Cheney City Council members had the rare occurrence during their March 14 meeting to hear an appeal for a claim for damages from a resident who alleges the city towed a trailer he owns too early.
Jake Vibbert said he received a letter from the city on Feb. 15, which was postmarked Feb. 14, that his trailer, parked on North Third Street in front of his house, had been marked on Feb. 10 and could potentially be towed if it was not moved. Cheney’s municipal codes prohibit vehicles from being parked on the street for longer than 72 hours without being moved.
Vibbert said he attempted to contact Police Chief John Hensley to discuss the matter and possibly receive an exemption since he used the trailer for work, and did move it as needed, but was told Hensley was out of the office until Tuesday, Feb. 21.
On Friday morning, Feb. 17, Vibbert said his wife called him at work and asked if he had moved the trailer because it was not in front of the house. When he said he had not, they figured the unit had been towed by the city.
Vibbert told the council that he had used the trailer on Feb. 14, the day the city’s letter indicated it’s tires had been marked, around 4 p.m. He produced documentation from a business that he said he had used the trailer to pick up and transport materials for work, along with photos of where it was located on the street.
He has filed a claim hoping to recoup the $876.87 it cost him to have the trailer towed, impounded and the infraction.
Cheney Police Capt. Rick Campbell explained to the city that Vibbert’s trailer had been marked on Feb. 10, a Friday, and a letter sent out as per policy explaining what had happened and advising him that he had 72 hours to move the trailer or it would be towed. He also told the council that he and Vibbert had been having off and on discussions regarding the trailer since August 2016.
Campbell said when he looked at the trailer on Feb. 17, the marked wheel had not been moved nor were there tracks through the snow berm around the trailer and deduced it had not been moved. Vibbert disputed this, saying it was possible to have the trailer moved without leaving tracks in the berm.
After questioning from several members, the City Council decided it needed clearer information regarding the order of events. A motion was made and approved to postpone a decision on Vibbert’s claim until the next council meeting while city staff prepared a timeline of events in the interim for review.
In the meeting’s only action item, the council unanimously approved renewal of a service agreement with TW Telecom for the city’s phone and bandwidth services. Light Department Director Steve Boorman said the original five-year contract was approved three years ago, but that TW Telecom was willing to drop the monthly rate from $1,509.16 to $1,205.80 if the city would agree to extend the contract another three years.
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
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