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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/23/1998 URBAN AFFAIRS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, NNE 23,1998 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting of the Urban Affairs Committee was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chairman John McKay. Members Present: Shirley Doering, John McKay and Shazon Schwartz. Shelley Madore amved at 7:15 p:m. Members Absent: Robin Curran; Van Holston, and Pam Sohlberg. Staff Present: Police Chief Roger Willow, Police Captain Terry Cook, Assistant City Attorney Shazon Hills, Assistant Planner Kathy Bodmer. Guests Present: Bill Holland, Regional Manager, Half Price Books; Gail Myers, Manager, Half Price Books; Rusty Hurley, Grow Biz; Tom Johnson, Gray Plant 8[ Mooty; David Race, Disco Round. 2. APPROVAL OF JUNE 23,1998 AGENDA MOTION: Shazon Schwartz moved, seconded by Shirley Doering to approve the agenda. The motion carried unanimously. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JUNE 4,1998 MEETING. MOTION: Shazon Schwartz moved, seconded by John McKay to approve the minutes of the June 4, 1998 meeting. The Committee asked whether official minutes were taken since the meeting was canceled as a result of a lack of a quorum. Assistant Planner Kathy Bodmer stated that minutes were taken to reflect the members and guests that were present and the reason that the meeting was canceled, The motion carried. Doering abstained. 4. PAWNSHOPS AND PRECIOUS METAL DEALERS ORDINANCE -- INPUT FROM SECONDHAND DEALERS Chairman John McKay opened the public input portion of the meeting by stating that the. Urban Affairs Committee was reviewing a proposed change to the City's Code regazding Pawnshops and Precious Metal Dealers. He stated that the Committee was seeking input from Apple Valley businesses regarding the proposed ordinance. Rusty Hurley of Grow Biz, Inc., stated that Grow Biz is the pazent compa~ry of It's About Games in Apple Valley. He stated that he had several concerns regazding the proposed ordinance. • Ordinance places limits on secondhand goods dealers. Most items traded in or sold aze non-serialized items which are difficult to track and identify. • It's About Games has only a few items over $100.00. • The license fee and investigation fee is very high. • The store operates on a 35% mazgin. Urban Affairs Committee Minutes June 23, 1998 Page 2 • Ordinance requires businesses to take a picture or video of each person who sells items covered under the ordinance to the store. In the case of regulaz customers who aze known by the store to be law abiding citizens, the pictures and video aze intrusive and anecessary. He said they cutrea~tly require a drivers license on purchase transactions. • Ordinance requires that used products be labeled in a way that they can be tracked. The store doesn't have a labeling system at this time to meet this requirement. One would have to be created. • Ordinance requires that records of secondhand transactions be kept for 3 to 4 years. The store doesn't have the ability to store that much information. • The store would need to modify its computer system in order to support the proposed Automated Pawn System (APS). • Ordinance requires that the store hold used items that have been purchased by the store for 60 days before it can be sold. There is not enough room in the store to wazehouse these items for that length of time. Next, Gail Myers introduced herself as the manager of Half Price Books in Apple Valley. She stated that Half Price Books is a national chain and that they buy and sell almost everything that has data - in either paper or electronic form. She said that the store buys and sells products like books, compact discs, tapes; videos, and more. She stated that when a customer wants to sell over $20 in merchandise to the store, they must present a driver's license. In addition, Myers said that her store deals in merchandise that is not very expensive. For example, the store sells videos and compact discs for $7.98. In response to a question, Myers said that music comprises 15% of the business at Hall Price. Books, with used music being approximately hall of that. (7`/z%). Next, Tom Johnson, Attorney with. Gray Plant and Mooty; introduced himself to the Committee. He explained that he represents Grow Biz and had been involved in reviewing the Minneapolis Pawnbroker/Secondhand Dealer Ordinance. Johnson illustrated the issues of the secondhand industry by giving examples of soccer shoes. He stated that most customers at secondhand goods dealers are "soccer moms" whose kids outgrow their sporting equipment every yeaz. Secondhand stores provide an affordable product to meet this need. Johnson also illustrated the difficulty of tracking secondhand goods by saying that if his kids soccer shoes were stolen from his garage, he would have a difficult time remembering the brand, size, color and other characteristics needed to identify them. Once identified, it would also be difficult to prove. that the shoes were his. Johnson asked that the Committee consider whether the burden of the requirements of the ordinance are appropriate in light of the goals of the City. He stated that 85% of the customers aze an adult with a child. He asked whether a minimum amount had been considered. Next, Dave Race of Disco Round in Burnsville said that in some communities the police department will give the secondhand goods dealers a list of stolen CD's to watch for. If a customer brings in a stack of CD's that match those on the list, the store. will call the police. Race said that secondhand goods dealers want to work with police departments, but that the proposed ordinance is too burdensome. He acknowledged that while CD's are commonly stolen, that the Apple Valley Police Department could post a notice of stolen items on a web page on the intemet that stores wuld reference. John McKay thanked the speakers for their input and asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. 5. ADJOURNMENT Urban Affairs Committee Minutes June 23, 1998 Page 3 MOTION: Shirley Doering moved, seconded by Sharon Schwartz to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.