Movies in the Park at Barker Park was canceled because it wasn’t dark enough to see the movie projected on the screen at 8:00 p.m. Movies would be more visible if they started it at 9:00 p.m. but this would infringe on the 10:00 p.m. noise ordinance. City Attorney Jon Call asked if the council was willing to make an exception for these events. The council does not want to violate their own noise ordinance even though movies in the park have in the past. Parks and Recreation Director Tiffany Staheli said typically they didn’t start playing the movies until 9 or 9:15 pm and they would usually get a turnout of about 20 to 30 people. The council is looking into holding the event at a more isolated park but they still need to amend the ordinance if they allow it to run after 10 p.m. The council hopes to have a decision made before the next scheduled movie showing.
Dogs and Goats
The council is considering changing the number of pets allowed under the ordinance to three and possibly adding pygmy goats as an acceptable pet. The current city ordinance limits the number of animals allowed per residence to two, meaning, a property can have two dogs, a dog and a cat, or two cats. It doesn’t limit birds, rabbits, gerbils, or snakes. The council mentioned how this code isn’t really enforced and there are people in the city who have three or more dogs. “Do we get tougher about enforcing the ordinance we already have with our part time code enforcement officer?” asked Councilman Phillip Swanson.
Chief of Police Dirk Quinney and several other residents mentioned how the problems usually stem from the owner and it doesn’t matter so much how many animals are involved.
Quinney said they handle animal calls about six to ten times a day with the majority of them involving dogs. He said it can range from barking, to biting, to a dog being stuck under the bed. He said he doesn’t have objections to increasing the number of animals per residence. “The more dogs we have in the city the more services we provide.” He said dog owners pay the city a dog license fees which can range from $5-$30.
Not only are pygmy goats cute, as Swanson described them, but they are also weed eaters, and as long as you have two of them, they are mostly quiet. Apparently a single goat is a lonely and noisy one. Swanson said Midvale City adopted pygmy goats as an acceptable yard pet in March and he plans to get more information from them to help the council decide if this is something right for North Ogden. Some residents were apprehensive about the smell that might come with goats, but others said the smell isn’t bad since they are herbivores. Call has goats on his agricultural property and he said un-neutered males can be very robust smelling. Swanson will gather more information and have it on a future agenda at which point they may adopt pygmy goats acceptable pets.
Other Items
The council approved many things on the agenda.
They approved the agreement with Pleasant View to split the cost of their shared City Engineer from a 50% 50% split cost to 60% 40% since North Ogden uses him more. The council adopted the final budget for fiscal year 2020. They accepted the names for the General Plan Committee which is responsible for amending the moderate income housing plan.
They approved the Resolution adopting the employee salary ranges and job titles, the proposed Ordinance on commercial building orientation and utility structures, and the Agreement giving North Ogden City and neighboring property owners cross access easements at approx. 300 E.