Sean C. Morgan
Two members of the public last week urged the City Council to do something about the problems with dogs in Sweet Home, to enforce the law and collect all of the fines for violating the law.
“My concern is the dog problems in this town,” said Jeri Reynolds, who lives on Third Avenue, during the council’s regular meeting on Feb. 14. “I have been to court three times with the lady next door to me with dogs that bark incessantly.”
She has been complaining to the city about it since last summer, she said. Her neighbor went to court on Jan. 28. Other neighbors have also been complaining about the dog barking.
“The judge told her she had like $16,000 or $18,000 in fines hanging over her head about these dogs and says, ‘If you can keep them quiet until the 22nd of February, I’ll reduce those fines to $5,000,’” Reynolds said.
“If they would enforce those rules and regulations and fine these people, they could pay for a dog catcher.”
The New Era mentioned the case in a report about dog-related issues earlier this month.
“After I read that this last week, I thought for heaven’s sake, if you’ve got the law that says you’ve got these fines, make these people pay them,” Reynolds said, referring to the article. “Don’t reduce it by $13,000 and tell my husband go another month and keep track of how many times the dog is barking, like we haven’t been listening to it for two years.
“None of them, including that judge would put up with that crap next door. I’m not kidding. It’s incredible.”
City Attorney Robert Snyder said that the judge sets fines.
“Fines do get, on all sorts of matters, get reduced if you do what you’re supposed to do,” Snyder said. “That’s the hammer and the carrot, so that’s what he’s working here, I’m sure. Presumably, some place along the line, it’ll hurt enough you’ll correct your behavior.”
Reynolds said she was also concerned about the size of the dog and asked whether the city has an ordinance governing the size of dogs or whether it could be included in the law.
When people visit, the dog charges the fence and has knocked it down, Reynolds said. It terrifies children.
“One gal can’t rent her property because of the garbage and the dog,” Reynolds said. “She says, ‘People come and look and there’s no way, there’s no way I can even get a renter in there.’”
Resident Chase Bratton-Ralph told the council that Sweet Home had five dog calls and four code enforcement calls during the period of Jan. 22-29.
She said she also attended the same court proceeding that Reynolds did and was able to meet with the city’s code enforcement officer afterward.
“Bless her heart,” Bratton-Ralph said. “That woman doesn’t have time to take over the dog calls if we take them away from the police, so we’re stuck. Police have got them until we do something.
“I am all for fining dog owners, and I think when we start enforcing that, getting the money, we will have the money to build a kennel that’s sufficient here.
“To call Linn County Animal Control is like throwing a piece of paper in the wind. It’s one person. His geographical is too huge for one person. If there’s five calls in one week here in Sweet Home, what’s it like in Lebanon or Brownsville? He hasn’t got time to come over here, which is exactly what he told somebody when they called. He said, ‘Call your local police.’”
(Linn County Sheriff’s Office actually has two personnel assigned to animal control.)
“As far as enforcement, we’re strapped,” said Mayor Greg Mahler. “It’s on our public safety agenda. We do have an issue with dogs in control. We’re going to look at what our options are and what we can do moving forward.”
The issue will be included on the agenda for the next Public Safety Committee meeting, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on March 28.
Attending the meeting were councilors James Goble, Diane Gerson, Lisa Gourley, Dave Trask and Mahler. Ryan Underwood was absent because he was coaching high school basketball.
In other business, the council:
n Held the second reading of an ordinance establishing rules for the use of water during emergencies.
n During a meeting Thursday, interviewed three applicants to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of Councilor Jeff Goodwin.
They were: Susan Coleman, who ran for the office during the Nov. 8 election; Thomas A. Herb, who also has applied for Planning Commission; and Edith Wilcox, who serves on the Planning Commission. A fourth candidate, John Earle, an engineer at White’s Electronics, withdrew from the process prior to the interviews.
The council tabled a decision to fill the Planning Commission vacancy until after it appoints a new councilor on Feb. 28 because Herb had also applied for that position.
n Received copies of a proposed Wastewater Facility Plan, which it will consider for approval during its next regular meeting on Feb. 28.
The Department of Environmental Quality has already reviewed and approved the plan, said Public Works Director Mike Adams.
The plan is broken into four phases designed to meet environmental requirements and operational needs, Adams said.
The city has been replacing sewer pipes for more than 15 years in an effort to reduce inflow and infiltration, which is storm water that enters the city’s sewer system through deteriorating pipes and cross connections with storm water drains.
During heavy rains, the storm water can overload the treatment plant forcing the plant to bypass heavily diluted but untreated wastewater directly into Ames Creek at the South Santiam River.
The plan is at least a 20-year project, Adams said. It is something that can be completed in several stages. The first phase will cost about $4 million. The next step after approval on Feb. 28 is pre-design work.
Trask said the issue was a topic of conversation with a local legislator Feb. 8 during City Hall Day at the capitol with City Manager Ray Towry and Finance Director Pat Gray.
“We met with one of our senators afterward,” Trask said. “I was encouraged by the fact that there is money available to help with that. Whether it’s going to be this year or next year, we’re going to pursue that. It’s matching money. They’re hurting for money just like we are. It’s tight. Anyway, that’s something that’s coming down the pike.”