[MissoulaGov] bike license clarification

[Patrick Klemz]

Did I just get sent to literature? What is this Planned Parenthood?

That's it, I'm keeping the baby.

On Dec 11, 2008, at 3:00 PM, Marilyn Marler wrote:


> Hi everyone,

>

> Just to clarify something.  There is already a city ordinance  law  

> that bikes should be licensed.  It is $10 for a single bike for 4  

> years.  It is $15 for all the bikes in your "family."  Even if that  

> is 5 bikes.  You get your license(s) from City Treasurer in City Hall.

> Why should you license your bike?  Try this link for just a few  

> good reasons:  http://cityofdavis.org/bicycles/licenses.cfm

>

> Thanks! Keep the comments coming. It's really helpful to hear  

> reasons why folks haven't licensed yet. Marilyn

>

>

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: Patrick Klemz

> To: Phil Smith ; missoulagov at cmslists.com

> Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 2:51 PM

> Subject: Re: [MissoulaGov] committee update 12-10-08

>

> I'm hearing everything but justification for why the city needs to  

> know what's in my garage. The fact that it's a law doesn't cut it-- 

> Missoula has a wealth of laws it (thankfully) can't enforce.

>

> Incidentally, I speak only for myself.

>

> On Dec 11, 2008, at 2:45 PM, Phil Smith wrote:

>

>> Just for information:  all bike licenses sold get entered into the  

>> computer; the records are kept indefinitely.  When the police  

>> recover a licensed bike, we make every effort to find the owner  

>> (although many owners have sold their bike to someone else and  

>> moved away).  The bike shops (like Open Road) have a card they  

>> have agreed to give to every bike purchaser.  The card says that

>> “…City Ordinance requires that all bikes ridden in the city be  

>> licensed.  If your bike is stolen and the police recover it, the  

>> license number enables City staff to return your bike.”  It then  

>> directs the purchaser  to go to City Hall to get a license.   When  

>> we set this up in the past year, shop owners told us it would be  

>> much easier to handle than a license form and a cash transaction.   

>> Frankly, we were getting VERY low compliance with the old system  

>> of shops selling licenses.  I don’t know how good a job shops are  

>> doing with this newer card system.

>>

>>

>> However, it does allow shops to provide information about bike  

>> licenses easily and in a non-pushy way to their customers, and  

>> puts the burden on the bike owner to actually get a license.

>>

>>

>> Phil Smith

>>

>> Missoula Bike Ped Program Manager

>>

>>

>> From: missoulagov-bounces at cmslists.com [mailto:missoulagov- 

>> bounces at cmslists.com] On Behalf Of Ethel MacDonald

>> Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 2:27 PM

>> To: Marilyn Marler

>> Cc: missoulagov at cmslists.com

>> Subject: Re: [MissoulaGov] committee update 12-10-08

>>

>>

>> Re bike licensing -- I'll respond to this list to encourage  

>> broader discussion.  I just left my licensed bike in France with  

>> friends to avoid the hassle and expense of shipping it next time I  

>> go, and bought a nice new one at Open Road.  I didn't even think  

>> to license it!  Why not?  Because in the past, bike shops sold  

>> licenses with the bike.  That is absolutely the best way to get  

>> people to license bikes as a matter of course.  And the reason for  

>> licensing?  So if the bike is "borrowed" and abandoned, the City  

>> Bike-Ped office can easily find the owner.  If that hasn't been  

>> happening -- i.e. if "found" bikes are not examined for a license,  

>> and the owners contacted, that would be an oversight in the Bike- 

>> Ped office.

>>

>>    The longevity of bike licenses has never been clear -- I've  

>> always assumed the bike license is "forever."  And the record of  

>> license numbers should be retained forever.

>>

>>      Because $20 seems a little steep -- i.e. unless there's  

>> enforcement, people would not pay it -- I would recommend $10 for  

>> 5 years and hope that people would renew,  but also hope that the  

>> Bike-Ped office would keep the old records anyway.  A simple  

>> postcard reminder like the dog license ones should work -- after  

>> all, we at least don't have to go through the hassle of getting a  

>> rabies shot for our bikes before licensing them.

