The Problem:  We have a problem with stray and feral cats.  There is no doubt about it.  The City Council wouldn't have been considering for its third month a remedy for such cats if there was no problem. 

But we can also say there was no problem last year, as the City actually got through the year without even a consideration of such measures.  Thus, the problem has developed since last year and so we need to figure out what made the cats a problem since then.

 

The Genesis of the Problem? :  On July 12, 2010 the following was noted in the "New Business" portion of the DDA's monthly meeting:  "Dog bowl project information has been sent out. 11 stores have responded so far."  The always incomplete minutes of the DDA, mentions this here first and gives no relevant info about a "dog bowl project".  But less than a month later the Planning Commission met on 8-4-2010 and had this in their minutes:

 

And we're still flummoxed over what this initiative is.  The next months DDA meeting states:

First it's a project, then its an initiative and now we're talking dog stations.  We begin to get the impression that bowls for the feeding of dogs are being placed in the downtown area of Ludington.  And it began last summer.  Besides the above cryptic passages, there is nothing you can google or find in the City website except for the following which occurs in almost all local 'tourist information' sites:

 

Project Dog Bowl, courtesy of Mason County Transit Mix, out on the PM Hwy.  Now your pooch can stay hydrated while he shops downtown.  Look for water bowls. 

 

I did.  In August, I went downtown and took some pictures of the dog stations that are part of the dog bowl initiative-project. 

Sportsman's Dog Bar

108 Threads- Two Dog Ceramics

Snyder's Shoes and Dog Watering Hole

Blu Moon-Dog Restaurant

And some others including this one in front of AJ's Party Port:

 

OK, let's quickly review: the DDA Board decided to put bowls of water around the downtown area, along Ludington Ave and James Street to be dog-friendly to those who walk them downtown during last summer, and they still remain.  Let's go on.

 

Where has the problem been reported? 

 

According to my FOIA into cat complaints received by the City, there has been no formal complaint received, nor any problem with stray cats investigated by the LPD in the last year.  But there has been two people who bring in their anecdotes of 'the cat plague of 2011' into the City Council meetings.  The first is from the 7-11 meeting, the last two from the 8-8 meeting.

Both of these people are in the downtown area, within a block or two of several of these watering bowls, put out for dogs, and left out overnight.  No other person has commented on this problem anywhere else in the City.

 

Who is responsible for solving this problem?

 

This area is exclusively in the Third Ward of Ludington, which was served by Councilor Scott until he retired after 11.5 years of service in April 2011.  The new councilor, Les Johnson, took over and presumably took over Mr. Scott's position on the Public Safety Committee.  Him, along with Councilor Castonia and Peterson, initially agreed to ban the feeding of all animals by people other than their owners, even inside their own house.  When some sanity came back to them they agreed to the latest revision of this proposed law. 

Les Johnson is a member of the DDA and was back last year, and serves as the secretary to that organization.  He helped institute the dog bowl project, helped keep it obscure by not keeping minutes that actually comply with the Open Meetings Act, and helped put a dog station in front of the business he owns, AJ's Party Port on the deep south of James Street.  For my own anecdote, the only cat I have seen at night on James Street since I have been looking has been a cat within feet of his bowl (in the picture above) who ran away when he noticed me. 

 

What does the proposed ordinance say?

 

While City Clerk Luskin usually keeps exceptional minutes she did not put out the revision at the last meeting.  And, of course, I cannot view the ordinance because I am restricted from entering City Hall by city policy.  But here is the closest I can give you:

 

"Anyone intentionally making water available to any cat"? 

 

Let's summarize.  The DDA Board thought it would be a tourist-friendly act to provide watering stations for dogs in front of the downtown businesses.  They purchased bowls from Transit Ready Mix, filled them with water and have had them placed since summer of last year and they have remained there.  A problem with stray and feral cats developed over this winter in that same area, if we believe the testimony of those who sought this ordinance.  They say that people have been leaving food out for them. 

But cats can go a long time without food, and very little time without water as many pet websites will tell you  PetsHub: Cats and food.   Furthermore, stray and feral cats could find enough food by their innate hunting skills in the outdoors and even subsist on plants if their hunting skills were not sharp or the prey wasn't around.

Is it too far-fetched to say that the dog bowl initiative had an effect on the habits and the population of the downtown cats?  I don't think so; yet many-hatted City Councilor Les Johnson, who voted for the dog bowl project in the DDA, who has had a dog bowl outside his business, who has deemed it necessary to create an ordinance that restricts anyone from making water available to any cat as a member of the Public Safety Committee, and who is now scheduled to vote for an ordinance to make illegal what he has done for the last 15 months in helping to create a problem for our City, is still likely going to have that dog station/after-hours cat oasis outside his business after Monday's vote whether the proposal passes or not.  As are our other business owners in the downtown area.

We will see the amount of hypocrisy inside our government when they are cat-called on it.

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"Hey, don't you be going after dogs now or we'll have a problem" says the 'crazy dog lady'.

 

You got a point there about watering the cats. lol

 

For The Record, I will not let my dog(s) drink out of those bowls, thay are open to the whims of pedestrians and who knows what they could have dropped into the water. They are open to the air and who knows what is flying around. there is no way to know if a sick animal drank out of the bowl prior to my presence. Who knows if late at night some dirty human came along and put who knows what in those  bowls.

