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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 4, 2006 C/C Minutes ,,' Meridian City Council April 4, 2006 Page 71 of 78 Bird: I move we approve AZ 06-002, request for annexation for Strada Bellissima-- De Weerd: Bellissima. Bird: I'm not even going to -- Subdivision Outparcel and to include staff and applicant's comments and pass the Findings and Conclusions of Law. . Rountree: Second. De Weerd: Thank you. I have a motion to approve now, Item 27. Roll call. Roll-Call: Bird, yea: Rountree, yea: Wardle, absent: Borton, yea. MOTION CARRIED: THREE AYES. ONE ABSENT. Item 28: Public Hearing: Amendments to the Pawnbroker Ordinance: De Weerd: Thank you. Item 28 is a Public Hearing for Pawnbroker Ordinance. Who is giving the introduction to this? Mr. Chief, is that you? Musser: Madam Mayor, Members of the Council, I guess this one falls to me, as, apparently, we had initiated this in conjunction with the Leads Online format that we brought before the Council at the start of the budget year. To make this short, sweet, and simple at this point, I've had a chance to review all the comments that were received in from our licensed pawnbrokers at this time, as well as the city clerk. I do agree that there are a number of revisions that we need to look at and start initiating at this time before we move much further on this. Four of those specifically would include the time of renewal, changing it to the calendar year, as opposed to the time of licensing. That was a request specifically by our clerk's office. Also, number two would be to provide an exemption for transactions of gold and silver bullion and coin, as those seem to be problematic for both of our licensed pawnbrokers at this time, considering that the old ordinance exempted those items out and we put additional times onto those at this point. Also, need to revisit our records section under 3-5-6, specifically subsection at A, C, and D, the written records, retention of records, and transmission of records, I think we need to clarify a little bit of language and work with them as well on that. And, then, number four, in order to help move this along, I was thinking we need to meet with them and come up with a better working method to -- to help them to be able to describe the music CDs, DVDs, videos, and records, that type of material on there so it's not so cumbersome. There seems to be a lot of confusion at this time. I have had a chance to talk with both of them this evening, they seem to be open to that. And at this point I would recommend, if we could, possibly continuing this Public Hearing for at least two weeks, so we could get this done. De Weerd: Thank you, chief. Bird: Madam Mayor? '" Meridian City Council April 4, 2006 Page 72 of 78 De Weerd: Yes, Mr. Bird. Bird: I would agree with everything the chief said. And is there any way, chief, that we'd continue this -- that we could have the ordinance prepared with the legal staff -- yourself and legal staff and the applicants and - the clerk, so that we can bring the ordinance revision at that time forward, too? Musser: That's what I'm looking to do, Councilman Bird. I would like to have everything done -- if I need to go over and kidnap counsel and have him over there with us to work on it. I think we can get it done up. I've already spent some time looking at what we could possibly do with some rewording changes to get it in there and I hope I haven't added more to the plate of our counselor at this point, but there are a couple of items that I did find in reference to the comments that came in that were of concern to me, but perhaps Council has some additional comment as well on it. Baird: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Yes, Mr. Baird. Baird: Members of the Council, as you know, we are all pretty swamped right now, but fortunately for this issue, our capable Assistant City Attorney Emily Cain has been working on this and we will do what we can to make her available and I think having her meet with you and the interested parties would be a very good idea. I think she's got a good grasp on it and can work with you, but I would advocate for at least three weeks before we bring back a new draft, just to allow the meetings to happen and the drafting and the letting the 25th. De Weerd: And since we don't want anything until May 2nd anyway. Bird: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Mr. Bird. Bird: Hearing from the experts, I would move -- De Weerd: Mr. Bird, there are people out here. Baird: They have waited patiently. Bird: Oh, I'm sorry. De Weerd: They certainly are not here because they enjoy listening to us talk. Rountree: Oh, they didn't? Bird: Aren't they here to -- Meridian City Council April 4, 2006 Page 73 of 78 De Weerd: I don't think so. It's an assumption. Bird: Sorry. I apologize. De Weerd: This is a Public Hearing. Is there anyone who would like to provide testimony? I see several. Sir. If you will, please, state your name and address for the record. Stewart: Yes. My name is Terry Stewart. I live at 5867 West Columbia in Nampa, Idaho. De Weerd: Thank you. Stewart: My comment -- I agree with what Mr. Musser has said and -- he's taken away several of my comments on the deal. De Weerd: Good job, chief. Stewart: He diffused the situation before it got out. He must be doing his job. The only really thing I have is the time frame on how long it's going to take us to get to be proficient with these computers that he's going to force us to buy and that kind of stuff, because we are not particularly computer literate. The other thing is on CDs and DVDs, I require now that they be in the original cases. I don't take in singles and that kind of thing. I'd like to see some kind of provision in the ordinance that we do that. People in cars have a tendency to put them in folders that type of thing. If they are not in the original cases most people don't take them. Something may be addressed on that fact. Guns. The only thing I have there is that most guns have manufacturers, models, serial numbers and types of guns and the calibers. That's what I required for our logs in our FBI and ATF forms and I think they are wanting us to require a -- the finish of the guns, which, you know, that's just another item that has to be taken care of, but if that's what they