Villages' constant problem: cats

NEW BREMEN - Two residents took to Monday's regular village council meeting in New Bremen to address their concerns about the village's - and state's - long-standing issue of feral cats, which one resident says is posing a health risk as her child is severely allergic to cats.

The concern centers on a gray area about whether or not feral cats are owned by somebody if that person feeds the cat or gives it shelter, thus creating jurisdiction about roaming animals. Unlike state law that mandates dog owners register their dogs as pets, cat owners don't have to.

"That's the problem that a lot of municipalities are going through right now, is that we're not getting any of the same level of support for an issue that is affecting every local municipality that I've ever talked to," council president Jacob Larger said. "We shouldn't be feeding cats if they're not registered. Well, there is no registration mechanism. That's the problem, and it needs to be addressed at the state level for us as municipalities to have any teeth to figure out a solution here."

Residents Katie Schmitt and Vivian Kilmer voiced concerns about specific people feeding the cats, creating a vicious cycle in which the cats learn behavioral patterns and damage property. The issue was once controlled by the trap-neuter-release (TNR) program that the village bought into, but it has now worsened given that the program has ceased operations.

At one time, a veterinarian with Mile Creek Animal Hospital in Minster was providing TNR services, but she stopped when residents were demanding instant access and animal care, village administrator Brent Richter said.

He said it is not the hospital's fault the program stopped.

"Residents demanded instant access, and that is not how any clinic operates unless it is an emergency," he said.

"I don't know what we can do," Mayor Robert Parker said. "The problem is, in my opinion, and I've heard this from some experts in the area, that you can't feed feral cats. That's what's creating this problem - there are people in town that are feeding the cats. We can't stop people from feeding pets."

"My concern is when you are not addressing the situation of these people feeding these cats and not taking the ownership or responsibility of feeding those cats, they're also not learning anything," Schmitt said.

She asked if the police department could enforce anything.

Police Chief Mike Skinner said the department has zero resources for cats. It can call the dog warden, but there is no equivalent for cats and nearby humane societies are consistently full and are not accepting more cats.

"As a village, as a culture, do we want our police policing cats?" councilor Amanda Hurley asked.

Skinner said he doesn't know who to cite if there is an offense because there are no documented owners.

"I don't have a problem passing an ordinance, but we're not going to start asking the police department to go around policing cats," Parker said. "I'm not saying that we couldn't cite somebody if they were found to be breaking the ordinance, but we're not going to ask the police department to focus on just feral cats."

Schmitt brought copies of nuisance animal ordinances passed in New Bremen and Minster. She asked why Minster's version was more detailed and asked council to pursue adopting a similar ordinance.

New Bremen's ordinance on maintaining a nuisance stipulates that no person "shall erect, continue use, or maintain a building, structure, or place for the exercise of a trade, employment, or business or for keeping or feeding an animal which, by occasioning noxious exhalations or noisome or offensive smells, becomes injurious to the health, comfort, or property of individuals, or of the public."

Offenders may be charged with a third-degree misdemeanor.

In 2023, Minster councilors passed legislation addressing cats that roam outside their owners' property; however, according to a previous Daily Standard article, the legislation does not apply to feral cats.

Village administrator Don Harrod confirmed the stipulation on Monday, clarifying the cats mentioned in the legislation have to be owned.

Cat owners, per the legislation, are not permitted to let cats roam off their property or be a nuisance. They also must ensure their cats carry identification at all times and provide adequate food, water and shelter for the animals.

The amendment defines nuisance as a cat that "damages, defiles or defecates on private property or public walks or recreation areas" unless the waste is properly disposed of by the owner.

Persons who violate the section can be charged with a minor misdemeanor and/or be subject to a fine of $150 for each violation, the legislation states.

The amendment stipulates that the police department will investigate any situation where a cat has created a nuisance and has been reported by a "concerned citizen." When a cat found running at large has created a nuisance and its ownership is verified by the police department, officers may serve the owner with a notice of violation.

The amendment also states that persons who interfere with, hinder or bother a police officer in the performance of their duty "shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine up to $500."

Minster also has a TNR program.

Schmitt on Monday referenced the ordinance, saying, "Under stipulations like in Minster…they have penalties for doing it. Why don't we?"

The Minster ordinance, however, does not apply to feral cats.

Parker assured the residents that council shares the same frustrations. He said he also has encountered feral cats on his property and is vexed about the issue.

Schmitt asked him if he had small children playing outside, and when he said he didn't, she said it's different.

Richter said the village has had several meetings with the people feeding the cats, and they feel it is cruel to not feed a cat, he said.

He said the woman told him cats are God's creatures.

"So are my children and so are all the children who walk behind our house to go to the park," Schmitt rebutted. "I shouldn't have to go out and pick up cat poop off my pea gravel that the kids play in."

"I don't disagree with you whatsoever, but I don't know how us making an ordinance is going to change that," Parker responded.

Council agreed it would review Minster's ordinance and talk with Mile Creek about reinstating the TNR program.

"I can tell you for certain that if there's a single village in the state of Ohio that tells you they don't have a cat problem, they're lying through their teeth," Larger said.

In other business, council approved promoting patrolmen Derek Dennis and Logan Newbauer to sergeant positions.

The move comes after council heard second reading of a resolution to accept police Sgt. Brad Pyles' retirement effective Saturday. He has been with the department for 35 years, chief Mike Skinner said. He was hired in 1991 and became a sergeant in 2009.

Dennis has been with the department since 2015 and Newbauer since 2017. With the move effective immediately, the departments now has nine patrolmen and two sergeants.

Council also heard second reading of a resolution to authorize abolishing generation fees for the Auglaize County Solid Waste District.

"From what we understand, the county is asking us through a resolution to abolish the generation fee, which is a cost per ton of trash collected here in the county," Richter had said. "Since Mercer Landfill closed, some of our trash is going in Indiana to their landfill, so they don't receive the generation fee for that. They're looking to establish a contracting fee with these landfills, the way I understand it."

The proposed change from the solid waste district would establish a contract fee with different landfills to collect back funds, Richter had said.

The fee now is $7.65 per ton of trash. Councilors weren't sure what the change would look like. The village contracts with Maharg's Trash Service of Celina and uses a "bag system" in which residents must purchase specially marked trash bags.

Councilors also:

• approved third and final reading of an ordinance to allow a pipeline easement with the village's gas company.

The easement allows Vectern Energy Delivery of Ohio, doing business as CenterPoint Energy, to cross the village-owned canal. They are replacing steel high-pressure gas lines with plastic and the easement allows them the right to put a pipe under the ground on the village's property, south of the electric car chargers by the library. Vectern has been owned by Houston-based CenterPoint Energy since 2019.

• heard second reading of a resolution to authorize purchasing two Kenwood radios for $7,748.80 to replace two of the police department's current radios.

• met in executive session to consider the appointment, employment, dismissal, disclosing, promotion, demotion or compensation of a public employee. No action was anticipated.

The council meets next at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 10 in the village hall.