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HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93009_2123Jan Bame,s said she was a neighbor of the Parlato family. She praised the family for being responsible pet owners. She, too, offered to be a committee member for any proposed ordinances. Randal Bowen, a county resident and owner of wolf crosses, said he didn't feel the county had a problem with wild, exotic, or poisonous animals. Bowen said he had read the proposed ordinance and specifically the sections dealing with animal enclosures. He asked who would have the liability if an individual was injured by an electric fence surrounding an animal enclosure - - the owner or the county? Bowen also said the proposed ordinance did not have an appeal section. He shared an excerpt from The Constitution of the United States ofAmerica and said that animals were considered property. He advised that the Constitution said that when property was taken from owners there had to be an appeal process. Debra Russo said she worked at the lredell County Animal Shelter. She said any ordinance dealing with the topic should be one that "everyday" people could live by. Russo said that during the last five years there had been 1,423 animal bites. Out of these, one was a snake bite and three bites involved wolf hybrids. Russo said there seemed to be more of a dog problem than an exotic animal problem. Steve von Rudin said he took care of the Parlato lion when the owners were out of town. He said that if an ordinance were enacted, it should be written so that everyone in the county could live with it. MOTION by Commissioner Fortner to instruct the county attorney to prepare an ordinance banning all wild or exotic animals and poisonous reptiles as outlined in the presented ordinance and to make the ordinance effective July 1, 1999, and for the county attorney to present it to the Board as quickly as possible. Commissioner Johnson said he felt some responsible pet owners would be harmed by such an ordinance. He asked what would happen with some of the animals already in the county. Chairman Haire said her first loyalty was to the citizens of the county and their protection. Attorney Pope said a clause could be inserted into the ordinance stating a specific time period for animals, currently located in the county, to be sold or removed. Chairman Haire asked if six months was a reasonable time period. Commissioner Former said she felt this was too much time. Attorney Pope said a time frame for the disposition of animals already in the county could be written into the ordinance. He said this would be more practical since it might take several weeks before the ordinance was actually adopted. VOTING: Ayes - 3; Nays - 2 (Bowles/Johnson) PUBLIC HEARING Chairman Haire declared the meeting to be in public hearing session. PRESENTATION OF FY 1999-2000 SECONDARY ROAD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR IREDELL COUNTY BY THE NORTH CAROLINA DOT: Mr. Joe Lamb, the Assistant Division Engineer for the NC DOT, presented the following program improvements for the upcoming year.