FIRST TIER SUBURBS COUNCIL NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES

I learned just before the recent National League of Cities' conference that I had been appointed by incoming NLC president and mayor of Riverside, California, Ronald O. Loveridge, as chairman of the First Tier Suburbs Council for the coming year.
 
Council membership draws from NLC members that are first ring suburbs of major cities across the country. The NLC website says, "The First Tier Suburbs Council was established in 2002 to address the unique set of challenges faced by municipalities located outside of central cities and inside the ring of developing suburbs and rural areas. The purpose of the Council is to allow local elected officials from these cities to network with each other and discuss common needs, raise the visibility of first tier suburbs, articulate their unique challenges and opportunities, and encourage NLC to be a vehicle to advance these issues."
 
I consider 2010 to be an excellent year to hold this office. The council has been building its reputation and services for several years. We've developed a solid relationship with the International Council of Shopping Centers with eyes toward economic development and we've looked at small business development and how to involve the community to build a consensus for major changes. The council has also been instrumental identifying early trends that have ultimately hit all cities, such as the foreclosure crisis.
 
I'm working to bring presentations to the spring conference in Washington DC that will educate cities and suburbs on the coming changes in zoning and planning for cities. It is surprising the number of city leaders that aren't aware of the evolution underway, most dramatically evidenced by the very recent zoning overhaul in Miami (the subject of a future post).
 
The implications of those changes for suburbs, especially first ring suburbs, will be even more dramatic. As seen in Atlanta and other urban areas, there are a number of suburbanites returning to the core city, changing the demographics in both the core and the suburbs. The first tier suburbs missed much of the prosperity of the migration in recent years to the exurbs and stand to miss again the move back to the core if we don't address the declining sprawl conditions that lie between.
 
As chair, I fully expect the FTS summer meeting to be here in the Metroplex, showcasing efforts underway here in Garland, Duncanville, North Richland Hills, and other suburbs. Even in a down economy, we are still enjoying greater growth and lower unemployment than most parts of the nation. We can highlight our achievements and efforts that are underway, but we can also focus more directly on the changes that will be necessary to be strong competitors for future growth.
 
The NLC fall conference will be in Denver, the perfect setting for our final FTS meeting of the year. The Denver area has seen significant changes for suburbs and many best practices that can be showcased. Several Denver suburbs also have members serving on the FTS Steering Committee, which should enrich that meeting. I mentioned one Denver suburb, Lakewood, in my recent article for the NLC newsletter, that has seen the demolition of a huge regional mall and its replacement with a new mixed-use development that also serves as the new downtown.
 
I've ascended to the chair rather quickly and give total credit to the foundation built by former mayor Bob Day, a founding member of the council, when he served on the Steering Committee. My participation immediately followed his and members were already well aware of Garland and the positive image he set. He sought to bring best practices to Garland and to share our successes with other members. Candidly, some of our future successes are works in progress but we can demonstrate that we have initiated efforts that will be leading practices soon, such as our Neighborhood Vitality and Envision Garland programs.
 
I very much look forward to this opportunity to showcase Garland and the Metroplex to the rest of the country and the opportunity to learn from other cities.

Once a year, firemen and police officers from the area come together to play a live version of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. The Guns and Hoses Foundation of North Texas recently held its annual boxing tournament to a sold-out crowd. Proceeds from the tournament goes to support charitable work by the foundation. Garland Police Lt Dave Swavey and fellow officers and firemen contribute huge amounts of their own time to make the tournament a success. A number of sponsors also give generously.

Senior Cpl Victor Lozada

 
In a report for Fox 4 TV, Raul Cantu tells the story of one family blessed by the men and women of Guns and Hoses: "The widow of a Dallas police officer is talking publicly for the first time since his death. Senior Cpl. Victor Lozada died in February 2008. He lost control of his motorcycle on the Houston Street viaduct while escorting then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Theresa Lozada credits the Guns and Hoses Foundation for helping her family get their lives back on track."
 
The report features more than Ms Lozada. In scenes from the tournament, we also see and hear Officer and Ms Lozada's daughter sing the National Anthem before the tournament crowd. Follow the link to hear the complete news report.
 
I offer my appreciation to the Guns and Hoses Foundation for their tremendous work and the sacrifices the members make so often in their lives and their jobs.

In journalism, dog-bites-man stories are considered unworthy of publication. Common events aren't printed; it's a waste of newsprint because it doesn't sell newspapers and, frankly, nobody cares.
 

Katie Fairbank

Katie Fairbank, the Dallas Morning News "investigative" reporter that writes for the Problem Solver column and posts to the DMN Investigates Blog, is obviously working on a formula to circulate such dog-bites-man stories by wrapping them in hints of controversy. No investigation, no real reporting, just hints of that there might be a story.
 
Watch how it's done: Take a bland story, "Richardson department removes unused equipment," and write six paragraphs about it. Write one paragraph about the fact the equipment is no longer used and write five about the Garland Animal Shelter. Use the animal shelter tie-in to announce that there will be a protest outside the Garland Council chambers. Get a quote from a protester-to-be but don't include any quotes or actual facts from the city. Publish "facts" that are counter to reporting in her own newspaper.
 
