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��. Matt Marshall 7a.��ary 8,2007 Page 2 Discussion Initially we note that the City's Ordinance does not expressly authorize the donation of abandoned and unclaimed property. City Ordinance Section 508.01 actually restricts the ��e�hQds of disposal of unclaimed property: "Disposal shall be by sale to the highest bidder at public auction or sale." (emphasis added.) Donation and other methods of disposal are not included. `T�� City could revise its Ordinance to authorize additional methods of disposal beyond sale of unclaimed property. Minnesota Stat. ,� �7 �.��5 grants cities the power to provide f�� the custody and disposal of property that lawfully comes into its possession through adoption of an ordinance. The statute specifically provides that a city ��zay dispose of �ro�ez�:y by sale by auction, sale, or private sale through a nonprofit organization. Importantly, the statute does not �x��ate sale as ��e only 1-�e�i�od of disposal. Subdivision 2 of the statute expressly provides that the statute "does not ��z�� the power of any municipality under any �t��-r statutory or charter authority." This means that Minn. Stat. � 471.195 does not prohibit the City �'�ot� utilizing alternative methods of disposal, as long as the City adopts an appropriate ordinance, and the i��et�od of disposal z��eets other statutory requirements. An ordinance amendment authorizing donation of unclaimed bicycles 1-�trst 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 the property. If the original owner presents such proof, the city is obligated to turn over the net proceeds of the sale. This means 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 inonths must elapse before the owner's rights are completely extinguished. W e believe that this same ii��e period would apply to alternative methods of disposal including donation. Stated another way, bicycle owners should get six months in which to make a claim regardless of whether the bicycles were sold or donated. W e recoinmend that the City require notice of the donation in a si�x��- manner as t1�at required by City Ordinance and Ninn. Stat. � 471.195 for public sales of unclaimed property. In addition, to prevent a situation in which an individual provides satisfactory proof of ownership of a bicycle within six ��,ot-�i�s of the donation, we suggest that the bicycles be held for six ��oiltl�s before the donation is effective and �h� bicycles are physically transferred. We drafted a proposed Ordinance aa�e��ez�t that incorporates our recommendations as � stated above: