HomeMy WebLinkAboutA010 - Letter from Donna Rizzo dated August 21, 1998 08,,21,,98 FRI 14:15 FAX 515 239 5026 S. DUFF SMALL ANIMAL Cl. 001
South Duff fteg Animal clinic
1416 So,Dut1'A`s,c.
:4mes,1A 7t7010
Phtmc 232-7204
F"239-5026
August 21, 1995
Mayor Tedesco and Ames City Council Members
Agnes City Nall
Alues, IA 50010
Dear Mayor Tedesco and Council Members,
I would like to thank Sharou Wirth,Ann Campbell, and Judy Hoffinan for recogtti- ag that the two issues
presented to the City Council on the night of 3uly 28th concerning the animal control arn.endtnents are truly two
separate issues, and therefore can and should be addressed as such. I was very disappointed in the stalling of
passage of the annmendmernt 3,124, By stalling the passage of section 3,124,not only died we penalize a
neighborhood that has long been struggling with a repeat offender,we penalized what 1 see as one of the hardest
working departments in the city government_ The Animal Control Department has a very limited staff, and as Lorna
stated at that very meeting, the first amendment will be`really"helpful and take a burden off of her staff time.
I realize that my stand on this.issue is well known. I listened carefully to the arguements supporting ordinance
3,126 with an open mind, And I commend you on some excellent points. However, I must still voice my
disagreement with the passage of this ordinance. I vnIT not belabor the points I have already expressed. Those points
may be reviewed in my previous letter. Instead, I waUld like ry address several points brought up at the fast council
meeting that should concern those on both sides of the issue.
1.)A taw is only as good as the enforcement of that law. Our own city attorney stated that amendment 3,126 has a
large element of the unknown,and we wM be entering imo an"exciting area". What good i, an ordinance that will be
a challenge to enforce,has numerous areas for loopholes, and a high potential for people to"slejrt"the issues? Will it
be a good use of staff time?
2.)It was stated by Lorna at the beginning of the Council meeting that our goal was to address the habitual
offender,when asked by Xfr. Wrmbach"would a owner of large numbers of animals be more likely to have
infractions?"L.oma answered "No, not necessarily." When did our goal change? When another council member
asked if it is true that the majority of problems encountered by animal control are NOT an issue of animal numbers,
Lorna agreed they are not related to numbers.. Again,wouldn't staii'time best be spent dealing with the frequent
offender?
3,)Xfr- Parks noted that we have laws already on the books requiring permits of certain situations, and yet we do
not see;huge numbers lining up for those permits. We have no definitive numbers on the number of households that
u,7Jl be affected, or the time that will be required by staff to enforce this ammendment 3.126, Staff offers a number of
15-30,those opposed offer numbers in the hundreds, Even if those of us opposed are over estimating;, certainly it is
not by twenty fold. Tao we really need another lain on the books that is a nightmare to enforce?
4.)When Loma was asked if she already had the tools to deal with the issues presented by multiple animal
households, she replied she would with the addition of 3,124_
5.)At that meeting it was also stand that our legislation is generally proposed to deal with actual problems, not
potential problems, Mr, Quirmbach feels this potential problem is"intuitive"and should be addressed. I ask the
Council members, shall we place a.law on the books for every"potential-problem we can dream.up. It would
certainly keep our City Attorney busy.
My final assessment of this proposal is this: We have been presented with two separate issues. One is necessary to
assist our city staff to keep our neighborhoods pleasant,the other issue unnecessary, and likely to present problems
with enforcement and staff tithe allocation. The obvious answer: passage of ammendment 3.124, tabling of issue
3.126 unless at some point it bec=;-Is necessary in spite ofits difficulty in enforcement.
Sincerely,