Joplin City Council tonight – keeping pets safe – street lights progress

Taking care of pets in extreme weather conditions.  That is on tonight’s Joplin City Council agenda.

Mayor Keenan Cortez told Newstalk KZRG:

“We’re looking at different ways to add things to help make ownership of a pet more responsible. For example, it’s not a good idea when it’s below zero to have your pet outside. I don’t know a dog house out there and I’m sure there might be one that would be adequate enough to care for a dog out in the elements when it’s, you know, 10 degrees or even below zero.” 

Cortez also said:  “That pet should have rights, if you will, that he needs to be cared for, properly brought inside, and be able to keep warm. So we’re going to define things such as bedding, you know, what is, what is the proper bedding that could be used outdoors for a pet.”

Progress on city streetlights has been a major push for Joplin over the past 20 years.

Mayor Keenan Cortez tells Newstalk KZRG:

“What we’re going to look at tonight is mid alley lighting. There’ve been a lot of requests of, hey, you know, it’s kind of dark in the middle of my alley where I live. Can we get a street light put up there? So, what does that cost you? Not as easy as just, oh, it’s dark over there. Let’s put a light in there.” 

Mayor Cortez went on to say:  “Well, how much does that cost?  And if we do that across the community, how much does that cost per month? Per year? Can we afford that?”

That meeting tonight starts at 6 in the council chambers at City Hall at 6th and Main.