[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Bath 5-16-2023 by L.L. No. 2-2023. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The following terms, whenever used in this chapter, shall be
deemed to mean and include:
A natural person of either sex, corporations, partnerships,
associations, joint-stock companies, societies and all other entities
capable of being sued.
A street, avenue, road, alley, public passageway, land, highway,
concourse, driveway, culvert, crosswalk and sidewalk, pedestrian mall
and every class of road, square and municipal or private parking field
used by the general public.
Any cart, basket, container, or other device made of wire,
metal, plastic or other material, mounted on wheels, manually operated,
and identified as required herein, such as is generally provided by
merchants for the conveyance of merchandise, foodstuffs and other
property to automobiles and other places.
Every person who owns or makes available to the public, in connection
with the conduct of business and. trade, any shopping cart shall mark
it or cause the same to be marked and identified conspicuously with
the name of the owner. Such identification shall be in the form of
metal tags securely fastened to the cart or a cutting or stamping
on the frame of the cart or other means for permanently identifying
the owner of the cart.
It shall be unlawful for any person, his agent or employee to
take, remove or possess any shopping cart beyond the premises of the
identified owner of the shopping cart without the express permission
of the identified owner.
It shall be unlawful for any person, his agent or employee to
leave or to suffer or permit to be left unattended any shopping cart
either owned by the person or in such person's possession, custody
or control; at any public place within the Village; or upon the property
of another without the consent of the owner of the property
A.
The Superintendent
of the Street Department of the Village is hereby authorized to seize
and remove or cause to be removed any abandoned shopping cart within
the Village from any public place without notice; and/or any private
premises with the consent of the owner or occupant of the premises;
and shall take or cause the same to be taken to a facility within
the Village for redemption or disposition as hereinafter provided.
B.
The Superintendent
of the Street Department is authorized to call upon other Village
agencies or departments to assist in enforcement of this chapter.
It shall not be a defense to this chapter to plead that any Village
officer or employee who assisted in enforcement of this chapter did
so absent being called to do so by the Street Department. Action by
an employee or officer in returning such cart shall be conclusive
evidence that he or she had authority to do so.
A.
Notification. Whenever the Superintendent of the Street Department shall take possession of any shopping cart as herein specified and such shopping cart contains identification of ownership, a notice shall be sent by ordinary mail to the address of such person purported to be the owner of the cart as designated on the cart advising that such property is held by the Village and advising the amount necessary to redeem. If the shopping cart does not contain identification of ownership, as required herein, then the same shall be disposed of in the same manner as unclaimed property as set forth in § 50-8 of this chapter.
B.
Procedure;
costs; immunity of Village. Any shopping cart may be redeemed by the
owner thereof at any time prior to the sale, dismantling, destruction
or disposal thereof upon tendering the sum of $50 for each cart to
the Village. In addition, the person seeking to redeem shall be required
to pay the cost of advertising the sale thereof, if any. No property
shall be delivered to a person. seeking to redeem the same unless
proof establishing, to the satisfaction of the Superintendent of the
Street Department or Village Clerk, such person's ownership is submitted.
Any delivery to a person apparently entitled thereto shall be a good
defense to the Village against any other person claiming to be entitled
thereto, but if the person to whom delivery is made is in fact not
entitled thereto, the person to whom the same ought to have been delivered
may recover the same, with interest and costs, from the person to
whom the same shall have been delivered.
When any shopping cart remains in the custody of the Village after the expiration of 10 calendar days immediately following the date of the mailing of notification pursuant to § 50-7A of this chapter and no person has redeemed the same, the Village may dispose of the shopping cart by:
A.
Delivering
the cart to a scrap iron dealer within the county offering the highest
scrap price at the time of disposal. Disposition of such property
pursuant to this section shall be without liability on the part of
the Village to the owner of such property or other person lawfully
entitled thereto or having an interest therein.
B.
All proceeds
received from the disposal of shopping carts pursuant to this section
shall be deposited to the Village's general fund.
