In this Friday, April 1, 2016 photo, a feral cat hides in a wooded area near a beach parking lot at Jones Beach State Park.

ALPENA – On Monday, the Alpena Municipal Council passed an amended ordinance that it hopes will help address the growing population of free-roaming, undomesticated cats in th city.

Council,for several months, have considered changing the ordinance to ban feeding feral cats. The changes made on Monday don’t ban feeding the animals, but if a resident does, they are mandated to take ownership of it, care for it and at a minimum, pay to have it spayed or neutered.

The only board member to vote against the amended ordinance was Bridget Hollinshead.

During public comment, things began to get a touch unruly, as many people who were against the proposed change spoke up, and at times out of turn.

The meeting started with Mayor Cindy Johnson presenting a motion to modify the allowed public speaking time from five minutes to three minutes. That motion was passed by the board.

“I would like to make one modification to the agenda this evening, I want to change the five-minute rule for public comment to three minutes,” Johnson said. “We have a lot of people that would like to comment, and I want to give everyone an opportunity to speak.”

The people offering public comment were primarily those who oppose the ordinance. Including Alpena resident Nancy McSwain who believes the changes to the ordinance do more harm than good. She also said the new ordinance bans people from putting cat shelters in their yard to provide shelter for the animals.

“I am here today to speak in strong opposition against ordinance 25-514, what began as a concerning proposal has now become even more troubling,” McSwain said. “The edits made recently before this meeting shifted the ordinance from a feeding ban to a ban on placing outdoor shelters for community cats.”

“Denying cats basic shelter, especially in a place like Alpena where winters are harsh and unforgiving, is not only cruel, it’s irresponsible,” McSwain added.

LuAnne Benac, a resident of Alpena, offered comment online and discussed the need for local agencies to work together to find a solution to the problem.

“I am strongly opposed to the ordinance, I believe a lot of good information has been presented to the board and we need to work together with Second Chance Animal Shelter, Huron Humane Society and Trap Neuter Release to find a better solution,” Benac said. “What is this teaching our children, when a creature needs help, it should be an option to help.”

Virginia Marzean, an Alpena resident, spoke in support of the ordinance, and discussed some of the issues she has had with cats on her property.

“We have several feral cats in our neighborhood that are being fed and sheltered by neighbors, but they all seem to want to come to my yard,” Marzean said. “I have a fenced yard, I keep my dog on a leash when I leave the yard, and these cats do their business in my flower beds, shrubbery, and it is not pleasant to find.”

Prior to the vote on the ordinance, City of Alpena Manager Rachel Smolinski explained the work and what went into making the modifying the ordinance.

“We appreciate the thoughtful input received from residents, advocates and organizations regarding the proposed updates to chapter 10 of the city’s animal ordinance,” Smolinski said. “The concerns raised, particularly those related to humane treatment, overpopulation, and the effectiveness of long-term solutions were carefully considered in this process.”

Smolinski went on to say:

“The revisions reflect in our opinion a more balanced and practical approach rather than implementing a broad feeding ban, the ordinance recognizes the role residents play in caring for community cats while also establishing reasonable expectations and accountability.”

Rebecca Witt, president of Northeast Michigan TNR (NEMTNR), responded to the decision in a statement to The News.

“The council’s decision is a gross disappointment. The edits made on April 13th completely changed the ordinance. The disregard for formal procedure when it comes to extensive changes to code is shocking. The single meeting we were granted with council reps focused on our support of community cats and TNR in general. There was never any focus on particular solutions.”

The statement continued to say it is imperative that all of the local patterns that deal with animals, continue to work together.

“It’s important to note that our opposition to this ordinance does not reflect the professional relationship we have with Huron Humane Society. We fully recognize the shelter is a separate entity and that relationship is necessary in order to achieve positive results pertaining to animal and public welfare,” Witt said.

Prior to the vote, council members Kevin Currier and Hollinshead expressed to the other council members the desire to postpone the vote in the interest of obtaining more information on the ordinance modifications.

Ultimately, the vote took place, with Currier and the rest of the board voting in favor, and Hollinshead being the lone no vote.

The council indicated new facts, details, or ideas would allow it to amend the language of the ordinance in the future.