Cassville dog issue settled: Enforcement begins January 1
December 11, 2019
Charlea Estes-Jones
An announcement at the Cassville City Council on Monday night settled the debate regarding a leash law within the city limits. According to mayor Bill Shiveley, starting in January, the city's existing animal regulations will be fully enforced, meaning dogs will be required to be leashed when off of the owner's private property for any amount of time.
The announcement came just four months after Cassville Schools' guidance counselor Kristie Preddy was viciously attacked by two dogs on Main Street, leaving her with multiple dog bites and debilitating injuries. Since the incident, Preddy's mother, Nadean Davis, has appeared before city council every month to demand action.
Shiveley told the four guests at the city council meeting on Monday, December 9, the city staff and council members weighed the decision by deciding between three different options: leave the ordinance and enforcement as is, implement a full animal control department, or a hybrid of the two. The city opted to go with the third option.
Shiveley addressed all in attendance on Monday night and said, "I want to thank the citizens and everybody who has given us their feedback on the topic of animal control in Cassville. It's been on both sides.
"You can be assured the council and the alderman have taken this seriously. We aren't taking the feedback lightly. We looked at different options, and we are moving forward. We've engaged in activities to determine what actions we can take to strengthen our animal control here in Cassville."
Shiveley went on to describe the three options the city considered. City staff studied the financial impact of each option after backlash regarding the cost of operating a fully functional pound. Staff estimated around $200,000 to build a new pound and acquire a dedicated animal control vehicle and officer with the annual recurring cost at $75,000 each year.
In the end, the decision to enforce the existing animal code would be much less of a financial impact and would solve the issue of stray and roaming dogs within city limits. The city already acquired a dog trailer to transport animals for $3,000, according to city administrator Steve Walensky. The ongoing forecasted expense for animal control is $2,500 annually for the option the city went with.
Cassville's current ordinance states that dogs within city limits:
• Must wear a collar with an identification tag with owner's name and address and proof of rabies vaccination
• Must be on a leash if off of the owner's private property
There will be no requirement for registration with the city or fees to own up to three dogs within city limits. The current ordinance also states a residence can only have three dogs inside the city limits.
If dogs are found off of the owner's private property, they will be picked up by a city employee and transported to the city's existing pens. For the owner to pick up a dog, they will have to pay $25 per day, including the day the dog was picked up by the city and the day the animal is picked up from impound. The owners will also be fined up to $200 for the first incident. Any subsequent offenses will carry up to a $500 fine.
Walensky said the city will train employees that will be handling animal control. He indicated that it will be both police officers and other staff members.
Council member Jon Horner said, "In all of the research we did going into this, there is no perfect solution. Cities that have leash laws have dog bites. Some of them have lots of dog bites, and it's not on the front page of the paper. We tried to come up to with a common sense and effective solution. We feel what we have done is going to be effective."
Prior to making a final decision during the budget meeting in November, Walensky spoke with Monett, Aurora, Seligman, Purdy and Exeter and researched Springfield's, St. Louis', Kansas City's and Omaha's animal control policies online.
Enforcing the existing animal control ordinances means the city will utilize the existing five kennels already built. The city will keep up to four dogs at one time, leaving the fifth pen available to move dogs to clean. The city will attempt to find owners of the dogs. If the owners cannot be located, and the animal is not vicious, the city will contact Haven of the Ozarks to see if there is room. If Haven is full, the city will have the animals transported to the Joplin Humane Society. If the animal is vicious, it will be taken to the Joplin Humane Society. The city of Cassville will not engage in adoption facilitation.
Shiveley said, "This is going to require education and effort from our staff, and it's also going to take something from our citizens, too. As Ms. Davis said in the past, we don't have enough officers to have one at every spot, and we don't have a dedicated animal control officer. So when there appears a dog that is loose or vicious or making a nuisance of itself, we need to know about it. We need people to call it in and we need to make an attempt to catch that dog."
He continued, "We tried to consider all sides of these issues to be realistic and factual and be logical with our choice...We'll continue to look at our animal control ordinance as we move along and see if there need to be any changes."
The enforcement of animal control within Cassville City limits begins in January. To report an animal off leash and roaming, Walensky said to call emergency dispatch so the matter can be resolved 24/7.
To read the city’s complete language of the animal regulations, go to: https://ecode360.com/30649346.