She quotes, "Public pleas to the city council over several weeks have been ignored and ridiculed, including 19 speakers (all Garlanders) and 67 filed cards (most Garlanders) [sic] opposing gassing at the last two city council meetings." To be factual, most were not from Garland but that probably dilutes her story and her purpose. Here is what was actually reported in the Dallas Morning News: "Fourteen residents spoke on behalf of ending the use of carbon monoxide and 60 others in attendance – 25 from Garland – registered their support." What kind of investigative reporter prints "facts" that are directly contradicted by her own publication without offering any explanation?
 

From data embedded in the photo: "Cats at the Abe Jack Tuggle Animal Shelter and Adoption Center in Garland photographed Wednesday, September 16, 2009. ( Kye R. Lee / The Dallas Morning News )" (Click photo for very large version.)

And Ms Fairbank forgot again, as she has every time, to announce that she has worked with animal rescue groups for 15 years because someone might recognize that she has a bias and no longer consider her reports wholly credible. It's not the first time it's happened.
 
Here's another example. I received a call today questioning her latest blog post: "Kittens gone, but where?" Definitely a headline worthy of a lowly dog-bites-man award. How does an investigative reporter solve the mystery? This reporter asks the questions and then guesses at possible answers: "They may have been adopted. They may have been euthanized." Be sure to end the dog-bites-man post with a word like "euthanized." Here are some more guesses she could have made: "They might have been catnapped by the photographer that took their picture." "They may be in Hollywood and starring in Disney's next great hit." Guessing is fun. If you can do it, you are obviously qualified to work for the Dallas Morning News as an investigative reporter. Guessing, at any journalism school in America, is not reporting.
 
Here's what a real investigative reporter might reveal: A photo taken by DMN photographer Kye R. Lee, on Sept 16, 2009, was used numerous times to illustrate various DMN stories on the animal shelter. A reader saw the picture and offered to adopt the kittens. According to Katie, "I contacted the city of Garland immediately…." That's almost eight weeks after the photo was taken. She sighs, "Unfortunately, the city was unable to say where they went without identifying numbers." The information she needs to complete her investigation is almost there in the photo, just one inch higher and the identity tag would be visible.
 
Photographer Lee took many technically and aesthetically excellent shots at the animal shelter. A few have been used to illustrate various related stories. I've used them as evidence that Ms Fairbank's claims, repeated by the DMN editorial board, are not supported by her photographer's own work. Several photos of the kittens were probably taken at the same time; one of them may have the information an investigative reporter would need. She offers no indication that she looked at any of the other photos taken at the same time to find if one might have the information needed to solve her mystery question. She never tells her readers that almost two months have expired between the photos and her "immediate" post. Too bad for the reader that was interested in adopting, perhaps too bad for the kittens, and definitely too bad for the rest of her readers.
 
Ms Fairbank's reporting has been blatantly unfair to Garland residents and others that would like to know the facts to which she only alludes. She deceives her readers by pretending to be a reporter but doesn't report. Readers also deserve to know of her biases so they can make fair, informed judgments of their own. It is the duty of the Dallas Morning News to divulge conflicts of interest whenever any exist.
 
There should be an investigation, an internal investigation.
 
FULL DISCLOSURE: Mr Athas is a city council member elected to represent the citizens of his district and Garland. His duty is to the citizens, not to city government or to the media. His duty is to assure that city departments operate in the best interest of the citizens and that all departments act within the law. He has personally investigated the animal shelter, he has recommended changes, and he has voted with the council to increase the animal advisory board. He has not violated the city charter by trying to micromanage the animal shelter or any other department. He has two rescued cats.
 
An extended list of related stories is here.

From the US Dept of Veterans Affairs website:
 
Veterans Day - November 11
 

National Veterans Day Ceremony

The Veterans Day National Ceremony is held on November 11th at Arlington National Cemetery. At 11:00 a.m., a color guard, made up of members from each of the military services, renders honors to America's war dead during a tradition-rich ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The ceremony takes place inside the Memorial Amphitheater.
 
The Veterans Day National Committee also selects a number of regional sites for Veterans Day observances throughout the country. From stirring parades and ceremonies to military exhibits and tributes to distinguished veterans, these events serve as models for other communities to follow in planning their own observances.
 

From the DMN Garland Blog:

 
Here's a list of venues and activities:

• Entertainment on the square -- Some seating available, but you may want to bring a lawn chair
• Plaza Theatre -- Heritage Brass Band and Stage Show, 7 and 8:30 p.m. Performances are free, but reservations are required to 972-205-2769
• Garland Senior Activity Center -- Bring 5x7 pictures and info for the Veterans Photo Wall or a personalized brick for the Veterans Tribute Garden
• Generator Coffee House -- Free popcorn, hot chocolate, water, tea, desserts and coffee; interviews with veterans will be taken and sent to the Library of Congress
• Dos Banderas, Vetoni's and Paw Paw's -- $5 meals for veterans and their guests
• Corner Pocket Sandwich Shoppe -- $1 off coupons

 
Last year, budget cuts included the Star Spangled Fourth, Garland's celebrated and award-winning July 4th extravaganza. Management at the Firewheel Town Center attempted to resurrect the event with fireworks and vendors but the plan did not start soon enough; various city departments felt there wasn't sufficient planning time.
 
