GENTRY -- With rules suspended, the city council passed a new ordinance and an attached emergency clause to amend Gentry's municipal code and require dog owners to purchase three-year licenses and to allow city officials to trap, neuter and release feral cats found in the city.
The new ordinance, which went into effect immediately, requires dog owners to purchase a three-year dog license per animal, 4 months of age or older, which costs $15 for spayed and neutered dogs and $50 for dogs not spayed or neutered.
To obtain the licenses, dog owners will be required to provide proof of current rabies vaccinations and, if those vaccinations expire during the three-year period, provide proof of new vaccinations.
The change was made to make it easier for dog owners to license their pets. The new program also offers micro-chipping of dogs for easy identification and quick return to owners should they stray or become lost.
The council discussed the idea of allowing temporary exemptions to vaccinations at 4 months with a letter from a veterinarian but chose to approve the ordinance and revisit it later if other provisions are needed.
The new licenses are due 30 days after the dog enters Gentry's city limits, turns 4 months of age, or its current city license expires.
According to Mark Smithson, Gentry's animal control officer, Gentry residents who have current licenses can renew when the current license expires or, if they were recently renewed, pay another $10, have their dogs micro-chipped and extend the license for an additional two years.
Section 2 of the new ordinance states that any cats at large within the city of Gentry may be detained by the city's animal control officer, police or city employees. Detained cats may be marked by methods such as a tipped ear, tattooed belly or micro-chipping and may be spayed or neutered before being released.
The ordinance clears the way for the city to begin a trap, neuter and release program in an effort to reduce the number of feral cats in the city and to prevent the spread of disease.
Jackie Bader, attending the meeting as manager of the Gentry Senior Activity and Wellness Center, asked why the city would go to all the expense of trapping the cats and then neutering and releasing them instead of euthanizing the stray animals.
Councilman Warren Norman, who also works in animal control for the city of Rogers, explained that destroying the cats creates a "vacuum" which is quickly filled by other feral cats moving into the city. He said the trap, neuter and release program which has been used for many years in cities does reduce the number of feral cats but also reduces the spread of disease by not creating a void which is filled by other feral cats.
Jay Williams, attorney for the city, said the city also did not wish to euthanize a cat which might be someone's pet and happened to stray from a home or yard and be captured.
In other business, the council approved a plan to cut back a design for restrooms in the park to make the building of a restroom facility affordable.
The council unanimously approved a plan to build a six-stall facility, with each stall capable of being individually locked or unlocked, so as to move the project forward. The money budgeted for restroom construction was not sufficient to complete the first plans, even with numerous cuts and adjustments.
The scaled-back plans will allow the city to begin construction after the July 4 Freedom Festival and hopefully have restroom facilities open prior to the Fall Festival. The plans do include cameras outside the restroom facility to protect against vandalism -- a problem which has kept the older existing facilities out of service.
General News on 06/03/2015