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Date: 9/21/2021
PELHAM – Angry growling may be heard at Pelham’s fall Town Meeting on Oct. 23. Half of the warrant articles concern dogs and their errant owners.
The Conservation Commission wrote Articles 2 and 3, which call for several new measures to control animals: leashing dogs everywhere in town, fines for non-compliance, and hiring an animal patrol officer. The first question asked at a Select Board meeting on Sept. 13 was why the commission wrote the articles.
SelectBoard vice Chair David Shanabrook asked, “Why did they do that, since it’s outside the [purview] of the Conservation Commission?”
Bob Agoglia, chair of the Select Board, affirmed the new leash law and fine structure would be revisions of current bylaws. “The Conservation Commission, acting within its own authority,” he said, “will in fact be restricting the Buffam Falls Conservation Area.”
Dana McDonald, a member of the Conservation Commission, said, “People have had a considerable amount of confrontations, on public roads, with unleashed dogs. Most of the problems seem to happen in the northwest corner of the town, but [the new bylaw] is taking care of conservation areas.”
The current draft of Article 2, which has not been vetted by the town’s attorneys, reads, “To see if the town will accept the recommendations of the Conservation Commission to amend Pelham Code 5.3 as follows: 1) Except that dogs must be leashed on all public ways in Pelham; and 2) To amend Schedule S-18 § “dogs off leash running at large” fines shall be; first offense a written warning, second offense a fine of $50, third offense a fine of $100, or take any other action relative thereto.”
McDonald explained for the Select Board the town seems to be split. A very vocal group of residents wants dogs controlled everywhere in town, all the time. Another segment seems to think it’s not a good idea, that they didn’t move to Pelham to have their dogs constantly on a leash. McDonald did suggest that most dog owners in town are reasonable and would agree it’s best to keep dogs leashed on public roadways.
Two public forums focused on dog control recently, but animals running loose has been a problem for some time. Shanabrook wondered if Town Meeting will see pushback from dog owners, a question that unlocked the reasons behind the Conservation Commission’s involvement in writing the warrant article.
“How much push back are you going to get for having dogs leashed at Buffam Falls?” Shanabrook asked. “Did damage from dogs figure in all this?”
“[Damage] was brought up as an issue from the start,” McDonald said. “Buffam Falls is the epicenter of negative experiences with dogs … and it extends up Meetinghouse Road.” Dog owners keep animals controlled at Harkness Conservation Area, without apparent problems, leading McDonald to note the leash law supporters are committed to seeing better management by dog owners. McDonald said, “Residents who want to see dogs leashed all the time, they’re very passionate about it … and have a pretty well developed argument for why.”
The argument for better dog control has become so convincing that another warrant article calls for spending $15,000 yearly on a dog patrol officer.
“I can hear one question,” McDonald said. “Don’t we have an animal control officer? Yes, we do … This is someone they would see walking in conservation areas, basically for all the hours they are hired for, as a way to have a presence, and to educate … and to fine, if the case arises.”
The draft warrant article reads, “To see if the Town will vote to accept the recommendations of the Conservation Commission to appropriate from town funds $15,000 to hire a part-time Animal Patrol Officer under the supervision of Public Safety for purposes of patrolling Conservation areas and public ways in town and to educate and enforce town bylaws...”
McDonald explained the animal patrol officer won’t cover the same ground as the animal control officer. “The current animal control officer does not travel in those areas,” he said. “She is actually unable to travel those areas, so it isn’t part of her job.”
Shanabrook let it be known that the Select Board is not settled on the question of hiring another officer. He suggested the Police Department assume more responsibility for dog control. McDonald recounted how police officials told him it wasn’t an enforcement issue for them, that more important duties occupied officers’ time.
“We might get a lot of resistance to hiring another officer,” Shanabrook said. “Even we are uncertain whether we should.”
According to Agoglia, the Select Board has yet to take a position on spending the funds for another public safety officer to manage uncontrolled animals. The vote was to place the article on the warrant for fall Town Meeting, when residents will have plenty of time to discuss the issue.
“There isn’t a huge press of business,” Agoglia said, “so there will be the chance to have an in depth discussion about it.”
McDonald concluded by voicing appreciation for residents’ willingness to listen.
“I was surprised by the decorum and the depth of discussion we had on this,” McDonald said. “I was impressed by all of this really. It was a great experience.”