By Katee Underwood, Staff Writer
Concerns over loose dogs, public access to city meetings, employee costs and efforts to clean up the community were among the topics discussed during the Coldwater city council meeting Monday night.
During public comment, Brian Miller told the council the community’s dog problem has become serious enough that he carries two forms of defense – one lethal pistol and one nonlethal pistol – when he is out walking. Miller said he and his family have had to fight off dogs on multiple occasions. He recalled an incident on New York Street in which he used pepper spray on a loose dog he described as vicious.
Miller said he has attempted to address the issue through the county attorney several times but said the cases have gone nowhere. He also said he has contacted the sheriff’s office, and was told it’s not their jurisdiction.
He’s also been to the city clerk’s office without getting the response he believes is needed. Miller suggested the city consider imposing larger fines for dogs running at large.
“I don’t know anybody scared of a chicken,” Miller said, comparing the issue to the city’s enforcement of its chicken regulations. “They can’t hurt someone, yet we’re being fined for chickens and not dogs.”
Miller said he takes pictures every time he finds a dog out. He has pictures of the ones who are supposed to be enforcing the issue like the local judge and city attorney and their dogs are out. Miller asked multiple times for the council to enforce the rules.
“Just follow the rules, it’s not hard,” he said. “We don’t need to make more rules, they’re there. Let’s just follow them.
“Nobody wants to hurt a dog but I’m going to defend my family.”
Council members said they would like to discuss the issue further and look into what options may be available.
The council also discussed its policy regarding photographing and recording meetings.
Councilman Gary Haulmark suggested adding language to a proposal looked at by the council addressing transparency and livestreaming council meetings through social media or a city website.
Devon Duffield said he supported the idea, noting that several community members have approached him about livestreaming and that some residents do not have time to attend council meetings but still want to know what is being discussed.
The proposal initially failed, with Haulmark and Duffield voting in favor and Leasa Huck and Sam Oller and Makenzie Dunn voting against it.
While Dunn voted no, she said she would support livestreaming meetings if the broadcasts were live only, but expressed concern about recordings being archived and potentially manipulated using artificial intelligence.
The council discussed the options and agreed to revisit the issue and vote again at its October meeting.
Public Works Supervisor Charlie Austin also brought forward the idea of holding an annual, or possibly more frequent, tree-limb pickup day. Council members expressed support for exploring the idea.
The council discussed several ways to reduce city expenses, including employee uniforms and health insurance. The city currently uses Cintas for employee uniforms at a cost of approximately $900 per employee annually for cleaning and repairs such as patching. Council members discussed purchasing uniforms on their own and having them washed by the city or families instead.
The proposal met some resistance because of the grease and other substances employees can encounter while working, with concerns raised about employees’ families being unwilling to wash heavily soiled uniforms. The uniform discussion was tabled until the next meeting.
