As the Madison Police Department’s bike recovery specialist, Garrett Ameigh is in charge of dealing with the hundreds of bikes that are abandoned, impounded, lost or recovered from thieves each year.
In 2016, the department took possession of some 600 bikes. Of those, 115 were returned to owners. Most of the rest were either sold through the Wisconsin Surplus Online Auction or sent to the county dump. Last year, 184 were auctioned and 290 were trashed.
These statistics always bugged Ameigh, who knows there are plenty of people who could use a decent set of wheels. He’s been suggesting the department donate the bikes to nonprofit groups, including one founded by his wife, Christine Ameigh. But there was just one problem — the city’s ordinances don’t allow the bikes to be donated.
“I literally toss hundreds of bikes into a recycling bin every year because we have no process for donation,” says Ameigh.
For decades, the police have been required to either sell or destroy the bikes, says Lorie Anderson, the MPD’s property room supervisor. Anderson notes that the city over the years has gotten numerous requests for bike donations.
But all of that could soon change. On Oct. 3, the Madison Common Council will vote on an ordinance change that would allow the department to donate bikes to organizations and communities in need; the department could proceed after reasonable attempts have been made to notify the owner of the bicycle, and 45 days have passed since the bicycle was abandoned.
Anderson says an intern in the city attorney’s office, Hannah Demsien, researched other agencies that have successful donation programs, like the city of Milwaukee. “We found some great forms and policies we were able to mimic.”
The police department plans to create an application process that can be accessed through its website.
“The proposal is just basic common sense,” says Ald. Mike Verveer, one of its sponsors. “I was surprised to learn the police were not able to have all of the bikes that fall into their hands be reused and that some end up being destroyed.”
If approved, it would go into effect in December.
That won’t immediately help the nonprofit run by Christine Ameigh, who also owns Slide Food Cart and Catering. Her nonprofit, Carts for Community, brings food carts into neighborhoods — including those around Darbo, Worthington, Meadowood Park, Allied Drive and Park Street — that have limited access to fresh, healthy food. The program also helps train at-risk youth with internships.
The neighborhoods targeted by Carts for Community have residents that could use free bikes. The eight-week program ends in September. But Christine Ameigh is hopeful that next summer it will be able to distribute donated bikes from the city.
“I feel like it’s such a waste to see something that someone can use for transportation going to the dump,” says Christine Ameigh. “Whether it’s in partnership with Carts for Community or any other neighborhood organization, I think it’s great if this going to happen.”
