1 to 3 Year Pet Licenses on the Horizon?
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| BY GREG WALTERS |
It is a fair question. One of the main goals of animal licensing has always been to prevent the spread of rabies in warm blooded animals. Since cats and dogs are known to interact with wild warm blooded animals, the rabies vaccination is a safe way to control the spread of rabies to human beings.
A proposal to increase the licensing period of pets in Raytown from one to three years will be discussed by the Board of Aldermen in a work session before its next meeting. The public is invited to attend the meeting (which is being held via ZOOM).
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
These meeting will be conducted via Zoom for all participants using the following link or Webinar ID and Passcode:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86327975850?pwd=MU1oRGFBOFhKQVdlWTVDeXZGMDFmdz09
Webinar ID: 863 2797 5850
Passcode: 562855
Our view . . .
On the face of it, the
proposal to allow up to three year licensing makes sense. It would save money
for the issuance of the licenses at City Hall. The city would save on paper
work, employee hours used to maintain records annually that could just as easily
be managed once every three years.
We also believe the taxpayers should share in the savings. A reduction in the cost of the Pet License could be used as an incentive for Raytowners to participate by reducing the license fee in the second and third years. Such an incentive would create a win/win situation for city hall and pet owners.
The current proposal,
which was city staff driven, does not include any such incentive in the
proposal. It is definitely one that deserves discussion.
Speed Humps BY PAUL LIVIUS
An
idea whose time has come for Raytown Streets and Parks?
 |
Slows vehicles
to 10-15 mph Guaranteed
against breakage for 15 years Less aggressive
than traditional speed bumps Highly visible & emergency vehicle friendly Long-lasting and environmentally friendly |
off-road parks. Last week we ran a story documenting such activity at Colman Park.
Reckless “high speed” exits from the park are not unusual. The extreme width of Lane Street, stretching the entire length of the park is an open invitation to speeders who believe the dangerous practice of spinning-out when exiting the park is acceptable behavior.
In Kansas City there has been an uptick of similar activity. These events are called “side shows”. Drivers attract a crowd by cutting donuts and spinning out their vehicles in an unpredictable and reckless manner that endangers those caught near the activity. This past Saturday a Kansas City Policeman was struck by a vehicle at one such event.
The City Council in Kansas City has passed into law a series of fines, vehicle impoundment and if needed, imprisonment for those who partake in this criminal activity.
One simple solution is to make the roadways unsuitable for such dangerous high speed events in city parks and streets where excessive speed has become a problem.
This strategy has worked in Kansas City on a ten block stretch of Main Street that cuts through the Brookside neighborhoods. A series of speed humps has effectively slowed down the flow of traffic to safe levels for those neighborhoods.
The 18th
and Vine Entertainment District is another success story. The speed humps built
on 18th Street through the district are massive. They have proven
effective in eliminating keeping the flow of traffic at safe speeds at the 18th
and Vine District.
Raytown needs to keep an eye on the effectiveness of strategies being adopted by surrounding cities. Learning from Kansas City’s efforts would be a first step to keeping our streets safe in Raytown.
9 comments:
Last week you were writing about ATV's running around the ball field and grassy area. The speed humps or bumps won't stop that. The speed humps in your photo are at a pedestrian crosswalk to remind motorists to slow down. They have the same situation at 18th and Vine. The speed humps are at the crosswalks. We do like one idea of yours. The city should pass the same laws as KCMO and levy fines, vehicle impoundment and imprisonment for those destroying the parks. We look for the item on the next BOA meeting.
Raytown didn't used to have pet licenses. Then the City Council started having them with the promise that animal control would be on call 24/7/365, all funded by the pet license. That worked for about a year. Then animal control stopped responding, but the pet license kept being renewed. When is the city going to go back to using pet license money as promised?
Your assumptions are all wrong. The picture shown is not at 18th and Vine and the speed humps shown in the picture are not at all like the massive speed humps at 18th and Vine. There are at least four of them at that location. They are made of asphalt. The picture shown is made of a recycled agregate that is expected to last at least 15 years.
Since we took the discussion and made it public about the illegal use of ATV and motorcycles driving through our parks there has been a dramatic drop in the number incidents. Part of that credit goes to the Raytown Police Department who have increased their efforts to stop the vandalism in our city parks.
The speeding of party goers at some of our parks is extremely dangerous. Lane Street on Colman Park runs an entire city block on the west side of the park. It is the only park in Raytown that has a street running through it. Colman Park is extremely popular with families. Especially those with small children. The reckless behavior of those who speed through the is a tragedy waitng to happen.
You may want to drive out to Brookside. Take 63rd Street to Main Street and go south all the way to Gregory Boulevard. You will drive over a series of speed humps. I have acquaintances and relatives living in Brookside. They tell me the speed humps work. No more speeding through the neighborhoods. They attribute this improvement specifically to the speed humps being installed.
This is a good solution.
What can you bring to the table to address the problem? Because the problem is real. Ignoring it will not make it go away. Attacking those who want a solution is not an answer either.
There are benefits to 3 year pet licenses but IMHO there is one big problem: Since the city does not mail out renewal notices, many people will forget to renew the license after 3 years. If I get my pet license in June, I probably will remember to renew it after a year, but there is no way I will remember it in 2024. If the 3 year license is enacted, the city should be required to mail expiration notices at least 30 days before expiration.
Andy Whiteman
@Andy Whiteman not sure why the city would need to send out reminders as every veterinarian office I've used has sends out reminders when the pet is due for another rabies vaccine. Get the vaccine then go get a license.
7:30 AM There is a big difference because the veterinarians do NOT issue the license; hence, the rabies vaccine and license renewal could occur at different dates. I get the one year vaccine because one vet felt the three year vaccine was unsafe for a dog. Also, getting an yearly vaccine insures that my dog gets at least an yearly exam otherwise my dog would get an exam only every 3 years! When we lived in San Diego County, CA they allowed 3 year vaccines and one dog saw the vet only every three years. There the county mailed a renewal notice and renewal was by mail unless someone wanted to make a trip to the pound.
Andy Whiteman
7:30 AM (I posted previously but it did not appear so Greg or Paul please use this post instead.) Some people may get a 1 year vaccine but the license is every three years. Why would anyone go get a license after a yearly vaccine when it doesn't expire for 2 more years? Also the license may expire in a month different from the vaccine. My vaccine expires in August and the license expires in October which is the month I bought the original license.
Andy Whiteman
Imagine living in a city like raytown and worrying about speed “humps”. I’m more worried about nightly gunfire!
Gregory Heights needs these speed bumps as Ditzler is treated like a speedway by people cutting through to avoid 350 & Gregory traffic. Routinely we have people going 40 mph down Richards Drive. I"m sure the other streets in the area are just as bad.
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