ELY- Ely Police Chief Chad Houde and City Attorney Kelly Klun presented a revised pet ordinance to the Ely City Council on Tuesday, but didn’t anticipate the concerned reactions of three citizens who requested to speak, nor the surprised reactions of the city council.
The new ordinance was the result of Houde’s frustrations last year over two dangerous dog incidents in Ely along with the deliberate running down of three deer with a vehicle this winter. Houde wanted to have better city laws to address those two situations when and if they reoccur. At the same time, all of the pet-related ordinances were consolidated in one place instead of being scattered in different portions of the city’s code. Overall, the proposed new ordinance moved pre-existing ordinances to one location and added new sections on dangerous dogs and cruelty to animals, both wild and domestic.
“The new dangerous dog language reflects what already exists in Minnesota law,” Houde told the Timberjay earlier on Tuesday, explaining the addition of a dangerous charge for owners and a liability insurance requirement for dogs determined to be dangerous.
“The new section on cruelty gives us the ability to act in a situation like the one that happened this winter with the deer,” he added, “which we did not have this winter.” The new ordinance allows the city to cite for cruelty and impose a fine for each animal harmed or killed.
“The rest of the pet ordinances we consolidated, so pet owners would be able to see all the relevant laws in one place,” Houde explained. “Most of them are about ten years old. None of the laws about licenses or loose animals are new." At the city council meeting, Houde stated that he first brought up revising the pet ordinance with the council in February.
“I was surprised to see this ordinance when I downloaded the agenda packet on Friday evening, to see this here,” said Mayor Heidi Omerza. Council member Al Forsman echoed Omerza. “My first look at the agenda packet (was) yesterday. I’m trying to figure out where this came from … I think we got ahead of ourselves. (The pet ordinance) should have been put on a study session with the (city) attorney.”
Resident Wende Nelson testified that she thought portions of the ordinance, like “licenses on collars on inside pets” was “government overreach” into people’s lives and homes. She also expressed concern that low-income residents would be disproportionately impacted by all the collar, license, and immunization requirements in the proposed ordinance.
Resident Frederica Musgrave expressed consternation that the agenda packet for the Aug. 15 meeting wasn’t posted online during business hours on Friday.
Musgrave approved of the dangerous dog and cruelty additions but also had several concerns over the proposed pet ordinance. She cited the animal noise portion, noting that that measures accompanying it seemed out of proportion when compared to the lack of enforcement over the much louder noise of extraneous private fireworks that residents must endure for most of the month of July. She noted what she saw as confusion over the maximum of four pets rule without a special permit, wondering if her two birds counted toward a five pet household since she also had a dog and two cats. “If I apply and pay for a (more than four pet) permit and lose a pet, do I have to reapply and pay for new permit if I then add another fifth pet?” she asked.
“Thank you for looking into the dangerous dog issue proactively,” commented Megan Wind during her own comments to the council. In contrast, she said Ely is not a dog-friendly town, noting the lack of public spaces available to take dogs and the lack of a dog park. She noted that tourists who travel with their dogs are sensitive to dog-friendly and dog-adverse destinations, and that Ely could be losing tourist dollars by not being more open to the needs of visiting dog owners.
After the public testimony and council member discussion, the council did not vote to approve the first readings of the two changes that make up the new pet ordinance. Instead, the council took the advice of City Attorney Kelly Klun in light of the comments made at the meeting to hold a study session, which the council set for Aug. 29 at 6:30 p.m., at City Hall.
Audit
The city received the audit of its 2022 books. The report on the audit was given by accountant Tom Kelly of Walker, Giroux, and Hahne. Overall, the results of the audit were similar to last year, with overall good performance. He noted that Ely still endured the continued repeat of certain problems caused by the low staffing levels of a small city government that had to spread staff out to get things done.
“Your (city) office does a really good job,” Kelly remarked. Despite increases between 2021 and 2022 in both revenues and expenses, “your revenues are still greater than your expenses,” which of course, is the desired result for a city to stay in the black. The audit’s general fund analysis showed that the city brought in $63,996 more revenues in 2022 compared to 2021, but spent $194,952 less. He noted a couple of odd notes comparing the two years’ books, caused by the transit of $1.9 million in the EDA special revenue fund received in 2021 but disbursed in 2022. The other odd note was due to a $500,000 general fund transfer “to cover capital projects funds not budgeted.”
The audit firm identified the same deficiency as last year, in that Ely has inadequate segregation of duties in its accounting practices. He also noted that this is a persistent condition in Ely “because of staffing limitations caused by fiscal constraints.” In a nutshell, Ely can’t afford to hire enough staff to completely segregate accounting tasks.
Kelly also recommended more thorough voiding of cashed city checks, including cutting out signatures, the submittal of more frequent pay requests during the year, and remembering to incorporate a 5 percent bump-up every year when budgeting.
Other business
In other action, the city council:
• Approved the second reading and adoption of Ordinance No. 371 on restrictions for using cannabinoid products in public places and on public property. The first reading was approved at the Aug. 1 city council meeting, as reported in the Aug. 4 edition of the Timberjay.
• Approved the proposed 32 percent ownership of the Ely Area Ambulance Joint Powers Board (JPB) building which the board is leasing to the Ely Ambulance Service. Ely, Morse, and Fall Lake will each own 32 percent and Winton, which made a much smaller contribution toward the 2022 building purchase, will own 4 percent, as described in the Aug. 11 edition of the Timberjay.
• Set $32,411 as the city’s contribution for the Ely Area Ambulance Service, instead of the possible $48,616 discussed at the previous city council meeting which was contingent on actions by the other communities on the JPB. Those contingencies were not met so the budgeted funds will be the lower amount.
• Voted to make the Aug. 28 JPB meeting a special meeting of the city council so all council members can attend if they choose.
• Heard the report from council member Angela Campbell that the Heritage Preservation Commission had submitted a grant application for $10,000 for the Ely Memorial High School oral history project, to be conducted in the honor of the high school building’s 100th anniversary.
• Approved the mortgage satisfaction for Dean Hanninen, recorded as Document No. 01394307 on Oct. 27, 2020.
• Approved the retention of the Klun Law Firm to represent the city for a period of two years. The retainer and hourly rate received cost-of-living increases. The retainer will increase from $60,000 to $62,000 and the rate will increase from $120/hour to $125/hour. The firm has represented the city for 22 years.
• Approved claims for payment for $370,557 for the city and Ely Utilities Commission, $30,216 from AE2S for the Wastewater Treatment Facility Improvements Project, and $3,250 for SEH for Prospector ATV Trail work.
• Approved a memorandum of understanding with the Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital 340B drug pricing program. The federal 304B program allows small rural hospitals to buy outpatient drugs at discounted prices, saving both the facility and its patients money.
• Approved a temporary liquor license application for the Ely Winton Rod and Gun Club for Sept. 2 and Sept. 16 for events at the Miners Dry House.
• Approved both new applications and renewals of cannabinoid dealer licenses for 2023-24, pending receipt of proper paperwork, insurance and fees.
• Accepted the resignation of Jennifer Cole from the Police Commission and approved advertising an open seat on the Police Commission.
• Appointed Harold Langowski as Ely’s delegate to the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association meeting, with Warren Nikkola as alternate.
• Approved a residential rehab loan for Josh Brang and Sarah Murn at 931 E. Harvey St. for $10,000 for a new propane boiler pending proper paperwork, fees. The council directed City Attorney Klun to work with the applicant and proceed with the loan application.