have registration plated. Nine derelict vehicles is a bad sign for a neighborhood. .Alderman Hult asked if we need to take a vote but this was just a discussion of this subject. Chairman Musgrove asked for a motion to adjourn. Motion was made by Alderman Trent Galetti, seconded by Alderman Melinda Hult. All present voted Aye, motion passed Meeting adjourned at 6:53 PM. Respectfully Submitted by Alderman James Musgrove (Chairman) Page 3