Editor's note: The headline and lead paragraphs of this story have been revised to provide context to statements made during the meeting.

MOUNT VERNON – Issues with the city’s fleet of rentable scooters were discussed during a May 23 city council meeting.

Complaints ranged from problems with scooters operating where they shouldn’t work to issues with how the vendor’s app functions.

Eric Lyons, a new fleet manager for the vendor, Bird Scooters, addressed the council. He said 60 malfunctioning scooters had been returned as part of routine annual maintenance.

City Council members spoke about complaints that scooters were lying on their sides on city sidewalks blocking passage, especially for those in wheelchairs. Scooters also were spotted by Law Director Rob Broeren on a bike path, where their speed should be limited to the point they can’t be used.

Broeren said a geofence was supposed to be active around the bike path because electric scooters are not allowed on the bike path.

“I was almost run off the bike path last weekend by two scooters. Is the geofence still active on the bike path?” he asked Lyons.

Broeren suggested that Lyons examine the geofencing, as the scooters were going much faster than the agreed-upon speed limit.

Councilmember Tammy Woods asked if there was a phone number that residents could call to make complaints about scooters, such as when they are blocking sidewalks or driveways.

“I guess that's one of the questions I'm getting, especially from our older community members who either do not have the ability to download an app or … don't have a computer,” she said.

Councilmember Mike Hillier said the Bird app asked him for credit card information when he downloaded it, though all he wanted to do was report a scooter.

Lyons said the Bird website or app could be used to report scooters.

Mount Vernon restricted scooters from operating on sidewalks or bike paths.

From March 14 to May 16, the scooters have been rented for 1,848 minutes and traveled 3,496 miles. The average ride was 1.4 miles long and the average trip took 13.5 minutes.