WALLOWA — An ordinance governing the number of domestic livestock that may be kept within city limits was given its final reading and approval, Tuesday, Feb. 21, by the Wallowa City Council.

Violators of the ordinance can be issued a citation and forced to appear before the municipal judge, city attorney Wyatt Baum, who will hold court every three months if there are cases to be heard, said city Administrator Carolyn Harshfield.

The council has, for a couple of years, been concerned about the enforcement of its ordinances.

“If you don’t have any teeth, people tend to ignore you,” she said.

Mayor Gary Hulse said enforcement isn’t a big issue, but it needs to take place if there are complaints.

“That’s the only way we enforce such ordinances is if we get complaints,” he said. “We’re not going to drive around and look for problems.”

Office assistant Theresa Spaur said the ordinance limits the number of various animals to specific sizes of lots.

Fowl, poultry, rabbits, beehives, sheep, goats, milk goats, cattle, horses, mules and donkeys all are governed by the ordinance. No pigs are allowed to be kept within the city, according to the ordinance.

The young of the various animals are considered adults once they are weaned.

Another ordinance received its first public reading Feb. 21. That ordinance requires the abatement of public nuisances and defines nuisances as property that is a chronic nuisance, dangerous buildings, a nuisance affecting public health or safety, noxious vegetation, rubbish, junk and damaged buildings. The ordinance specifically says that no property owner shall have abandoned, vacant and unsafe houses that are dangerous and accessible to the public. If the property owner doesn’t remedy a problem, the city can step in and abate the problem and charge owner for the cost.

This does not apply to buildings damaged in the August hailstorm, but to buildings that have been abandoned for some time, Harshfield said.

Both ordinances are available for review at City Hall. There was no one present at the Feb. 21 meeting to speak in opposition to either ordinance, Hulse said.

Storm recoveryThe mayor said Blue Mountain Long-Term Recovery, a nonprofit agency based in Pendleton, is continuing to assess claims of damage from the Aug. 11, 2022 hailstorm and dole out funds received from the state Office of Emergency Management. Hailstorm recovery continues to be a major concern of the city.

Christy Lieuallen, executive director of Blue Mountain, said Wednesday that only about $85,000 of the first $500,000 promised by the state has been spent. The state promised $2 million to aid in Wallowa’s recovery, but will only disburse $500,000 at a time.

“Our biggest problem is finding enough contractors who want to do the work,” Lieuallen said. “So we’re just at the beginning.”

She said another 10 cases are expected to go to the “unmet needs desk” within the next couple of weeks.

If someone needs help, Lieuallen said, she recommends emailing a disaster case manager at swallowaecm@gmail.com. Lieuallen can be reached at christy@uwbluemt.org.

She also said claims for rebates on window installation are still being accepted. The first such program was announced in early January, but expired Jan. 13. She said it has now been expanded to the end of the year.

Residents and contractors completing work in Wallowa may be eligible for rebates on the cost of installing windows, Lieuallen said. For details and to determine eligibility, contact residential account manager Derrick Noll at 208-964-0412 or via email at derrick.noll@clearesult.com.