HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Bill 3BLate11 10/19/2009;From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Attachments:
t
-Lynn Richardson [larichardson2@comcast.nef]
Sunday, October 18, 20Q9 9:30 AM
- C'ityClei-k-; citymgr;,'Dave Glass'; 'David Rabbift'; edanly@ci.petaluma.ca.us; Brown, John;
'Mike Harris'; 'Mike Healy'; 'Pare TorliatY; Brodhun;. Scott; 'Teresa Barrett'; 'Tiffany Renee'
'Susan Simo_ns';~King, Fran;. janicecader@comcast.net; jburns@arguscourier.com; 'Jennifer
Kirchner'; 'Marcella'; Cook, Mike; 'Patricia Boyd'; 'Diane Reilly Torres'
.letter fo city council 1.0-6.doc
Dear Madam Mayor and City Council: Attached is a letter to you regarding the upcoming vote on the feral cat
ordinance.. It describes the legal colony I maintain with the help of~many other volunteers. Please read this letter prior to
fomorrow night's meeting.
Thank you for your consideration.
Lynn Richardson
Dear Madam Mayor and City Council:
1VIy name is Lynn Richardson. My family and I have lived in Petaluma
since 1962. I am a volunteer for and strong supporter of Forgotten
Felines and the attempts by that organization :and other dedicated feral
cat advocates to bring about a humane change to Petaluma's 2004 feral
cat ordinance.
Since my retirement- from the legal profession as a paralegal for 35 years,
I volunteer a lot of my time `at Forgotten :Felines., working recovery at
many spay/neuter clinics .and also as a trapper when called upon for
help. by members. of the Petaluma Community. A little- over a year ago a
private citizen called Forgotten. Felines asking for help trapping and
relocating to safety as many feral cats and kittens as possible in the Lily
Kai restaurant area, McDowell and Lakeville.
With the .help of the' private citizen who made the initial call for help, I
trapped approximately 20 cats over a period of months. We managed to
successfully relocate two to a barn cat home in Sebastopol, after being
spayed:/neutered and properly vaccinated by Forgotten. Felines. We
trapped several .kittens that were spayed;: neutered, vaccinated, by
Forgotten Felines, and then -socialized by uS'. Then :good, .responsible
homes were. found .for these kittens so they did not need to return to the
feral colony. No kittens have ever been returned. to the colony.
I have trapped, spayed/neutered. and ear tipped approximately 10 - 15
eats from this Lily Kai colony area that have been returned to the colony.
They are given fresh :food and water daily. All of the food is paid for out
of my own pocket and that. of the people feeding at the Stero Company.
This adds up to approximately $500 from the Stero employee and $300
from me, yearly. We do this because we care about `the .animals and
want to keep them from starving. These cats need our help, not our
disdain and persecution,
The colony is fed on primate Stero property, with the written permission
of the manager of that company. At least. one of the workers at Stero '.has
been .:feeding the colony for-many years before I came on board. When I
discovered the need, I;; became involved by trapping; having them spayed,
neutered and vaccinated, so that they will not be able to reproduce.
Their ,food' and water needs are taken care of. 7 days a week; not. only
during the week where Stero is open for business. It is a very
comfortable;. working relationship between the person(s) at Stero who
care for the cats during the week and me (and my family who also feeds
on weekends and holidays).
I: registered this "Lily Kai" colony with the Animal Shelter with the help of
:Forgotten Felines in an effort to show good faith with the City of
Petaluma and Petaluma Animal Control. Jeff Charter, with Animal
Control, was. an integral part of providing help to me to legally register
my colony and continues to be supportive of my efforts. Jeff is a very
good example of good will from a City employee. It is unfortunate that
there is a lack of trust between the "City" and other feral cat colony
caretakers due to past .problems with the current ordinance. I have met
all the requirements of the City to make my colony legal. I hope that my
trust in the City is not diminished by the wetlands boundary issue in
this new proposed ordinance. If my colony is threatened by this new
ordinance, it would certainly .crush any faith I have in the City
government to keep its promise with its citizens.
All eats I trap are assessed before being returned to the colony. No cat,
adult or kitten, was found to be ill or' suffering- in any way when they
were trapped by me. All were healthy except for ticks and fleas, and an
occasional bite wound, which were treated before their return to the
colony.
I respectfully ask the Petaluma City Council to review the facts, realize
what many other communities have been doing successfully for some
time., and know what you. are voting on before .you make another mistake
and incorporate another bad public ordinance regarding the feral cats in
our community. After you have fully reviewed -and studied all the
evidence in their favor, I trust you will finally realize that the new
ordinance must be revised to include ..humane., TNR provisions for the
feral cats of Petaluma that are not. full of burdensome restrictions and
requirements making it difficult to implement, AS WELL AS reduce the
size of the wetland boundaries to a more .realistic, .practical, and
workable outline. that will be easier for volunteers to follow to care for the
feral cats in our community. There have been way too many innocent
cats euthanized in the City of Petaluma. Please, you have it in your
power to help us stop the killing!!!
Tharik you for your time and consideration.
Lynn Richardson
259 Photina Place
Petaluma, CA94952