15.05.020 Procedure.
(a) Determination of Abandonment. At such time as it shall come to the notice of any person that personal property has been abandoned, he or she shall notify the Chief of Police for investigation of said property.
(b) Certificate. If, in his or her opinion, the property is abandoned, he or she shall then determine whether it is to the benefit of the City to stand the expense of publication and administration of the procedure herein. If so, he or she shall impound the property and execute the certificate below described in the name of the City, and the City shall be the moving party. If not, he or she shall give a copy of the following certificate to the first person interested who is willing to pay the estimated costs:
This is to certify that I,_____________, (giving title if any) acting for the Chief of Police of the City of Kenai in accordance with powers vested in me by the code of the City of Kenai, Alaska, Sections 15.05.010 through 15.05.070, and Alaska Statutes, Section 29.48.035(a)(2)(8), have found the following described property:_________________ abandoned and a fit subject for the procedure for recovery and disposal of abandoned property as specified in said sections of the Code of the City.
_____________________
Signature
(c) Publication. After execution of the above certificate, the moving party shall cause to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Kenai a notice:
(1) Briefly describing the property.
(2) Stating where found.
(3) Naming the person in whose possession it was last reputed to have been seen, if known.
(4) Naming the person in present possession of said property and where he or she can be found.
(5) Stating that the property can be recovered by the owner upon identification and by paying the costs of publication and other listed costs of the procedure incurred up to the time of recovery.
(d) Posting. Said notice shall also be posted on the City Council Bulletin Board for a period of at least one (1) week.
(e) New Ownership. After six (6) months have elapsed from date of first publication, the moving party shall present the facts of the case to the City Clerk, who shall endorse the certificate above stating that all requirements of the Code have been fulfilled and that _______________(giving name) is now the owner of said property. At the Clerk’s discretion, he or she may order an auction sale of the property with proceeds above costs advanced going to the City.
(KC 15-2)