>>

>>      I think licensing bikes is a good idea.  Ethel MacDonald

>>

>> On Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 7:48 AM, Marilyn Marler  

>> <marler at bigsky.net> wrote:

>>

>> Thanks Bob for the weekly updates.

>>

>>

>> A clarification on the Conservation Committee- we did not approve  

>> the new Parks fee schedule.  We just set a public hearing for  

>> January 12th.  So people can comment on it before we approve it.  

>> Also, I think it's worth mentioning that some folks from the swim  

>> team community were there and they spoke in favor of the new 50 m  

>> pool rental fees. It's nice that there has been some improvement  

>> in communication between Parks and the swimmers, and everyone  

>> seems happy.

>>

>>

>> Also, I'd like to hear from cyclists about their positions on the  

>> $10 for 4 years ($15/family) bike license. How do you think we (as  

>> the city) could encourage more cyclists to purchase bike licenses?  

>> What we came up with in committee as suggestions were:

>>

>> -Make available on the new city website

>>

>> -Give out freebies or Bike Benefits stickers with the license

>>

>> -Have the summer Bike Ambasssadors sell them occasionally

>>

>> -Better marketing of how the proceeds are spent (on programs that  

>> benefit cyclists)

>>

>> -Make the license more expensive (like $20) but have it be permanent

>>

>> -Work with local non-profits to spread the word to their  

>> memberships and audiences

>>

>>

>> Email me off list if you like, marler at bigsky.net, or send ideas to  

>> all of council at council at ci.missoula.mt.us  And if you don't  

>> already have a bike license, maybe you should go get one! Although  

>> it's a little inconvenient- you have to physically go to the  

>> Treasurer's Office on the 2nd floor of city hall.

>>

>>

>> Thanks again, Marilyn Marler

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> ----- Original Message -----

>>

>> From: Bob Jaffe

>>

>> To: missoulagov at cmslists.com

>>

>> Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 11:23 PM

>>

>> Subject: [MissoulaGov] committee update 12-10-08

>>

>>

>> Greetings,

>>

>> This morning I found out we have a cat ordinance.  We were  

>> amending it to limit the number of cats a person can own to 5. If  

>> you want more you are supposed to get a cat breeders license. We  

>> also considered revisions to the dog ordinance. The only one I  

>> really wanted to see more discussion on was the part about doggy  

>> day care facilities. In the past these types of businesses were  

>> not addressed by any of our ordinances. The zoning office had made  

>> the interpretation that they were the equivalent of vet clinics.  

>> The new ordinance defines doggy day care and exempts it from the  

>> nuisance barking rule. I'm not so sure I am in favor of this.  We  

>> have one down the street from us on second. It is in a D zone  

>> along the tracks but is very close to a number of homes and other  

>> businesses. I have received complaints about the barking but they  

>> have been exempt from the rule that says you can't let your dogs  

>> bark all day. That may be changing soon. The public hearing will  

>> be on 12/22.

>>

>>

>> In Conservation we covered a few items. We approved an agreement  

>> where the County pays us about $65,000 per year to maintain fort  

>> Missoula park. Once you subtract out all the fees we collect for  

>> use of the park it ends up costing the city about an additional  

>> $35,000 to run that park.

>>

>> We also approved an easement for Northwest Energy to put in a  

>> Cathodic Well along a pipe line in the north hills.  That is a  

>> deal to help the steel pipe from rusting by changing the way  

>> electrolysis would naturally work against the pipe.

>>

>> We also approved the new parks fee schedule. Everything is going  

>> up a few percent.

>>

>>

>> In PAZ we took up the Clark Fork Terrace number one subdivision.  

>> CFT #2 is the one where we are being sued for asking the developer  

>> to put in trails.  There were two issues that came up in the  

>> discussion. The trail easement and the SID waiver for off-site  

>> improvements. Parks would like to assure that we will secure a  

>> trail easement along the southern edge of the property that  

>> parallels the Milwaukee trail. If we can't get an easement on the  

>> actual old rail line we want to at least get something parallel to  

>> it. Considering the likelihood of  litigation I probably shouldn't  

>> say any more about the project outside of the public meeting.

>>

>> We were also planning to have an update on the zoning rewrite but  

>> our consultant got stuck somewhere do to the weather.

