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<br /> John Carroll s ~~_.i <br /> POB 6825 <br /> Hilo, HI 96~20t~86 DEC 28 Pik 2 17 <br /> December 23, 2006 <br /> C,~_,~ <br /> - <br /> Open Letter to Mayor Harry Kim (and Hawaii County Council) <br /> Deaz Mayor Kim, <br /> I had mixed feelings when I read that you had vetoed the Animal Control Bill <br /> passed by the Council. I agreed with some of your specific concerns, but I absolutely <br /> disagree with the attitude apparently shared by you, the police chief and the prosecutors, <br /> that there is no reason for animal control on the Big Island The Council worked hazd on <br /> this bill, took the bull by the horns and sent you their best attempt. You vetoed the bill <br /> but offered no alternative. <br /> I have traveled extensively in the last twenty years, especially in California, <br /> Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, and so I have lived in many communities. All of <br /> these locales, from urban Los Angeles and Auckland to rural Maui and California, have <br /> successfully dealt with animal control through governmental agencies. I have never <br /> before witnessed the problems with out-of-control animals that I see here, and I have <br /> never before seen the spectacle of a government that just chuckles at the problem and <br /> ignores the genuine concerns of constituents. This can be serious stuff. Do you want a <br /> sleep-deprived person, who has been kept awake all night by noisy dogs barking at <br /> nothing, headed your way down the road at 55 mph on a sleepy Big Island afternoon? I <br /> don't, and I don't want to be that person. I have heazd you claim on the radio that drugs <br /> and alcohol cause most of our deadly head-ons. You may want to include noisy animals <br /> on that list. Police officers who have deal with the bloody details of the accident scenes <br /> might be especially sensitive to this concern. <br /> VJhy is it that all these other communities can regulate and prosecute animal <br /> control violations, but our prosecutors find the matter "constitutionally vague?" <br /> Prosecutors in Maui County do not have this problem, and neighbor county Maui has <br /> nothing like the animal control chaos we have here. Hawaii County does not have to <br /> reinvent the wheel. You could get in touch with Maui's mayor, Channaine Tavazes, and <br /> see the ordinances that they use every day without any hint of vagueness. <br /> Perhaps you, the police and prosecutors believe the problem is just too big and <br /> overwhelming, and it will take too much effort to bring the situation into order. There is <br /> sometimes a snowball effect in law enforcement. Once the populace knows there is <br /> change in the wind and that new measures aze needed to rectify a situation that is no <br /> longer tolerable, a fair proportion will try to come into compliance right away. Another <br /> percentage of citizens will gradually adapt to the new reality within a short period of <br /> time. The stubborn, hard-core holdouts will also come azound eventually, especially if <br /> they have to pay a few fines. You could easily establish asix-month grace period while^ <br /> Gomm. No. ~ <br /> Ref. 70: Pres~rt~0 <br /> Ref. Jote .1A~Z0~7 <br /> <br />