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3.10. SR 04-21-2008 REQUEST FOR ACTION To Ci Council Agenda Section Consent Item Description Request for Approval of Towing Agreements Meeting Date A ril21, 2008 Administrator Action Requested I am requesting that the Council review and approve the two attached towing agreements between the City and Collins Brothers Towing and Morrell Towing for provision of towing services for the Elk River Police Department. A signature is needed from the Mayor and City Clerk if these agreements are approved. BackKround/Discussion The police department has utilized two local towing services for police tows and impounds for years. This process has worked well, even though there has been no formal agreements between the City and the tow providers. The two companies have worked well with the police department to provide quality services which meet the needs of the department and those we serve. Recendya third company asked to be included in the tow calls. This new company is a start-up business, with one truck and two drivers. I had some concerns as to if this company could provide the level of towing services needed here in Elk River. In researching the service provisions further, it really hit home that without any type of written agreement between ourselves and our tow providers, we really have no written or documented business standards or expectations from our towing companies. More important, there is no current written agreement which would help indemnify the City should anyone place a claim against us relative to a police tow. I researched this issue by contacting a number of municipalities, and found that all of them utilized towing agreements. These cities included Ramsey, Anoka, Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, and also Anoka County and the Metro Division of the Minnesota State Patrol. Utilizing the agreements drafted by these cities, and based on guidelines proposed by the United States Towing Association, I drafted a proposed agreement for the current towing arrangement, and sent it to City Attorney Peter Beck for review. Mr. Beck made some changes that helped further with our indemnification, and gave his approval to moving forward with written agreements. In speaking with Mr. Beck about using more than two companies to provide our service, he stated that we are not paying for the services ourselves, and as such there is no obligation to use anyone other than those we are confident provide us the level of service we desire. C: \Documents and Settings \jjohnson \Local Settings \ Temporary Internet Files \ OLK49\Action Requested-approval of towing agreements Zoo8.doc The current rotational towing process using Collins Brothers and Morrell Towing Companies works very well for us. I do not recommend adding any additional companies to our pending agreement for several reasons. First, the level of towing services we require are very adequately handled by two companies. At this time there is no need to add a third company. Both companies are locally established and owned, and they are more than able to handle our current and future tow calls. Financial Impact There is no financial impact to the City. We do however have the chance to limit what the tow companies charge for tows that are police initiated. A fee structure was agreed upon that is fair to the towing companies while in turn, protects those who are arrested or involved in an accident from paying excessive tow fees. Attachments · Collins Brothers Towing 2008-2010 towing agreement · Morrell Towing 2008-2010 towing agreement Action Motion by _ Second by _ Vote Follow Up c: \Documents and Settings \jjohnson \Local Settings \ Temporary Internet Files \ OLK49\Action Requested-approval of towing agreements 2ooRdoc City of Elk River Towing Agreement THIS AGREEMENT made the 1st day of May, 2008, by and between the CITY OF ELK RIVER, a municipal corporation, hereinafter referred to as "City", and Trent Morrell d/b/a Morrell Towing, hereinafter referred to as Morrell Towing. WHEREAS, the City has the need, from time to time, to contract with private towing companies for the towing and/or storage of police impounded vehicles, vehicles required to be towed from accident scenes, and stalled or broken down vehicles; and WHEREAS, it is City's intent to contract with several private towing companies to provide towing services, and to contact those companies for towing services on a rotational basis; and WHEREAS, Morrell Towing desires to be among the private companies providing towing services to the City on a rotational basis; and WHEREAS, City desires to include Morrell Towing on its call list for towing services, pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. NOW, THEREFORE, IN CONSIDERATION OF THE MUTUAL COVENANTS AND PROMISES CONTAINED HEREIN, IT IS HEREBY AGREED BY AND BETWEEN THE PARTIES AS FOLLOWS: I) The City shall include Morrell Towing on its call list to provide towing services. Towing services shall be provided only at the request of the Elk River Police Department. Contact with Morrell Towing will either be made by the Police Department itself, or through Sherburne County Dispatch. 