North English Council Discuss Vicious Dog and Support for Pool

NORTH ENGLISH – During the April 3 meeting of the North English City Council, Mayor Dan Strohman clarified that the city is fully in support of the town pool located at Knoll Ridge Country Club. As discussed during last month’s meeting, the Knoll Ridge board has decided to have the pool go partially independent. Although Knoll Ridge will continue to own the pool, its maintenance will be leased out to a new 501c3, which intends to seek grants to pay for maintenance costs. The pool’s management will be leased out to a different entity, which has not been decided yet. Strohman explained that, while the city does not intend to take over pool management, it had given $107,500 in cash to the pool over the last 20 years, plus $30,000 in free water, proof of his and the council’s steadfast support of the pool. A Knoll Ridge board member in attendance stated that the country club also wants to keep the pool open going forward.

At the same meeting, the council discussed a dog bite issue that Strohman said has “slipped through the cracks” in the past. According to the mayor, a dog in town has allegedly bit three people in the past, including an eight or nine-year-old girl who walked down the alley next to the dog’s owner’s home and another child who was bit less than 24 hours later. Strohman stated he wanted the dog out of North English. City Attorney Josh Kraushaar stated this would likely fall under the city’s vicious dog laws, although he noted it might be complicated, as the dog owner could argue the children were trespassing and the dog was protecting their property. Kraushaar explained that the process for removing vicious dogs begins with an investigation, either by the mayor or the sheriff's department. Assuming the allegations are true, the city will send an order telling the owner to remove the dog, after which the owner will have three days to appeal. Kraushaar stated the city could alternatively pursue this through the court system

Organizers of the yearly North English Fun Days in attendance asked for permission to put a food tent on a city parking lot next to the grocery store; Strohman stated he had no objection. The organizers also talked about the cart show, which had 65 attendees last year and is expected to have more this year. The council and organizers discussed expanding the car show area this year, but decided to not make a decision until the car show was closer.

The council discussed plans to build a pedestrian bridge at Smoky Row Trail, which will cost an estimated $19,780. Strohman stated that the city may be able to get $14,000 in grants for the bridge and build it over the summer. Councilman Lou Garringer stated that the city will be more likely to receive a grant if they “put some skin in” and motioned to put $5,000 towards the bridge, contingent on the the rest being paid with grants. The council voted yes.

The council talked about parking problems on West Oak Street, a thin street that cars cannot drive down when there is parking on both sides of the street. Strohman suggested putting no-parking signs on one or both sides of the street. Garringer brought up the fact that some patrons of the Methodist Church park on West Oak. Councilman Red Haugland said it was not an issue because there is plenty of parking on the west side of the church. It was pointed out that most of the parking problems on the street are caused by one resident who parks multiple wide vehicles. The council questioned if the no-parking signs would count as discriminatory, but Kraushaar stated the city would be fine if they were clear that this was done for traffic safety reasons.

The council discussed a resident who owns goats, despite doing so violating the city’s ordinances against livestock. The goats’ owner uses them to clean his pasture. Councilman Andrew Custer stated that, admittedly, the goats do make the property better. The goats’ owner was not in attendance; Strohman stated that he hated to make a decision when the owner was not there. He asked if the city could make an exception. Kraushaar stated that exemptions jeopardize the ability of the city to enforce ordinances. He pointed out that the ordinances, written in the 70s, allow anyone who owned livestock before 1977 to be grandfathered in and stated that the city could update the year to 2024, allowing the owner to keep owning goats while preserving the ordinance. Councilwoman Beth Carter stated she did not want to open up the ordinances and encourage other rule-breaking to go on. The council ultimately decided to take action at a later date.