>>

>>

>> In A&F we made a modification to our agreement on the repayment of  

>> the brownfield revolving loan fund for the millsite project. The  

>> $1.25 million loan is supposed to be paid back from tax increment  

>> from the project over a number of years. During the interim period  

>> while the clean up is happening MRA has been paying interest only  

>> on the loan. There was a clause in the agreement that said that if  

>> the property isn't closed on by 1/1/09 then principal payments  

>> need to start. It was assumed that if the deal didn't go down by  

>> then that the options to purchase would expire and the deal would  

>> be dead. But as we have it we are still waiting for DEQ signoff on  

>> the clean up. The property can not be financed and purchased until  

>> this is done. The Millsite people have negotiated another  

>> extension on the option and DEQ approval is expected this winter.   

>> So we took out the 1/1/09 deadline from the agreement.

>>

>>

>> We also had an interesting discussion about our bike license  

>> ordinance. We did some housekeeping on the language and then  

>> discussed how we could make the bike license program effective.  

>> Phil Smith, our bike ped coordinator was extremely pessimistic  

>> about the possibility that licensing bikes would ever be embraced  

>> by the community and the whole thing was a big waste of time. It  

>> was tried 10 or 15 years ago and was a lot of work and never  

>> really took off.  I'm a little more hopeful that folks can get  

>> behind the idea of paying a small fee that would go towards  

>> supporting bicycle programs in the city. The current fee is $10  

>> for four years. $15 for families and $5 for children. Bikes with  

>> wheels under 24" do not need to be registered. I'm thinking the  

>> cycling community in Missoula has a high level of civic engagement  

>> and would eventually be supportive of this program. There could  

>> also be incentives thrown in to get it going. We will also want to  

>> work with the retailers to find a way to make the program work for  

>> them.

>>

>>

>> The other A&F item we discussed was the sewer rate increase. The  

>> general consensus was that we wanted to wait to approve any rate  

>> increase until the study on flow based billing was complete. I  

>> will be more comfortable voting for the rate increase if it is  

>> combined with the new billing based on usage. That way the low  

>> users of the system will       hopefully see a rate decrease. It  

>> is possible we will have the information needed some time this  

>> spring.

>>

>>

>> In Public Works we approved the request to make changes to our  

>> rules on deicer. We removed the restrictions on corrosiveness and  

>> we now allow solid products.  The argument was that our streets  

>> department will do everything possible to find the best solutions  

>> and we shouldn't tie his hands. Stacy and I voted for an amendment  

>> that would make the change sunset next fall but that failed.

>>

>>

>>

>> Thank you for your interest,

>>

>>

>> Bob Jaffe

>>

>> Missoula City Council, Ward 3

>>

>> bjaffe at ci.missoula.mt.us

>>

>> 406-728-1052

>>

>> _______________________________________________

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>>

>> _______________________________________________

>> Note: This list is NOT an official service of the City Of  

>> Missoula. But posts to this list may be entered into the public  

>> record.

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>>

>>

>>

>>

>> -- 

>> "Rocks in the water do not know the suffering of rocks in the sun."

>> Haitian proverb, www.GrassrootsOnline.org

>>

>> _______________________________________________

>> Note: This list is NOT an official service of the City Of  

>> Missoula. But posts to this list may be entered into the public  

>> record.

>> Subscribe or view archives at Missoulagov.org

>> List Serve hosting provided by www.CedarMountainSoftware.com.

>

> Patrick M. Klemz

> Missoula Independent

> w: 406.543.6609 x109

> c: 406.214.2425

> pklemz at missoulanews.com

>

>

>

>

>

> _______________________________________________

> Note: This list is NOT an official service of the City Of Missoula.  

> But posts to this list may be entered into the public record.

> Subscribe or view archives at Missoulagov.org

> List Serve hosting provided by www.CedarMountainSoftware.com.

> _______________________________________________

> Note: This list is NOT an official service of the City Of Missoula.  

> But posts to this list may be entered into the public record.

> Subscribe or view archives at Missoulagov.org

> List Serve hosting provided by www.CedarMountainSoftware.com.


Patrick M. Klemz
Missoula Independent
w: 406.543.6609 x109
c: 406.214.2425
pklemz at missoulanews.com



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