A new state law intended to help reduce
unwanted pet population growth will be implemented this year. The
state's attorney's office has advised that while the program is
still under development, the county must begin collecting the fees.
House Bill 315 requires all counties to collect a $25 annual fee
from pet owners. The county is to send $20 of that fee to the state
to be pooled for return to the county for a spay and neuter program
for low-income pet owners.
Nuisance cats
The county does not have a cat ordinance, and animal control
personnel do not go out on cat calls. However, stray or unwanted
cats can be brought in to the facility. Traps are available to be
borrowed with a returnable deposit.
The fee to pick up an animal and the fee to release the animal to
its owner have not been increased since 1985. These have been $6 and
each will be raised to $10.
Additional changes are under review by the animal control
committee.
The question of microchipping every animal that is picked up
before their return to their owner is under discussion by the animal
control committee. This is a decision that the state has left up to
each county to decide.
The committee is reviewing municipal contracts. Reports for 2004
and 2005 are under review. Rather than one fee for all, the new
contracts will seek to distribute costs appropriately.
The New Holland contract is renewable in October 2006. All other
contracts are due in June 2007.
One animal was adopted at the last adopt-a-thon, and there was a
charitable donation of $200 that day. The next pet-a-thon at the
facility will be April 29.
The facility is an expected money-losing service that the county
finances, and any donations are appreciated. Bonus funds or
donations of food or litter all go directly to improve the lives of
the animals that are brought in there. There is an ongoing aluminum
can collection on-site.
Finance chairman Chuck Ruben said that Mary Ellen Bruns, county
treasurer, reported that most of the list submitted by county
auditors Crowe, Chizek and Co. last month has been resolved. Work
with the computer support has been under way this week.
Building and grounds chair John Stewart said he was contacted by
Main Street director Wanda Lee Rohlfs to discuss repairs to the
fountain in Scully Park. The fountain pumps are in bad shape and
must be repaired. They decided that Rohlfs would contact the Scully
Trust Foundation to see if they would be interested in assisting
with the costs.
Rohlfs did, and the foundation has agreed to fund the fountain
repairs, even taking it one step up. A portion of the concrete will
be torn out to get to the pumps, and the fountain will be replaced
with a new two-tier, more extravagant fountain. Work will begin this
spring.
A walk in the park
The University of Illinois Extension will host a walk in Scully
Park on May 8.
CIEDC recognition
Board members passed around a plaque that was given to the county
for participation in CIEDC.
Prepared for a health crisis
Mark Hilliard, health department administrator, said that the
department has been working on their Strategic National Stock Pile
training. Their first tested assessment after training yielded a
score of 72 out of 100, the highest average in the region and one of
the highest in the state. In a recent reassessment they earned a 95.
Hilliard said that through Healthy Communities Partnership grants
and service revenue, the Rural Health Partnership's mobile unit is
adding a dentist and dental hygienist.
