Animal control discussed among mayors, city council

Anyone who has had problems with dangerous dogs in their neighborhoods may have a new reason to hope for improvement.

Although it may not be financially practical for local cities to set up their own animal control facility, it’s possible the cities could contract with the Colville Tribes for those services.

“The Regional Board of Mayors talked about having the cities basically get together and possibly contract [for animal control],” Grand Coulee Mayor Paul Townsend said at the March 19 city council meeting. “They were proposing to find someone to contract with, because it’s not cost effective for us to try to do it, even as combined cities, to justify a person do that. It’s going to be a 24/7. If you’re going to do it, you have to have a facility and people, and the cost of that can’t be justified by the number of issues.”

“At this point, I would also move for consolidation of the cities,” quipped Councilmember Tom Poplawski. “Instead of all the little things, let’s just do the big thing and get it done.”

Currently, when a dog or other animal has to be taken to a facility, it’s taken by a police officer to Moses Lake, the average hourly wage for whom is currently about $27, City Clerk Lorna Pearce told The Star later.

“I don’t like the idea of the expensive officers taking them in,” Townsend said.

Pearce said that police don’t have to be the ones to take the animals in, and suggested, jokingly, that the council members take turns doing so.

Pearce also pointed out that a trip to Nespelem, where the tribe’s facility is located, would be much shorter than a trip to Moses Lake.

The tribes, who currently have a dog pound and animal control officer, were the only organization discussed with which the cities might possibly contract.

The mayors of the four towns, Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam, Electric City, and Elmer City, all previously agreed that animal control was needed in the area at an October RBOM meeting and again at their March meeting.

“If we show there is more work available for them, it would be more enticing to them to enter into an agreement,” Townsend said in response to Pearce, who had pointed out that an individual city could contract with the tribe without the other cities.