(A) It shall be unlawful for any person to own, operate or maintain for public operation a mechanical amusement device without first having obtained a license therefor as hereinafter provided.
(B) The City Council may license the owners and operators of those machines and devices. Licenses shall be applied for at the office of the City Clerk and shall be issued only upon the following terms and conditions.
(1) Any person desiring to have and operate upon or within the premises of his or her business location mechanical amusement devices shall apply through the City Clerk, to the City Council for a license so to do. The City Clerk shall present each application to the City Council at its next meeting after receipt thereof. When any application has been approved by the City Council, the City Clerk shall upon payment of a license fee in an amount as the City Council may determine from time to time by resolution, issue a city license to the applicant therefor to have and operate on or within his or her place of business mechanical amusement devices.
(2) The license shall be issued annually as January 1 of each year. An application for the license shall be made annually on or before December 1 of each year preceding the year in which the license shall be effective for licenses for the devices during the full year or within three days prior to acquiring the devices if acquired subsequent to December 1 of the preceding year. License fees for devices licensed during a year shall not be prorated where applications request a license for less than a full year or upon applications requesting a license for a portion of a year and there shall be no refund on devices licensed and transferred, retired, placed in storage or withdrawn from operation for any reason whatsoever.
(3) Licenses shall not be transferable.
(4) No person shall permit the operation of the mechanical amusement devices for the purpose of gambling in any form.
(5) No person shall permit the operation of any mechanical amusement devices in a manner as to constitute a nuisance within the contemplation of the statutes of this state and the ordinances of this city, or in a manner as to annoy by excessively loud noises or otherwise any individual or the public at large.
(C) The City Council may, for cause, refuse to issue a license. In the event that action is taken for the revocation of any license, the licensee shall be notified at least seven days prior to the meeting of the City Council at which revocation will be considered and shall be given an opportunity to be heard at the meeting.
(D) MECHANICAL AMUSEMENT DEVICE as used in this section shall be construed to be, and shall include, so-called pin ball machines, mechanical games, record playing machines and all other devices which may be classified as mechanical amusement devices, whether they be operated by the insertion of a coin, slug, chip, token or other object or otherwise.
(1973 Code, § 15-13) (Ord. 338, passed 4-11-1977) Penalty, see § 10.99