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Home My WebLink About07-29-14 Wrecker Committee Meeting and Public Hearing WRECKER COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA Notice is hereby given of a Meeting and Public Hearing of the La Porte Wrecker Committee to be held on July 29, 2014, at 3:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 604 West Fairmont Parkway, La Porte, Texas, for the purpose of considering the following agenda items: 1. Call to order. 2. Roll call of members. 3. Consider approval of the February 19, 2013, meeting minutes. 4. Conduct public hearing to receive input on a request by Industrial Transportation and Towing LLC for issuance of two (2) emergency auto wrecker permits, under section 78-297 of the La Porte Code of Ordinances. A. Open public hearing B. Staff comments C. Public comments D. Close public hearing 5. Consider approval or other action regarding issuance of two (2) emergency auto wrecker permits for Industrial Transportation and Towing LLC. 6. Administrative Reports 7. Committee comments on matters appearing on agenda or inquiry of staff regarding specific factual information or existing policy 8. Adjourn A quorum of City Council members may be present and participate in discussions during this meeting; however, no action will be taken by Council. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of La Porte will provide for reasonable accommodations for persons attending public meetings. To better serve attendees, requests should be received 24 hours prior to the meetings. Please contact Patrice Fogarty, City Secretary, at 281.470.5019. CERTIFICATION I certify that a copy of the July 29, 2014, agenda of items to be considered by the City of La Porte Wrecker Committee was posted on the City Hall bulletin board on the _____ day of _______________________, 2014. ____________________________ Title: ______________________ Out of consideration for all attendees of the meeting, please turn off all cell phones and pagers, or place on inaudible signal. Thank you for your consideration. /źƷǤ ƚŅ \[ğ tƚƩƷĻ ƩĻĭƉĻƩ /ƚƒƒźƷƷĻĻ aźƓǒƷĻƭ ƚŅ CĻĬƩǒğƩǤ ЊВͲ ЋЉЊЌ Committee Members Present: Planning Director Tim Tietjens (designated representative of the City Manager), Lt. Gary Rice (designated representative of the Police Chief), and City Secretary Patrice Fogarty Staff Members Present: Assistant City Attorney Clark Askins, Chief Building Official Debbie Wilmore, Assistant City Secretary Sharon Harris 1. Call to order. Meeting called to order by Chairman Tim Tietjens at 3:05 p.m. 2. Roll call of members. Committee Members Tim Tietjens, Patrice Fogarty, and Lt. Gary Rice were present for roll call. 3. Consider approval of July 10, 2012, meeting minutes. Motion by Lt. Gary Rice to approve the Minutes of July 10, 2012. Second by Patrice Fogarty. Motion carried unanimously. Chairman Tietjens recommended staff present a single staff report for the public hearings associated with Agenda Items 4 and 6, as the two matters are related. Motion by Patrice Fogarty to take the agenda out of order to conduct public hearings for both Items 4 and 6 simultaneously. Second by Chairman Tietjens. Motion carried unanimously. 4. Conduct public hearing to consider possible action to suspend, cancel, or revoke wrecker permits issued to La Porte Automotive, Inc. in accordance with the City of La Porte Code of Ordinances. A. Open public hearing Chairman Tietjens opened the public hearing at 3:08 p.m. B. Staff comments Lt. Gary Rice read a series of emails he received describing instances where La Porte Automotive would be dispatched for a tow and La Porte Towing would show up, and vice-versa. Lt. Rice also mentioned a problem with double billing by both companies for the same tow. The error was subsequently corrected. C. Public comments th Bobby Slocum, 202 N. 11 Street, stated he was unaware there was a problem, but once he became aware, he addressed the offense with his employee. Wrecker Committee Minutes of February 19, 2013 Page 2 of 3 Walt Jones, 1603 W. Main Street, stated he