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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-03-18 CEAC MINUTES• • • I. II. Ill. City of Englewood Code Enforcement Advisory Committee Minutes from the Meeting of March 18, 2009 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Englewood Code Enforcement Advisory Committee was called to order at 6:32 p.m . by Chair Hoagland . Roll Call Present: Chair Hoagland and Members Mosman, Bayless, Becker, Hart (arrived 6:41 p .m .), Wilson and Alternate Member Hinger. Absent/Excused: None A quorum was present. Ex-Officio Members Present: Staff Liaison Flaherty and Sergeant Contos Ex-Officio Members Absent: Council Liaisons McCaslin and Penn who are both at the National League of Cities in Washington , DC. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Member Becker made a motion to approve the minutes of the February 18, 2008 meeting. This was seconded by Member Wilson. There being no changes, the minutes were approved as submitted. PUBLIC OPEN FORUM Chair Hoagland initiated a discussion on the collection of fees for "decriminalized " civil complaints such as weeds or snow. He indicated some municipalities collect these fines through utilities billing and suggested the Committee might want to consider this as a way of gaining re-entry to decriminalization. Discussion ensued. The Committee did not have interest in pursuing at this time. IV. NEW BUSINESS a. 2009 Weed Control b. This was only discussed briefly in connection with fines being collected through the utility billing process as noted under Public Open Forum above. Election of Committee Chair and Vice Chair As Chris Hoagland has now served two terms as Chair and is term limited, he called for nominations for a new Committee Chair. After a short discussion , Member Becker made a motion to nominate Ms. Mosman as Chair with Mr. Hoagland as Vice Chair. Member Bayless seconded this . After additional discussion , Member Becker amended • v. • • her motion to nominate Ms. Mosman as Chair with Ms. Bayless as Vice Chair. There were no other nominations and the Committee voted unanimousl y. Ms. Mosman took over conducting the meeting as Chair. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Training and Ownership Issues for At-Risk Dogs The flyer, Conditions for Keeping an Animal Classified as "Dangerous", was attached to the packet for this meeting and includes information assembled from the Englewood Municipal Code. This flyer is currently distributed by the Court to owners of animals that have been classified as "dangero us " to help them come into compliance. It was suggested that a list of local trainers and classes specializing in working with aggressive dogs be compiled and given to the Judge as a resource. Thi s list could also be distributed by code officers in the field as they observe animals that are misbehaving. Member Hoagland asked if there has been feedback on comments made by the City Prosecutor's office regarding the difficulty of enforcing the ordinance or carrying out the terms of rehabilitation as discussed two meetings ago. Mike Flaherty has not heard back from the City Attorney. Member Hoagland would welcome any commen ts they might have for the next meeting. A question was raised as to whether we have many dangerous animal issues in the City. Sergeant Contos advised there is a wide variety of animal related violations, but very few dangerous animal cases. A court case, however, is coming up relating to two animals that allegedly attacked a service dog. Council Member Moore has requested a report at a future Study Session on the results of this case, and how the new dangerous animal ordinance was applied. The Committee also discussed ownership issues includin g: • Difficulty in obtaining liability coverage to insure in cases of a dangerous dog. Most homeowner policies do not offer this coverage . • Current disrepair of wooden fences and whether maintenance can be enforced to ensure aggressive dogs don't escape. Mike Flaherty advised that City Code only deals with installation of new fences. b. Informational Piece on Trees for the City Website c. Member Bayless drafted an article on trees for the City website and asked the Committee to review it and comment. She will work with Webmaster Leigh Ann Hoffhines on links, pictures, etc. Potentially this article would be published in the Citizen Newsletter and /or the Englewood Herald. Discussion ensued. Newcomer Information for the City Website Since the last meeting, Alternate Member Hinger researched websites from other cities in the metro area. She reports the new-resident checklist on the Englewood website is quite comprehensive and readily accessible. Snow removal and animal control topics 2 are included; however, she suggests links be added to include other code topics such as • abandoned, inoperable, or off road vehicles . Di sc ussion ensued . • • VI. CODE ENFORCEMENT MONTHLY REPORT Sergeant Contos responded to a question on the consolidation of code reports to make year to year comparison easier. Currently it is not possible to consolidate last year's statistics with this year's on one page. The IT Department has been consulted and they are working on this formatting issue. Sergeant Contos made a brief report on current code statistics . The category "Coyote Sightings" has been added to the report, and Officers will be tracking this along with coyote attacks. Trash and Litter is up from 27 incidents last year to 88 this year. Member Hoagland suggested Trash and Litter is actually a health issue and asked if it could be enforced under another section of the code, i.e. Title 15 . He suggests the Committee take a look at this at the next meeting. Discussion ensued . The Neighborhood Block Watch Captains meeting will be Thursday, March 261h. Topics include a wildlife presentation and gypsy/home repair fraud. Anyone who would like to attend, should call Toni Geier at 303-762-2490. VII. MISCELLANEOUS Chair Mosman requested an updated list of Committee members. A pdf file of the most recent Board and Commission Roster will be e-mailed to all Committee members with the next packet. A paper copy of the Roster will also be available at the next meeting for those who prefer this format. VIII. TOPICS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS • Report from the City Attorney's Office on enforcing the new dangerous animal ordinance. • A discussion on Trash and Litter under new business. • Distribution of updated Board and Commission Roster IX. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:46 p.m. Submitted by du A fh.--: x ~ 3