Dog Tethering Ordinance

The City of Raleigh Dog Tethering Ordinance takes effect today, Wednesday July 1. 

 

The ordinance regulates the unattended restraint or tethering of dogs. Under the measure, a dog may not be tethered for more than three hours total in any 24-hour period.  The ordinance defines tethering as a means of tying out or fastening a dog outdoors on a rope, chain or other line for restraining a dog. The term does not mean the restraint of a dog on an attended leash.

The purpose of the ordinance is to prevent the possibility of strangling when a dog becomes entangled in ropes and chains or surrounding objects. The ordinance also seeks to prevent dogs from being left exposed to harsh weather conditions without access to shelter, and being unable to reach a supply of food and water.

 

Any device used to tether a dog must be at least 10-feet long and attached in a manner that prevents strangulation or other injury to the dog, or entanglement with objects, under the ordinance. A cable trolley system may be used to tether a dog for the allowed period as long as the stationary cable is at least 10-feet long and the dog can move perpendicularly at least 10-feet away from the stationary line. The line should be attached to the dog with a buckle-type collar or a body harness. The device used to tether can weigh no more than 10 percent of the animal’s body weight and must allow the dog access to food and water. In addition to being a misdemeanor, a violation of the dog tethering ordinance would be subject to a civil penalty of $100 per day for each day of violation.  

The Coalition to Un-chain Dogs  is a non-profit, volunteer effort dedicated to improving the welfare of dogs living outdoors on chains in and around the Triangle region of North Carolina.  In just over a year and a half, they have freed over 130 dogs.  Please contact them to find out about how to help, sponsor a fence or arrange a fence for a dog in need. 

Sir Walter Raleigh Statue

Nancy took this picture during Komen Triangle NC Race for the Cure on 6/11/09.

The following text is directly from the City of Raleigh press release. 

Bruno Lucchesi, the creator of Sir Walter Raleigh’s 11-foot bronze likeness, is the feature of the summer edition of Sculptural Pursuit magazine.

“Bruno Lucchesi is revered as one of the great sculptors and teachers of the late twentieth century… He has depicted the famous, such as Sir Walter Raleigh, Abe Lincoln and Mark Twain…” the article’s author, sculptor David Foster writes.  The nine-page article traces Mr. Lucchesi’s career from his earliest years as an Italian shepherd to his last 51 years as one of the world’s most renowned sculptors of the human form.

Mr. Lucchesi, 83, was commissioned to create the Sir Walter statue in 1975. When the capital city of North Carolina was created in 1792, it was named to honor this dashing Elizabethan figure.  

Yet, it was more than a century later that a movement was formed to raise the money to commission the statue.  In 1901, school children contributed pennies, nickels and dimes to create a memorial to this man who was responsible for the first English colony in America and for whom their state capital was named. The children from throughout the state gave generously to the Sir Walter Raleigh Commission and the sum grew substantial, but was not put to its purpose. A goodly portion of the contributions were lost in a Depression-era bank failure. Only $10,228 of the children’s donations remained.

Sporadic and half-hearted attempts to bring the statue into being surfaced and succumbed over the subsequent decades. Finally, the approaching American bicentennial prompted fruitful action.

Along with the commissioning of Mr. Lucchesi to create the statue, corporate sponsors from throughout the state contributed to getting the statue created and dedicated in honor of the nation’s two-hundredth birthday.

Seventy-five years into the idea stage, Mr. Lucchesi moved the idea of the statue into bronze reality. It was to be a heroically scaled sculpture. The artist prevailed upon the Sir Walter Raleigh Commission members to allow his vision of the sixteenth-century genius to be realized. While many of the commission members wanted Sir Walter Raleigh represented in the ruff – the customary curly collar of his time, the artist prevailed with Sir Walter Raleigh striking a haughty pose in open collar.

Mr. Lucchesi created the statue and cast it in bronze at his home in Pietrasanta, Italy. The statue was dedicated by the governor of North Carolina in Bicentennial Plaza on Dec. 3, 1976, the waning days of the nation’s bicentennial.

Today the statue serves as the Raleigh Convention Center’s sentinel on Salisbury Street.

E-cycling Event 6/27

Bring Obsolete And End-Of-Life Electronics To E-Cycling Event On June 27

Working together to keep potentially harmful obsolete and end-of-life electronics out of local landfills, an Electronics Collection Event will be held on June 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will be held in the parking lot of three local Best Buy Stores at North Raleigh on Capital Blvd at Triangle Shopping Center, Durham Renaissance Center and Crossroads Shopping Center in Cary.

This one day collection event is FREE to the public and is expected to divert thousands of pounds of electronics from the local solid waste stream. You won't even have to get out of your car - volunteers will unload your electronic items! 

The collected material will be processed by Creative Recycling Systems of North Carolina. Using automated and state-of-the-art technology to responsibly handle end-of-life and surplus electronic equipment, CRS provides a true environmental solution for e-scrap.

Above text from the City of Raleigh website - Additional event partners include: Duke Recycling, UNC Recycling, N.C. State Recycling, Durham County, City of Durham, City of Raleigh, City of Durham Recycling, City of Raleigh Recycling, Sustainable Duke Program, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Equipment Accepted: All electronic equipment is acceptable with the exception of manifested hazardous waste, radioactive waste and/or biohazardous waste. Some examples of accepted electronic equipment are:

• Computer Monitors – CRTs   • Tape Players  • Printed Circuit Boards • Computer Monitors – Flat Panel  • CD Players  • UPS (personal & network)  • Televisions – CRTs • Telephones   • Routers • Televisions – Flat Screen  • Cell Phones  • Resistors Capacitors  • Desktop Computers  • Fax Machines  • Diodes  • Laptop Computers  • Electronic Games  • Terminals • Keyboards  • Power & Network Cables  • Rechargeable Batteries  • Mice  • Network Hubs • Peripherals  • Printers  • Switching boxes  • Military Equipment  • Scanners  • Controllers • Medical Equipment  • Copy Machines  • Modems  • Telecommunications  • VCRs  • Docking Stations   • Commercial Equipment   • Stereos   • CD Roms  • Office Equipment  • Radios  • Hard Drives  • Banking Equipment   • Mainframes 

*CRC does not accept washers, dryers, refrigerators, car batteries, light bulbs or AC units.

