Theresa Public Safety Committee Considers Kennel Upgrade

Police Chief Daniel Markus informed the Village of Theresa Public Safety Committee about the estimated cost of updating the wastewater treatment plant dog kennel at its meeting on Monday, January 20.
The dog kennel is used by the police department for short-term storage of dogs, and deficiencies in the kennel were recently noticed. The village has the option of updating the kennel or contracting with the Dodge County Humane Society for short-term dog storage.
“I talked to [Director of Public Works] Bill [Weisensel]. I think we can set up a very short-term kennel for approximately $5,000 that would be a cement pad and dog houses. Our recommendation is to set up another $2,000 that stays in a bank account in case we do need it,” stated Chief Markus. “If there are long-term storage needs for dogs, or medical care, or something that is beyond just storing them until their owner shows up, we would like to use the humane society.”
If the village were to contract with the Dodge County Humane Society, it would cost $1,800 for the storage of up to five dogs. Other contract options allow for the storage of more dogs but at a greater cost. The village could still store dogs at the humane society without a contract by paying for each dog stored at the time of storage.
“I don’t think it would be financially responsible to just send them the money right away. It would be on a case-by-case basis,” said Chief Markus.

Trustee JR Koenigs inquired about how the kennel updates would be funded, saying, “The taxpayers are going to come up with the money for the two days you can take care of the dog? Some taxpayers don’t have dogs,” Trustee Koenigs said.
Chief Markus explained that the Finance Committee could raise citation amounts so that the dogs’ owners contribute to the cost of the kennel.
“There is a citation for a dog off-leash, dog not licensed, stuff like that,” Chief Markus stated. “I think it’s more important about the dogs’ health, so that’s why we need to set money aside for that.”
After addressing the cost of the kennel, the chief elaborated on the recommendation to allocate $2,000 for emergency use of the Dodge County Humane Society.
“If we don’t spend it, then it stays in the village. My expectation is [that] most years we will not spend that money. We might spend $50 here or there, something like that, for dog food for the dogs. Most [dogs] are turned over [to their owners] right away, actually, they’re returned within hours, but we want to make sure we have the facilities to properly treat the animal, make sure it’s safe and healthy, and that we also have the employees in place to make sure that dogs are getting walked and cared for.”
Trustee Joe Haak made the motion to recommend the board upgrade the dog kennel at the wastewater treatment plant if the funds are available, which passed unanimously. He also made a motion to recommend that the board allocate $2,000 annually for emergency use of the Dodge County Humane Society if financially available, which passed unanimously.
Committee Matters:
• The committee discussed granting an operator liquor license to Amanda Gonzalez. Trustee Haak made the motion to approve granting the license, which passed unanimously.