2) Morrell Towing shall provide non-exclusive towing services within the City of Elk River. Morrell Towing shall tow, remove and store vehicles at the request of the Elk River Police Department. Morrell Towing shall respond to all calls for tow or tow service within twenty (20) minutes of being called by either dispatch or the Police Department. If Morrell Towing cannot respond within 20 minutes, it shall immediately so advise the Police Department so that a different towing company can be dispatched. Failure of Morrell Towing to respond within 20 minutes of a request for a tow will authorize the Police Department to dispatch a different towing company, in which case Morrell Towing will not be entitled to any compensation for that call. 3) Nothing in this agreement precludes a vehicle owner from requesting a private tow, or Motor Club tow, unless the ordering and response time for the private tow would create excessive delays. 4) Morrell Towing shall provide at least fifteen (15) parking stalls within the City for storage of towed vehicles. These stalls shall be within an area secured by a lockable fence and, together with one indoor secure stall, shall behfor the exclusive use for calls by the Elk River Police Department. The storage facility must comply with all local, state and federal laws and local zoning codes, and shall be screened from public view if required by the Elk River City Code. 5) Morrell Towing shall provide the following services at the following rates: Type of Vehicle Towing Daily Storage $75.00 $25.00 $90.00 $25.00 $90.00 $25.00 $90.00 $25.00 Light trucks and cars Snowmobiles & ATV's Motorcycles Use of Flatbed (Owner requested or situation requirement) Winching $65.00 and up . *Mileage for all tows - $4.00 per mile first twenty five miles. (Charged by actual mile) *Clean-up beyond standard simple sweeping $30 and up. There shall be no charge for simple sweeping up at the scene of a tow. The above rates shall be charged regardless of the day of the week or the time of day that the services are requested by the Elk River Police Department. Any changes to the above fee schedule must be first approved by the Elk River Police Department. 6) Storage fees will begin to accrue after the vehicle is placed in the Morrell Towing storage lot. No storage fees will be applied to vehicles taken directly to the impound lot at the Elk River Police Department. 7) Morrell Towing agrees to be available Monday-Friday during regular business hours (8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.) and by appointment on Saturdays and Sundays to release any impounded vehicle. No vehicle shall be released unless the City has issued a vehicle release form and all fees required for release of the vehicle have been paid. Unclaimed vehicles will be disposed of through lien sales, scrapped or sold publicly by statute, in accordance with the pertaining laws. 8) Morrell Towing shall notify the City in writing of any vehicle released, and of any vehicle disposed of as described in (7). 9) Charges for services provided pursuant to this Agreement shall be the responsibility of the owners or responsible parties of the towed vehicles. Morrell Towing shall be authorized to collect all fees from the owners or responsible parties of the towed vehicles. The City shall not be responsible for the payment of any fees to Morrell Towing, except for vehicles impounded at the Police Department pending forfeiture. Morrell Towing will not attempt to collect fees from the City or hold the City accountable for unpaid fees. 10) Morrell Towing shall immediately release to the owner of a vehicle, upon request, all personal property listed below which was left in that impounded vehicle: a. Personal documents (Driver's license, insurance card, birth certificate) b. Occupational tools needed for employment. c. Medical equipment. d. Prescription drugs. e. Infant or child car seats. II) Morrell Towing shall conduct all transactions with the City and the public in a safe, polite, and professional manner. 12) Morrell Towing shall maintain all of its towing vehicles in good operating order and shall be responsible for having its vehicles operated in a manner that is safe and lawful. All tow trucks shall have sufficient quality equipment to perform their jobs including: road debris clearance, safety chains, straps, two lights, two way communication equipment, proper lettering, safety vests, permits and appropriate licensing. 13) Morrell Towing shall be able to respond to a minimum of two (2) simultaneous tows at any given time. 14) Morrell Towing shall maintain at least one (1) wrecker capable and licensed to tow vehicles of gross vehicle weight of up to 32,999 pounds. (Medium Duty Tow Truck) 15) Morrell Towing shall maintain a general liability policy with minimum $1,000,000 coverage per incident In addition, Morrell Towing shall maintain a Garage Keeper's Liability insurance policy covering its motor vehicles, stored motor vehicles, and storage operations in a minimum amount of $500,000 At the request of the City, Morrell Towing shall furnish to the City or its representative a Certificate of Insurance showing that said insurance is in full force and effect during the period of this agreement. Morrell Towing further agrees to hold the City hannless from any and all claims brought by third parties against the City arising out of any conduct or activity of Morrell Towing, or any claim arising out of this agreement. The City shall also be listed on the insurer's list of certificate holders for notification purposes with a 10-day notice of cancellation or change of coverage. 