Charlea Estes-Jones
An announcement at the Cassville City Council on Monday night settled the debate regarding a leash law within the city limits. According to mayor Bill Shiveley, starting in January, the city's existing animal regulations will be fully enforced, meaning dogs will be required to be leashed when off of the owner's private property for any amount of time.
The announcement came just four months after Cassville Schools' guidance counselor Kristie Preddy was viciously attacked by two dogs on Main Street, leaving her with multiple dog bites and debilitating injuries. Since the incident, Preddy's mother, Nadean Davis, has appeared before city council every month to demand action.
Shiveley told the four guests at the city council meeting on Monday, December 9, the city staff and council members weighed the decision by deciding between three different options: leave the ordinance and enforcement as is, implement a full animal control department, or a hybrid of the two. The city opted to go with the third option.
Shiveley addressed all in attendance on Monday night and said, "I want to thank the citizens and everybody who has given us their feedback on the topic of animal control in Cassville. It's been on both sides.
"You can be assured the council and the alderman have taken this seriously. We aren't taking the feedback lightly. We looked at different options, and we are moving forward. We've engaged in activities to determine what actions we can take to strengthen our animal control here in Cassville."
Shiveley went on to describe the three options the city considered. City staff studied the financial impact of each option after backlash regarding the cost of operating a fully functional pound. Staff estimated around $200,000 to build a new pound and acquire a dedicated animal control vehicle and officer with the annual recurring cost at $75,000 each year.
In the end, the decision to enforce the existing animal code would be much less of a financial impact and would solve the issue of stray and roaming dogs within city limits. The city already acquired a dog trailer to transport animals for $3,000, according to city administrator Steve Walensky. The ongoing forecasted expense for animal control is $2,500 annually for the option the city went with.
Cassville's current ordinance states that dogs within city limits:
• Must wear a collar with an identification tag with owner's name and address and proof of rabies vaccination
• Must be on a leash if off of the owner's private property
There will be no requirement for registration with the city or fees to own up to three dogs within city limits. The current ordinance also states a residence can only have three dogs inside the city limits.
If dogs are found off of the owner's private property, they will be picked up by a city employee and transported to the city's existing pens. For the owner to pick up a dog, they will have to pay $25 per day, including the day the dog was picked up by the city and the day the animal is picked up from impound. The owners will also be fined up to $200 for the first incident. Any subsequent offenses will carry up to a $500 fine.
Walensky said the city will train employees that will be handling animal control. He indicated that it will be both police officers and other staff members.
Council member Jon Horner said, "In all of the research we did going into this, there is no perfect solution. Cities that have leash laws have dog bites. Some of them have lots of dog bites, and it's not on the front page of the paper. We tried to come up to with a common sense and effective solution. We feel what we have done is going to be effective."
Prior to making a final decision during the budget meeting in November, Walensky spoke with Monett, Aurora, Seligman, Purdy and Exeter and researched Springfield's, St. Louis', Kansas City's and Omaha's animal control policies online.
Enforcing the existing animal control ordinances means the city will utilize the existing five kennels already built. The city will keep up to four dogs at one time, leaving the fifth pen available to move dogs to clean. The city will attempt to find owners of the dogs. If the owners cannot be located, and the animal is not vicious, the city will contact Haven of the Ozarks to see if there is room. If Haven is full, the city will have the animals transported to the Joplin Humane Society. If the animal is vicious, it will be taken to the Joplin Humane Society. The city of Cassville will not engage in adoption facilitation.
Shiveley said, "This is going to require education and effort from our staff, and it's also going to take something from our citizens, too. As Ms. Davis said in the past, we don't have enough officers to have one at every spot, and we don't have a dedicated animal control officer. So when there appears a dog that is loose or vicious or making a nuisance of itself, we need to know about it. We need people to call it in and we need to make an attempt to catch that dog."
He continued, "We tried to consider all sides of these issues to be realistic and factual and be logical with our choice...We'll continue to look at our animal control ordinance as we move along and see if there need to be any changes."
The enforcement of animal control within Cassville City limits begins in January. To report an animal off leash and roaming, Walensky said to call emergency dispatch so the matter can be resolved 24/7.
To read the city’s complete language of the animal regulations, go to: https://ecode360.com/30649346.