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Volunteers urge Middleton to address police kennels' extreme heat and cold; council requests informational report
Summary
Volunteer Guy Hollis told the Middleton City Council on June 18 that volunteers who check dogs the police department places in kennels visit the animals twice daily and are concerned about extreme summer heat and winter cold in the kennel area.
Volunteer Guy Hollis told the Middleton City Council on June 18 that volunteers who check dogs the city’s police department places in kennels visit the animals twice daily and are concerned about extreme summer heat and winter cold in the kennel area.
Hollis said volunteers — including his wife and others — care for dogs placed in the kennels, and that on very hot days the kennel area can be “brutal.” He said volunteers had secured a 100-foot hose donated by Ace Hardware and were considering misting to cool the kennels, but asked the city for shade for high-temperature days and some way to cover the kennels during winter cold.
Council discussion followed public comment. A council member asked staff to treat the matter as an informational item and requested that a police officer, possibly a sergeant, appear at an upcoming meeting to describe current operations and needs. Council members discussed short-term, low-cost options (shade, hard-mat dog heaters, donated hoses) and longer-term possibilities that might require budgeting, including an insulated shed with a ductless heating-and-cooling unit and running electrical to the kennel area.
Council members also suggested exploring off-site options such as using a currently underused grassy area at the northern portion of Piccadilly Park for a dog park and evaluating a roughly 2-acre city-owned parcel on Cemetery Road for a mix of parking, a dog park and other uses such as a community garden. Members noted access issues for the Cemetery Road parcel and said additional study would be needed.
No formal council action or appropriation occurred at the meeting; the council's direction was to have staff gather information and return with options and cost estimates. City legal counsel also provided a brief update elsewhere in the meeting that a construction management agreement for the roundabout center island is in progress but not yet under contract.
Ending: Council members signaled a desire for a prompt staff report given the approaching hot weather; no timeline for a formal budget request was set at the meeting.
