A few changes made

REDKEY - Reining in animal control remains a big issue.

An updated, comprehensive animal control ordinance was approved unanimously Thursday night by town council members, but getting the funds to enforce it remains a big question mark.

With the arrival of warmer weather, stray dog and cat problems have become a hot topic at the last two town council meetings.

At their March meeting, council members passed an animal control ordinance and approved the concept of contracting with a private company, Critter Control of rural Pennville, to help solve the problems of stray cats and dogs, as well as a few raccoons and opossums, running loose in the community.

However, Thursday night town council members balked at the terms and fees Critter Control proposed in its contract.

Council members also considered, and passed, a revision of the March ordinance, which grew from one to three pages.

Redkey town attorney John Brooke presented the revised ordinance dealing with cats, dogs and other animals - including horses, sheep, goats, chickens, pigeons and rabbits. The ordinance also allows for fines to be levied against violators. These fines should not be less than $50 or more than $2,500.

After suspending rules, Redkey council members voted Thursday to approve first and second readings of the newly revised ordinance. It will become effective 10 days after publication in a local newspaper.

Council members also scheduled a special meeting for Thursday, May 7 at 6 p.m. to review Critter Control's contract proposal and discuss whether or not the town will be able to afford it.

Town council president Doug Stanley said Redkey currently has $1,800 in its budget for animal control, while Critter Control is asking for a one-year contract for $5,200.

The contract calls for a fee of $35 per animal, to be paid by the town of Redkey, for dogs or cats picked up and held for possible return to the owner. The town would then be responsible for reimbursement from pet owners.

In the March ordinance, the town had wanted "a third party contractor," more specifically Critter Control, to be responsible for collecting a $35 fee from persons whose animals had been picked up and impounded.

Critter Control representative Tim Dale said Thursday he was willing to be reasonable and work with the town on the costs.

However, Dale also pointed out that one of the key problems in Redkey is that individuals are putting out food for the stray cats and dogs and these "feeding stations" are also attracting raccoons and other types of wild animals.

Council members agreed that this sort of thing should be stopped.

Also speaking out at Thursday night's meeting was Redkey resident Amanda Vore, who once again complained that her service dog had been attacked by dogs running loose while she was on a walk. She reported two separate incidents involving two different dogs.

Brooke pointed out that the newly revised ordinance specifically mentions service dogs, stating: "No person shall permit their animal to attack, threaten attack, bark, intimidate or harass any service animal, regardless of whether the service animal is performing service or not."

Vore and Dale said they both thought the newly revised ordinance was an improvement over previous ones.

In other business at Thursday night's meeting, Redkey town officials:

•Received a check from Brooke for $1,765 in connection with the payment of delinquent water and sewer bills. The payments were made as the result of small claims cases filed by the town.

•Agreed to renew its property liability insurance policies for the town and volunteer fire department with Barnum-Brown Insurance Agency, Dunkirk. The annual premium for both policies will total $25,055, approximately the same amount as last year.

•Approved an identity theft prevention ordinance, as recommended by the Federal Trade Commission and town attorney Brooke.[[In-content Ad]]