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Home My WebLink About1461 ORDINANCE NO. 1461 AN ORDINANCE for licensing and regulating the operation of certain amuse- ment machines and other devices and games for use by the public; providing penalties for the violation thereof; and fixing the effective date of this ord- inance. THE CITY CONNISSION OF THE CITY OF BR~qERTON ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. DEFINITIONS. Words and phrases as used in this ordinance shall mean as follows: "Amusement Device" considered under the terms of this mean such amusement games as pin ball, automatic or otherwise, rotary type, claw machines or traveling cranes, in which the dominates over the element of chance and shall have been at tion for license therefor and operation or use thereof, classi on by the Tax Commission of the State of Washington, as Class amusement devices. "Operator" shall mean the person who leases or rents to, or places with others, any amusement device as defined herein, for use, play or operation, or who as the owner, proprietor, lessee, or owner of an interest in, one or more amusement devices, sets up the same for operation .in a place or establishment controlled by him. "Person" shall mean and include an individual, corporation, copartnership or association. "Location" shall mean and include any place, shop or building where any such amusement device shall be placed for operation and use by the public. "Gross operating income" means the gross amount paid in by every player during each calendar month, less the amount of gross pay-outs made to such players but without any deduction for amounts paid out to persons on whose premises the amusement device is located, or amounts paid out for any other purpose whatsoever. "Pay-out" as used herein means any cash payment automatically, returned to the player by the amusement device or any cash, merchandise, or thing o~ value won by or given to the player by or on behalf of the operator. "Player" as used herein means the person to whom a pay-out accrues. Section ~. AMUSE~ENT DEVICE LICENSE. It shall be unlawful for any person to display, e~hibit, or expose, or permit to be used, played or operated, or displayed, exhibited, or exposed for purpose of use, play or operation, by the general public, or for profit, any ~uusement device without having a valid ~ and subsisting license to be designated ~ as "Amusement Device License" and on which all license fees due have been paid, which license shall specifically describe the particular device licensed and shall be attached to and conspicu- ously displayed on ~he amusement device for which it is issue~, which license shall also contain the name of the "Operator" responsible for such amusement device, his address and the n~ber allotted to said device under said operator's license, as referred to in Section 4 of tht~ ordinance. No "Amusement Device License" shall~be issued unless an "Operator's License" as hereinafter defined ~shall have previously been issued to the person who will be responsible for Tsuch machine as the operator thereof. The City Clerk shall prescribe the form ~of license and each amusement device shall be licensed at the yearly rate of $~0.O0~per~device, which license shall expire on the ZOth day of J~mne of each ~ear, together with a further sum equal to the gross operating income, as i~efined herein, multiplied by the rate of ten (10%) per cent ~ .... ~ .-~-~~-~-~-=~-==~ shall be paid to the City Treasurer within ten (10) days from and after the end of the particular month for which the said amount becomes due. dt~splSection ~.~ LOCATION LICENSE. It shall be unlawful for any person to ay, exhibit, or expose, or permit to be used, played or operated, or displayed, exhibited, or exposed for purposes of use, play or operation, for profit, any amusement device without having a valid and subsisting license, to be designated as "Location License." Each place of buSiness, which shall have a Location License, is required to and shall at all times keep said Location License in a conspicuously posted place on· the premises covered by said license. The City Clerk shall prescribe the fo~n of the license, and said license shall be at the rate of Fifty ($~0.00) dollars per location per year, ~p_p~yable yearly in advance to the City Treasurer. Ordinance No. 1461 (cont) 1 It sHa~[li,O~ f~'Ul i~ an~ ~',.:~s.~n ~,a ,:l.:sp~a)~. exhiOit or expose or it to ~:~ ,~s fed, or °p;~.~;d' or dtsPiay;~, exhibited or exposed for purpose of use, plaY, or operation, any amusement device, as defined herein, in any place of business where minors are in the habit of congregating not accompanied by their parents or legal guardians; and no license shall be granted to any place of business coming within the foregoing classification; provided however, that whenever any applicant for a Location License is the holder of a iClass "A" license, as defined in Remington's Revised Statutes (Supp. 7306-23-~), or the holder of a Class '~B'~ license, as defined in Remington's Revised Statutes (Supp. 7306-23-N), or the holder of a Class 'D~ license, as defined in Remington's Revised Statutes (Supp. V308-23-P), the same being the laws of the State of Washington, such license shall be prima facie evidence that the premises for which a Location License is requested does not fall within the foregoing class- ification. Section 4. OPERATOR'S LICENSE. It shall be unlawful for any person to be ~ or become an operator of amusement devices as herein defined, without having a valid and subsisting license, to be known as "Operator's Amusement Device License." An Operator's License shall be granted to any person of good moral character and reputation.. After approval by the Mayor and City Commissioners, each Operator :~shall be issued an "Operator's License" by the City Clerk upon the payment of an Operator's License fee of $1500.00 Dollars payable yearly in advance to the City i~' ;~Treasurer. Such Operator's license shall permit the licensee thereof to lease, or place with others not exceeding thirty-five amusement devices and each .