HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-27-12 Regular Meeting and Public Hearing of the La Porte Wrecker CommitteCity of La Porte
Wrecker Committee
Minutes of March 27, 2012
Committee Members Present: Tim Tietjens, Planning Director (designated representative of the City
Manager); Patrice Fogarty, City Secretary; and Kyle Jones, (filling in for Lt.
Gary Rice, designated representative of the Police Chief)
Staff Members Present: Clark Askins, Assistant City Attorney; Debbie Wilmore, Chief Building
Official; and Shannon Green, Planning Assistant
1. Call to order.
Meeting called to order by Chairman Tim Tietjens at 3:04 p.m.
2. Roll call of members.
Tim Tietjens, Patrice Fogarty, and Kyle Jones (filling in for Lt. Gary Rice) were present for roll call.
3. Consider approval of February 07, 2012, meeting minutes.
Motion by Kyle Jones to approve the Minutes of February 07, 2012. Second by Patrice Fogarty.
Motion carried unanimously.
4. Conduct public hearing on possible action with respect to issued 2012 Wrecker License/Permit Numbers
41, 44, and 65 as well as three (3) Committee "Approved but Unfilled" wrecker license/permits for
Stringer Wrecker Service, LLC DBA McGinty Wrecker Service.
Debbie Wilmore presented the Board with a copy of a 03/22/12 letter and a 03/27/12 e-mail received
from Marla Stringer. The letter relinquished "existing" license/permits #41, 44 and 65; and the e-mail
relinquished the remaining (3) Committee "approved but currently unfilled" license/permit spots. Two
were previously known as license/permits #42 and 45; however, one spot had never been filled so
there is no number to reference.
5. Consider action to suspend, cancel or revoke issued 2012 Wrecker License/Permit Numbers 41, 44
and 65 as well as three (3) Committee "Approved but Unfilled" wrecker license/permits for Stringer
Wrecker Service, LLC DBA McGinty Wrecker Service.
The relinquishments noted in Item #4 eliminated the need for action by the Committee.
Wrecker Committee
Minutes of March 27, 2012
Page 2 of 3
6. Conduct public hearing to receive input on a request by Taylor Wrecker Service for issuance of four
(4) emergency auto wrecker permits, under section 78-297 of the La Porte Code of Ordinances.
A. Open public hearing
Chairman Tietjens opened the public hearing at 3:09 p.m.
B. Staff comments
Mrs. Wilmore advised the Committee that Taylor Towing does not have their own wrecker yard;
so, their application reflects utilizing Walt and Anita Jones' yard (A & W Jones Collision and
Vehicle Storage Facility) which was previously utilized by Stringer Wrecker Service, LLC DBA
McGinty Wrecker Service.
C. Public comments
Chairman Tim Tietjens reiterated the two concerns the Board needs to consider.
1. Taylor Towing's request to add four (4) trucks to the rotation list and their response time.
2. Whether Jones' "leased" yard can be considered in lieu of the "owned" yard required by
current regulations.
Clark Askins, stated per Section 78.297 of the Code of Ordinances, Taylor Towing must own a
yard to operate. Had McGinty Wrecker Service simply transferred their permits to Taylor
Towing rather than relinquishing them, the Committee could have considered the "leased" yard
should they feel Taylor Towing met all other conditions for a new permit.
Charlie Hinds, of Charlie Hinds Paint and Body, spoke against the request by Taylor Towing for
issuance of four (4) emergency auto wrecker permits.
Todd Johnston, of Apple Towing, spoke against the request by Taylor Towing for issuance of four
(4) emergency auto wrecker permits.
Walt Jones, of A&W Jones Collision/Storage, spoke in favor of the request by Taylor Towing. Mr.
Jones stated their yard was approved by the Committee for use by McGinty; so, the yard should
be considered acceptable for Taylor.
Anita Jones, of A&W Jones Collision/Storage, spoke in favor of the request by Taylor Towing.
Mrs. Jones stated they had originally made application for wrecker permits under their name,
but the City Attorney made them change the application to McGinty. Had that change not been
made, the yard wouldn't be under discussion at this time.
Wrecker Committee
Minutes of March 27, 2012
Page 3 of 3
Mrs. Wilmore advised the Committee that the application Mrs. Jones referred to related to
permits on the wreckers. Since the wreckers were owned by McGinty and McGinty would be
providing the service at accident scenes, the permits had to be issued to McGinty. The Jones'
leased yard was acceptable at that time (prior to a later ordinance change that required yard
ownership). The City Attorney and the Committee allowed the application to be amended
during the wrecker committee meeting and subsequently approved the permits for McGinty.
Mr. Askins confirmed facts outlined by Mrs. Wilmore.
Applicant Paul Taylor spoke in favor of the application.
Mr. Tietjens closed the public hearing at 3:25 p.m.
7. Consider action to grant or deny four (4) emergency auto wrecker permits to Taylor Towing under
Section 78-297 of the La Porte Code of Ordinances.
Mr. Askins stated that based on the current regulations, the Committee could only consider
approval of Taylor Towing's request if: (1) Taylor Towing owns a vehicle storage facility within the
City of LaPorte; or (2) McGinty had transferred their permits to Taylor Towing. Since neither
situation exists, existing regulations prohibit the Committee's approval of the requested permits.
Mr. Walt Jones told the Committee that had they known the application change would eliminate the
use of the yard by anyone other than McGinty, they never would have made the change. He feels
the Committee should "grandfather" the yard since they didn't understand the impact of the
change.
Mrs. Fogarty asked staff if Taylor Towing had previous permits with La Porte. Mrs. Wilmore advised
they worked with a previous car dealership but the permits had been in the dealership's name and
Taylor had provided the trucks and service and the cars were stored at the dealership.
Motion by Kyle Jones to deny four (4) emergency auto wrecker permits to Taylor Towing. Second by
Patrice Fogarty. Motion carried unanimously.
8. Administrative Reports
There were no administrative reports.
9. Adjourn
Chairman Tietjens adjourned the meeting at 3:45 p.m.
Prepared by Shannon Green, Planning Assistant