Animal control change splits Fort Smith Board

The Fort Smith Board of Directors clashed over changes to the city’s animal control ordinance and declared a temporary moratorium on billboard advertising Tuesday night (Dec. 18).

The decisions were made as part of what was supposed to be the board’s end-of-year meeting at the Fort Smith Public Schools Service Center.

However, an "eleventh hour decision," according to Ward 1 Director-elect Keith Lau resulted in two additional meetings being set for Dec. 21 and Dec. 27 with further details to come in the days ahead.

The added meetings were recommended by Director Philip Merry and approved in a 4-3 vote to pass changes in the animal ordinance before the new board takes over in 2013. Merry was joined by Directors George Catsavis, Steve Tyler and Pam Weber with Andre Good, Don Hutchings and Kevin Settle dissenting.

"Really?" Settle said following the decision. "Really? I hate to call a spade a spade, but really? We need to focus on things that make this community better instead of ramrodding something through that's on someone's personal agenda. If I'm speaking out of turn, I apologize, but really? You're going to force this down the public's throat during the Christmas and New Year's holiday instead of listening to the people?"

WRONG MESSAGE
The key object of Settle's ire, and according to Settle the "only" item that kept him from voting for the ordinance, was an approved amendment Tuesday night from Merry that would fine citizens whose pets escape and are picked up by animal control officers on a first offense.

"My biggest issue is the amendment," Settle said in comments to The City Wire at the meeting. "I think the Animal Services Advisory Board did a lot of work and to not give them the opportunity to fix the problem and trying to criminalize a dog running loose because of an accident for a first offense, I think, is the wrong message to send to the public. I don’t think it’s going to fix the problem. I think it’s going to cause more problems and create more issues. But Director Merry’s got what he wants to do, and I think it sends the wrong message."

Merry's amendment calls for a $100 fine plus court costs for a first offense with the fine waived if the pet owner opts for spay-and-neuter. The second offense would result in a $200 fine plus court costs. Should the pet owner choose spay-and-neuter at that time, the fine would be reduced to $50 plus court costs.

On the third offense, the fine climbs to $300 plus court costs, or $100 plus court costs with the spay-and-neuter option. Finally, on a fourth offense, the fine reaches $400 plus court costs, or $200 and court costs with the spay-and-neuter option.

"I thought the Animal Services committee brought a good ordinance and the detail about the fees in going back at the eleventh hour with a new motion which is very complex, one that’s penalizing first-time infractions, is really something that needed to be discussed in more detail," Lau said.

"I wouldn’t have voted for this new amendment. I would’ve said, ‘We need to stick with the original Animal Services recommendation.’ There again is something I’ve preached on time and time again – we’re micromanaging what our committees have brought to us. We’re only doing this now because we’re probably serving a special interest group of some sort, some group of people who don’t like what the services committee brought. I think it’s a rush to judgment, and shame on us for micromanaging."

JANUARY REVERSAL?
Lau added that he would be willing to revisit the issue in January when he and Ward 3 Director-elect Mike Lorenz take over for Tyler and Hutchings, respectively. "Yes, I would because of the fact that I’m not happy with first-time infractions. An elderly person, 65 or 70 years old, opens the door. Dog runs out. Animal Control picks it up. Doesn’t find who that owner is. Takes it to the Humane Society for an infraction. I think there needs to be a little leniency. It’s a burden. You know, we’re jumping in to how a citizen controls their pet."

Lorenz was not in attendance at Tuesday's meeting, but Settle and Good, who will be returning under the new configuration, indicated that the issue will be reversed if they have anything to do with it.

"Chances will be really high," Good said. "We’ll have two new board members on the board that can bring it back to the table. I think that we’re not going to have much of a choice when the citizens realize how this might impact them for accidents and mishaps happening. I think it’s going to be really detrimental."

‘THE WAY IT WORKS’
Merry was unfazed by the possibility the amendment could be reversed less than one month after passing (should Tuesday's 4-3 votes hold on second and third readings).

"I can only do what I can do. For those people that want to undo, that’ll be their prerogative,” Merry explained. “But if we can get two readings in now, they will have to undo a good law. All you can do is do the best you can for where you are. I’m hearing that there are people in this lobby (at Fort Smith Public Schools Service Center) already talking about it, but I can’t control those things."

Catsavis was in agreement. "I think this is the board that worked on this issue, and I think they’re the ones that should finish it. I’m sure when the new board gets on, there are probably going to be some changes, but that’s the way it works."

The original Animal Services Advisory Board (ASAB) recommendations are part of a 24-page document available in the Dec. 18 meeting packet on the city's website. Merry's amendment is not included in the packet, but was available in printouts at the meeting and would affect Section 4-116 of the ordinance.

Aside from that addition, the ASAB's recommendations were passed excluding the recommended changes to Sections 4-36, 4-97, and 4-116 Subsection A(6).

BILLBOARD MORATORIUM
Also Tuesday, at the request of Wally Bailey, director of development services for the city of Fort Smith, the board did manage to find common ground on a four-month moratorium on the receipt and consideration of applications for new or modified billboard advertising. The hiatus will last until April 19, 2013.

Bailey wrote in a memorandum and reiterated at the meeting: "Based on previous discussions and research we believe the significant issues that need to be addressed with possible revisions to our current ordinance include the number of outdoor advertising signs in the city and ETJ (extraterritorial jurisdiction), permitted locations of signs, distances from sensitive uses such as residential, height of signs, size of signs, and issues relative to digital billboards."

The board approved the moratorium unanimously.