~ such amusement device operated thereunder shall be allotted a consecutive '.:(number beginning with number 1. "~'~: Section 5. APPLICATION AND GRANTING OF LICENSE. No license herein provided ~ shall be granted by the City Clerk without the approval of the City Commission. ~ii Every person applying for any license prescribed herein shall make written appli- cation to the City Commission on a form prepared and provided by the City Clerk and shall deposit with the 0ity Treasurer the license fee required and with the City Clerk the Treasurer's receipt for such deposit. On receipt of any such application, the Mayor shall forthwith cause the Chief of Police to make a ~ complete investigation of all matters relating to said application and to submit a report of such investigation to the City Commission. Such application may be approved or denied by the City Commission in accordance with the rules, regula- tions and qualif].cation set forth in this ordinance. If such application is approved, the approval shall be noted on said application and shall be the authority for the City Clerk to issue the license applied for. If any application shall be rejected, ~otice of such rejection shall be mailed by the City Clerk to the applicant at the address noted in said application, and the applicant shall be entitled to a refund of the license fee deposited with the City Treasurer, at the time of making said application. If any applicant shall feel aggrieved by such order or rejection, he shall, within ten (10) days from the date said notice of rejection was mailed, in writing request a hearing before the City Commission, at which hearing he may submit evidence tending to establish that the license applied for should be granted. Within ten days after the date of said hearing the Mayor shall notify the applicant in writing of the decision of the City Commission and if the application be again rejected, the grounds for such rejection. Any applicant may appeal from any order of the City Commission to the Superior Court of Kitsap County in the manner provided therefor under the general laws of the State of Washington. Section 6. TRANSFER OF LICENSE PROHIBITED: No license issued under the provisions of this ordinance shall be transferred without the written consent of the City Commission; provided however that with the consent of the Chief of Police, an operator by surrendering an "Amusement Device License" to the City Clerk may have a substitute license issued without charge for a different amuse- ment device. In this connection the Chief of Police shall satisfy himself that no unlicensed device shall at any time be operated in the City of Bremerton. Section 7. REFUNDING OF LICENSE. In the event that any license shall be surrendered or revoked for cause, as in this ordinance provided, no part of' said license fee shall be ref~mded. Ail annual licenses issued hereunder shall run from the date of issuance to the 30th day of June next succeeding. ~ Fees for such annual license shall be pro-rated by the City Clerk ~nd paid to the City Treasurer according to the number of months of the current fiscal year for which such license is granted and in pro-rating such fee a portion of the mont~ shall be considered as an entire month. Ordinance No. 1481 (cont) Section 8. PLAY BY MINORS PROHIBITED: It shall be unlawful for any person under the age Of twenty-one years to play or operate any amusement device herein licensed, unless accompanied by his parent or legal guardian; and it shall be unlawful for any operator or owner of any amusement device, or for any manager, or other person in charge of premises where such amusement device is kept, maintained, or operated, to permit or allow any person under the age of twenty- one years of age to play or operate any amusement device, unless accompanied by his parent or legal guardian. Section 9. REVOCATION OF LICENSE - Hearing by Board of City Commissioners. If the Chief of Police finds that any licensee has violated any of the provisions of this ordinance, he shall make a written report thereof to the Board of City Commissioners, specifying therein the particulars wherein the ordinance has been violated and shall make recommendations to the City Commissioners regard- ing the suspension or revocation of such license. If from the report of the Chief of Police it appears that a licensee has violated any of the provisions of this ordinance, the Mayor shall notify the licensee o~ the alleged violation and shall order the licensee to show cause on a day certain, which shall be not less t~an five days from the mailing of such order, why such license should not be suspended or revoked. If upon hearing before the City Commission a majority of the City Commission shall find the licensee is guilty of the alleged violation and that said license should be suspended or revoked, it shall be so ordered. An appeal from such order, suspension or revocation may be made to the Superior Court for Eitsap County, in the manner provided therefor under the general laws of the State of Washington. In case of the revocation of a license, the same shall be taken up by the Chief of Police and cancelled by the City Clerk, and in case of the susoension of the license, the same shall be surrendered to the City Clerk to be returned to the licensee on the expiration of the period of the suspension; provided, such revocation or suspension or failure to revoke or suspend for violation of the provisions of this ordinance shall not relieve the licensee from liability for punishment under the provisions of this ordinance. Section 10.~ SUM~,RY OF EICENSES PROVIDED FOR IN THIS 0RDI~IANCE. The licenses and license fees provided for in Sections 2, 3 and 4 of this ordinance, may be respectively summarized as follows: (a) Amusement device license, $$0.00 per anmnn payable yearly.in advance plus a monthly license% fee computed as follows: $12.50 per month, or 'ten per cent of the gross operating income, whichever is greater, to be paid on or before the 10th of the month following the month of operation. · (b) Location License, $50.00 per location per annum, payable yearly in advano e. (c) Operator's License, $1500.00 for each operator per anm~m, payable annually in advance, which permits an operator to operate not more than thirty- five amusement devices. Section ll. It shall be the duty of each operator and the owner or manager of each place of business having a location license to keep books and records fully disclosing the entire operation of all amusement devices, includ- ing gross operating income amd pay-outs, and to keep and preserve the same for a period of one year, which records shall be open to examination at any time by the Chief of Police or his duly authorized agent or by the City Commission. ~ Section 12. PENALTIES. Any person violating or fa~ any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be guilty o~ a upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine in any sum nc One Hundred (~100.00) Dollars, or impriso~ent in the city Jail fOr a period exceeding thirty (30) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Section 13. VALIDITY OF ORDINANCE. If any section, part of a section, cleanse or sentence of this ordinance, shall be held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. Section 14. EMERGENCY. An emergency exists in the City of Bremerton affect- ing the pwblic peace, health and safety, and this ordinance shall become effect- ive immediately following passage and publication. PASSED by the City Commission of the City of Bremerton, signed by the Mayor and attested by the City Clerk in authentication of such passage, on this 8th day of April, 194~. I ~a undersigned do ceHi~ th~ the nb~e ~- N~yor ~ th~ C,;'~ ef Drelta~to#, Wagon,ton ~