Council adopts shopping-cart regulations, delays fees 90 days to explore recovery program

The Moses Lake City Council adopted Ordinance 3072, which includes shopping-cart regulations as part of a package addressing slip, sit, lie, and camping rules. Council members debated whether to penalize businesses for stray shopping carts and how to encourage voluntary recovery programs. After debate, council members approved an amendment delaying imposition of fee penalties for 90 days to give staff time to explore a recovery program.

Why it matters: The ordinance creates a regulatory framework for shopping-cart control and establishes conditions under which businesses may be exempted from fees if they employ approved security or recovery measures. Council members discussed a model used by the City of Everett that routes voluntary contributions from retailers into a community fund and uses a recovery group to retrieve carts, thereby avoiding direct city fees on participating businesses.

Key points from the council discussion: Council member Deanna Martinez proposed exploring the Everett shopping-cart recovery program, which would use a community fund and a designated group to collect stray carts instead of imposing fees. Council member Lombardi reported retailers were not receptive in a prior survey to paying a small fee for cart recovery. Another council member noted that the ordinance already includes an exemption for businesses that implement "security measures deemed appropriate," and suggested that a contracted cart-retrieval company or a volunteer group could satisfy that requirement.

Amendment and vote: Council approved an amendment to delay the imposition of fee penalties for 90 days to allow time for outreach to retailers and to meet with the Everett program contact. The council then approved the ordinance as amended. The transcript records affirmative votes but does not provide a roll-call record for individual yes/no votes.

Community and operational details: Council members discussed potential local implementers, including volunteer groups, athletic teams, or a contracted retrieval company. The transcript references Jake Mason (Everett program contact) and mentions retailers such as Walgreens in the context of outreach. Several council members voiced concern about penalizing businesses before exploring voluntary recovery or community-funded alternatives.

What was not decided: The council did not create or fund a particular recovery program at the meeting. The 90-day fee delay is intended to permit staff outreach and further discussion; any program design, funding arrangement, or formal agreement with retailers or volunteer organizations will require later council review or staff action.