require, that's what they require. That's all I have today. De Weerd: Okay. Thank you. Counsel, Mr. Baird, do you have the numbers of the people here so you can make sure Emily contacts them? Detective Taylor, do you have anything you would like to add? I know you're probably here for this item as well. Taylor: I do. My name is Mark Taylor, I'm with the Meridian Police Department. I have kind of headed up the Leads Online program. Madam Mayor, City Council Members. This is an important program from my standpoint. The majority of the crimes that I work are property crimes and this has been a very beneficial program for us to use. To date -- starting to use the program about last July -- we have been able to recover approximately 40,000 dollars worth of stolen merchandise through this program. I have been able to identify suspects and the property that's been pawned and the majority of the pawn shops are in Boise. Currently -- and I understand Mr. Stewart's comment in relation to the guns. Any information available in reference to weapons is Meridian City Council April 4, 2006 Page 74 of 78 important to us in this program. For example, I was tracking a weapon not too long ago, which was a pistol that was nickel plated. I was able to add that information into the program and specifically look for a nickel plated .357 Magnum. So, that narrowed my search down. In reference to the program from the pawnbroker's standpoint the program is very easy to access, it's very user friendly, and there is one screen that they go to specifically that's called ticket assistance and it's very self-explanatory and they are able to add the information of the person who is pawning the item, which includes their name and date of birth and Social Security number and drivers license ID, all that good stuff. And at the bottom portion of that, then, they are able to put in the description of the item that's being pawned or multiple items. And, then, it's just a click on an icon and it sends that information directly to the company that manages the system. The benefits of this is that we have that information in the system within 24 hours after it's pawned and from my vantage point it's important for us to be able to access that information as soon as we get the report, which is usually two to three days from time that the patrol officer has taken that report, so we can immediately access it. And the other advantage if the item hasn't been pawned at that point, then, I can flag that information by a report number and it will run -- automatically run a daily check on that -- on that item that I'm looking for and it will flag me if it's located an item. So, from my vantage point it's a huge time saving for us and for the victims that are involved in these crimes. It gives us a little better chance of recovering that property for them. In agreement I was able to review the ordinance and there were some changes that I recommended as well and I think that they will be beneficial for the city, as well as the merchants that are involved in this. That's alii have. Do you have any questions? De Weerd: Detective, do I understand that you will be providing training? Taylor: I can. And I will be happy to go to the pawnbrokers and show them how to set up the program. I work closely with the employee at Leads Online, her name is Ashley. I speak with her occasionally and they are very willing to help anytime there is a question. They are very quick in response. And if you do have a question, you'll get a little icon on the server and it will -- it's a contact button and they will respond to that and every time I have ever called I have been able to get help with the program. So, they are very good to work with. De Weerd: Thank you. Rountree: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Mr. Rountree. Rountree: And don't get my comments misconstrued here. I think -- I see your side of this issue. I am a bit concerned about the other crime that can occur because of this and not knowing what goes on in a pawn situation, because it's been 45 years since I have pawned anything. I observed the process in Boise just to get a sense of what's happening and you have indicated some of the types of information that's required. It's pretty extensive, to and including a fingerprint, thumb print. So, I think there is some Meridian City Council April 4, 2006 Page 75 of 78 other victims that could fall prey to this process that are unknowing and have really no way of being notified if, in fact, the private provider of this -- somebody gets into their data base and steals my name, my Social Security number, my address, my driver's license number, and my thumb print. And I just caution that this identify theft thing has got a lot of people paranoid and I'm not saying it's because I'm paranoid, but I can see that we've all had it drummed into our heads recently, we don't give our vital statistics out to just anybody and I don't -- I don't know, is there some protection in the system for me as the consumer of a pawnbrokerage? Taylor: Mr. Rountree, your point's well taken and I have covered some of those questions along with Ashley that works for Leads Online. It's a very secure website. It's open to law enforcement only. I'm not going to say that it couldn't be hacked into, as well as our bank account information or anything else. I mean it's a risk that we take. I feel pretty secure with the website. I know that they have taken a lot of provisions to make that a secure site and open only to law enforcement. Passwords are changed on a continual basis. I have to renew my password about once a month and there are times that I forget my password. If that happens there is also an icon I have to click on. They will send that directly to my e-mail and only my e-mail. And there is no phone call. There is no verbalization of that password over the phone. There, again, the electronic age, I'll stand by the program as far as I can in knowing what I know about it and I feel good about it. The thumb print was, actually, one of the items that we requested to be eliminated out of the ordinance, so that we didn't have to go the extra step. That also was a concern with our merchants here in town, so -- Rountree: I guess my general observation is it seemed to me that the process was a significant deterrent to a criminal with any