16) Tow requests that are cancelled by an officer prior to arrival of the tow truck at the scene will not be charged. The tow cannot be cancelled once the tow truck is attached to the vehicle, at that point the minimum tow fee does apply. F or tow trucks cancelled prior to arrival, that company shall be placed back on top of the rotation, for purposes of rotation the tow does not count. 17) Morrell Towing shall provide Worker's Compensation insurance in conformance with the provisions of the Minnesota Worker's Compensation Act and provide the City with proof thereof. Nothing in this agreement shall be construed to create an employee/employer relationship between the parties. 18) This Agreement shall be in effect from May I, 2008, until May 1, 20 I 0, and shall automatically renew for successive two-year terms unless terminated by either party. 19) This Agreement may be terminated by either party, with or without cause, upon thirty (30) days written notice to the other party. 20) The City will review this Agreement prior to the expiration of each item, and has the right to submit to Morrell Towing, in writing, proposed amendments to this Agreement. The proposed amendments will take effect at the commencement of the next one-year term, unless Morrell Towing submits written objections to the amendments. 21) Although it is the City's intent to rotate tow calls among several private towing companies, as set forth in the recitals above, Morrell Towing shall have no claim against the City for damages for any claimed failure to follow this practice. Morrell Towing's sole remedy shall be the termination of this Agreement on 30 days' written notice. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this agreement as of the date and year first above written. Morrell Towing City of Elk River By Trent Morrell d/b/a Morrell Towing By Stephanie Klinzing, Mayor By Tina Allard, City Clerk GP:2348137 v2 City of Elk River Towing Agreement THIS AGREEMENT made the 1st day of May, 2008, by and between the CITY OF ELK RIVER, a municipal corporation, hereinafter referred to as "City", and Phillip Collins d/b/a Collins Brothers Towing, hereinafter referred to as Collins Towing. WHEREAS, the City has the need, from time to time, to contract with private towing companies for the towing and/or storage of police impounded vehicles, vehicles required to be towed from accident scenes, and stalled or broken down vehicles; and WHEREAS, it is City's intent to contract with several private towing companies to provide towing services, and to contact those companies for towing services on a rotational basis; and WHEREAS, Collins Towing desires to be among the private companies providing towing services to the City on a rotational basis; and WHEREAS, City desires to include Collins Towing on its call list for towing services, pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. NOW, THEREFORE, IN CONSIDERATION OF THE MUTUAL COVENANTS AND PROMISES CONTAINED HEREIN, IT IS HEREBY AGREED BY AND BETWEEN THE PARTIES AS FOLLOWS: I) The City shall include Collins Towing on its call list to provide towing services. Towing services shall be provided only at the request of the Elk River Police Department. Contact with Collins Towing will either be made by the Police Department itself, or through Sherburne County Dispatch. 2) Collins Towing shall provide non-exclusive towing services within the City of Elk River. Collins Towing shall tow, remove and store vehicles at the request of the Elk River Police Department. Collins Towing shall respond to all calls for tow or tow service within twenty (20) minutes of being called by either dispatch or the Police Department. If Collins Towing cannot respond within 20 minutes, it shall immediately so advise the Police Department so that a different towing company can be dispatched. Failure of Collins Towing to respond within 20 minutes of a request for a tow will authorize the Police Department to dispatch a different towing company, in which case Collins Towing will not be entitled to any compensation for that call. 3) Nothing in this agreement precludes a vehicle owner from requesting a private tow, or Motor Club tow, unless the ordering and response time for the private tow would create excessive delays. 4) Collins Towing shall provide at least fifteen (15) parking stalls within the City for storage of towed vehicles. These stalls shall be within an area secured by a lockable fence and, together with one indoor secure stall, shall be for the exclusive use for calls by the Elk River Police Department. The storage facility must comply with all local, state and federal laws and local zoning codes, and shall be screened from public view if required by the Elk River City Code. 5) Collins Towing shall provide the following services at the following rates: Type of Vehicle Towing Daily Storage $75.00 $25.00 $90.00 $25.00 $90.00 $25.00 $90.00 $25.00 Light trucks and cars Snowmobiles & A TV's Motorcycles Use of Flatbed (Owner requested or situation requirement) Winching $65.00 and up *Mileage for all tows - $4.00 per mile first twenty five miles. (Charged by actual mile) *Clean-up beyond standard simple sweeping $30 and up. There shall be no charge for simple sweeping up at the scene of a tow. The above rates shall be charged regardless of the day of the week or the time of day that the services are requested by the Elk River Police Department. Any changes to the above fee schedule must be first approved by the Elk River Police Department. 