City: Time running out for junk car owners

By BRADLEY ZINT
Mirror Writer

The complications of handling abandoned, junked or “attractive nuisance” vehicles in Kodiak was a major topic at Tuesday night’s Kodiak City Council work session. City Manager Linda Freed said the city is aggressively stepping up enforcement to remove them if they are on public property.

“People are getting letters telling them they are responsible for their vehicle. They need to move them,” Freed said. “If they do not, they are subject to criminal penalties as well as having to pay our costs, which are substantial for moving the vehicle.”

Abandoned and junk vehicles “are kind of a contentious issue,” said Kodiak Police Department Lt. Kyle Valerio. “There are a lot of aspects to it. There’s a lot of information out there and it (can be) confusing.”

The State of Alaska definition of junked vehicles, as described by a PowerPoint presentation given by Valerio at Tuesday’s meeting, states a junk vehicle is one currently not registered, is “stripped, wrecked or otherwise inoperable due to mechanical failure,” is not repaired because “repair costs would exceed the value of the vehicle,” or exhibits traits including broken glass or missing wheels, tires, panels or drive-train parts.

Authority to presume abandonment is based on local statutes, not statewide ones, Valerio said. According to Kodiak law, a vehicle is presumed abandoned if it is left unattended or parked within 10 feet of the traveled portion of the road in excess of 24 hours, or is left on public or private property for more than 24 hours without consent of the landowner or manager.

In addition, a vehicle can be considered an “attractive nuisance” by local authority.

When considering private property rights, Valerio said, and when owners keep inoperable vehicles for spare parts or intentions to fix them later, the situation becomes more ethically complex.

“How far do we want to go? It’s part of the problem we deal with. People are very touchy about their vehicles and their property — and rightfully so. At what point do we judge and determine that (they are) junks and not parts for a future project?”

Freed said the Kodiak Island Borough uses funds from registration fees to remove vehicles on request if the owner has the title and the vehicle can be towed.

The City Council suggested starting a public awareness advertising campaign to help ease the problem. Valerio said removing vehicles costs the city an average of $700 per vehicle, and sometimes even up to $1,000 for difficult cases.

In other City Council news, members agreed that the Internet was considered the best advertising option, as opposed to Alaska and major West Coast newspapers, for recruitment of a new city manager. Freed is retiring as of April 30, 2009.

Freed also announced private snowplowing contractors who plow from private properties onto already-plowed public sidewalks or streets will be given tickets. The improperly removed snow has covered hydrants and caused passersby to move dangerously onto the street. Citations could also be issued to property owners and not just plowers, Freed said.

At the close of the meeting, Councilman Tom Walters highlighted the problem of Kodiak’s still high gas prices in comparison to the rest of Alaska and the Lower 48.

“Many fishermen don’t go out to fish because they can’t afford to gas up their boats to go out to fish. And it has a very tough impact on our senior citizens, our folks that are on limited funds. When you’re talking about this kind of money for heating oil in the winter, a lot of our folks are talking about what kind of medicines they’re going to give up, what kind of food they’re going to give up.”

He urged the council to go on record and issue a proclamation to spread awareness or write letters to the governor and congressional representatives about the situation.

“I think it’s destroying our economy because (we’re) a dollar to a dollar and a half more than the average of the lower communities … You can get (fuel) cheaper at Dutch Harbor and Cold Bay all the way around to False Pass than you can get it here. There’s something wrong about that.”

Mirror writer Bradley Zint can be reached via e-mail at bzint@kodiakdailymirror.com.

NEWS SOURCE