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Chelsea council hears ordinance recommendations from deputy

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Courtesy of Chelsea

Following a one-week delay due to winter weather, the Chelsea City Council held its second meeting of 2018 and approved several agenda items.

At the Jan. 23 meeting, however, work was not confined to the council meeting. During pre-council, Mayor Tony Picklesimer introduced Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Shane Plyler, who is one of the regular contract deputies for the city of Chelsea. Plyler then took time to discuss potential ordinances relating to abandoned cars and door-to-door sales that he said the city may want to consider.

As someone who patrols the streets regularly, Plyler said he noticed abandoned vehicles causing issues, especially on U.S. 280. While the city does not have an ordinance regarding abandoned cars, he said he thought creating one would be beneficial to the city.

Citing an example of a car left in the middle of U.S. 280 a few weeks back, he said these cars can backup traffic, cause congestion or otherwise lead to trouble. While Shelby County has a policy of putting a sticker on the cars, notifying the owner to retrieve it, and allowing seven days to comply, nearby cities have stricter timelines, he said.

Hoover, for example, limits car retrieval to 24 hours; Calera gives two or three days, he said. It is highly unlikely that cars left in public areas for more than a day will ever be picked up, Plyler added, so it’s better to clear them out sooner rather than later.

“It happens a lot more frequently than you think,” he said.

Picklesimer asked the council what they thought of a potential abandoned car ordinance, and all council members said they were in support of the idea. The topic led to further discussion of how long a car could be left — most council members said less than three days, with council member Tiffany Bittner recommending a 24-hour time frame — as well as the use of local wrecker services, rather than the county rotation.

“Why do we use the county rotation when we have Chelsea people in the wrecker business?” Picklesimer asked. He added that using a local wrecker service could not only help local businesses, but potentially speed up the process of towing cars. He also supported the idea of using local wrecker services for other towing purposes in the area.

Plyler also discussed a potential door-to-door sales ordinance. Once again referencing Hoover and Calera, Plyler said cities sometimes require a special business permit to go door to door.

At this time, he said, deputies cannot do much to enforce limitations on door-to-door sales if the individual has a business license through the city. More specific licenses, however, could include background checks or other “hoops” before allowing sales at front doors, Plyler said, and could also discourage people wanting to have door-to-door sales for the wrong reasons.

Council member Scott Weygand noted that some groups could be exempt in an ordinance, including religious organizations or groups such as the Girls Scouts.

Plyler said he would model ordinances off of what Hoover and Calera have established and present example ordinances to the council for consideration.

“I think it’s something we can get ahead of … before we’re playing catch-up,” he said.

Also at the meeting, the council:

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