6) Storage fees will begin to accrue after the vehicle is placed in the Collins Towing storage lot. No storage fees will be applied to vehicles taken directly to the impound lot at the Elk River Police Department. 7) Collins Towing agrees to be available Monday-Friday during regular business hours (8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.) and by appointment on Saturdays and Sundays to release any impounded vehicle. No vehicle shall be released unless the City has issued a vehicle release form and all fees required for release of the vehicle have been paid. Unclaimed vehicles will be disposed of through lien sales, scrapped or sold publicly by statute, in accordance with the pertaining laws. 8) Collins Towing shall notify the City in writing of any vehicle released, and of any vehicle disposed of as described in (7). 9) Charges for services provided pursuant to this Agreement shall be the responsibility of the owners or responsible parties of the towed vehicles. Collins Towing shall be authorized to collect all fees from the owners or responsible parties of the towed vehicles. The City shall not be responsible for the payment of any fees to Collins Towing, except for vehicles impounded at the Police Department pending forfeiture. Collins Towing will not attempt to collect fees from the City or hold the City accountable for unpaid fees. 10) Collins Towing shall immediately release to the owner of a vehicle, upon request, all personal property listed below which was left in that impounded vehicle: a. Personal documents (Driver's license, insurance card, birth certificate) b. Occupational tools needed for employment. c. Medical equipment. d. Prescription drugs. e. Infant or child car seats. II) Collins Towing shall conduct all transactions with the City and the public in a safe, polite, and professional manner. 12) Collins Towing shall maintain all of its towing vehicles in good operating order and shall be responsible for having its vehicles operated in a manner that is safe and lawful. All tow trucks shall have sufficient quality equipment to perform their jobs including: road debris clearance, safety chains, straps, two lights, two way communication equipment, proper lettering, safety vests, permits and appropriate licensing. 13) Collins Towing shall be able to respond to a minimum of two (2) simultaneous tows at any given time. 14) Collins Towing shall maintain at least one (I) wrecker capable and licensed to tow vehicles of gross vehicle weight of up to 32,999 pounds. (Medium Duty Tow Truck) 15) Collins Towing shall maintain a general liability policy with minimum $1,000,000 coverage per incident In addition, Collins Towing shall maintain a Garage Keeper's Liability insurance policy covering its motor vehicles, stored motor vehicles, and storage operations in a minimum amount of $500,000 At the request of the City, Collins Towing shall furnish to the City or its representative a Certificate of Insurance showing that said insurance is in full force and effect during the period of this agreement. Collins Towing further agrees to hold the City harmless from any and all claims brought by third parties against the City arising out of any conduct or activity of Collins Towing, or any claim arising out of this agreement. The City shall also be listed on the insurer's list of certificate holders for notification purposes with a 10-day notice of cancellation or change of coverage. 16) Tow requests that are cancelled by an officer prior to arrival of the tow truck at the scene will not be charged. The tow cannot be cancelled once the tow truck is attached to the vehicle, at that point the minimum tow fee does apply. For tow trucks cancelled prior to arrival, that company shall be placed back on top of the rotation, for purposes of rotation the tow does not count. 17) Collins Towing shall provide Worker's Compensation insurance in conformance with the provisions of the Minnesota Worker's Compensation Act and provide the City with proof thereof. Nothing in this agreement shall be construed to create an employee/employer relationship between the parties. 18) This Agreement shall be in effect from May 1,2008, until May 1,2010, and shall automatically renew for successive two-year terms unless terminated by either party. 19) This Agreement may be terminated by either party, with or without cause, upon thirty (30) days written notice to the other party. 20) The City will review this Agreement prior to the expiration of each item, and has the right to submit to Collins Towing, in writing, proposed amendments to this Agreement. The proposed amendments will take effect at the commencement of the next one-year term, unless Collins Towing submits written objections to the amendments. 21) Although it is the City's intent to rotate tow calls among several private towing companies, as set forth in the recitals above, Collins Towing shall have no claim against the City for damages for any claimed failure to follow this practice. Collins Towing's sole remedy shall be the termination ofthis Agreement on 30 days' written notice. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this agreement as of the date and year first above written. Collins Towing City of Elk River By Phillip Collins d/b/a Collins Brothers Towing By Stephanie Klinzing, Mayor By Tina Allard, City Clerk GP:2348137 v2