degree of intelligence. Taylor: Right. Rountree: You're going to catch some really stupid people -- Taylor: Oh, yeah. And believe me -- Rountree: Which is probably most of them, but -- Taylor: And, granted, surprisingly enough, I'm working -- I told the chief tonight that I'm watch a particular individual that lives here in town right now and I have watched this gentleman over the past 45 days now pawn 82 items, all construction-related tools, as well as a construction trailer, so -- but I can't catch him -- Rountree: And he's never driven a nail, that's what you're telling us? Taylor: Exactly. Exactly. So, the program has some wonderful uses and tools available to us in law enforcement. And the good part is most bad buys aren't familiar that we have this tool and we don't readily advertise it. So, I think it will be a real benefit to us in the future, so -- Meridian City Council April 4, 2006 Page 76 of 78 Rountree: Thank you. De Weerd: Thank you. Any other comments? Watson: My name is Paul Watson. I live at 424 West Broadway Avenue here in Meridian. Madam Mayor, City Council. I agree with Mr. Musser that there are things that we got to work out. It's going to take some time. I don't think any of us are trying to be negative. None of us want to condone theft, okay? Everybody has their privacy. Because someone pawns does not mean they are a thief, okay? And we are willing to work with whatever we do. If you have no questions, that's the only comment I have. De Weerd: Okay. Watson: After being here all this time I had to -- De Weerd: Thank you. Rountree: Thanks for you patience. De Weerd: We wanted you to have your day at City Council. Okay. Mr. Berg. Berg: Madam Mayor, I just have a process question. We amended the ordinance to make -- establish the fee by the City Council and I presume it's by a resolution, but we already have a fee in the ordinance. I was just curious if we have to do a Public Hearing for that fee or if we can just establish it with a resolution, because we are just transferring it out of the ordinance onto a fee schedule. Baird: Madam Mayor and Mr. Clerk, has the fee changed? Has the amount changed? Berg: Madam Mayor, we haven't really figured out that we wanted to change the fee. I don't know what the other processes are, which I need to talk to the police department to see if there is more costs involved with -- Baird: Okay. I can tell you what the rule is and if it's a new fee or if it's more than a five percent change, we would have to advertise it for a Public Hearing pursuant to state statute. But if it's just going from one place on our records to another, then, you wouldn't have to do that. Berg: And, Madam Mayor, I guess that was my point. Then we probably need to prepare a resolution to set -- put that on a fee schedule when we do the ordinance? Baird: Sure. Berg: So that we don't drop it and have no fee at all. .- Meridian City Council April 4, 2006 Page 77 of 78 Baird: We will make that happen. Berg: Okay. Thank you. Musser: Madam Mayor, Members of the Council, two additional points. First off, I do want to comment in reference to thefts and some of the bad things that we usually associate pawnbrokers with. That's not necessarily the case with both of our pawnbrokers that we have here in town. They have been very reputable, very easy to work with, and run good businesses and I have been associated with both of them for quite awhile here in town. So, I do want to go on record with that and provide that information to you. The mere fact is, though, is that we have some other less reputable folks and we don't know what we may have in the future, which forces us to have the ordinance and to continue to work to keep it as efficient as possible through the mechanism that we have. Additionally on the data base that we have, where this is a data base that is collecting vital information, they are bound by federal statute to do immediate reporting to those people if they do lose that data base or have it impacted by somebody that's able to get into it and remove the information on it, similar to a financial transaction data base with any type of bank or a lending institution, that type of thing. Any of those are required to have it. So, that would be the only protection to my knowledge at this point is by federal statute on that, if that helps with that question as well. Rountree: Thanks, Bill. De Weerd: Thank you, chief. Okay. motion. Council -- Keith, now I would entertain that Bird: You would? De Weerd: Yes. Bird: Well, I think I'm going to give them a little more time, because I'm afraid that we -- De Weerd: Even the 2nd is-- Bird: So, I think I would move that we continue the Public Hearing for the amendment of the pawnbroker ordinance to May 2nd, 2006. Rountree: Second. De Weerd: Thank you. It's been moved to continue to May 2nd. All those in favor say aye. All ayes. Motion carries. MOTION CARRIED: THREE AYES. ONE ABSENT. Meridian City Council April 4, 2006 Page 78 of 78 De Weerd: Council, just a couple items very quickly. We do have a tour with the Ada County Commissioners on Friday, April 7th. We ask you to join them for lunch if you have an interest. Certainly you're welcome to join on the tour. It leaves at 10:00 a.m. from City Hall. We will be sending a mailer out on the south Meridian, north Kuna area informational meeting that is April 12th at 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Mary McFearson Elementary School. So, I had e-mailed this out to you guys. Just a heads up. I know that Sharon and Will had gotten information out to you about a letter we got from Harks Corner about our beer and wine license and that was just an FYI to all of you. And that's all I have, so -- Bird: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Mr. Bird. Bird: Before we leave, everybody coming to the prayer breakfast in the morning? Borton: You're getting us on the record. Bird: Huh? Borton: You're getting us on the record. Rountree: No, I'm not. Bird: You're not? I can't believe that. You got to be at the statehouse. I move that we adjourn. Rountree: Second. De Weerd: Okay. All those in favor say aye. MOTION CARRIED: THREE AYES. ONE ABSENT. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 11 :10 P.M. (TAPE ON FILE OF THESE PROCEEDINGS) MAYOR TAMMY DE WEERD / / DATE APPROVED ATTESTED: WILLIAM G. BERG JR., CITY CLERK