Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

At the June 27 Troy City Council meeting, the council heard the second reading of proposed changes in the city’s Control of Dog Ordinance.

The changes primarily include the changing of verbiage in the ordinance. The primary change sees the ordinance change to require anyone in the city to have their dog on a leash at all times. Mayor Jason Reeves emphasized that it means that once a person leaves their property, a dog must be leashed. Also, verbiage in the ordinance is changed to say that violations reset after a 12-month period. It previously said violations reset at the end of the calendar year, regardless of when a violation is received.

Also, the ordinance now gives dog owners the ability to retrieve dogs that are impounded within 24 hours without any fees but will face a $45 fee to reclaim the dog within seven days. After those seven days, the dog will then be placed up for adoption. The cost to adopt a dog is $125.

These changes will be made official once the changes are published publicly on July 1.

Additionally, the council approved a request to submit an application to potentially receive funding from the Safe Streets and Roads For All Grant, which is a federal grant to help with street improvements. The grant is an 80/20 match, meaning the federal money pays for 80 percent of the cost and the city pays the last 20 percent. The total amount being applied for is based on a $2,899,400 estimate for seven projects. The local match of that amount would be $724,850.

The council also approved a change to a work order for the repair of a water pump used at the water well on Henderson Highway, near the old Industrial Park. The well broke down earlier this year and the council approved a declaration of emergency so repairs could begin immediately.

According to City of Troy General Manager of Utilities Brian Chandler, the pump is in worse shape than initially expected. The initial estimated cost for the repair was $166,064 but is now $267,617. While the pump needs to be repaired, Chandler said that the city was not in danger of running out of water.

“We have plenty of water here in Troy,” Chandler emphasized. “This well has been offline for a couple of months and unless you pay attention to city council meetings none of us would even know.

“It hasn’t affected the quality of the water or the volume of the water. We’re still doing good going into the summer with no issues or shortages. This is something we need to get fixed now to make sure we have plenty of capacity as we head into the dryer months or in case something were to happen with another well.”

Finally, the council reappointed Councilman Greg Meeks as the city representative on the Southeast Energy Authority (SEA) Board.