HOWLAND TOWNSHIP Residents back plan to quiet barking dogs

Trustees have labeled debris on a Hillside Drive property as a public nuisance.
HOWLAND -- Nearly two dozen township residents turned out Wednesday to support a resolution aimed at quieting barking dogs.
The measure would allow fines of up to $100 per day against the owners of noisy dogs. Owners could also be fined if their dogs make enough of a disturbance to disturb neighbors, said John Emanuel, the township administrator.
"The dog resolution came about because of a great demand from the citizens," Emanual told the audience at Wednesday's township trustees meeting. "We have had a number of complaints, they call the police and there is nothing that the police can do."
The measure could come to a final vote as early as May 23.
Struck down: The township's previous barking-dog resolution was struck down by the 11th District Court of Appeals in Warren last year for being too vague, Emanuel said.
Trustees, meanwhile, decided that debris piled up on a property at 2860 Hillside Drive constitutes a public nuisance. The owners of the property, Robin and Harold Wagoner Sr., were given seven days to clean it up or the township will do it for them and bill them through their property taxes, Emanuel said.
A Michigan aerial bug-spraying service was hired to spray 172 acres for gypsy moths at a price of $18 per acre. The areas to be sprayed were decided after a survey of infected areas last year, Emanuel said.
In previous years, the state provided the service in Howland, but has cut back, the administrator said.