Parking violators have new options for old tickets
By Philip Joens Columbia Daily Tribune
The Columbia City Council voted to add three full-time positions to the city's law department, add other temporary positions and make other changes to parking regulations Monday night.
A ruling by the Missouri Supreme Court took effect May 1 which found that violators of ordinances must be granted court dates. Columbia Municipal Judge Cavanaugh Noce told the council the city's law department is preparing for a large influx of parking-ticket cases because of the new rule. All three parking-related ordinances drew close scrutiny from the council, but eventually passed 5-0.
Little will change for people who want to simply pay parking tickets, Noce said. He acknowledged the influx of parking cases will be hard for the city's law department to handle, but thought the result would be positive for residents who contest tickets.
"I think this actually gives a different mechanism other than a barnacle or tow," Noce told the council. "They can have their process and their day in court."
Last year the city issued 63,489 parking tickets, Noce told the council. A memo to the council stated the Columbia Municipal Court will add six parking arraignment dockets every Thursday. The memo estimated 80 to 90 percent of violators will still pay their parking tickets without going to court.
"Most people pay their tickets right away," said Municipal Court Administrator Dee Williams.
Residents who receive parking tickets previously could contest the ticket by issuing a written statement within 15 days of issuance. The city could also impound a vehicle if its owner has four or more unpaid parking tickets.
The city may tow a vehicle 24 hours after the city places an immobilization device on the windshield of a vehicle. Last night the council passed rules which extend the period for violators to pay their tickets to 72 hours after the immobilization device is placed on their windshield before the vehicle is towed.
Regulations passed last night will give parking violators a court date about 30 days from the date the citation is issued. Violators may still pay tickets or contest the tickets out of court, Williams said.
"The process is still the same," Williams said. "They still have the right to pay those tickets. The only thing different is now it has a court date."
Three additional full-time employees will be added to the law department to help the law department stay on top of the new influx of parking ticket-related matters. The council also authorized the city's law department to spend $31,993 on temporary employees and other administrative costs associated with carrying out the new municipal court duties.
Ward 5 Councilman Matt Pitzer said the ruling from the court amounted to an unfunded mandate from the Missouri Supreme Court.
Springfield, Kansas City, St. Louis and Joplin received exemptions from the Missouri General Assembly to handle parking tickets administratively. Interim City Manager John Glascock said Columbia should be exempted too, but that will need to be handled in the next legislative session.
"If St. Louis, Kansas City and those cities are allowed to it administratively, we should be allowed to it too," Glascock said. "Currently we're not, so we're going to continue down that road."
Creating a sports commission
The council also heard a proposal from Amy Schneider, Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau director, and CVB Sports Sales Manager Zach Franklin to create a local sports commission to attract amateur sporting events to the city.
Currently Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield and Joplin have sports commissions in Missouri. From May 2017 to March 2018 Columbia saw a decrease in hotel occupancy of between 8 to 9 percent, according to a memo sent to the council. Last year Columbia hotels had an occupancy rate of 49 percent, according to the memo.
Franklin told the council amateur sports have an $11 billion market nationwide. Missouri State High School Activities Association events have economic impacts of $300,000 to $800,000 in indirect spending, Franklin told the council.
The city primarily competes with Springfield for these events, Schneider said. In the short-term, the city would incur $15,000 in marketing costs, according to the memo.
"I think it will make it a more streamlined process to bring those events in," Schneider told the council.
In other business, the council also approved a measure which maintains limited Saturday bus service through the end of the year. Previously Go COMO announced plans to eliminate Saturday bus service beginning June 3. Under the plan approved by the council, drivers will drive three fixed routes on Saturdays through the end of the year.
Four para-transit drivers will also be on hand on Saturdays though the end of the year. Transit staff initially estimated the cost of Saturday operations at $50,000. By eliminating a Saturday maintenance assistant, staff decreased the cost to maintain Saturday service through the year to $33,569, according to a memo sent to the council.
An ordinance establishing zoning guidelines for medical marijuana facilities was also introduced. The council is scheduled to vote on the ordinance at its June 3 meeting.
pjoens@columbiatribune.com