Police ask council to approve fence purchase to expand outdoor evidence storage and free indoor space

Police Chief Meister asked the council at the April 15 committee meeting to approve a fencing purchase to create an outdoor storage area for non-sensitive property and evidence, primarily bicycles, freeing the evidence-processing bay for vehicle evidence.

Meister said the department currently holds between 500 and 6,000 items of property or evidence on hand at any time and that Bay 1 in the Sixth Street garage — where vehicle processing and special lighting are located — had become crowded with bicycles, scooters and assorted stolen trailers. He said Bay 1 is about 30 feet long and currently has roughly 60 bicycles, leaving about 10 feet of clearance before the bay door.

Meister recommended awarding the bid to Goodman Fencing, the vendor that completed the city's recent impound lot project, with a quoted amount not to exceed $9,000 to allow for contingencies. The chief said he had reached out to a more local company with no positive response and cited Goodman Fencing's prior satisfactory work on a recent project.

Alderman Downs asked how many bicycles the department had; Meister said about 60 in Bay 1 alone and described storage racks that have been installed to better use vertical space. Alderman Anderson asked how long the department must keep bicycles before disposal; Meister said evidence tied to an adjudicated crime must be retained until appeals are exhausted; abandoned or unclaimed property follows different processes — about 30 days if an owner can be identified but longer if good-faith efforts to identify an owner are required.

The council agreed to place the fencing purchase (item number 14) on the regular agenda. Meister's memo and the vendor quote will be included in the regular agenda packet.

Ending: The proposed fencing is a logistical solution to free dedicated indoor evidence-processing capacity; formal contract approval was deferred to the regular council meeting.