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Council hears update on e-bike seizures and battery storage concerns; staff to draft disposal/storage rules
Summary
Police reported dozens of electric bikes and scooters seized under a recent ordinance; officials and councilors asked the town to approve a process for safe battery removal and disposal.
Police told the council they have seized dozens of electric bikes and scooters since the town adopted an ordinance regulating e-bikes and scooters. Chief Scott McPhee said seizures totaled about 78 items since January of the previous year and that vehicles are held at Moran Towing pending a town decision on how to handle lithium-ion batteries and long-term storage.
“Now we have the teeth to, to clamp down on it,” Chief McPhee said, describing enforcement since the ordinance took effect. He urged the council to adopt a policy to allow Moran Towing or the town to remove batteries and store them safely, and stressed the fire and public-works implications of storing many lithium-ion batteries together. Council members and the fire chief had earlier flagged the public-safety and environmental risk of long-term outdoor battery storage.
Council members said they are working with the police committee and fire chief to draft an ordinance that would cover seizure, storage, hazardous-materials handling and disposal. Moran Towing told the council it has not charged storage fees while the town decides the disposition of confiscated items. Council members asked staff to bring model ordinances from other municipalities and to consult the fire department about containerization and twice-yearly battery-disposal options.
No formal ordinance was passed at the meeting; council members said they hope to present a draft ordinance at a near-term meeting and to coordinate disposal logistics with DPW and the borough’s hazardous-waste contractor.
