HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/25/93CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
October 25, 1993
6:00 p.m.
Large Conference Room
Roll call: Mayor Manning, Angel, Buck, Lemke and Wright.
Members absent: Budak, Dell and Fox.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the proposed surveillance
camera ordinance for convenience stores modeled after the cities of
Marion and Elk Run Heights. Police Chief Koehrsen stated that the
ordinance will cover all businesses that sell consumer or petroleum
products and are routinely open for business 24 hours per day or any
portion of the time between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
Effective January 1, 1994 the ordinance requires that every convenience
store/business be equipped with a functioning color surveillance camera.
The installation of said camera shall be approved by the chief of police
or his designee and must be monitored once per month for effectiveness.
Said cameras will be subject to inspection by the chief of police and
upon request, the business must be able to furnish the department with
an inspection report by a qualified technician certifying that the
device has been inspected and is in working order. The ordinance also
allows the Chief of Police to exempt said businesses from the camera
requirement if there are substantially equal to or more effective
methods of meeting the intent of the ordinance.
After discussion, several proposed amendments were made to the ordinance
including extension of the hours from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. instead of
10:00 p.m. Of course, these additional hours will increase the number
of businesses covered by the ordinance. It was also suggested that
individuals that have installed cameras within the last few months be
exempted from the color camera provision. The wording in Section 332-4
Paragraph D should be amended to reflect that the camera should be color
and not the film. Councilperson Buck questioned whether the city would
incur any liability if the chief is required to certify that the cameras
are in working order. This paragraph will be amended.
Councilperson Lemke suggested that the ordinance be amended to require
that any obstructions be removed from the door and window areas and
allow clear vision of sight to the cash register area.
There was also some question as to an appeal process should a business
disagree with the chief's recommendation on camera installations. It
was also suggested that the ordinance be amended to allow a business to
be exempted from the ordinance if more than two people are on duty
during the hours covered by the ordinance. There was also some
discussion on how to specifically define the businesses that would be
covered by the ordinance keeping in mind the intent and not
inadvertently including businesses that the council does not wish to
regulate.
City Attorney Jim Walsh will prepare said amendment changes and
suggested that action on this evening's council agenda be delayed to
allow said rewrite.
With no further business before the committee, the meeting was adjourned
at 6:30 p.m.
Michelle Temeyer
Acting Clerk/Auditor