HUMBOLDT — Feral animals roaming Humboldt’s city streets — cats in particular — will be targeted over the next month.
Humboldt City Council members approved Monday a 30-day contract with Carson & Son Nuisance Animal Control of Toronto to trap and remove wild animals.
The city has cited Humboldt’s exploding feral cat population, which has drawn an increasing number of complaints from residents, City Administrator Larry Tucker explained.
Through the agreement, the city will pay the Toronto company $30 for every cat captured, plus a $15 travel fee. The travel fee will be limited to once a week if more than 21 cats are captured over a seven-day period.
Cats that have tags or other evidence that they are domesticated will be returned to their owners.
Tucker and Police Chief Dan Onnen said officers use a set of criteria to determine whether an animal is domesticated or feral. Extra caution would be taken to ensure a trapped animal isn’t somebody’s pet.
Carson & Son will charge the city $30 for every skunk removed. For all other wild animals, the charge will be $5 per animal.
The city already has an agreement with the Allen County Animal Rescue Facility to transfer dogs to the LaHarpe-based shelter. After three days at the ACARF facility, the dogs will be processed for adoption.
Council members said they would revisit the issue next month to determine if enough feral cats were removed to consider them no longer a high-priority nuisance, or if the Carson & Son contract should be extended.
COUNCIL MEMBERS further cleared the way for builders of a proposed senior housing complex to begin construction soon.
The council approved an ordinance to accept a rezoning application submitted by Excel Development Group of Lincoln, Neb. Land just west of Arrowood Assisted Living Center will be rezoned as multi-family usage, a change from its current single-family zoning designation.
The zoning change clears the way for Excel to purchase the land from Arrowood and begin construction.
The council also approved the final plat for the complex, which will be known as the Sterling Ridge Senior Homes project.
The rezoning and plat proposals had both been endorsed by the Humboldt Planning Commission.
Excel is receiving state tax credits to build six duplex apartments — 12 in all — geared for income-qualified residents who are 55 or older or are disabled.
The company’s goal is to have the units ready for occupancy by next spring.
THE CITY WILL pay more to insure some of its facilities, such as Humboldt’s water and sewer plants, with increased rates expected over the next few years.
That’s because the sewer and water plants have been under-insured, explained Loren Korte of Personal Service Insurance.
Tucker asked Korte to evaluate the city’s property insurance policies, which is underwritten by EMC Insurance. EMC periodically reevaluates its coverage for the city, and noted that three facilities in particular — the sewer and water plants and the old city hall building — have not been insured at replacement cost.
For example, the city’s policy last year pegged the sewer plant’s replacement cost at $313,000. EMC said a more accurate replacement value should be in the neighborhood of $4.5 million. Likewise, the city’s previous replacement cost estimate for the water plant’s replacement was set at $1.3 million. It should be set at about $3.7 million. Korte noted the old city hall’s replacement cost increased from $427,000 to $533,000 this year, although the city is unlikely to up its coverage there because it no longer serves as city hall.
Korte recommended that the city gradually increase its insurance coverage for the sewer and water plants to lessen the annual premium hikes the city would be faced with. This year’s policy assumes a $1.8 million replacement value for the water plant and a $2.3 million replacement value for the sewer plant.
Korte also suggested the city increase its deductibles for property insurance claims from $1,000 to $5,000.
The changes would give the city about $2.7 million more in coverage — from $8.3 million to $11 million — while spending a little more than $3,000 more in annual premiums, from $23,649 to $26,700.
Korte noted the city’s workmen’s compensation premiums also are going up substantially, to $35,300, from $28,700 last year. That was due in part to the number of workman’s comp claims from 2007 through 2009. Korte was hopeful that premium would drop in the coming years “because 2010 was a pretty good year in terms of not having any claims,” he said.
THE CITY will pay the Resource Center for Independent Living up to $500 as a consultant to ensure all of Humboldt’s facilities are handicap accessible and compliant with the Federal Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
The consultation fee stems from an anonymous complaint filed against the city in 2009, alleging that the old city hall building and library were not fully accessible.
A subsequent report filed by the U.S. Department of Justice noted some accessibility issues. For example, the doors to one city building were a half-inch too narrow, and a water fountain was a half-inch too high, Tucker said.
Having a group such as RCIL — which serves as an advocate for citizens with disabilities — as a consultant would make it easier for Humboldt to determine the most efficient way to improve accessibility, Tucker said.
“Otherwise, we could be at risk of spending thousands of dollars” for what could be considered relatively minor changes. “City staff is not comfortable doing an accessibility study without some outside help.”
MONDAY’S meeting was the first for incoming mayor Nobby Davis, as well as council members Wayne Smith and Sunny Shreeve. Council members Vada Aikins and Wayne Carson also were sworn in after they were re-elected to their posts.
Outgoing mayor Bob Sharp offered kind words to the council as well as city staff, including Onnen, “who had to listen to me a lot,” and City Clerk Jean Flores, “who never listened to me at all,” he joked.
Sharp also thanked Tucker for his dedication as city administrator “to make sure Humboldt is a better place.”
