St. Martinville – The St. Martinville City Council discussed its dangerous animal policy at Monday’s council meeting after one city resident reported that her pet dog had been killed by a pit bull that was taken to the parish animal control facility and then mistakenly released to its owner on the same day.
City Councilman Mike Fuselier read the city’s dangerous animal policy, which states that any animal that is considered a danger to people or other animals by its nature or training, and which is involved in an incident is to be taken to the parish dog pound. Only if it is found not to be a danger following an investigation is it supposed to be released to the owner, the city ordinance says.
Mayor Jason Willis said the animal control center had by mistake followed the parish ordinance on dangerous animals, not the city ordinance, in releasing the dog to its owner.
The city has worked that issue out with the parish, the mayor said, and parish officials said the city could bring the animal back and it would be kept at the facility. However, the city was unable to find the animal again as the owner had moved it elsewhere.
The lady whose dog was killed said that it was the second time an animal has been killed by dogs running loose in the same yard.
She said that anytime a dog attacks another animal or a human, it should be held for 10 days and checked for rabies, but that was not the case in this situation. A second attack should automatically trigger the animal being kept in the animal control facility, she said.
“My dog was all I had,” she said. “And I was knocked to the ground.”
She said people have filmed the same dog that attacked hers, running loose afterwards.
“He was everything to me,” she said tearfully of her pet. “This was not handled correctly. The other lady also, she had to go through what I’m going through. If it keeps going like this, who’s going to be next? If it was my grandchild, he might not be here today, because I was on the ground (during the attack on her pet).”
“Yes ma’am,” Willis said. “I know how much you loved your dog and I feel so bad for that.”
The city has arranged for the parish facility to handle dogs sent to it from the city based on city ordinance going forward, he said.
“They know that if we bring the dog, they are to keep the dog and actually put the dog down (if warranted),” he said.
But he also said the city can’t patrol the area constantly to see if the dog has returned to its owner, and so relies on someone reporting to the city that the dog is back so it can go pick the animal up again.
Fuselier said that it was a mistake that the dog was returned. The parish ordinance says that if a dog has an owner it should be returned to the owner, which is not the same as the city ordinance.
“That was a mistake,” Fuselier said. “It should have never been returned. But you (Mayor Willis) got that straightened out.
Fuselier added that he had been told the dangerous dog’s owner had been evicted from the city projects that day, and had said the dog was not his but belonged to someone else who left it with him.
Willis confirmed that the city housing authority representative who said the man was being evicted because he wasn’t supposed to have a dog there, but acted as though it was not his and only that someone had dropped it off for him to keep temporarily.
The mayor added that he believes the parish administration has worked out the issues going forward as far as the city’s ordinances regarding loose pit bulls being turned over to the animal control facility.
Fuselier said the city needs to do a better job following its own ordinances to make sure that the issue doesn’t happen again.
Council members apologized to the woman whose pet was killed and expressed condolences.
In other business
The council discussed vouchers for city utility bills as one customer had issues after paying her bill and using a voucher from SMILE for her electric bill.
One customer was charged late fees when the voucher wasn’t paid on time, Councilman Jonas Fontenette said, and is worried her electric service will be cut off.
Willis said there are two types of vouchers. Critical situation vouchers are guaranteed while heating and cooling vouchers are not.
The most recent critical vouchers were not paid in the usual 30 days because the SMILE system was hacked, but the critical vouchers are now being paid.
But if the payment is not received on time, the customer is still subject to late fees and penalties, the mayor said. The city is giving 60 days for the vouchers to be paid with no late fees or penalties assessed, he said, for guaranteed vouchers.
But that is only if the customer is current. Customers must continue to be current in their payments for months not paid by the vouchers. And with the non-critical vouchers, which are not guaranteed, customers are liable for late fees and penalties.
The council approved the voucher extension and waiver of late fees and penalties for SMILE crisis vouchers, St. Theresa vouchers and Catholic Charities of Acadiana vouchers.
The council was updated on property at 440 South Vivier, which has been boarded up as ordered at the last council meeting.
Property at 215 Honore has been purchased and the building was removed. Another property on Columbus Street also will be taken care of and progress has been made on the property, city Planning & Zoning Coordinator Otis Chatman said.
A letter was sent and work is being done cleaning up property at 314 LaSalle, the property owner said. He said he plans to bring the property up to code. The city council tabled action on the matter until further inspections are done.
The city recreation summer soccer program discussion was tabled until the next meeting.
The swimming pool lifeguard agreement was updated because certification for lifeguards is $300. The council approved providing $100 per lifeguard to be applied to certification training. About 10-15 lifeguards will be used at the pool during the summer, pending research on the legality of the plan.
