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4 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 13, 2008 Page 5 City Manager Morrison indicated this type of system could be put in place. He noted this ordinance will only be in effect for a one-year period, which will allow them to monitor how well the changes are working. Councilmember Thuesen requested clarification on whether vehicles that are parked on a city street overnight when two inches of snow have accumulated will be towed, or whether the vehicle can remain parked until the snow has stopped. 9 City Manager Mornson replied his interpretation of the ordinance is that the vehicle would be 10 subject to a citation or tow once two inches have snow has accumulated. Typically there would I 1 be a citation issued. 12 13 Councilmember Thuesen stressed that residents should know if their vehicle will be towed if it is 14 left on the street. 15 16 City Manager Mornson stated in the past remedies or penalties have not been listed in the 17 ordinance; they have been left up to the Police Department. He noted when there is a snowfall it 18 is difficult to get towing companies out; it is easier to issue the citation and hopefully the car will 19 be moved the next day. There are currently rules in the city ordinance under general rules of 20 parking that state if there is a car sitting for a period of hours the City has the ability to take other 21 steps, whether there is snow or not. This amendment just relates to two inches or more of snow, 22 versus the hours of 3:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. He indicated Council can add additional amendments 23 to the ordinance if they choose. 24 25 Councilmember Thuesen stated this is a major change and to be fair to the residents they need to 26 be as clear as possible on what will happen. The better this is done, possibly the better the 27 acceptance will be by the community. 28 29 Mayor Faust pointed out that the question regarding a citation or towing could have been asked 30 under the current ordinance. It is a police issue and currently if someone is parked between 3:00 31 ami. and 7:00 a.m. between November lst and April lst they are issued a citation even though it is 32 not stated in the ordinance. In some ways this is a change and in other ways it is actually a little 33 more lenient. The current ordinance was arbitrarily picked from November I" to April I", and 34 this ordinance may be a little more flexible in putting more control in the hands of the 35 individuals. 36 37 Councilmember Thuesen stated for the most part he agrees and thinks this ordinance is worth 38 trying, especially with the sunset. He would like to raise some questions to think about in order 39 to make this as seamless as possible, and it should be considered that with the change there will 40 likely be more vehicles on the streets at night because most people now realize they cannot park 41 overnight on city streets. 42 43 Mayor Faust noted the Council agrees that there should be a sunset on the ordinance and it does 44 not necessarily need to remain the way it is currently written. He pointed out that previously 45 there have been people that have been issued citations in November and December when there 46 was no snow on the ground, and they are trying to reach a balance with the change. 5