Hearing Sept. 8 on Orono leash law

ORONO – Discussions on whether dogs will have to be on leash in Orono will continue at a public hearing Sept. 8, the Orono Town Council decided Monday.

A proposal brought before the board in July called for a townwide mandatory leash law. That proposal was sent back to the operations committee for further discussion after public outcry. Now the scope of the leash law proposal has changed.

“Dogs will have to be leashed in the downtown business district, the school and two parks – Marden and Webster,” Assistant Clerk Nancy Ward said after Monday’s meeting.

Under state law and the town ordinance, dogs currently aren’t required to be on a leash, but may run at large only for hunting purposes. The proposal would require dogs taken off the owner’s property to be on an 8-foot leash if they are to enter the designated areas.

Also Monday, Karen Horton, a University of Maine assistant professor of mechanical engineering technology, was hired by the council for $2,400 to develop procedures to conduct a noise study at Sunrise Materials.

“Her report shall include a cost estimate for a comprehensive noise analysis,” council Chairman Lianne Harris said.

After the plan is developed, an engineering firm will need to be hired to do noise assessment.

Councilor Jo Carol Alfond informed the panel that she is mailing a letter to Rep. Matt Dunlap about the deer on March Island.

“The deer have eaten our carefully tended vegetable gardens and expensive flower gardens and have now begun sleeping in our back yards,” she said. “Since we have been invaded by deer, we are now being bitten by ticks and have to worry about the prospects of Lyme disease … just because we venture out into our own yards.”

During the meeting, the council approved:

. Purchasing two vehicles, a public works dump truck and a fire department pickup truck, from Varney Pontiac-GMC of Bangor for a total of $54,947.

. Designating acting Town Manager David Struck as the Orono representative to the Maine Service Centers Coalition and Town Clerk Wanda Thomas as the alternate.