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Sopris Carbondale’s weekly

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Sun

Volume 7, Number 26 | August 6, 2015

Cat crusader opposes ordinance By John Colson Sopris Sun Staff Writer A proposed new ordinance in Carbondale, aimed at keeping domestic cats from roaming around town and killing birds, has prompted a strong reaction from a local woman who has been working to cut down the number of feral cats here and in other communities around Garfield County. “I don’t want to go to war here, [but] they’re just ramming this ordinance through without hearing the other side of the story,” said Carbondale cat-advocate Cindy Sadlowski on Monday, concerning her effort to slow or derail the town’s consideration of laws eliminating the free-roaming liberty of local cats. Sadlowski, who has been trapping and treating feral cats in this area for 15 years under a program called the Street Cat Coalition, is afraid the Carbondale Board of Trustees has been misinformed in recent weeks about the truth of what is causing an alarming decline in the population of birds around the U.S. “It’s the humans,” she said, citing numerous studies and articles that point to habitat loss by overdevelopment, poisoning by pollution and numerous other causes for the dwindling number of songbirds and other avian species. CATS page 8

“Lookin’ out, on the mornin’ rain … .” There’s no telling how inspired or uninspired this Carbondale cat might be feeling. In any case, the town trustees are discussing a possible ordinance that would confine cats to their houses or yards, rather than being allowed to roam free. The local Audubon Society is advocating for the change. Some cat owners are arguing against it. Photo by Jane Bachrach

Town trustees consider first pay hike since 2000 Average week: eight to 10 hours By John Colson Sopris Sun Staff Writer

One of the town’s elected leaders has suggested that those serving on the Carbondale Board of Trustees get a raise, perhaps as much as a 66 percent jump in the monthly amount paid by the taxpayers to those who run the town. “I think it should be $1,000 a month for the trustees, maybe $1,500 a month for the mayor,” Trustee Allyn Harvey told The Sopris Sun in an interview on Tuesday. The topic came up at the trustees meeting on July 28, when Harvey made his proposal

during the “trustee comments” portion of the agenda, which comes near the very beginning of the meeting. Currently, trustees earn $600 per month, or $7,200 per year for their service, while the mayor earns $1,000 per month or $12,000 per year. If the trustees do vote themselves a pay increase, however, it would not go into effect until after the next election following the vote. That is to prevent sitting trustees from raising their own salary during their current

term in office. Carbondale’s next election is scheduled for the spring of 2016. The reason a raise is needed, Harvey said, is that, “to do the job well requires a lot of focus and a lot of time.” He estimated that being a trustee takes up eight to 10 hours for “an average week, when there’s a meeting,” between the time spent reading through packets of information and attending the meeting itself. But some weeks, Harvey said, because of TRUSTEE RAISES page 9

GO GREEN AT FIRST FRIDAY! Friday, August 7 in the Heart of Carbondale’s Creative District

Sustainability demonstrations from local businesses and entities from 5pm to 7pm on the Carbondale Community Food Co-op lawn.


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