(a) The Village is hereby authorized to establish and create a secure parking and holding area for use as a secure Municipal Vehicle Impound Lot. The Mayor, Village Administrator and or other proper agent of the Village may take all appropriate and necessary action to effectuate the creation of said lot. The lot shall be used for the storage of all motor vehicles impounded by the Village.
(b) Members of the Police Department are hereby authorized, when reasonably necessary for the security of the vehicle or to prevent obstruction of traffic, to remove from the streets and impound any vehicle whose operator is arrested or any unattended vehicle which is parked so as to constitute a hazard to normal traffic, and any other vehicle subject to seizure or impoundment under federal, state, local law or a valid court order.
(c) Any impounded vehicle shall be stored until the owner, or other person entitled thereto, claims it, gives satisfactory evidence of ownership or right to possession and pays all applicable fees and costs and shows evidence of a valid court release if needed or until it is otherwise lawfully disposed of.
(d) The owner of a motor vehicle that is ordered into storage or that is removed under authority of law may reclaim it upon payment of any expenses or charges incurred in its removal, in an amount not to exceed ninety dollars ($90.00), and storage fees in an amount not to exceed twelve dollars ($12.00) per twenty-four hour period, except that the charge for towing shall not exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00), and storage fees shall not exceed twenty dollars ($20.00) per twenty-four hour period if the vehicle has a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating in excess of 10,000 pounds and is a truck, bus or a combination of a commercial tractor and trailer or semitrailer.
(e) Proof of ownership may be evidenced by certificate of title to the motor vehicle. If a motor vehicle that is ordered into storage remains unclaimed by the owner for thirty (30) days, the procedures established by Ohio R.C. 4513.60, 4513.61 and 4513.62 shall apply.
(f) The Chief of Police shall maintain a record of motor vehicles that have been ordered to be impounded or stored. The record shall include an entry for each such motor vehicle that identifies the license number, make, model and color, the location from which it was removed and the date and time of its removal. Any information in the record that pertains to a particular vehicle shall be provided to any person who, either in person or pursuant to a telephone call, identifies self as the owner of operator of the vehicle and requests information pertaining to its location. The Chief of Police shall maintain a ledger as to all payments made for the storage of impounded vehicles and any and all other associated administrative fees involved.
(Ord. 78-12. Passed 10-8-12.)