Mayors discussing animal control with tribes

Animal control, a common need among local towns, is being addressed by the Regional Board of Mayors, who are looking into contracting with the Colville Confederated Tribes to address the issue.

The RBOM met on Monday, when animal control was discussed by Elmer City Mayor Jesse Tillman, Electric City Mayor John Nordine, Coulee Dam Mayor Bob Poch, Grand Coulee Mayor Pro Tempore Tom Poplawski, and Marica Sample, the sole employee of Colville Tribal Animal Control.

“It’s a need throughout all of our towns,” Tillman said.

Sample said the tribe is interested in the contract, and that their kennel space in Nespelem is big enough to accommodate any dogs, the main animal of concern, that the towns might bring in.

The group discussed that a holding facility for dangerous dogs or strays is the primary issue, with the current situation being that police officers take such dogs to a facility in Moses Lake, an expensive and long journey.

The group also discussed wanting consistency between their towns’ dog ordinances, and to try to match them up with the tribal code, to an extent, to make contracting with the tribes easier.

The next steps, according to Electric City Clerk Russ Powers, are to “draft some sort of interlocal agreement, present that to the tribe, and see how they feel about it.”

The towns and the tribe would also need to sort through the logistics, such as how much it would cost per dog, or paying a percentage of an animal control officer’s salary.

Sample said there is already a need for another officer and the group discussed it being a potentially mutually beneficial situation to get into a contract.