RIVERSIDE

On a night when the Riverside City Council spent nearly an hour considering candidates for its city administrator position, the real Bear of a discussion arrived later.

The dramatics included loud verbal joisting on both sides of Mayor Allen Schneider and wound up with arguments echoing down Greene Street nearly four hours after the meeting began March 6.

The Bear is actually a dog.

The dog, housed in a residence on Schnoebelen Street, is a pit bull terrier. It has killed a cat and attacked a person, and has resulted in issues appearing in front of the City Council as long as four years ago. According to neighbors, the dog has been left alone for days and is described as a danger in the neighborhood.

A recent attack wound up being reported to Washington County police.

Council Person Kevin Mills, who has raised the issue in two previous City Council meetings, said the dog “has escalated into a vicious animal.”

Mills asked the other council members to look at the city’s ordinance covering such things, but Council Person Edgar McGuire said the city might not be able to take action until an incident occurs.

That led to a shouting match.

“What you want is blood on the ground …,” Mills said.

McGuire said the dog may be an issue for the county’s sheriff.

Beth Caweizell, a neighbor, said the dog poses danger to others and to children in the area for fear of the dog breaking through a fence with no owner present.

“I don’t want to see the dog put down,” she said. “I don’t want to see the dog killed. There is a better home for the dog.”

Abby Sojka, Beth’s daughter, said the dog is sometimes left alone for four or five days because the owner is out of town at work.

“That dog can open that sliding glass door,” she said.

The dog was given a behavorial assessment in 2019, which called for the owner at the time, Diana Schultz, to arrange for extensive training. The City Council at the time declined to label the dog as a vicious animal, requiring a special permit. Since then, Schultz has died.

Mills is worried about a serious situation happening as a result of the dog.

Schneider ended the lengthy discussion by saying he would contact the Sheriff’s Department, Paws & More Animal Shelter in Washington, the dog’s owner and get the fencing checked around the yard by city staff.

City Admin

The City Council met in closed session with Brent Hinson of Hinson Consulting, and trimmed the candidate field for city administrator to seven candidates.

They were scheduled to conduct interviews Wednesday.

Once the candidate field is further cut down, final interviews will be held March 24 and 25 in Riverside. Those interviews will include City Council members, city staff and other Riverside business owners and residents.

The new city administrator may be in place by May 1 and the salary is expected to fall between $85,000 and $95,000, per a previous Council decision. Former City Administrator Christine Yancey earned an annual salary of $77,250. By comparison, Johnson County supervisors earned $88,318 in 2022.

Council action

The Council approved a six-year contract with CIT Sewer Solutions of McCallsburg.

The Council approved an inspection proposal of $1,150 from Fluidyne Corp. of Cedar Falls for an inspection of the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

The Council tabled decisions on UTV use within city limits and the purchase of a John Deere Gator XUV for city use.

Next board meeting: The City Council’s next regularly scheduled meeting is at 6 p.m. March 20.