Council tackles errant shopping carts

Unfortunately, according to city officials, Lemoore “does not provide for efficient, streamlined, and clear procedures for addressing … the abandoned or lost shopping carts and their retrieval.”

Because the city does not have a citation process for abandoned shopping cards, “it becomes difficult to hold anyone accountable for the blight caused by abandoned or stolen shopping carts.”

City staff members are asking the city council, at its Tuesday meeting, to take a look at or establish more efficient, streamlined, and clearer procedures which would allow enforcement options, including police officers to take action against local establishments or those who take off with carts.

 City officials are suggesting that perhaps councilmembers may approve a new ordinance that beefs up the enforcement options for lost or stolen carts, which may include having local stores post signs forbidding the unauthorized removal of shopping cards, and also equipping each cart with a permanently affixed sign that includes information pertaining to the ownership of the shopping cart as well as a phone number for retrieving the cart. It may also contain information for legally removing the cart from the premises.

Furthermore, city officials suggest that carts not having identification tags could be impounded, and a fine collected for its retrieval. If it does have a sign, city officials will attempt to contact the owner of the cart.

If a cart isn’t picked up within 24 hours, the city could impose a $50 fine.

In other news, the city, responding to high summer temperatures and California Emergency Management Agency information that states that over the last 16 years, high temperatures have taken more lives in this state that all other declared disasters combined, reiterated that it does in fact have cooling centers available.

State officials say heat waves don’t always strike victims immediately, but could slowly take their toll on vulnerable populations.

With that in mind, the City of Lemoore has reiterated that the Kings County Library is the official cooling center for the City of Lemoore. The city is also mandating that it would add the Cinnamon Municipal complex to the list of local cooling centers.

The two facilities would be open to the public during regular business hours.