HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0100.001 2010-2012 i
DATE: April 6, 201
TO : Laura Muuraski9e _..
FROM: Karen F®ff
RE: Testimonu from Bober Nelson on Pill 27
u
Laura,
Mr. Nelson teslif iecI ibis mornin from Kona ancl asked me to FAX his
testison over to g o u.
T en d cs
K amen
2 pages of ow ................
Comm. No. /vO. /
Ref. To. fo►ewry khG.'
Ref. Date APR 6 011
My name is Robert Nelson, I am here this morning to
lend my support to Councilperson Brend § Brill No
27 amending Chapter 4, Article 4, Division, 2, .Section 4 -25
of the Hawaii County Code, which relates to noisy dogs.
As County Council members, you (and local
government) have been saddled with the task of making
this a better place to live for all residents of this island; one
way of doing this is by making sure that our regulations
and ordinances keep pace with our changing times.
I ask for your support of Bill No 27 as Chapter 4
needs to be closely looked at and major changes need to be
implemented if our regulations are to keep in cadence with
community growth. Councilperson Ford's bill is a step in
the right direction but, it is only a small step; you and local
government need to implement major changes to many of
our current regulations which are antiquated and out of
date. I also ask that you look closely at the third
paragraph of the current bill which deals with penalties;
these minuscule fines need to be dramatically increased.
The idea behind a fine is to hopefully keep the
perpetrators (in this case, the dog owners) from
continually repeating the offense; if you see fit to increase
the fines four fold or more, I'm confident in saying that
you will get the attention of a number of these folks and
they will take the necessary action needed to assure that
the situation will not be brought to their attention again.
Change is a necessary part of community growth and
you cannot ignore this. No matter what action you take on
an issue, you are going to make some people unhappy, this
I can guarantee. Your job is to do what is best for all, and
you cannot look the other way or refuse to take action just
because this is the way it has always been done or because
a small special interest group doesn't want this particular
change to happen.
There is no doubt in my mind that there are probably
as many families owning dogs as those that don't; although
not a dog owner, I owned a clog for many years. I am of
the opinion that there is a huge difference between being a
dog owner and being a responsible dog owner. I strongly
suspect that if all dog owners fell into the category of being
responsible dog owners, I would not be sitting here today
discussing this issue with you today.
It is a misconception that the only reason dogs bark is
because of potential intruders. Animal behavioral studies
have resulted in volumes being published on the subject as
to why dogs bark and; it is becoming increasing clear that
much of this noise is being generated because the animal is
unhappy and /or being mistreated. In my opinion, this is
something that a responsible dog owner would know and
would take measures to make the appropriate change.
In closing, I ask you to not only support Bill 27 but
amend the penalty portion as well. Let's all work together
to make this a better place to live. Thank you for the
opportunity to comment.