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Minutes: 03/31/05 |
Lincoln Village Community Meeting
Lincoln Elementary School
6:30pm, 03/31/2005
NEXT MEETING: Thursday, April 28TH at 6:30pm
Meetings will be held the last Thursday of every month at 6:30pm at Lincoln Elementary.
MEETING MINUTES
This was the 4th Lincoln Village Community meeting. The purpose of these meetings is to share information about the status of our community and the services that the city provides to our residents. Special Thanks to Cheryl Rugart for providing refreshments for our attendees!
Guest Presentation: Jeff Abernathy, Animal Control
Office Phone Number: 883-3788 (in blue pages under Animal Services)
Animal Control is open Monday – Friday 6:00AM to 7:00PM and Saturday 8:00AM to 4:00PM. The shelter on Johnson Rd. is open Monday – Friday 9:00AM to 5:00PM and Saturday 9:00AM to 3:00PM. After hours, call the Police Department Non-Emergency line, and they can page an Animal Control officer.
Mr. Abernathy reviewed the basic responsibilities of pet ownership:
All animals must be wearing a rabies tag. Having one at home is not sufficient.
All animals in our community must have a city license. A lifetime license is available for spayed or neutered pets. Lifetime licenses are $35.
The fine for not having a current rabies tag or city license is $218.
Stray animals that are picked up will be held for 5 days at the shelter to give the owner a chance to claim them.
The fine for animal cruelty is $300 for a first offense. Animal cruelty includes: no doghouse for outside animals, animals on chains less than 8 feet, no food and water, etc.
Mr. Abernathy also reviewed the following city ordinances regarding animals:
You can have up to 3 adult dogs (over six months) and 3 adult cats.
You are liable for dog bites or aggressive pet behavior EVEN IF someone is trespassing on your property.
You can be fined if your pet’s behavior “breaks the reasonable peace and tranquility of the neighborhood.”
When asked about nuisance animals (e.g. dogs that bark constantly, animals that tear up property, etc), Mr. Abernathy suggested that you take these steps (IN ORDER):
Begin by talking to your neighbor about the problem and give them a chance to address it
Call Animal Control. They will inspect for ticket-able offenses (i.e. expired tags, evidence of cruelty, etc.)
Build a case to take to court. Get tangible evidence such as a video or pictures. Note date, time and duration of activity. Animal Control will review your evidence and help you build your case. Any tickets they have written can be used as evidence to support your case. You then call the municipal magistrate and the owner will be subpoenaed to court.
Taking Action: The Lincoln Village Preservation Committee
Mike Stanfield of the Lincoln Village Preservation Committee spoke about the actions that they have taken in our community. His church founded the committee as a non-profit organization for refurbishing houses. Their goal is to buy all housing in the area that is currently owned by non-resident landlords. They will renovate the house and form rent-to-own relationships with their tenants. Some of the things that they are doing to help our neighborhood are:
Working with City Council to get zoning changed back to Residential
Working with the Historical Foundation and Home Depot to restore houses
Working with Housing Authority to properly screen future homeowners
Mr. Stanfield, or a member of his committee, will be at all future meetings if you have any questions.
What’s Next
We need to improve attendance at these meetings. The officers believe that we need 50% of our total residents to understand and address all major community concerns. Bring your neighbors to the next meeting!
We are looking for a few good neighbors to be Block Captains! Block Captains help gather information about priorities for our community (examples: Street Lighting, Inoperable Vehicles, Abandoned Houses, Unlicensed Businesses, etc.). If you are interested in being a Block Captain, call Kimberly Cockrell at 426-4079 (before 9:00PM, please).