The Whitney City Council discussed the first steps of implementing an animal control program during a meeting held Thursday, March 28. A public education campaign will soon begin after the council approved a plan to require pet owners to register dogs and cats with the city.
City Operations Director Billy Pribble reported that Fire Chief David Gilmore and Police Chief Kyle Nevil have been meeting with other cities’ animal control program organizers. “Itasca was very forthcoming,” Pribble said. “In fact, they’re even going to allow us to use their facilities if need be.”
Pribble said that Itasca has been running a successful animal control program since the 1990’s. The city’s animal adoption program is also successful, and very few animals are euthanized.
“What they said we needed to do to start this process was revamp our ordinance, so that’s what we did,” Pribble said. He explained that the city’s attorneys provided input on recent legislation that’s changed pertaining to animal control, such as the state’s leash law, and those changes were made to the document.
The biggest addition to the ordinance is a requirement that dogs and cats in the city be registered to their owners. City officials learned through their research that this was considered a necessary first step to get a handle on the problem.
Gilmore said that the city frequently encounters situations where a resident claims that a problem animal does not belong to them, limiting any action that can be taken.
The registration fee will be $5 per animal that is spayed or neutered and $30 for an animal that is not spayed or neutered. Pribble said that there will be a public awareness campaign and amnesty period while the change is implemented. “It’s a very minimal fee; we’re making it very easy,” Pribble said. “It’s not like we’re just going to start enforcing it punitively.”
All dogs and cats over four months of age will need to be registered every year. The owner will be given a metal tag with a serial number to put on the animal’s collar.
The city has also ordered three chip readers to be able to determine who microchipped dogs belong to and if they are up to date on their shots.
The city’s existing animal control ordinance prohibits residents from having more than four adult dogs or cats on premises within the city limits without receiving a variance from the city.
Gilmore said that another effort regarding stray cats will involve trapping cats once a month before the Hill County Paw Pals low-cost spay/neuter clinic. They will be taken to Paw Pals to be spayed or neutered and then released to live out their lives without reproducing.
Nevil said, “Spaying and neutering those animals will help reduce the number of animals we have to put down and help us be successful in that part of our animal control. None of us want to put any animal down if we can avoid it.”
In other action, the council approved hiring John Aucoin, who has been serving as a reserve police officer with the city for the past month, as a full-time officer.
The council also approved a facility use agreement with the Whitney Youth Association for use of the city park during baseball/softball season, approved a contract with Rene Bates Auctioneers for disposal of surplus property, voted to close city offices to the public Monday, April 8 for the total solar eclipse and approved the city’s employee handbook.
In departmental reports, Whitney Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Chris Nelson reported that the fire department responded to 12 calls in the county and 37 calls in the city last month. The department recently welcomed three new volunteers: Robert Matthews, Jarrod Benson and Jeremy Adye.
Chief Gilmore provided additional updates on fire department and code enforcement activities, noting that the department recently took delivery of its new 3,000-gallon tender truck and plans to have a push-in ceremony after the eclipse. The ladder truck that the department was borrowing from Mansfield has been returned, and Gilmore said that the city is thankful for the assistance.
The soft inspection of the downtown area has begun with one issue already corrected. More inspections are expected.
Gilmore said that the city has started to talk to residents about moving their trash containers off of the street. “We’re kind of running out of that grace period,” he said. “We’re going to start looking at fines and citations.”
He also pointed out that citizens need to be aware of state law and city requirements regarding swimming pools as warmer weather approaches. The city will be posting rules about swimming pools on the city website and in the newspaper to inform citizens about legal requirements, such as fences and gates.
Gilmore said that Drew Youngblood left the Public Works Department and started working as an inspector/code enforcement specialist March 4. Since that time, Gilmore said that Youngblood has been very active in addressing code violations.
The city is resuming its effort to focus on code enforcement in specific areas of town for a couple of weeks before moving on to another area. Gilmore said that the next area that will be addressed is the northeast portion of the city, east of Brazos Street and north of West Jefferson — identified as the “A” quadrant. Code enforcement will then move to the southeast “B” section, the southwest “C” section and the northwest “D” section.
For the police department, Nevil reported that officers responded to 239 total incidents in February. There were three arrests, 64 traffic stops and 74 citations issued.
He reported that Officer Abbott recovered a motorcycle that had been stolen from Tarrant County during a stop and located approximately four grams of methamphetamine on the operator of the stolen motorcycle. Officer Hathaway arrested a subject who was a person of interest in the sale of narcotics in the city for multiple offenses during a traffic stop. Nevil said that the department also investigated sexual assaults and identified suspects, and the department assisted the Department of Public Safety in locating a local fugitive with outstanding warrants for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and a probation violation for sexual assault of a child.
The EMS report showed that ambulance crews responded to 38 calls in February, with 82% transported to medical facilities. The average response time was five minutes and 11 seconds. The ambulance crew is working to prepare for the eclipse. EMS personnel are also working to get trained to share CPR knowledge with citizens.
Public Works Supervisor Chris Brennan reported that three water leaks were repaired in February, and work on Highland Drive is 90% completed, with all water lines connected and concrete and asphalt work left to complete as of the meeting date. He said that all picnic tables donated by MyTCoat have been installed at the park, and crews have begun working with volunteers to install playground equipment near the tennis courts.
Library Director Denise Carter welcomed those in attendance to the library’s meeting room, which is now the site of council meetings. She pointed out that the library was built through donations, and expressed her gratitude to the community for its generosity in providing such a nice location for public use.
Carter said that spring break activities at the library were very well attended. Activities for adults also continue to be popular and have proven to be a good way to help those who have moved to the community make connections and meet new friends. A full listing of library events and activities can be found at http://www.whitney library.org.
She encouraged everyone to stop by the library and get a library card and check out a book to get a free pair of eclipse glasses. This also helps the library with its statistics that are submitted to the state to help determine funding opportunities. Carter said that libraries’ statistics suffered during the pandemic but are finally rebounding, and she encouraged everyone to check out books, get a library card if they don’t have one, and help support the library.
The council’s next regularly scheduled meeting date is Thursday, April 18, at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Lake Whitney Public Library Meeting Room.
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