LOCAL SPAY AND NEUTER PROGRAM INTENSIFIED DUE TO THE OVERFLOWING OF “KITTY-KITTY BANG-BANG” IN LOUISA
APRIL 30, 2022 – written by WADE QUEEN
LOUISA MAYOR HAROLD SLONE, AND THE FOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT AT THE APRIL 12, 2022 MEETING.The Louisa City Council held its regular monthly meeting Tuesday night, April 12, lasting just under an hour, covering several topics and agendas.
After the Pledge of Allegiance and the opening prayer, Mayor Harold Slone reported to the council members that the city is getting ready to hit it hard and try to get the pool open by the May 20 weekend, which is the current date for the last day of school.
“If you know anybody that needs a job, I’m accepting applications for a pool manager or assistant manager, and also for lifeguards,” Mayor Slone said. “I do think we have five lifeguards from last year coming back, so that’s great.”
Mayor Slone said a lot of hard work needs to be done before the pool opens for the season.
“It’s going to have to be painted and really freshened up this year,” Slone said, adding that he is trying to find new diving boards for the pool.“It’s not easy to find anything right now,” said Mayor Slone.
Mayor Slone has also stated that he hopes in a year or two, the city will be able to purchase the top caliber (and expensive) industrial rubber coating for the swimming pool, that is designed to last for a very long term of many years.
In other action taken by the city council, members approved a recommendation by Mayor Slone to make Jefferson Street from Pike Street to Madison Street one way, going in the north direction from Madison to Pike Streets, due to a problem with gravels around the railroad tracks, caused by drivers not being able to pass, leaving drivers who are in the south lane to drive upon the gravels next to the railroad track, pushing them onto that section of Jefferson Street.
Mayor Slone said the city swept the street and found about nearly half the blacktop was covered in the gravel. Mayor Slone, along with a couple council members who stated that the railroad had added the gravel much higher now that basically was at even height of the railroad track. Mayor Slone said it worried him that the potential was high of one or more drivers would drive upon the gravels trying to pass an upcoming vehicle in the other lane, possibly leading instead of one or drivers going over onto and getting stuck and dangerously trapped on the railroad track.
Mayor Slone and Attorney Eldred “Bud” Adams discussed a request by an Ashland attorney to close a portion of Franklin Street. Adams said the lawyer represents the new owner of the Riverview Clinic property, where Franklin Street actually is mapped as legally crossing the clinic parking lot and goes all the way down to the river. The attorney’s client wants the street closed off in that area, Mr. Adams said.
“I’m guessing they’re wanting to build something there,” Adams said.
Mayor Slone stated that if a deal is made with the owner of the clinic property, that it involves the city having access to the riverbank for the potential future river walkway trail.
Attorney Adams said he will get more information and report back to the city council in their next meeting in May.
The city council also approved a recommendation by Mayor Slone for a $500 contribution from the city to the local spay and neuter program.
Slone said that Lawrence County Judge-Executive Phillip Carter had asked the city to match the county’s $500 contribution to the program.The two contributions combined from the city and county are to be matched equally by a private group, that will be a total of $2000, to the local spay and neuter program.Mayor Slone claimed that the vast majority of the money contributed from the city, county, and the private group to the local spay and neuter program, will go to control the ‘massive’ feral and wild cats situation throughout the city.
Mayor Slone and a couple of the four attending out of six council members all personally claimed the “cat problem” is pretty bad and overrun by the “feline problem” around the area where their residences they lived at.
Mayor Slone finished by saying that he believes that at a minimum, the number of loose homeless cats roaming in Louisa are in the ‘low hundreds”.
