HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0017.011 2006-2008
John Carroll s ~~_.i
POB 6825
Hilo, HI 96~20t~86 DEC 28 Pik 2 17
December 23, 2006
C,~_,~
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Open Letter to Mayor Harry Kim (and Hawaii County Council)
Deaz Mayor Kim,
I had mixed feelings when I read that you had vetoed the Animal Control Bill
passed by the Council. I agreed with some of your specific concerns, but I absolutely
disagree with the attitude apparently shared by you, the police chief and the prosecutors,
that there is no reason for animal control on the Big Island The Council worked hazd on
this bill, took the bull by the horns and sent you their best attempt. You vetoed the bill
but offered no alternative.
I have traveled extensively in the last twenty years, especially in California,
Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, and so I have lived in many communities. All of
these locales, from urban Los Angeles and Auckland to rural Maui and California, have
successfully dealt with animal control through governmental agencies. I have never
before witnessed the problems with out-of-control animals that I see here, and I have
never before seen the spectacle of a government that just chuckles at the problem and
ignores the genuine concerns of constituents. This can be serious stuff. Do you want a
sleep-deprived person, who has been kept awake all night by noisy dogs barking at
nothing, headed your way down the road at 55 mph on a sleepy Big Island afternoon? I
don't, and I don't want to be that person. I have heazd you claim on the radio that drugs
and alcohol cause most of our deadly head-ons. You may want to include noisy animals
on that list. Police officers who have deal with the bloody details of the accident scenes
might be especially sensitive to this concern.
VJhy is it that all these other communities can regulate and prosecute animal
control violations, but our prosecutors find the matter "constitutionally vague?"
Prosecutors in Maui County do not have this problem, and neighbor county Maui has
nothing like the animal control chaos we have here. Hawaii County does not have to
reinvent the wheel. You could get in touch with Maui's mayor, Channaine Tavazes, and
see the ordinances that they use every day without any hint of vagueness.
Perhaps you, the police and prosecutors believe the problem is just too big and
overwhelming, and it will take too much effort to bring the situation into order. There is
sometimes a snowball effect in law enforcement. Once the populace knows there is
change in the wind and that new measures aze needed to rectify a situation that is no
longer tolerable, a fair proportion will try to come into compliance right away. Another
percentage of citizens will gradually adapt to the new reality within a short period of
time. The stubborn, hard-core holdouts will also come azound eventually, especially if
they have to pay a few fines. You could easily establish asix-month grace period while^
Gomm. No. ~
Ref. 70: Pres~rt~0
Ref. Jote .1A~Z0~7