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SALEM -- City council was updated on the city's trap, neuter, release (TNR) project during its meeting Tuesday.
Salem TNR Project Coordinator Brenda Austin told council that after a year of running the city's TNR project, she felt the city's animal ordinance needed revisions to better address feral cat populations within the city as intended.
She said that she was mostly recommending "common sense changes" spelling out requirements and standards of care, like mandating appropriate outdoor shelters for cats and that those shelters be kept clean and accessible.
"There are still people out there that think that living under a shed is fine. It's not appropriate. In the wintertime they might not freeze to death but they're cold under there. For those that do have [shelters] they need to be maintained and kept clean and actually accessible even in the Summer. When it rains and we have flooding and everything, the underside of a deck or porch is not dry," Austin said.
Austin said that while the program has had successes, she has been having issues with repeat offenders failing to neuter or properly care for cats even after prior intervention. To that end, she recommended that the animal ordinance be mandated to require all cats both indoor and outdoor be neutered except for licensed breeders.
Austin explained that while she "has no illusions" that doing so will cause irresponsible owners and caretakers to take the cats they feed to be spayed and neutered en masse, it would provide her and other city representatives like the police, fire, housing and zoning departments a new tool to use in addressing fetal cat populations and issues caused by them.
Austin also said that thus far she has stretched the initial funding granted to the TNR project as far as possible by making those capable of doing so cover the costs of having cats trapped on their property spayed and neutered, that funding is getting stretched thin.
"I tell them, 'I'm volunteering my time, my vehicle, my gas, so the least they can do is pay,' and some do donate for gas, and I've had a couple of anonymous donors. So, I've stretched that as far as possible, but I'm running low because there's been someone with no money that has eight cats, and you're looking at $400. Sometimes a neighbor will pitch in, sometimes not," Austin said.
City Auditor Sal Salvino asked how someone that wanted to donate in support of the TNR project could do so. Austin said that the city has a dedicated fund for the project which can accept donations through the health department, and that the TNR project also has funds set up with Angels for Animals, AlterClinic Animal Care in Canton.
Councilman Jeff Stockman said that they would review Austin's suggestions in the rules and ordinances committee's upcoming meeting and thanked Austin for serving the community as the head of Salem's TNR program, and for her time and dedication in that position.
"[Austin] does a great job with our TNR program here in Salem. She's a very dedicated person, extremely passionate and she's been doing it for over a year with probably a lot more heartache than success stories. I really appreciate her effort in doing that. Without volunteers like her, we wouldn't have the program," Stockman said.
The city council also approved a resolution authorizing City Service Safety Director Joe Cappuzzello to enter into agreements and approve cost sharing amounts as required with the Ohio Director of Transportation to proceed with the installation of a pedestrian hybrid beacon at the intersection of North Lincoln Avenue and East Sixth Street near the high school.
Stockman asked what the city's cost would be for the project, and Cappuzzello said that the city shouldn't have to pay anything out of pocket. He explained that the cost sharing agreement commits the city to paying any costs over the amount budgeted for the project by the state of Ohio. However, when the project was first budgeted, the state did so with the expectation of installing a traffic light before the Ohio Department of Transportation decided to instead install a crosswalk.
City Council President Evan Newman asked Cappuzzello when trick-or-treat would be this year, and Cappuzzello said that as in years past it will be on Oct. 31.
Other matters approved included an ordinance authorizing appropriations and transfers, and a resolution authorizing reductions in appropriations to cover the costs of purchasing road salt for the city.
During the report of standing committees, Stockman announced that the rules and ordinances committee will be meeting at 6 p.m. on Sept. 22 to review city fee schedule and fee formulas, language issues and clarifications for the city animal ordinance, and suggested updates to the city's ordinance regulating e-bike and mobility scooters.
Councilwoman Sara Baer announced that the committee of the whole meeting at 6 p.m. on Oct. 20 will feature a presentation from the city's IT contractor ECMSI rather than the originally planned discussion of a potential safety services levy. Baer also requested that all the city's department head attend the committee meeting.
Council's next regular meeting would normally fall on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.; however, due to several council members being unable to attend that meeting, the council voted unanimously to reschedule its next meeting for 7 p.m. on Oct. 13. The council also voted to reschedule its first meeting in November from 7 p.m. on Nov. 3, to 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 as City Council Chambers will serve as a polling location for the General Election on Nov. 3.