City Budget 09-10

Council passed the $697 million budget with a vote of 7 to 1. We added $1.85 million to the managers proposed budget, which will be paid for by sending less money from the general fund to debt repayment. We are still within the expected percentage of reserves and made no major changes to affect our bond rating which is currently AAA.

First of all, the City Councilors and the City Manager decided no new tax increase for residents. The city property tax rate will stay at 37.35 cents per $100. By their own request, the Downtown Raleigh Alliance tax rate did increase to 7.86 cents for downtown businesses. This money is used only in the downtown district to fund programs specific to the area.

We successfully negotiated a budget which prioritizes the protections of social safety net programs and our city employees. Our budget prevents any increase in health care premiums and deductibles for employees, including police and firefighters. All city employees are also eligible for merit raises of up to 4% during the upcoming year.

The full funding for Human Services was restored to $500,000. We restored funding for the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle since this is a vital service for families across the county. The manager's budget recommendation was for $22,000 and the Councilor's adjustment added $78,000, bringing their funding to a total of $100,000. We also funded non-profits such as Legal Aid, the Tammy Lynn Center, The Healing Place, CASA and J.T Locke Resource Center. We also kept the Accessible Raleigh Transit program operational by supplementing the vouchers at 40%. ART Tier 1 is a city program that pays for elderly and disabled residents to get rides to the grocery store, doctor’s appointments and other necessities.

The Arts per capita funding will remain at $4.50. This money goes to the Arts Commission to be granted out to over 30 local music, art, theater, opera and dance programs; therefore providing a huge economic driver for our local economy. According to the United Arts Council, on average, every $1 provided by a granting agency produces $9.77 in direct welfare benefit. So roughly $205,000,000 is generated by the arts groups in Raleigh. This return is even more impressive considering this estimate does not include the symphony or three major museums.

In order to help reduce costs, some City parks and community centers will see reduced hours in the coming year. However District A secured the continued opening of Sertoma Center 7 days a week. The original proposal was to close Sertoma on Sundays, however my concern was that closing from Saturday afternoon through Monday morning would worsen recent vandalism and trespassing at the center.

Paper versions of these and other budget documents are available for review in the Administrative Services office, room 302, in the Municipal Building weekdays between 8:15 a.m. and 5:15 p.m.

City Council Agenda 6/16/2009

Full text of 1:00pm agenda here. No 7pm meeting tonight.

Selections from the Consent Agenda:
2. Community Services Department Partnership Agreement
The Council recently approved a partnership between the City of Raleigh Community Services Department and One Economy Corporation, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC that maximizes technology to help low income people improve their lives and enter the economic mainstream. Since that time, the Information Technology and Community Services Departments have been facilitating agreements between One Economy Corporation and the Raleigh Housing Authority to provide free Internet service to low and moderate income households at Chavis Heights and Heritage Park. The installation of the Internet service at Chavis Heights is taking place and is expected to be completed at the end of June. Internet access to 168 housing units is expected to be available mid-July 2009. The cost to provide this service to the residents at Chavis Heights has been covered by One Economy and RHA; however, it has been requested that the City assist with the cost to provide service to Heritage Park residents. The total three-year cost of this service to Heritage Park is $63,392. One Economy will cover $32,872 and the City will cover $30,220 of the total cost over three-years. Funding for the first year cost, $15,128 is in the Information Technology FY09 budget which will be transferred administratively to an agency grant account.

5. Loan Award - North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Clean Water State Revolving Fund - Fire Station Rainwater Harvesting Program
The City has been approved for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 loan assistance from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund in the amount of $465,737. This loan is for funding of rainwater harvesting systems at nine City fire stations and three Wake County facilities. The rainwater harvesting program will consist of cisterns and/or rain gardens at these locations. The total estimated cost of these projects is $574,737. This loan has a 0% interest rate and ½ of the loan amount will be forgiven. These projects will help address water quality concerns in the City. Several streams in the City have been placed on the EPA 303(d) list for impaired waters and noted water quality problems due to levels of sediment, biological integrity and other elevated pollutant loads. This project is one of several initiatives by the City to improve impaired water quality. Lake preservation and stream restoration and stabilization projects have been funded and programmed in the Stormwater Utility Capital Improvement Program over the next several years. A public education program targeted to improve water quality is also planned.


10. Stormwater Utility - Monitoring Agreement with North Carolina State University
The City has recently installed a rain garden (bioretention area) at the Street Maintenance yard on Dortch Street in order to treat stormwater before it enters Pigeon House Branch. NCSU has agreed to monitor the stormwater to ascertain the benefits of the rain garden. In order to accomplish this, North Carolina State University needs to install stormwater monitoring equipment and access the site. An agreement with NCSU is needed to grant permission and outline the conditions of the monitoring. The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed the agreement.


M. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE
1. Park Master Plan Study
The Committee recommends that staff be directed to re-write the current Parks Planning Process according to recommendations outlined in the report entitled: Involving the Public in Park Planning: An Evaluation of the City of Raleigh’s Park Master Planning Process and bring the recommendations back to Council. The recommendations are to include a policy of employing an independent observer to provide feedback throughout the implementation of the revised Parks Planning process. This item will remain in Committee for further discussion.