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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTopic submittal questionnaire, Dog Waste, 12-13Bozeman Online City Hall Topic Submittal Form Date: October 30, 2013, revised December 6, 2013 Submitter: Aimee Brunckhorst Contact: Same Department: Clerk’s Office on behalf of other Departments Topic: Encouraging Dog Waste Pick-up Director Signoff?: Yes City Manager Signoff? Yes Launch Date?: December 9, 2013 Question: How can the city and its citizens better encourage and support the picking up of dog waste in our city? This could be in parks, trails, off leash areas or anywhere else in the area. What information or outcome are you hoping will come from posing this question to the public? Awareness and educational outreach about the health, environmental and social impacts of not properly disposing of dog waste and awareness of what is currently being done by the city, nonprofits and citizens to mitigate the problem. Decrease in dog waste around town is the ultimate goal. Throughout the process responses to comments will be geared towards the idea of supporting the grass roots efforts that already exist. The main outcome is to empower citizens to affect change on this topic and to gain ideas and insight into the issue and possible solutions. Would other Departments/Staff be involved in this Subject? If so, have they been consulted? The Parks and Recreation Department and Animal Control have been involved. Mitch Overton and Thom White are supportive and have indicated they would be willing to help answer questions posed, etc. Thom provided information regarding the # of dog waste stations, etc. John (JD) Edelen in Animal Control is also supportive and has provided extensive information. Do any citizen groups or nonprofits have an interest in this topic? If so, what plans do you have to involve them? Run Dog Run is excited to be involved in this engagement process and has provided extensive information, pictures and a commitment to any other supportive roles including involvement in using the information gathered. They have suggested contacting Paws & People, Dee-O-Gee and Heart of the Valley for input and for their mailing/e-mail lists. The Associated Students of Montana State University Local Government liaison, Aubrey Wall has been contacted and is excited about the public engagement program and thought this question was a good one. She is very willing to help spread the word on campus. In her enthusiasm, she has already presented it to the neighborhood group she is a part of. Katie Kaylor with MSU Extension Water Quality is excited about the project and happy to provide the video they created and send people to their website regarding water quality and e-coli and the data collected from Bozeman Creek. Describe any supporting documents/photos/videos you will be providing: Information describing the issue and what is currently being done by the city and nonprofits in the area will be part of the introduction. Photos have been provided from Run Dog Run showing volunteers with giant black bags of dog waste they have picked up from off leash parks. A video from MSU Extension Water Quality regarding the high levels of e-coli in Bozeman Creek has been linked. Is this question open-ended or would you like to provide alternatives for users to choose from(survey)? Open ended Is this question of interest to the public? Timely? Much of the public comment received historically has been regarding dogs. Staff in the Parks and Recreation Department, Animal Control and the Water Department as well as the nonprofit Run Dog Run, feel dog waste left behind is a big problem. The recent release of an MSU Extension Water Quality video and the resulting press regarding high e-coli levels in Bozeman Creek and dog waste as a contribution has brought this problem forward recently. Who will be listening to input from the city? (Example: Commissioners? Which staff?) The Mayor and Commissioners, the City Manager, Mitch Overton & Thom White in the Parks and Recreation Department and JD Edelen in Animal Control. How will responses be incorporated into the decision-making/policy process on this topic? The information can be used to determine how nonprofits and other citizen groups can be supported in their efforts to combat the problem. Cost effective ideas that are easy to implement can be utilized by staff. More complex ideas or insights can be brought before the Commission for policy decisions. The site and information gathered can be used to enhance the educational outreach campaign of MSU Water Quality and community groups such as Run Dog Run. Do you have any outreach strategy ideas for this topic or e-mail contacts you would like this topic to be sent to? Run Dog Run has said they will send the launch e-mail created by Peak Democracy to all of their contact lists and have volunteered to contact other groups for permission to use their lists. The Downtown Business Partnership and the Bozeman Chamber also committed to sending out an e-mail regarding the public engagement program to their lists and the city board member email list will also be utilized. A press release created by Peak Democracy with follow up calls to the local press contacts will go out. Flyers provided by Peak Democracy would be distributed. The ASMSU government liaison has volunteered to distribute flyers at MSU that would be designed for students (she thought rip off tabs for the website info. would work best). Plans also include sending the local schools, age appropriate articles for their school newsletters and flyers for posting on information boards. The launch of the Bozeman Online City Hall will also eventually be enhanced by professional business cards and brochures that can be distributed through a variety of outlets. Support is available for writing the introduction to the topic. Either provide the text here or bullet points/ information to assist in developing the text: Introduction: Bozeman is one of the most pet friendly places around with six off leash parks within the city and an abundance of trails for dog owners to walk their furry friends. A large portion of the population enjoys having dogs as part of their family. With such a large dog population, we as a community must deal with the responsibilities and issues that are associated. Dog waste and the health and sanitation problems that come with it can become serious when dog waste accumulates and is not properly disposed of. The city of Bozeman invites you to read about the current partnerships and practices that are in place to help reduce dog waste around town, learn more about why it continues to be a problem and then offer your ideas and insights into how we can all continue to work together to find a solution. Did you know?: Dog feces left on the ground washes into the nearest stream or irrigation ditch when it rains. Just one ounce of dog feces contains 23 million microorganisms of bacteria! See how dog waste is affecting Bozeman Creek right here in town - watch this quick video on YouTube from Montana State University Water Quality There are a wide variety and number of infectious diseases that can be transmitted from pet waste to humans. (Information from the Center for Disease Control) Diseases can be spread from one dog to another through their feces. Natural fauna often cannot compete with the high level of bacteria in areas where dog waste is left behind. The natural vegetation has declined drastically in places like Peets Hill where dog waste has become a serious problem. What is currently being done?: The city of Bozeman Parks & Recreation Department maintains 40 dog waste stations where pet owners can pick up a poop mitt on one end of the trail and leave a deposit on the other end. In 2012, the city went through 2,175 station trash liners and 282,000 poop mitts. A typical dog station pick up run generates over 250 lbs. of dog waste. The city has six off leash dog parks for pets and their owners to enjoy. The city municipal code states that pet owners must promptly remove dog waste from any public or private area not owned by the pet owner and allows for a $100 fine, though when a fine is given it is generally $50. Run Dog Run, a Bozeman based 501 c-3 uses volunteers and community donations to help provide positive solutions to dog-related issues. They partner with organizations like the City, the County and GVLT to educate dog owners about responsible pet ownership practices and advocate for dog-friendly parks and trails. Run Dog Run volunteers organize annual Scoop the Poop Events picking up a huge amount of left behind waste. They have also installed 5 dog waste stations at the Regional Park, funding the bags (50,000/year) and servicing the stations on behalf of the County. Run Dog Run provided a one-year supply of waste bags for the Drinking Horse trail when budget cuts prevented the Fish Technology Center from purchasing them. Many pet owners are consistently picking up after their pets.