Dogs must be licensed

By Sara QuamThe city of Luverne will probably continue to operate the animal impound, members indicated at a Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday.Council members tentatively outlined a policy:
Licensing will be required for each dog in the city.
The annual fee, as of April 1, will be $10.oIf licensed animals are impounded, they will be returned to the owner at no expense.
In order to get unlicensed dogs out of the pound, owners will have to pay $75 for the first day and $50 for each additional day.Mayor Andy Steensma said he favored the low annual licensing fee and a higher fee for impound costs."The owner can license the animal or pay the fine," Steensma said.Now only 71 dogs are licensed, and there are an estimated 300 unlicensed.The city will probably send a letter to known dog owners who don’t have them licensed.Council member Pat Baustian said, "A lot of people just don’t realize they have to license their dogs."Residential planningThe city may look into buying more residential lots for future development. In the early 1990s, the city bought land for new development in what is now the Sybesma, Veterans and Evergreen I and II subdivisions.At the time it was a controversial move, but the city maintains it has helped growth that private developers weren’t willing to spur. With TCI hiring more workers and the city pushing Job Opportunity Building Zones, the city hopes to have more housing needs to meet.City Administrator Greg LaFond said, "Right now we have about an 18- to 24-month inventory."There are 20 lots remaining in Sybesma; 21 in Evergreen; 20 in Evergreen II, and two in Veterans.Last year, Luverne had 17 new housing units constructed, including single family or duplex.Criminal prosecutionThe city will continue to contract for criminal prosecution services through Rock County Attorney Don Klosterbuer.Klosterbuer previously had Terry Vajgrt handle most of the prosecuting work, but Vajgrt’s leaving the office.Even though Vajgrt did the actual courtroom work, Klosterbuer said all attorneys in the office were involved in criminal cases.He assured the city that work will be done as it has in the past.Vajgrt said, "I have confidence, personally, that the office will continue to provide quality services to the city."Fitness memberships The City Council was updated on a possible way to draw new members to the Rock County Pool and Fitness Center and keep current members satisfied with rates.With an investment of about $1,000 in new computer equipment and an association membership, the Fitness Center will be able to help members with Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance get reimbursed for their membership fees.As an incentive to keep their clients healthy, the insurance company is offering this reimbursement across Minnesota.The new equipment would enable the Fitness Center to track how many times members use the facility. Blue Cross requires at least eight uses a month in order to get reimbursed up to $20 per month.Curves in Luverne is also a part of this new system.