Circleville City Councilman and Chairman of the Safety Committee Chairman Jeff Hallinin asked for a mid-year report from both the City’s Acting Chief of Police Kenny Fisher and Fire Chief Brian Thompson.
“We are doing well. Morale is improving, and we’re moving forward in a progressive manner, “ said Fisher during Tuesday’s Safety Committee meeting.
Fisher discussed staffing levels at the police department, stating that there were five vacancies within the Police Division — three are administrative and two are for police officers.
In the first half of 2024, there were 723 calls for service. Of that number, there were 184 vehicular accidents and 261 citations. Additionally, there were 143 arrests.
Council member Sheri Theis asked, “How many officers do we have on patrol at any given time?”
Fisher explained that the current minimum level of staffing is two officers on the first shift (7am — 3pm), three on the second shift (3pm -11pm), and two on the third shift (11pm — 7am).
“When fully staffed, we’ll raise the level to 3 officers on each shift,” said Fisher.
Fire Chief Brian Thompson stated that there were 2,331 runs in the first half of 2024 — 1,784 were EMS runs and 547 were non-EMS.
The Circleville Fire Department gave 444 mutual aid runs outside of city limits, and received 37 mutual aid runs from outside departments. The City averages 13 runs a day, but the busiest day saw 30 runs in one 24-hour period.
“It was sirens, back-to-back-to-back that day,” said Thompson.
Thompson stated that his department was down one captain, and that he hoped to fill it from within with one of the two qualified lieutenants.
Thompson is confident that his department will be able to renew the SAFER grant when it expires, saying, “Our grant writer will give us the notification when it’s time to re-apply for the grants. We would need to have a housing boom the likes of which we’ve never seen before to not qualify for it.”
Mayor Michelle Blanton praised both department chiefs, saying, “I want to comment on these two individuals and the relationship dynamic that these two are trying to build across the county.
Both of them have presented Memoranda of Understanding to work with other jurisdictions for mutual aid. That can be attributed to the relationships that these two men have fostered.”
Hallinin moved onto the discussion of a city ordinance that would authorize the Director of Public Safety to solicit bids for the trapping and disposal of nuisance animals.
Hallinin commented, “I have done some research on this, and this ordinance is asking for something that is already in place. We can currently contact our district wildlife offices for nuisance wildlife trappers in the area and additional information. With this ordinance, the City is being asked for $10,000 for a system that is already in place. I’m not for the ordinance as it stands because I have some extra opportunities.”
Hallinin explained that the nuisance animals aren’t coming unless there’s a reason, like pet food being left out or garbage not being placed in cans. Hallinin noted that in this ordinance, any nuisance animal that is trapped will be killed. This is because of the possibility of rabies and other diseases and thus these trapped nuisance animals cannot be released back into the wild.
Councilman Tom Klitzka stated that there is also a problem with feral cats and one of the reasons is that many citizens are feeding them.
Hallinin stated that he wants to move the ordinance forward with additional work. He asked Law Director Kendra Kinney if there was a grant for spaying and neutering these feral cats. Hallinin wanted feral cats included in the ordinance, noting that they will be captured by the traps that are set, but cannot be killed.
In the discussion that followed, it was stated that anyone can trap an animal if they want to, or they can hire someone to do it. Pickaway County has a County Wildlife Officer, Josh Elster (614-203-3406) who works within the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and can provide assistance.
Councilman Tom Duvall asked, “So, if I have a raccoon in my backyard, and I contact ODNR, they’ll send someone out?”
Hallinin: “They will tell you about available trappers.”
Duvall: “Which I will pay for?”
Duvall expressed concern about Circleville residents, especially on Ohio and Walnut streets, who have complained about raccoons that are living in the city sewers and are killing cats, killing dogs, and scaring children. He noted that because of those complaints, the City set aside $10,000 to be used for a trapper to be selected by the Safety Director who will, when Dispatch is called, take care of the nuisance animal at no further expense to the resident.
“That’s a whole lot different than calling ODNR for a trapper that they’ll have to pay for,” said Duvall. “Feral cats have nothing to do with this ordinance.”
A resident spoke to Council and expressed the opinion that the City should have some method of dealing with the wildlife coming in and “wreaking havoc.” She has lived in Circleville since 1985 but said that the problem has worsened in the past five years. She attributed the decline to the increase in rental properties, and the landlords and tenants who don’t clean up the trash on their property. She has filed complaints with the City but has not seen any results. She concluded her statement with, “Some of them seem to have power in this community that I don’t understand.”
Duvall said, “I completely support a program of trap, neuter and release (TNR) for feral cats. But that’s different than raccoons in the city sewers chasing kids across their front yard.” Duvall urged the committee to move the existing ordinance forward and move separately on the grant for TNR.
Hallinin called for another Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday, July 30th so that the ordinance could be reworked to address the problems raised. His goal is to have the ordinance approved by the Safety Committee in time for the next meeting of the full City Council on August 6th.
William Haddox, a local licensed trapper, discussed the problem dealing with feral cats. He stated that the Dog Warden will not deal with cats. A licensed trapper can only have contact with companion animals (dogs and cats) if they are hit by a car and killed. Then, the Ohio Revised Code allows a licensed trapper to dispose of that animal.
Haddox added, “The cat situation needs to be handled separately so that if anyone calls the Dispatcher, there is no confusion on what to do. No licensed trapper is going to handle a cat. There is no cat person, period. The sewer problem is not a joke. On Barnes Avenue, the homeowners have blocked off all of the storm sewers to keep the raccoons from coming out and going after their kids, their pets and getting into their house. If they’re not taken care of, the problem’s only going to get worse.”
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