By CECILIA FOX
Record Herald Writer
Courtesy of the Record Herald; Printed 7.22.12
TIPP CITY – City officials are considering new legislation that will deal with panhandlers and create a Do-Not-Solicit list.
Council discussed the possibility of enacting this type of legislation during a study session last month and gave Law Director David Caldwell the go-ahead to draft an ordinance. Caldwell presented council with the first draft of the ordinance on Monday, which is based on similar ordinances in Englewood and Dayton.
Though the word “panhandler” is not used, the proposed ordinance focuses on places where soliciting is prohibited, including any street, highway, median, or right-of-way. In this context, right-of-way means any roadway, shoulders, berm or ditch.
“It defines right-of-way in several different ways that would clearly take care of the place out by the highway. You can’t be in the roadway, you can’t be in the median, you can’t be in any of these places where vehicles are moving,” Caldwell said.
Soliciting, asking for money, contributions, employment, or business, will also be prohibited within 20 feet of any bank door or ATM, and at or in any sports facility, park, and hall or theater owned by the city. The ordinance will also create a Do-Not-Solicit list, which interested residents will able to register for in person at city offices, or online on the city’s website. Residents will be required to re-register every five years.
Any person intending to engage in soliciting in Tipp City will be required show a valid ID and obtain a copy of the list, which will be available in the city’s offices, the police department, and online.
“The Do-Not-Solicit list would be an effective tool to protect the citizens’ peace,” Caldwell said. “The Do-Not-Solicit List would not affect people who are canvassing.”
Canvassing, the distribution of ideas, pamphlets, and literature, or the collection of signatures for any cause, is not prohibited by the ordinance. Canvassing is defined in two ways: contact canvassing is in-person and face-to-face, while non-contact canvassing refers to leaving leaflets or pamphlets at residences. Canvassers also do not have to obtain a copy of the Do-Not-Solicit list.
“But if someone puts a “do not solicit” sign in the window, it could be argued that they don’t want anybody knocking on their door,” Caldwell said.
According to Caldwell, the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, local teams, school groups, and charitable organizations are also not prohibited from going door-to-door.
The penalty for violating this ordinance would be a fourth-degree misdemeanor. The maximum jail sentence for a fourth-degree misdemeanor is 30 days and the maximum fine is $250.
New officer Nicholas Zimmer was sworn in Monday night by Mayor Dee Gillis. Zimmer, a Piqua High School graduate, received his Peace Officer Certification in 2008 and served as a reserve deputy with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. According to Police Chief Tom Davidson, Zimmer distinguished himself throughout all the phases of the selection process.
Council decided to hire a new patrolman at a study session last month after Davidson explained that, due to recent retirements, the amount of overtime hours had increased 102 percent. Zimmer will fill the third of four vacant spots on the force.
In other action, Council approved a wage and rate increase.
The council adopted an ordinance increasing water rates from 2013 to 2016 in order to pay for the replacement of several older, undersized water lines alongside street resurfacing projects, despite “no” votes from council members Katie Black and Joe Gibson.
The rates will increase six percent in both 2013 and 2014, and seven percent in 2015 and 2016. The affected streets are, in 2013, Warner (from Garber to Tippecanoe), Bowman (from Main to Plum), and Walnut (from Hyatt to First). In 2014, Bellaire (from Westedge to Bellair) and in 2015, Elm (from Sixth to the railroad tracks). And in 2016: First (from Plum to Main) and Seventh (from Broadway to South).
Council also approved a resolution to amend the employment contract between the City Council and the City Manager, and provide the city manager with a three percent wage increase.
The increase went into effect June 16, and will bring the city manager’s bi-weekly amount to $3,881.12 (which equals approximately $100,900 a year).
Another passed ordinance designates 530 acres of city owned prairies as managed natural landscaped areas, which will exempt these areas from the city’s nuisance ordinances. Some of these prairies are within conservation areas and have been planted with native flora. This ordinance will exempt these prairies from the requirements to keep them cut.
Council also approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to enter into an agreement with the Miami County Commissioners to share in the cost of resurfacing Peters Road from State Route 571 to the I-75 bridge. Though the project was originally budgeted for 2015, the Miami County Engineer reprioritized the project for completion this year due to the poor condition of the road, City Manager Jon Crusey said.
Though the project has been moved up several years, there are sufficient funds in the budget to cover the City’s portion of the cost. A sum of $10,500 is available from the under-budget Franklin Street reconstruction project, as wells as $3,700 from the also under-budget alley seal coating project. Due to a mild winter, another $14,100 is available from unspent salt funds.
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