A. Vessels may be impounded if:
1. The vessel is within the harbor including its dry storage areas, and is a derelict or a nuisance as defined in this title;
2. The fees for the vessel (on which the city has a lien) are sixty (60) days delinquent;
3. The vessel is located in the harbor including its dry storage areas, and is in violation of this title, or a state or federal law; or
4. The owner, operators, master or managing agent is not aboard the vessel and the vessel is not properly identified by a name and/or number.
B. Notice to owner:
1. Contents. Prior to impounding any vessel, the harbormaster shall prepare a written notice of intent to impound the vessel. This notice shall contain:
a. The name and/or official number or state registration number of the vessel;
b. The name and address, if known, of the owner, operator, master or managing agent, and the location of the vessel;
c. The basis or reason for impoundment; and
d. The reserved moorage space, if any, which will be forfeited if the vessel is impounded.
2. Distribution. The notice of intent to impound shall be at least twenty-one (21) days before impoundment. The notice shall be:
a. Mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known owner, master or managing agent of the vessel at his or her last known address; and
b. Posted on the vessel, in the harbormaster's office, and in the United States Post Office in King Cove.
C. Hearing.
1. Demand for hearing. The owner, master or managing agent or any other person in lawful possession of a vessel proposed for impoundment has the right to a pre-impoundment administrative hearing to determine whether there is cause to impound the vessel. Any such person desiring a hearing shall file a written demand with the city clerk within ten (10) days after the mailing and posting of the notice of intent to impound.
2. Hearing procedure. The hearing shall be conducted within seventy-two (72) hours of receipt of a written demand therefore from the person seeking the hearing unless such person waives the right to a speedy hearing. Saturdays, Sundays and city holidays are to be excluded from the calculation of the seventy-two (72) hour period. The hearing officer shall be designated by the city manager and shall be someone other than the harbormaster. The sole issue before the hearing officer shall be whether there is cause to impound the vessel in question. "Cause to Impound" shall mean such a state of facts as would lead a reasonable person exercising ordinary prudence to believe there are grounds for impounding the vessel. The hearing officer shall conduct the hearing in an informal manner and shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence. The person demanding the hearing shall have the burden of establishing that he or she has the right to possession of the vessel. The harbormaster shall have the burden of establishing that there is cause to impound the vessel. Failure of the owner, operator, master or managing agent to request or attend a scheduled impoundment hearing shall be deemed a waiver of the right to such a hearing and consent to the impoundment action.
D. Decision. At the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall prepare a written decision. The hearing officer shall only determine that as to the vessel in question, either that there is cause to impound the vessel or that there is no such cause. A copy of the decision shall be provided to the person demanding the hearing, and the owner of the vessel, if the owner is not the person requesting the hearing. The hearing officer's decision shall in no way affect any criminal proceeding in connection with the impoundment in question, and any criminal charges involved in such proceeding may only be challenged in the appropriate court. The decision of the hearing officer is final.
E. Impoundment. In the event the hearing officer determines there is cause to impound the vessel, the harbormaster may proceed immediately with the impoundment of the vessel. The harbormaster may impound the vessel by immobilizing it, removing it or having it removed from the water and placing it in public or commercial storage, with all expenses of haul out and storage and an impound fee to be borne by the owner of such vessel. At any time prior to the sale of the vessel, the owner, operator, master or managing agent, or person in lawful possession of the vessel may redeem the vessel by a cash payment of all fees against the vessel, including interest and costs.
F. Notice of sale.
1. Contents. Prior to the sale of any impounded vessel, the harbormaster shall prepare a written notice of sale of the vessel. The notice shall contain:
a. The name and/or official number or state registration number of the vessel;
b. The date, time and place of the sale; and
c. The fees, interest and costs due against the vessel and terms of sale, provided by KC (NEED CITY CODE REFERENCE) which shall govern the sale.
2. Distribution. The notice of sale shall be at least thirty (30) days before the sale, and shall be;
a. Mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known owner, master or managing agent of the
vessel at his or her last known address;
b. Posted on the vessel, in the harbormaster's office, and in the United State Post Office in King Cove; and
c. Published in a newspaper of general circulation in Anchorage at least once.
G. Sale.
1. Bids. The minimum acceptable bid shall be a sum equal to the fees against the vessel, including interest and costs to be paid in cash at the time of sale or within twenty-four (24) hours thereafter. The proceeds of such sale shall be first applied to the cost of the sale, then to interest, then to fees accrued and the balance, if any, shall be held in trust by the city for the owner of the vessel to claim. If such balance is not claimed within two (2) years, the balance shall be forfeited to the city. Upon sale being made, the city shall make and deliver its bill of sale without warranty, convoying the vessel to the buyer.
(Ord. 06-05, 2006)