3. Disposal of Found and Unclaimed PropertyCity of Kalispell Public Works Department
Post Office Box 1997, Kalispell, Montana 59903-1997 - Telephone (406)758-7720, Fax (406)758-7831
REPORT TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: James C. Hansz, P.E., Director of Public Works / City Engineer
SUBJECT: Unclaimed Property Storage and Disposal
MEETING DATE: 13 October 2003 Work Session
A variety of unclaimed property is stored for the Police Department in an old building at the City
shop. The volume of this property has been increasing over the past few years so that storage is becoming
increasingly more difficult. Items must be securely kept for a minimum of six months to allow rightful
owners the opportunity to re-claim their property. Unclaimed items accumulate and are periodically sold
at auction. While the increased volume of stored items is becoming a problem, bicycles are a particular
problem to store because they require so much space. Further, the space required for bicycles reduces the
available space for storing other items and makes the tasks of sorting and cataloging, loading and
transporting far more difficult. Simply walking through the storage building has often been difficult
because of the large number of items in storage. Transporting all this property, particularly bicycles, to
the auction house is also a time-consuming task.
A typical auction effort involves two to three days with one person from KPD and at least two
from PWD to sort, load, and transport materials the whole time. The last sale of derelict bicycles
generated $612 for 40 bikes. The total revenue generated last time from the sale of all the unclaimed
items stored for KPD, including bicycles, was $2,786, less $521 in auction fees, for a net of $2,265.
Clearly, bicycles are some of the least "profitable" items in the auction, often returning only $5 for a bike.
Many are sold for more, some for less (some for as little as $ l .50) but the average is about $15 per bike.
Storage difficulties and disposal costs for bicycles could be reduced with an alternate solution to an
auction. Barbara Sullivan and Leonard Hogan have suggested an alternative that appears to be desirable.
In lieu of storing bikes for long periods and then auctioning for very little, Barb and Leonard have
suggested the City donate excess bikes to local service clubs where they can be renovated and distributed
to the children of low-income families.
We believe this suggestion deserves City Council consideration.
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH A PROCEDURE FOR THE DISPOSITION OF FOUND
AND UNCLAIMED PERSONAL PROPERTY HELD BY THE CITY OF KALISPELL.
WHEREAS, the City of Kalispell holds and stores various kinds of found and unclaimed personal
property within its storage facilities maintained by the Public Works Department;
and
WHEREAS, the accumulated found and unclaimed personal property is generally of the nature of
bicycles and skateboards; and
WHEREAS, it is the desire of the City of Kalispell to dispose of the accumulated found and
unclaimed personal property with a procedure that is consistent with laws of the
state, that makes an earnest attempt to find the legitimate owners of the property, that
reimburses the City for its costs in holding, advertising and disposing of the property
and that benefits non-profit charitable organizations within the community.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
KALISPELL AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION I. The City of Kalispell shall dispose of its inventory of found and unclaimed
personal property not subject to the terms of MCA 45-5-305 no less
frequently than annually using the following procedure:
1. A descriptive list of the property for disposition shall be compiled and
published in the Daily Inter Lake with a notice describing how such
property may be claimed by its legitimate owner and indicating that such
property will be disposed of by the City fourteen days after publication.
2. The city shall solicit interest from the various charitable organizations
within the community to determine which organizations may desire
receiving the property for price of the costs paid by the city in storing and
advertising the property.
3. If more than one charitable organization expresses interest in purchasing
such property, the city shall provide such opportunity to each
organization on a rotating basis.
PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL AND SIGNED BY THE MAYOR OF
THE CITY OF KALISPELL, THIS DAY OF , 20
Pamela B. Kennedy
Mayor