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��t. �/ta�� P�ax�i�� January 8,2007 Page 2 Discussion Initially we note that the City's Ordinance does not expressly authorize the donation of abandoned and unclailned property. City Ordinance Section 508.01 actually restricts the inethods of disposal of unclaimed property: "Disposal shall l�e by sale to the highest bidder at public auction or sale." (emphasis added.) Donation and other methods of disposal are not included. The City could revise its Ordinance to authorize additional methods of disposal beyond sale of unclaimed property. Minnesota Stat. � 471.195 grants cities the power to provide for. the custody and disposal of property that lawfully e€�in�s �Baio its possession through adoption of an ordinance. The statute specifically provides that a city rrt�y dispose of property by sale by auction, sale, or private sale through a nonprofit organization. Importantly, the statute does not ��a�da�� sale as the only method of disposal. Subdivision 2 of the statute expressly provides that the statute "does not ��r��t the power of any municipality under any other statutory or charter authority." This ��ans that Minn. Stat. � 471.195 does not prohibit the City fro�� utilizing alternative methods of dis�as�l,�as long as the City adopts an appropriate ordinance, and the method of disposal zne�ts other statutory requirements. An ordinance a��r�d��t authorizing donation of unclaiined bicycles inust also make provision for the rights of the original owner. Minn. Stat. � 471.195, as well as Ordinance 508.01, give an original owner six months after the sale of the unclaimed property to present the city with satisfactory proof of ownership of tihe property. If the original owner presents such proof, the city is obligated to turn over the net proceeds of the sale. This ineans that holding the property for sixty days, notice, and sale of the unclaimed property do not extinguish the rights of the original owner. Rather, six months i�us� elapse before the owner's rights are coin��et�Iy extinguished. �'� believe that this s��ne time period would apply to alternative methods of disposal including donation. Stated another way, bicycle owners should gct six months in which *�ti make a cla�n�. regardless of whether the bicycles were sold or donated. We ��ea��.z�ae�d that the City require notice of the donation in a similar �n��a�7�r as that required by City Ordinance and Minn. Stat. � 47�.�95 forpublic sales ofunclaimed property. In addition, to prevent a situation in which an individual provides satisfactory proof of ownership of a bicycle within six months of t�� donation, we suggest that the bicycles be held for six �-�o�1t�-as before the donation is effective and the bicycles are physically transferred. We drafted a proposed Ordinance ai��dri�e�t that incorporates our recoinmendations as . stated above: