07-11-2011 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, July 11, 2011 7:00 o'clock p.m. (RESIDENTL4L KENNEL LICENSES, Continued) Benson stated he would prefer the City not issue a kennel license due to the safety issues and that the owners are not being responsible. McMillan commented she is aware that the neighbors have concerns. McMillan noted there is only a small fenced in area for the dogs and that the rest of the yard is not fenced. McMillan stated there should be a point person on site and taking ownership of the dogs. Franchot asked who actually owns the dogs. Bremer commented she is not sure they know that. Franchot stated he sees reference to five dogs and that the license application is for three dogs. McMillan noted there are also some other dogs that come and visit this property. Benson stated a couple of pit bulls will come periodically and that he has no good information about the number of dogs and/or the number of people who live there. • Rahn noted there are three tags that have been issued and that the names of the owners must be known by the City if they issued the tags. • Officer Barnes stated Michael Beasley is listed on the application. There is one pit bull that is occasionally there oq site along with another pit bull that used to belong to someone who moved back to New Jersey. Benson stated they know all the dogs in the neighborhood except for these dogs. Benson indicated that whenever he sees the dogs, they are running loose, which occurs approximately once a month. Rahn stated regardless of the size of the dogs, the owner needs to control his animals, and that if they are not controlled, the license should not be granted. Franchot asked what would happen if the license is not granted. Rahn noted they would be allowed to keep two dogs on the property. Franchot asked whether the City is going to pursue this matter to ensure that there are only two dogs on the property. Bremer stated it would then become a criminal issue for the police to enforce and that the City Council can control the number of dogs. Franchot stated the definition of a dangerous dog is scary since it deals with the situation after the fact. Unless the dog does bodily harm, it is not classified as a dangerous animal, which is just asking for something to happen whenever dogs are not controlled. • McMillan stated she is aware that the City's Code contains some language regarding dogs running at large and kennel licenses. Page 18 of 19