04/23/1984 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e compared his fee with another Eugene towing company and one from Portland. He added that a dolly was used on 95 percent of the vehicles impounded by his company to ensure no damage to the vehicle. He then reviewed the requirements placed upon the towing company by the City which were the basis for the fees. Mr. Swager suggested that the City Council recommend the establishment of stricter vehicle registration requirements to the State legislature. He stated that he has been unable to locate the owners of 14 impounded vehicles over the past five months and suggested that automobile dealers be made responsible for registering vehicles sold. He also suggested that the City Manager and the Eugene Police Department support the property owners in the towing situation, stating that the City has suggested to the owners of impounded vehicles that they take the towing company to court. He stressed that the City should work to remove abandoned vehicles from its streets. Referring to the proposed citation, Mr. Swager believed that the Eugene Police Department was already understaffed and that calls on illegally parked vehicles would be given low priority. He suggested that the City write a citation on any impounded vehicle and require the vehicle owner to pay the citation fine prior to any release of the vehicle; the vehicle could then be considered a police impound. The ordinance could be modified to allow the City to turn over the title to any unclaimed vehicle to the towing company after a set period of time, eliminating the time-consuming process of locating a vehicle owner. Commenting on the proposed ordinance, Mr. Swager stated that while much was said about the "lack of cham" exhibited by the towing operator, nothing was said about the irate vehicle owner who insults and threatens that towing operator. He felt his operators were able to withstand such abuse without incident. On the proposed sign language, he hoped that the City would develop two signs--one which listed the City ordinance for the citation and one which did not to address those property owners who chose not to use the citation. He complained that the definition for "connection" described a full hookup, stating that the State of Oregon referred to such action as an II attachment. II He fel t that the proposed language will require him to raise his impound fee to recover his losses on connection fees. He also complained that requiring towing operators to carry money to make change was unfair and unsafe, stating that even LTD drivers were not required to make change. He suggested that the impound charges be a flat rate and be painted on the truck. David Altman, 91635 Donna Road, Springfield, said he operated a parking lot in Eugene. Regarding alternatives to towing, he stated that his attorney had advised him that towing was the only means of removing a vehicle from his parking lot. He asked if an illegally parked vehicle could be impounded or booted in place, requiring a fee to be paid for release. He asked the City Council to protect the property owners, stating that it is unreasonable to allow an illegally parked vehicle to remain in a space rented by another individual. He believed that he entered into a contract when he called a towing company and that a fee should be paid to the towing company whether the vehicle was towed or not. He did not feel it was fair to turn one illegally parked vehicle loose only to pass the fee on to the next vehicle impounded. He questioned whether the Eugene Police Department would be able to respond to citation calls and whether the parking lot operator could still charge the owner of the illeqally parked vehicle the parking fees in addition to the citation fine or towing fees. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 23, 1984 P ag e 3