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Home My WebLink About12/05/1994 Work Session ,II , ; . . . City of Springfield Work Session Council Meeting MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1994 The city of Springfield Council met in Springfield City Hall, Meeting Room 2, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, December 5, 1994, at 6:06 p.m. with Mayor Morrisette presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Morrisette and Councilors Shaver, Walters, Schanz, Beyer and Maine. Councilor Burge was absent (excused.) Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Tim Harold, City Recorder Eileen Stein, Police Chief Bill De Forrest and members of the staff. I. Cat Regulation Police Chief Bill De Forrest gave the staff report. Chief De Forrest commented that the issue for Council consideration is whether the city should establish an ordinance providing for the regulation of cats. He indicated that this issue has been brought to the Council in response to Council direction in September. He provided some points of clarification regarding common misperceptions people have about cats. Specifically, he said that according to Lane County Health Department, there is no record of any transmittal of any disease to a human by a cat in Lane County. He also commented that while the leading cause of the transmission of rabies to humans is from cats, the incidence of this happening is extremely rare, and he provided the statistical figures showing the odds of transmission. Chief De Forrest discussed the options for cat regulation discussed in the staff report. He indicated that if the Council chooses to establish a cat regulation program, it would require additional resources in his department to handle the workload. He indicated that he had contacted Spokane and Multnomah counties to get updated information on their cat regulation programs and was told by staff from both counties that the success of each of their programs is the result of the decision being made to fully staff them. A critical component of each program is the use of canvassers who canvass the community to insure cats are licensed. Chief De Forrest indicated this is a very labor intensive activity but insures compliance. Chief De Forrest also commented that this program needs to be considered relative to other Police service priorities. Councilor Walters asked why the counter at the Police Department would need to be remodeled as mentioned in the staff report. Chief De Forrest explained the configuration of the counter in the lobby and said the remodel would add more counter space. Councilor Schanz asked about the city's contract with Greenhill. Police Captain Dick Golden discussed the contract with Greenhill for animal shelter services. In discussing a proposed cat regulation program, Captain Golden said that Greenhill would not indicate how many cats it would accept, but did indicate that if the city established a cat regulation program, the existing contract >I . ' . . . Council Work Session Minutes 12/5/94 - Page 2 would have to be renegotiated. He indicated that a possible increase in the Greenhill contract was included in the cost figures provided in the staff report. Councilor Shaver suggested that the number of cats per household be limited to a certain number (i.e. five per household) which would take care of the worst cases, then the problems could be handled with existing staff. He also suggested that the problem with strays could be handled by requiring that food trays be kept indoors. He said he is reluctant to do any program half-heartedly and suggested that a fully staffed program be evaluated within the context of other service priorities as part of the budget. In the meantime, he felt that these suggestions would handle the problem in the short term. Mayor Morrisette commented that as a cat owner, he has learned to keep his cat food indoors because of his neighbor who feeds a large number of strays. He said he would like to know how many people in the city would actually want a cat regulation program. He commented that a passive program, such as limiting the number of cats, would be responded to by 95 percent of the people. Then the rest of the problems could be handled on a case-by-case basis. Councilor Schanz discussed the disease of toxoplasmosis which can be transmitted through cat litter boxes and can be serious for pregnant women. He did not see the need for cat licensing, but felt that control of cats was more important. He would like to see the city resume lending out traps and levy a fine ,that would cover the cost of lending the traps out and transporting trapped cats to Greenhill. City AttorneyTimHarold commented that the practice oflending traps was discontinued on advice of his office. He said that because the city does not have an ordinance that says cats can't be at large, it may be incurring liability by being "involved" in controlling through the lending of traps without any express intent to do so. He said it is largely a civil issue and the city should not have any involvement, unless it decides to become involved. Councilor Walters commented that something should be done to regulate cats and that whatever is done should be offset by a license fee. The fee should be higher for a spayed or neutered cat. He commented that any responsible pet owner would license their cat. He suggested a limit per household might be a solution. He felt that a vaccination requirement was not necessary. Councilor Maine discussed the difference between cat licensing and controlling cats. She asked how many dog licenses were issued annually. Captain Golden reported that approximately 2,500 dog licenses are issued annually, which is far below the suspected dog population in Springfield. He said that city has issued dog licenses for eight years. Councilor Maine suggested the license component of the proposed program be evaluated as part of the budget process, however she expressed concern that any further evaluation of program options would raise expectations in the community that the Council intends to regulate cats. She discussed her involvement with the newly formed Police Planning Task Force and how a strategic plan for providing police services in the city was being developed. She said it would be irresponsible of her to vote for funding a cat regulation program in light of other service priorities being identified by the Task Force. tP ,f , . . . Council Work Session Minutes 12/5/94 - Page 3 Chief De Forrest commented on the difficulty of enforcing the options discussed this evening including the idea to limit the number of cats per household and the location or number of food bowls. Captain Golden discussed how barking dog complaints are handled which still require staff time to investigate and process. Mayor Morrisette commented that citizens should be required to provide proof in court on their own. Councilor Schanz reiterated his opinion that the city should resume lending traps and suggested that a legal disclaimer be given that would free the city from liability for lending the trap. Councilor Beyer stated that none of the ideas expressed so far would effectively solve the problem of cats at large. She stated that the only effective way to control them would be with a fully staffed operation which should be considered during the budget process. Councilor Shaver concurred, but maintained that these measures would at least take care of the most egregious situations. Mayor Morrisette reiterated his opinion that he wanted to hear from the citizens regarding their preference for regulating cats in the city. He suggested this be put out for a vote of the people. Councilor Walters disagreed and said that it was the responsibility of the elected Council to make these decisions. The Council continued to discuss this issue but did not come to consensus as to what direction, if any to take. At the suggestion of City Manager Mike Kelly, the Council agreed to discuss this issue be discussed during the Council's upcoming goal setting session. He offered that if there were any other options that Council would like to see cost estimates developed for, let him know and the information would be assembled for goal setting. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:07 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Eileen Stein ~~!- Mayor Attest: JtduJjtF~ . City Recorder