Mayor holds final 'Let's Talk' forum of 2015

A crowd of more than 100 people packed the auditorium at Temple Israel and posed a variety of questions for Mayor Teresa Tomlinson and other city leaders during the last of the mayor's quarterly forums for 2015.

Residents asked about animal control, Metra bus service, the Columbus Aquatic Center, recycling and high-speed rail among other things at the regular forum known as "Let's Talk with the Mayor."

Jim Allen said he thinks there's a problem with the city's Animal Care and Control policies that is discouraging people whose pets have been picked up from coming and getting them.

The problem, he said, is that the pet owners face not only impoundment fees, but also fines for not controlling their pets and possibly for lack of rabies certification and city licensing.

He suggested allowing "first offenders" a pass on the fines, if they proved that they had rectified the problems with vaccination and registration.

Tomlinson said the idea was intriguing and that she would discuss it with leadership in that department. But, she said, part of the reason for the fines is to discourage repeat offenders who are irresponsible pet owners.

"A dog that hasn't been vaccinated for rabies is a serious threat to the community," Tomlinson said.

Frank Lumpkin, 17, asked about the status of the proposed high-speed rail between Columbus and Atlanta.

Tomlinson said Columbus is at the forefront of high-speed rail in the state of Georgia, having taken the first couple of steps necessary to get it going. Included in those steps was completing a feasibility study, which showed that it could work and be profitable.

"We're talking about an electric high-speed train that would run up 185 and 85 at over 200 miles per hour," Tomlinson said. "The state already owns the right-of-

way. They would have over a million one-way trips a year. It would be profitable in the first year of operation."

There are still environment-impact studies that have to be done, and the city is exploring grants to fund those, Tomlinson said.

Glenda Mullins said she is concerned about what she suspects is organized crime operating in prostitution and other crimes in her neighborhood, but she has been unable to get one-on-one appointments with either the mayor or the sheriff.

"How can I talk to you personally about this?" Mullins said.

"I tell you, if you'll wait (until after the forum) we have the chief of police here and we'll all talk about it tonight," Tomlinson said.

This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 11:14 PM with the headline "Mayor holds final 'Let's Talk' forum of 2015 ."