Commission to talk dog ban
Published on -5/6/2009, 1:42 PM
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By KALEY LYON
Hays City Commissioners will discuss whether pit bulls should be allowed within city limits at Thursday's 5:30 p.m. work session.
The discussion follows a recent incident in which a pit bull mix attacked and killed a smaller dog.
According to police, the pit bull/mastiff mix jumped through the windows of a home in pursuit of the other dog. A 10-year-old girl was walking her Maltese and picked up the dog in an effort to save it.
The pit bull then grabbed the smaller dog out of her arms, carried it off and killed it. The child was not injured, said Lt. Don Scheibler with the Hays Police Department.
The incident occurred shortly before 4 p.m. April 29 on the 300 block of West 16th.
The pit bull since has been euthanized, and the owner has been cooperative in the investigation, Scheibler said, noting pit bull attacks haven't been a common problem locally.
The child's parents have contacted city commissioners about the issue, and Commissioner Henry Schwaller IV requested the item be included on Thursday's agenda.
"The girl was very traumatized," City Manager Toby Dougherty said. "The parents were traumatized."
The issue of banning certain dog breeds was discussed about five years ago. At that time, the commission adopted a dangerous and vicious dog ordinance but opted not to single out any breed, Dougherty said.
Schwaller, who was on the commission at that time, said he thinks it might be time to revisit the issue.
Several years ago, the city was just beginning animal control efforts, and Schwaller wanted to implement the program before establishing such mandates, he said.
"Given the amount of time that has passed and given what city staff is capable of doing, and I think we have everything pretty much under control, I wanted to revisit the issue of a breed ban," Schwaller said. "So we're going to come to the table to have open discussion and see where commissioners stand."
Other agenda items include:
* A proposed lease and agreement allowing North Central Kansas Technical College to use the former Army Reserve center.
* Expansion of the Hays Recreation Commission's current facility.
* Bids, design and construction work for the Smoky Hill well field expansion project.
* Annexation and final plat of Heart of America property on Commerce Parkway.
* A petition from Heart of America and Glassman Corp. to create a special benefit district for construction of Ninth Street, where the company's future headquarters will be located on Commerce Parkway.
* Professional engineering services for Vine Street improvements from 22nd to 27th Street.
* Bond funding, award of bid and engineering services for construction of an aircraft rescue and firefighting facility at Hays Regional Airport.
* Review of city commission rules of procedure and meeting times.
