Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
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Martinsville, Virginia 24115
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Southside neighborhood resident Gene Cardwell addresses Martinsville City Council with his concerns during the neighborhood community meeting on Tuesday evening at Fuller Memorial Baptist Church. (Bulletin photo by Kim Barto) |
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
By KIM BARTO - Bulletin Staff Writer
Martinsville City Council heard concerns from Southside area residents about dogs, property maintenance and other neighborhood issues during a community meeting Tuesday evening at Fuller Memorial Baptist Church.
About 35 people attended the meeting, and nine of them spoke. Several said they were concerned with animal issues and dogs getting loose in the neighborhood.
Glen Powell, who lives on Forest Street, said there is a problem with people chaining dogs in their backyards. Powell said dogs should have a fenced area with room to run around.
“They bark more and get meaner when they’re chained up,” he said. “That’s just not the way dogs are supposed to live.”
Powell also said he would like to see the city require pets to be spayed or neutered to cut down on animal overpopulation.
“There are just too many unwanted pets around here. People are just not taking responsibility for their animals,” Powell said. “Several thousand dogs get put down every year” because there are not enough homes, he added.
The SPCA will neuter dogs for $35, he said. Mayor Kathy Lawson added that for multiple pets, the SPCA charges a “household rate” of $75.
City Attorney Eric Monday said he is not sure if the city has legislative authority for a spay/neuter ordinance.
Council member Danny Turner said he was surprised to see how many pit bulls are chained up outside of houses in Southside neighborhoods.
Monday said there is a limit on how many dogs a person is allowed to have adjacent to a residential structure in the city. Monday was not sure of the number at the meeting but will be looking into it, he said.
Council member Gene Teague said he would like the council to look at the issue of dogs because “four (pit bulls) seems like a lot,” and some houses have more than that in their yards.
Turner asked if it would be possible to enact a limit on the number of “vicious dogs” or make owners carry a certain amount of liability insurance in case the dog attacks someone.
Monday said the General Assembly “has consistently declined to declare specific breeds of dogs as vicious,” and a dog “essentially has to attack somebody before it’s considered vicious.”
Stella Meadors, a Wingfield Street resident, added that cats are a problem in the neighborhood as well.
“We have more cats and dogs than we have people on the street,” Meadors said. “We used to have such a nice neighborhood — now, it’s so dangerous because the dogs get loose.”
James Sparks, who also lives on Wingfield Street, said multiple dogs belonging to neighbors keep him awake at night with their barking. He also raised issues of unmowed yards, a trash bin he said blocks traffic on Park Street and people parking on the wrong side of the road.
“Sometimes it’s hard for me to get out of the driveway” when people park on the wrong side, Sparks said.
Sparks asked what can be done about odor from dogs coming from nearby houses.
Monday said there is nothing in the city code about dog odor, but he suggested consulting a private attorney “if somebody is doing something on their property to diminish your property value.”
Sparks also commented on an old factory building that has been grown over with bushes.
Teague acknowledged the problem of old factory buildings in the city and said one of council’s goals is to “look for some sort of funds to take care of those and get them back to brownfields.
“Otherwise, they’ll continue to be eyesores and hazards,” Teague said.
Lonni Carter commented that Union Street needs to made one-way.
“We’re going to make that happen,” Lawson said.
Carter also thanked the city for starting to clean up a property on Stephens Street and added that some trees need to be cut back on Askin Street near Dupont Road.
Katherine Medley, of Askin Street, said she and several neighbors are concerned about loud parties on the street, which include “loud music, foul language and drinking in the street.”
Children ride bikes and scooters up and down the street at 10 or 11 p.m., Medley added, and some people pull a basketball goal into the street and play.
However, the street has been quiet “since Labor Day,” she said.
Patty Morrison asked if there is a law about shooting BB guns in the city “because I just about got shot in the head” when people were shooting BBs near her home, she said.
Martinsville Police Chief Mike Rogers said it is a violation of city ordinance to shoot any kind of gun in city limits, including BBs. Rogers urged citizens to call 911 any time there is an issue.
“We have to rely on people to call us when someone’s shooting a gun, or when there’s a dog running loose,” he said.
If police catch a loose dog, it is taken to the animal shelter, and the owner will be charged to pick it up, he said.
In drug enforcement operations, Rogers said, it helps when people call the police with tag numbers of cars parked at houses where drug activity may be occurring.
“Help us help you by calling 911 when you can,” Rogers said.
Gene Cardwell, of Oak Street, said he owns four lots up the street and has “cleaned those lots a hundred times” because people keep dumping trash there.
Cardwell also mentioned a house on Askin Street that “has been condemned for years and is still standing,” he said. “It’s just an eyesore.”
He also commented that his electric bill for a two-person household seems too expensive.
Betty Sloan, who lives on Greyson Street, requested information about city regulations of height and size of structures. Sloan said an adjoining property owner has built a structure between their houses that is “supposed to be a privacy fence, but it’s an eyesore.”
David Ray Bullins said his home on Circle Drive is technically in Henry County, but his backyard is in the city, and he has city power, sewage and water. As a result, Bullins said he is being charged more for his utilities.
When Appalachian Power gave the city a rebate 10 years ago, Bullins added, he and 26 other houses in the neighborhood did not get part of the rebate, and “this isn’t fair,” he said.
“I have been trying for 10 years to get this resolved,” Bullins said. “I am speaking for 26 residents who fell through the cracks.”
Water Resources Director John Dyches said Bullins’ water and sewer rate overall are less than what city residents pay.
Lawson told Bullins that city officials would investigate the situation and get back to him.
Executive Secretary Brenda Prillaman gave an overview of the Southside area’s quarterly neighborhood focus report during the meeting. Residents’ main concerns continue to be unsightly properties, dilapidated houses and inoperative vehicles, she said.
Complaints about these and related issues should be directed to Prillaman in the city Customer Service Center at 403-5206.
“This was a very good meeting, an excellent turnout,” said Lawson after the meeting.
“We heard from people with a lot of good issues. This is what we want to see” from the meetings, she added.
Neighborhood community meetings are held quarterly in each area of the city at churches or other gathering places, where people may feel more comfortable addressing the council, Lawson said. The meetings are not televised.
Also during the meeting, the council voted to investigate what kind of price the city could get from timbering some of the larger tracts of city surplus property. The vote does not signify any action or decision on those tracts, Lawson said.
The council also approved an ordinance on second reading to abandon the eastern portion of an alley off Geter Street. The measure was approved on first reading at the Aug. 26 council meeting after a public hearing at which no one spoke. |
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