Council person Berrigan opened a study-session discussion about the City of Waverly's municipal code on dangerous animals, noting the city codecurrently lists "all venomous and constricting snakes" and asking whether the city should instead follow Iowa Code chapter 717Fand list the specific species the state treats as dangerous.

Berrigan said the local wording could be interpreted to make ownership of many commonly kept snakes illegal and suggested "we modify the City of Waverly code to simply match the state of Iowa code, so that we're not being more strict than the state of Iowa." The proposed change would specifically align the city's dangerous-animal list with the state statuteincluding the state's enumerated venomous species and the limited set of constrictors named in parts d and e of chapter 717F.

Dr. Mike Bechtler, a biology professor at Wartburg College who identified himself in the meeting as "Beck," told the council he has raised reptiles for decades and said most commonly kept constrictors (ball pythons, rat snakes, corn snakes, sand boas) are docile and pose very low risk to the public. "A ball pythonwhen they get scared, they roll into a ball and put their head in the center," Dr. Bechtler said, adding that the three types the state specifically lists as dangerous for public-safety reasons are reticulated pythons, Burmese pythons and African rock pythons. He recounted an out-of-state incident in which a loose Burmese python caused a fatality and said that the species the council was concerned about are already prohibited by Iowa law.

Waverly Police Chief Purcelles told the council the city code mirrors many other municipal ordinances and that one common alternative is to reference the state's dangerous-animal definition directly. He suggested the council could add practical requirements to any local rule, such as enclosure standards or size limits, but warned about enforcement complications (e.g., who measures an animal's length). "You can put size restrictions on it, but then you gotta worry about growth," the chief said, and urged the council to include secure-enclosure language if it amends the code.

Council members asked about nuisance and liability issues; a council member observed that existing language in the city code already lets the chief or animal-control authority declare an individual animal dangerous if it harms a person or animal, which would trigger removal or euthanasia under the code. There was no formal vote; council members indicated they were willing to consider drafting an amendment that references Iowa Code chapter 717F and that adds enclosure or other regulatory details.

What happened next: The council received the discussion as direction to draft possible ordinance language. No ordinance was adopted at the meeting; staff and council signaled they will develop amendment language for a future meeting.

Why it matters: The change would narrow an ambiguous local prohibition so it mirrors state law rather than imposing broader local restrictions, affecting residents who keep nonlisted constricting snakes and clarifying enforcement authority and public-safety expectations.

Sources and attribution: Quotes and attributions come from the meeting transcript. Dr. Mike Bechtler is identified in the meeting as a biology professor at Wartburg College. Chief Purcelles spoke for the police department; Council person Berrigan introduced the item.

Next steps: Council staff will prepare draft language for future consideration that could either cite Iowa Code chapter 717F directly or add the state's listed species to Waverly's municipal code and include enclosure or size standards.