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Committee debates cat‑control enforcement after neighbor complaint; citation issued
Summary
A Sawyer County public commenter said a neighbor's cat repeatedly trespassed and staff later issued a citation; the committee debated whether the county ordinance should be clarified to address domestic cats, feral cats and licensing and left enforcement to the animal‑control officer's discretion.
A Sawyer County public safety committee meeting on animal‑control enforcement turned into a broad discussion of how the county should handle at‑large cats after a persistent neighborhood dispute.
Benjamin Kurtwell, who identified himself as chairman of the Town of Hayward, told the committee he had documented a neighbor's cat repeatedly entering his property and said he had tried to resolve the matter informally. "It is clear in the ordinance that it should be enforced," Kurtwell said, pointing to restraint and confinement language and passages that specifically mention cats.
County code enforcement specialist Jazan told the committee the specific case Kurtwell raised had been addressed "and as of earlier this week they did receive a citation," and that surrender had been offered as an option. Jazan said the citation was hand‑delivered and the incident was closed for now.
Committee members agreed the ordinance language is vague in places. The group discussed options including: leaving the ordinance as written and relying on staff discretion; clarifying language to distinguish domesticated pets from feral or community cats; and potentially exploring licensing for cats similar to dog licensing used to establish ownership. Several members noted operational constraints — the county does not have holding facilities comparable to those used for dogs, and distinguishing owned cats from strays can require staff time and investigation.
Judge (name withheld in the transcript) noted the legal limits on what the county can order and stressed the administrative and supervision resources that would be required for any expanded enforcement or community‑service programs involving inmates.
After discussion the committee did not direct an ordinance rewrite immediately. Instead members said they were comfortable leaving enforcement decisions to Jazan’s discretion while staff drafts clearer proposed language for the committee to review. The committee also asked staff to confirm whether licensing or other options would be feasible and to return with sample verbiage and operational implications.
The committee did not adopt any immediate ordinance changes; the matter will return to staff for draft language and an operational assessment.
