St. Martin Parish considers new animal control policy

Animal control policy in the parish is getting an update for the first time since 2003.
Parish Personnel/Risk Management Officer and former director of the St. Martin Parish animal shelter, Michelle Brignac, spoke to the parish council at the Nov. 17 Administrative/Finance Committee meeting to discuss the new policy and its implementation.
Brignac described the policy as being designed to reduce the number of animals at the shelter, on the roads and creating a public nuisance. She said that the policy takes aim at irresponsible pet owners without affecting those who spay or neuter their pets, own a reasonable number of animals and get shots on schedule. In fact, those owners will receive rewards in the form of discounts on shelter and veterinary services under the plan.
Some changes suggested in the proposal are aimed at breeders. Unwanted dogs from area breeders have been turned in to the shelter as a means of disposal. New rules in the policy will begin to address that issue. The parish will define anyone who owns five or more unaltered dogs over the age of six months as a breeder, subject to licensing and fee requirements. Also, the number of dogs an owner may keep in residential areas will be limited to 20. Dogs picked up as strays will have microchips implanted so that repeat offenders can be identified. Dogs picked up three times will not be returned to owners.
Under the policy, a “Dangerous Dog Committee” will be established to make the process of determining the status of problem dogs in the parish more consistent and informed.
Answering concerns from Dist. 5 councilman Clay Courville and Dist. 2 representative and chairperson Lisa Nelson, Brignac said that animal control officers will not patrol for dogs, but will continue to operate as they do now, on the basis of complaints received from residents.
Parish President Guy Cormier said that animal control represents one of the largest single expenses for parish government and a comprehensive policy is badly needed.
In other business, Tiffani Barth, a geologist with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, presented the agency’s “model ordinance” for ground water protection to the council. The agency is recommending adoption of some or all of the suggested actions to protect public supply wells from contamination. Adoption of the ordinance is optional, but it has been implemented by the towns of Breaux Bridge and Henderson. Barth said that protecting the water supply is much easier than correcting problems after they happen.
A suggested restricted-use buffer zone of 1,000 feet around public supply wells may be a problem for the parish, though. Cormier said that it may interfere with the planned downsizing and re-commissioning of the sewage treatment plant at Martin Mills, which is within 1,000 feet of a well. Barth said that the parish will maintain the ability to draw up the ordinance and grant exceptions to suit its needs.
Cormier reported that the long-awaited FEMA permit allowing flood-control projects to proceed in and around Stephenville has finally been granted. Flooding has been a constant problem in the south St. Martin Parish area. Due to the delay, applications and plans will have to be re-submitted for the promised $700,000 flood water control grant that will finance the project.