was aware there had been mix-ups on the scene with call-outs, but he was not aware of the issue at hand. Mr. Jones would like the problems resolved without any permits being suspended. Charlie Hinds, Charlie Hinds Paint & Body, addressed the Committee. Mr. Hinds was not aware of the meeting and suggested wrecker companies be emailed with meeting notifications. Mr. Hinds believes the two companies are working as one company. D. Close public hearing Chairman Tietjens closed the public hearing at 3:22 p.m. 5. Consider possible action to suspend, cancel, or revoke wrecker permits issued to La Porte Automotive, Inc. Chairman Tietjens cited Section 78-223 of the Code of Ordinances referring to the regulatory authority of the City. Motion by Patrice Fogarty to impose a 30-day removal from the wrecker rotation for any towing company that arrives on the scene having not been properly dispatched. The motion was amended after discussion by the Committee and input from Assistant City Attorney Clark Askins, as follows: Patrice Fogarty moved to amend the motion stating that in the event it becomes necessary to revisit the matter again, the Committee will consider a 60-day or greater suspension from the wrecker call-out rotation for any towing company that arrives on the scene having not been properly dispatched. Second by Lt. Gary Rice. Motion carried unanimously. No action was taken by the Committee to suspend, cancel, or revoke wrecker permits issued to La Porte Automotive, Inc. 6. Conduct public hearing to consider possible action to suspend, cancel, or revoke wrecker permits issued to La Porte Towing, Inc. in accordance with the City of La Porte Code of Ordinances. A. Open public hearing Chairman Tietjens opened the public hearing at 3:22 p.m. B. Staff comments Staff comments were provided under Agenda Item 4B. C. Public comments Although public comments are shown under Agenda Item 4C, the public was again given the opportunity to comment. Wrecker Committee Minutes of February 19, 2013 Page 3 of 3 th Bobby Slocum, 202 N. 11 Street, stated La Porte Towing is separate from La Porte Automotive; they are two completely different companies. Charlie Hinds, Charlie Hinds Paint & Body, suggested staff check with TDLR to confirm whether or not two licensed companies can utilize the same vehicle storage yard. Mr. Slocum confirmed he is the owner of the vehicle storage yard. La Porte Automotive has contracted with him to use the facility. Walt Jones, 1603 W. Main Street, believes the wrecker companies are all trying to do the right thing for the City/Police Department. D. Close public hearing Chairman Tietjens closed the public hearing at 3:30 p.m. 7. Consider possible action to suspend, cancel, or revoke wrecker permits issued to La Porte Towing, Inc. Motion by Patrice Fogarty stating that in the event it becomes necessary to revisit the matter again, the Committee will consider a 60-day or greater suspension from the wrecker call-out rotation for any towing company that arrives on the scene having not been properly dispatched. Second by Chairman Tietjens. Motion carried unanimously. No action was taken by the Committee to suspend, cancel, or revoke wrecker permits issued to La Porte Towing, Inc. 8. Administrative Reports There were no Administrative Reports. 9. Committee comments on matters appearing on agenda or inquiry of staff regarding specific factual information or existing policy. There were no Committee comments. 10. Adjourn. Chairman Tietjens adjourned the meeting at 3:56 p.m. Prepared by Peggy Lee, Office Coordinator Cl TY OF LA PORTE, TX * * CUSTOMER RECEI PT Batch I D: LAPOKCG 6/ 20/ 14 75 Recei pt no: 112690 Type SvcCd Descr i pt i on Amount G GNBA! M SC RECEI PTS Qty 1 . 00 $300. 00 I NDUSTRI AL TRANSPORTAI ON Trans number : 2789099 LI CENSES AND PERM T 00100004060900 VIRECKER PERM TS APPLI CATI ON I NDUSTRI AL TRANSPORTATI ON & TOWNG LLC Tender det ai I CK Ref #: 1824 $300. 00 Tot al tendered: $300. 00 Tot al payment : $300. 00 Trans date: 6/ 20/ 14 Ti rre: 1 5: 21 : 20 THANK YOU FOR YOUR PROMPT PAYMENT