06-18-08 Health & Public Safety Committee

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HEALTH AND PUBLIC SAFETY JUNE 18, 2008 Committee Members Present: Councilmember Karen White, Chairperson, Councilmember Ann Puzzello, Vice-Chairperson, Donald Brubaker, Citizen Member, Other Councilmember Present: Councilmember Tom LaFountain, Others Present: Jamie Loo, Aaron Cassel, Ann-Carol Nash, Catherine Fanello, Mark Smith, Martha Lewis, Chuck Bulot, Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand, John Voorde DISCUSSION & REVIEW OF SCRAP YARD REGISTRATION FOCUSING ON IMPLEMENTAION & ENFORCEMENT Councilmember Karen White, Chairperson, Health & Public Safety Committee opened the hearing at 3:30 p.m., with an overview of what the committee was hoping to accomplish. She said today's review of the "Scrap Yard" ordinance was to evaluate the effectiveness of the ordinance. Namely was it meeting its mission i.e.) regulating "scrapping", has it been implemented, is the ordinance being enforced and are there measurable outcomes. This meeting is the second in a series of Health and Public Safety (H&PS) meetings focusing on "quality of life" issues in South Bend. After providing the background, Councilmember White asked Council Attorney Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand to give a national perspective to the problem of copper thefts. Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand noted that South Bend was cited by the U.S. Department of Energy for its scrap yard/metal ordinance which requires scrap yards to check and record identity of sellers of copper and to make a copy of their thumbprints (See hand out attached) Ms. Cekanski-Farrand also noted only 2 citations for scrap yards were issued in 2007 and none yet this year. Each citation carried a $2,500 fine. Councilmember Karen White said there was a clear need for the ordinance. Turning to Ann-Carol Nash from the City's Legal Department. Councilmember White asked what could be done to better implement enforcement of the ordinance. Ann-Carol felt the specific responsibilities of each department mentioned in the Ordinance could be better specified. The Board of Public Works, the Fire Prevention Bureau, the South Bend, Police Department, Code Enforcement, the Controller, the Department of Administration 8~ Finance and the Legal Department all had roles to play for effective implementation. Councilmember White asked if the process was working. Catherine Fanello agreed that roles and responsibilities should be more clearly defined. Councilmember White agrees, saying there should be better communication among departments. Aaron Cassel, South Bend Police Department, said perhaps one officer should be responsible for enforcement and follow-up as opposed to several as it is now. General agreement that the ordinance itself was good, but the enforcement process needed work. Chuck Steele of the Board of Public Works agreed. Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand asked Mr. Steele what happens when a scrap metal license is applied for, wondering, whether subsequent inspections prior to issuance were one in a timely manner. Steele indicated the log jam was most often with inspections done by the Fire Prevention Bureau. The South Bend Fire Department (SBFD) has four inspectors who made over 5200 inspections last year for the nearly 30 different types of licenses the city issues. Ann-Carol Nash suggested that perhaps the NCE auto service inspection process could be used as a model. In this process applicants for licenses were pre-qualified and the window for compliance was narrowed. From this suggestion came discussion that perhaps the application dates for different licenses could be staggered and missed. Compliance deadlines would require a re-application fee. Ms. Fanello suggested penalties could be added for non-compliance.