It’s not uncommon for zealous people soliciting for a religious cause to get cross with vicious dogs.
Now, both are going to have a harder time on the streets of Indianola. At least the owners of vicious dogs will.
The Board of Aldermen voted unanimously Monday night to alter the stipulations of the city’s solicitation by nonresident religious organizations ordinance to now include everyone.
Previously the rule required only persons or other entities that represent religious organizations not headquartered in the city to get a permit before engaging in solicitations, sales or distribution.
With the amendment, anyone representing a religious organization, whether its main base of operation is located in Indianola or not, is now required to obtain a permit to solicit funds or donations on city streets.
The question arose at a previous meeting and City Attorney Gary Austin was charged with revising the law. Austin said the benefit of requiring everyone to get a permit is that it allows the police to be able to verify the solicitors have a legitimate right to be there.
The permit will show the name of the organization and the requested location. Mayor Steve Rosenthal said they try to limit the areas to 4-way stops. There is no fee for the permit and anyone caught without the proper permission will be issued a citation.
A citizen raised a question about whether door-to-door salespeople have to get a permit and the mayor responded that anyone selling merchandise door-to-door is required to have a transient merchant’s permit, which can be obtained from the city hall for a fee of $250.
The city officials also voted to impose an increased dollar amount on fines related to vicious animals within the city limits. A vicious animal is defined as a dog or cat that constitutes a physical threat to humans or other domestic animals. The previous guidelines allowed for a fine up to $500 with each day of the occurrence counting as a violation.
The new ordinance raises that amount to up to $1,000 and allows for up to 90 days of imprisonment for the owner. Austin had also been charged to amend that city law after two persons, one of them a city employee, were attacked by dogs back in July. The ordinance is set to go into effect in 30 days.
In other business,
The aldermen heard and approved departmental reports from the inspection department and the municipal court, which reported $23,596 in collections for the month of July. In a separate decision the lawmakers voted against hiring a third-party company, American Municipal Services, to help collect court fines.
Even though there is no charge to the city, Rosenthal said he was against it because the company makes money by adding a 25 percent fee to the existing fines of the citizens. Alluding to the impoverishment of the area, Rosenthal said, “At this time, I personally don’t see it would be necessary, I’m not in favor of it.”
Rosenthal also told AMS representative Deborah Sivira that although the agreement says the service is “free” to the city, “It’s only free if y’all collect 100 percent.” He said if the company collects less than the entire amount owed, the city would actually lose a fourth of what it could have collected. Court Clerk Teresa Nolden was also not in favor and said her department could do just as well in collecting what was owed.
The police departmental reports were also heard and approved. Chief Edrick Hall reported 1,171 calls, 53 arrests, and 170 citations issued.
At the appeal of Alderman Darrell Simpson, he and his fellow colleagues resolved to come up with a set of specifications to solicit bids for landscaping and maintenance of the U.S. 49 and U.S. 82 intersection. Simpson said that junction gets plenty of traffic and it should be well maintained. Rosenthal concurred and added that approximately 50,000 vehicles flow through there each day.
The board also approved an annual assessment of $10,000 to the Indianola Chamber/Main Street. In addition, they approved closing off city streets for the annual Indian Bayou Arts & Eats festival September 22.
They also considered adjudication procedures on three private owned properties, two that have already been cleaned up by the owner and one that is to be cleaned up and maintained at the owner's expense.
At the request of Fire Chief Orlando Battle, the city fathers approved ordering a new fire truck before the end of the fiscal year. The truck is a necessity and will need to be bought anyway since each fire truck has a certain life expectancy and one of the city’s vehicles has already reached its limit.
Battle explained that if the lawmakers did not approve the purchase before September 12, it would cost the city an additional $17,000 because of the impending trade tariffs imposed by the president. At this point, the company only needs a commitment from the city. No deposit is required. It will take 330 days for the truck to be ready.
After emerging from executive session, the aldermen voted to accept the resignation of police investigator Standrick Hodges.