 

I like the watering idea of accessibility for dog people like myself, but i would prefer a business keep the bowl inside with a note on the front saying, 'dog water bowl inside, bring your pet in for a drink' or having some disposable bowls to hand out to those in need, like the water cooler things at an office.

 

I have seen to many gross things in those bowls and the biz owners not taking care of them. I go into the bookstore and get a cup of water for my dog.

The only dogs I'm going after are the ones trying to take all my rights away with innocent looking policies and ordinances ; )

I was going to make a comment on the unhealthy aspect of some of these bowls, you can make some of it out in the pictures.  Here's a comment from the 7-11-2011 DDA Board meeting; coincidentally this is when the first version of the 'Animal' feeding ordinance arrived.

 

More signs?  I'm sure Nick would love to make some more signs, LOL.  Sediments and butts and whatever oral disease that other dog (or nighttime cat) might have had is available at each dog bowl.  Disposable bowls inside sound like a good idea to me.  Perhaps the Ludington idea guys  can sell your dog SOS (Save our Spaniels) Poochie bottled water for a buck.

 

 I would gladly pay for a clean fresh water. Even a paper bowl of tap water. None of the biz's I go to ever charge though. but they would need signs, LOL, 'dog water station'.

 

What gets me is that if I take my mutt down town i have to lock him in the car WITH THE A/C GOING while i shop.

 

I went through about a tank of gas or so just to leave the car running for him this summer, in the winter I can not worry about the cold for up to an hour or so because he is a well insulated lab mix who loves to lay in the snow for hours if I let him. Probably longer really, but it gets cold in the car quick too.

 

But I do always have to make sure the wind is coming the right way to blow the exhaust away from the vehicle so not to gas him with it.  I am paranoid of hurting my baby boy.

I agree with the unsanitary conditions of the dog bowls, however having said that, it is always best to leave your four legged baby at home, if you will be shopping, eating in a restaurant, etc. They would be more comfortable, and safer. I love my babies very much also, and would not dream of hurting them, so I leave them home when it is extremely hot, or cold. I never leave them for long , with the exception of grocery shopping, work, etc.
Thanks for your cordial input on Man's and Woman's Best Friends. Our Babies are Important to US ALL!

VERY VERY well put Dagney Taggart,

Let me go on record to say that the open dog bowl program is bad. DDA did not think this one out. I would never let any of my dogs drink from an unknow bowl either. If they want to provide a clean bowl and tap water or unopened bottle water  that would be fine.

This one is unacceptable to me.

Wanda Marrison

HntrBay Curly Coated Retrievers

"Sporting" Dogs since 1976

AKC UKC Reg.

Thanks Wanda, not for agreeing to agree, but for your mutual love of the canine population and knowing the differences in right and wrong in sanitation for our loved friends. Now all you have to do is make this point to the leaders that thought this weird idea up to begin with. Good luck.
Excellent job of reporting X. How much is this bowl project costing the taxpayers? Another silly idea. I don't want people bringing dogs downtown. What about the crap and urine the dogs leave behind. I have family members who are afraid of dogs and I don't think they would appreciate having to side step canines while shopping. Another good reason not to shop downtown.

I'm going to be finding that info out Willie, because I thought it may be substantial if they're including it as part of a $15,000 bench, trash can and dog bowl purchase. 

One thing I don't understand.  They have bike racks throughout downtown, and yet you can't ride bikes on the sidewalks of Ludington or South James Streets due to local law.  Bicyclists don't buy a lot because they can't carry a lot, but they do spend more than dogs. 

Why doesn't the DDA get Chief Barnett to change the law back for the biking tourists?  Ah, they'll probably just put a separate bowl down filled with gatorade and have bikes painted on the side. 

XLFD, this is a perfect example of do as I say not do as I do.  Those bowls contents look a bit sickening, and I agree with the other here that it would be unsanitary.  If you loved your dog, would you let them drink from the mystery bowl?  These dog bowls are a public safety issue, not the stray cats it has helped foster up around Foster Street.  But somehow, it would not surprise me if those city councilors have been drinking from the dog station kool-aid in their haste to make a useless statement.

P.S. Another entertaining post that hits the nail on the head.

Another excellent find X, and to think, just do as I say, not as I do, fits exactly to the COL CC on this one. Wonder who's going to bring this up to them in written or verbal context the next meeting?....lol. The joke just gets bigger as the weeks go on with this ordinance.

Don't worry, Aq, we have dedicated followers here at the Torch from City Hall.  Some that have a pair and participate, like Wanda, and others who look in and ask themselves "What has that dastard found out about us now?", and then consult to make policies to further close off access to the public records or punish the offensive individual.

This whole ordinance would be one big entertaining laugh fest, if it didn't infringe on people's basic rights.  If someone were to walk down to AJs Party Port with their or anyone else's cat on a leash, like this rascal:

 

And he just so happens to drink from that bowl, you are not in trouble, the owner of the store is, and according to the framer's intent of this ordinance, you as a good citizen should turn them in immediately.  Fortunately, the LPD station is less than a block away-- if you have the good fortune of not being banned from going in there.

As one of my favorite literary reads ('One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish') puts it:  "From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere" at Ludington City Hall this year.

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