Gilbert-Stephenson Park is shown here where feral cats sometimes roam at night. Signage has been installed asking people to not feed the cats.In other business
Fort Oglethorpe City Manager Ron Goulart says things are looking good for the city financially.“We did a year-end report on finances for the city. We are financially in the black,” he reported. “Due to the budget surplus, we were able to put money back for future expenses and managed to pay for the ball field lights. It was an unanticipated expense and we managed to pay for it and still come out in the black.”The new ball field lights cost $500,000, he said, adding that the poles are high tech and the lighting energy efficient.The City Council’s next regularly scheduled meeting is Feb. 22 at City Hall, but the meeting may be moved to March 14, said Goulart. Check fortogov.com or call City Hall at 706-866-2544 for updates.
Feral cats are a problem in Fort Oglethorpe. On that, most everyone can agree.
But they disagree on what to do about it.
Members of Catoosa Citizens for Animal Care have been feeding strays in the area for years. They believe this prevents the problem from spreading.
The city doesn’t see it that way.
“We turned a blind eye to it and it has gotten totally out of hand,” said City Manager Ron Goulart, explaining that there are several hundred feral cats from Barnhardt Circle to the walking trail at Walgreen’s by City Hall.
Recently, one CCAC member was fined for feeding stray cats in Gilbert-Stephenson Park after, Goulart said, she was repeatedly warned not to do so.
“I’m sure that they have good intentions, but what has happened is we have an overpopulation area of our park with cats, raccoons and opossums,” he said, adding that people were leaving full bags of cat food out. “The number [of strays there] is solely the result of people feeding [feral] cats. They’ve got cardboard boxes out there for them. It’s like a homeless cat camp. They need to feed the cats at their house. People have complained about cats getting under their houses and on their cars.”
He added that some people who visit the park are allergic to cats.
Goulart said he hopes people will catch the cats and take them home instead of continuing to feed them at the park. He also said he hopes the people capturing the cats will get them vaccinated. There’s a potential to spread rabies if the animals have not had shots, he pointed out.
“[The cats have] become a nuisance and [the park has become] a dumping spot for unwanted animals,” he said. “Once you start feeding wild animals there comes a responsibility to pay for the maintenance and upkeep for shots. I don’t think our taxpayers would want to assume responsibility to pay to feed those wild animals and feral cats.”
CCAC President Kelly Evans said if people stop feeding the cats at the park, they will come closer to homes in search of food.
She said one of the people feeding cats, Wally Barnes, knows all the cats’ names. He has been helping take care of homeless animals in the Fort Oglethorpe area since 1995, she said.
“At one time there were over 100 cats and now there’s 40,” said Evans. “[Barnes] brings in $700 a month in Social Security and still manages to buy cat food to feed the feral cats. The lady that got a citation, Pam Shaw, is very shy. It really breaks my heart.”
Evans said CCAC has been appealing to the Fort Oglethorpe City Council to let the group continue to care for the cats.
“Tonight CCAC offers to partner with the city, share our resources, relate our progress in reducing the growth of these feral colonies and promote humane treatment,” CCAC member Lynne Hall said during a recent council meeting following Shaw’s citation. “CCAC wants to encourage that these charges be dropped and have future meetings with the city of Fort Oglethorpe to address a change in policy for the feeding and management of feral colonies and to continue our work. CCAC has been managing these colonies for years.”
Goulart said the matter of the citation is now in the hands of the court.
“We still maintain that we don’t permit the feeding of wild animals in our park and walking trails,” he added.
“We agree that everyone coming down the trail should not be throwing out food or creating littered areas,” said Hall. “We would like to suggest some alternative solutions and encourage a resolution that shows the residents of Fort Oglethorpe and the county as a whole that this is an animal-friendly city.”
Barnes said city officials follow him to make sure he is not feeding the cats. However, no one has ever had a problem with him capturing dogs and finding them homes.
“I see us helping the city,” Barnes said. “We are the only ones trying to slow down the problem. I have been told that we are adding to the problem by feeding the animals, but we are actually reducing the population by getting them fixed.”
Goulart said the city will continue to issue citations “because that’s the rules.”