Sheriff reports contracted patrol hours, calls and a pilot code-enforcement program; council urged to tackle wildlife feeding

Cache County Sheriff Chad Jensen told the Mendon City Council on March 12 that county deputies provided roughly 844 hours of contracted service in Mendon last year and responded to about 193 calls for service; he said the current contract-year average of calls is about 189 but that a single large incident can materially change totals.

Jensen described a pilot program launched last August with Hyrum City in which the county manages ordinance/code enforcement while the city pays for a code enforcer, a model he characterized as less costly than hiring full-time law-enforcement staff. He encouraged Mendon to consider a similar approach for ordinance enforcement and said county staff are open to partnership.

The sheriff also flagged an ordinance under county consideration to prohibit or regulate feeding wildlife, noting that feeding deer and turkeys in town draws predators such as mountain lions, coyotes and foxes and raises public-safety concerns. Mayor Buist introduced Councilmember Art Heers as the council member to coordinate discussion with the sheriff and recommended educational outreach — for example, monthly emergency-preparedness classes that could include wildlife-feeding awareness. Jensen said the sheriff’s office will seek to partner with the Division of Wildlife Resources on trapping, relocation and education efforts.

No motions or votes were recorded on these policing or wildlife items at the March 12 council meeting; the sheriff’s remarks were received for informational purposes.