By Janine DavisRecord Staff WriterEnding a period of uncertainty about what to do with stray pets in the city, Marthasville officials last month voted to approve a contract with a private vendor to provide on-call animal control service.The contract with S&R Animal Control, of Wellsville, is for four visits monthly at a rate of $350 per month or $87.50 per visit. Kennel fees — $20 for the first day and $10 a day for each consecutive day — are on top of this monthly rate, and will be paid by owners when they claim their pets. Owners also must show proof that they paid a fine to the city.Marthasville has been kenneling loose animals until earlier this year when it was made aware of state regulations it would need to adhere to to continue this practice. It then advertised for nearby on-demand dogcatcher bids but none were received. The police department investigated partnering with Warrenton on kenneling on a cost-share basis, but that deal did not materialize.While S&R has been a vendor, this is the first time it will work with the city on an on-call basis. Mayor Jason Schantz said that in the past the company has showed up to pick up animals within a couple of days of being contacted, but that was when Marthasville was able to kennel them in the interim.“We were told by the state that we either needed to invest quite a bit of money into upgrading a permanent shelter facility or not house dogs temporarily as the city had done,” said Schantz. “We felt that we would want to have an animal control company that could come on-call as opposed to just making regular visits, since we will no longer be able to hold dogs temporarily.”For holding purposes, a new aluminum garage structure is being used to shelter animals.In other newsAlso discussed during the meeting was ongoing concern about cars that are driving through residential subdivisions and neighborhoods at high speeds.Speaking about activity on his own street, a resident who spoke during the public comments portion of the meeting said he fears an imminent serious accident if drivers don’t stop high-speed antics.“All you have to do is have one clown come through and think the street’s a drag strip, and if a child gets hurt, that would be tragic,” he said.“Right now, we’re looking to vigilant enforcement (of speed laws), but we do ultimately have an option — if need be — to look at traffic-calming devices,” said Schantz. “But since it’s a known quantity of offenders, it’s just a matter of being there and catching them.”During the city parks report, Schantz stated that the dismantling of the dilapidated barn which skirts Rusche Park on city property is progressing.“The gentleman who is working on the barn is making great strides,” Schantz told the board.The board earlier authorized the tear-down of the barn by local preservationist David Boan, since the structure posed a potential safety hazard. Boan is demolishing the barn for free in exchange for reclaiming the barn wood and other materials for his own building hobbies.Schantz said that he had heard from one resident with a concern about landscaping once the project is over.“Since it’s been wet and muddy, there’s probably going to be some ruts from (Boan’s) truck and trailer getting back in there,” Schantz said. “The resident wondered if the city had made provisions for him to cover that.”Schantz said he would talk with the Rev. Don Deeker of the Rusche Park Board who has been the point person on the project to make sure that any damage from the dismantling will be taken care of.In other action, the board approved hiring Willie Irwin as an additional crew member for snow removal at $15 an hour.“We wanted to have an additional person on board in case we had an (snow) event and Jon Struckhoff isn’t available,” said Schantz.Marthasville approves animal control contract