NORTH WEBSTER - North Webster Council heard from the Animal Welfare League president at its meeting Tuesday night.
John Lantz, president of the board of directors of the Animal Welfare League of Kosciusko County, thanked the board for its support over the past years. He gave the board some statistics regarding the animal shelter. He said donations have stalled since they had a donation to pay off its mortgage.
Last year, it cost $592,000 to “keep the doors open,” he said, and 30% of its budget comes from municipalities, like North Webster.
“We took in 1,741 pets last year,” he said. On the down side, 16 pets had to be euthanized, something “we don’t like doing.”
The shelter has won several awards over the years. In 2022, it was only five in the nation to receive one award.
It currently is engaging in Cage 45, a way to get cats rescued from trailer parks. There are 23 trailer parks in the county, he said. The cost is about $10,000.
AWL has a spay and neuter program for residents. It also has a military veteran program in which veterans can adopt and/or volunteer at the shelter, helping to improve their mental health.
When adopted, all of its pets are spayed or neutered and micro-chipped, and “we raise money for that,” Lantz said.
In other news, Utilities Superintendent Mike Noe said repairs need to be made at 302 N. Midlake Drive. This is for trench lining and repairs as well as concrete repairs and lining. The cost is $20,225 for both projects, saving the town money by doing both repairs.
He said a sinkhole and a manhole will be fixed on Mulberry and Stanley streets.
Police Chief Greg Church gave the police report for April. There were 757.25 officer hours, and 4,234 miles driven with 338.84 gallons used.
There were 265 calls of service, 12 battery, fight or domestic calls, three criminal mischief calls, and three drug-related calls. There were 53 traffic-related calls, four accidents or vehicles in a ditch, 29 citizen assists or lockouts and 28 calls for agency assistance (ie fire, EMS).
Mike Wyrick, of the Webster Lake Conservation Association, said two meetings are planned for the public — May 31 and June 7 at 9:30 a.m. and will be held at the community center gym.
The informational meeting is regarding the Webster/Backwater lakes conservancy district dam project.
Representatives from Jones, Petrie, Rafinski Architectural and Engineering Consulting Firm will present details about the project, including its purpose, the progress toward the district’s creation, proposed district boundaries, scope of authority, who will manage the district, and the gathering of court required petitions for the project.
Petitions in support of the project will be available for signing. All district parcel owners are encouraged to attend either of these meetings and sign the petition.
“If you cannot attend, we will visit you to collect your signature. Your attendance will be very much appreciated,” he said.
Board President Dan Thystrup said he talked with USI about the bike trail and they are working on the next steps. “It’s still moving,” he said.
The next meeting is at 6 p.m. June 17.