AUSTINTOWN TRUSTEES Caiman can stay, official reports

Owners of in-ground pools must install gates with locks or child-proof latches.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Because exotic animals -- including the caimans living on Stanford Avenue -- are species not native to Ohio, they're legal in the state and cannot be regulated, a wildlife official told township trustees Monday.
"We have stronger restrictions on dogs," said David Brown, Mahoning County game warden for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
Exotic-pet regulation became the topic of much debate at a board meeting last month after a 6-foot-long caiman named Spencer escaped from the Stanford Avenue home by crawling out a second-story window. He was captured by his owner and two police officers. The escape prompted area residents to ask trustees to evict Spencer and his 3-foot-long house mate from the neighborhood.
What law says: Because caimans are from southern Mexico and South America, Ohio laws don't include them, Brown said. The only law governing such animals requires that owners notify a law enforcement agency within one hour of an animal escape.
Brown said he has served as game warden to Mahoning County for 18 years and has not seen much of a problem with exotic animals.
"Very few people have them as pets, and people usually keep them to themselves," Brown said. But, he added, those who do have such pets tend to want the "most exotic, most vicious, most dazed and crazed animals they can have."
In the caiman situation, Spencer had lived in the neighborhood six years before his breakout, and it wasn't until then that neighbors knew he lived next door. Brown said the situation could turn hazardous if a child were to try to pet the animal or if a frustrated owner released it into a creek or park.
Trustee David Ditzler said Brown was the only one of eight officials at state and federal agencies to respond to trustees' letter requesting advice and help.
Other business: In other matters, Chairman Jeffrey J. Groat and Ditzler:
UAmended the township zoning ordinance to require all owners of in-ground pools to have gates with locks or child-proof latches. The ordinance already requires such pools to be fenced. Ladders and other access points must be removed from above ground pools when not in use, and those with decks must be gated. Pool owners would have until next summer to comply.
UAmended the township zoning ordinance to require at least 1,500 feet between billboards and outdoor advertising signs.
USaid Shell Energy had extended a deadline to Sept. 28 to enroll for gas service with a 12-month fixed rate. Call (877) 55-SHELL for details.