Residents press council on feral cats, park safety and questions about House Bill 249 enforcement

Multiple residents used the public-comment portion of the meeting to raise neighborhood-quality and policy concerns. Matt Guyette told the council volunteers are capturing and nursing feral cats downtown but that "they have no more money left to spay and neuter cats," and he asked whether the city could locate additional funds or otherwise help coordinate TNR efforts. He said his brother and other volunteers are willing to do capture and basic care but cannot afford spay/neuter costs.

A council member and another commenter discussed the scale of the problem, with one councilor suggesting that extrapolated projections could show very large long-term costs but also warning the city could not realistically fund a full eradication. A commenter referenced a remaining balance ("I know there was, like, $1,500 left") and noted humane-society scheduling and eligibility constraints for free clinics.

A separate resident urged the council not to remove a historic baby pool at a city park, describing cracked slides, missing seesaws and other hazards and recommending volunteers and park-board oversight to restore features. She said the baby pool is part of the park's history and asked council members to attend park-board meetings.

Later, Ryan (a resident) and others raised concerns about House Bill 249, asking how proponents might seek local enforcement and whether city ordinances for indecent exposure and lewdness already cover offensive conduct. Council members and staff emphasized that the bill was not law and that any enforcement scenario was speculative; staff suggested follow-up with Mr. Norris for additional guidance. Police priorities were described as focused elsewhere given limited local resources.