Not to be caught in the same situation, Firewheel Town Center started the planning for next year's celebration in August or even earlier.
 
While the city's participation will be minimal, the Town Center is planning an event this year with entertainment, fireworks, and a carnival. It will be a family day. Coneflower Dr will be closed from the roundabout to the fountain area and both streets along the park will be closed. It will be a huge pedestrian area. A stage at the southern end will provide entertainment throughout the day.
 
The Four Seasons Market will be open along with Star Spangled Snacks, Radio Disnety, and stores will be having a holiday sale throughout the Town Center.
 
Over 500 American Flags will be on display and ReMAX will have a hot air balloon display.
 
The fireworks finale will begin at 9 pm.
 
The necessary permit has not yet been approved but one city official said it was 99% certain. Coordination for security, sanitation, traffic, and many other elements have to be considered and finalized. The "Star Spangled" brand belongs to the City of Garland and use of the name has also not been approved. We're still early in many of these details.
 
Currently, the Town Center plans to hold their event on Saturday, July 3rd, not the 4th.
 
I'm confident we will have fireworks here in Garland this Independence Day weekend. If it's on the Third instead of the Fourth, I say we call it Star Spangled Garland and shoot some fireworks!
 

An article in last Thursday's Dallas Morning News, "A new code for business," says the City of Richardson is considering enhancing code enforcement for businesses. This would follow earlier efforts to strengthen code enforcement in neighborhoods (10 years ago) and for apartments (two years ago).
 
Reporter Ian McCann observes, "Code enforcement has become an effective tool for Richardson, Irving and other aging cities as they try to stave off decay in older neighborhoods and along major thoroughfares."
 

Code violations can contribute to neighborhood and city decline. This example is not from Texas.

It is the first-tier suburbs that are seeing much of the decline but it is true for the core cities and will eventually be true for the exurbs.
 
Garland is a first-tier city and is not an exception. We have active code enforcement programs, probably more so than most other area cities. The proactive enforcement program in neighborhoods has been very effective. It sweeps whole neighborhoods looking for those code violations that left unaddressed do lead to decline and unsafe living conditions. Also, we have had an apartment inspection process for many years and have recently started giving business areas more attention.
 
If decline is thought of as an illness, then code enforcement is a band-aid. It may block more infection and slow the decline, but it won't cure the illness.
 
I received this rhetorical question from Bill Lucy, co-author of Confronting Suburban Decline, a few months ago: "... [T]he first problem faced by elected officials of aging, and often declining, suburbs, is that they do not understand what is happening to their community or, if they can describe the problems, they do not know why they are occurring, and, therefore, they do no know where to start to cope with the problems. They often start with what is most obvious—code enforcement to deal with visible problems on deteriorating and declining individual properties and in certain neighborhoods. Then what?"
 
Mr Lucy suggested preparing a handbook for public officials that could address aging housing, population loss, the problem of small houses, and outmoded amenities—which are sometimes concentrated in one area. He mentioned expanding design options, enhancing walkability, downtown revival, and shopping center conversions as ways to start effectively reversing the decline.
 
Garland has made some healthy steps in the right direction and I don't see right now why we can't be running in the near future. Other communities have made some strides too but there isn't a marathon underway anywhere. Still, there is positive news: good examples do abound, as documented in Retrofitting Suburbia, by Ellen Dunham-Jones and June Williamson (available here).
 
We do need to bandage the patient to stop the decline but getting the patient back to health will take a different course of care than just code enforcement.

Thought I'd mention a couple recognitions received by two of District 1's legislative representatives announced this week. District 1 is represented by two senators and two representatives, the split for both being at Lavon Ave (SH-78). On the east half, we are represented by Sen Bob Duell and Rep Joe Driver; on the west half, we have Sen John Carona and Rep Angie Chen Button.
 

The Texas Municipal League, of which Garland is a member, recognized Sen Carona with its Legislator of the Year Award for his efforts during the 81st session of the Texas Legislature. Only two such awards were given.
 
"First elected to the Texas Senate in 1996 after serving three terms in the Texas House of Representatives, Senator Carona is the Chairman of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee and serves on three other Senate committees (Criminal Justice, Jurisprudence, and State Affairs). Prior to being elected to the Senate, Senator Carona served three terms in the Texas House of Representatives. During the 81st regular session, Senator Carona led the fight to enact the Local Option Transportation Act, an initiative that would have authorized local option, vote-approved funding mechanisms for transportation projects. He is a consistent advocate for local control."
 
Last Thursday, Rep Angie Chen Button was recognized by Michael Quinn Sullivan on behalf of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility with its Taxpayer Advocate Award. Only ten legislators were so recognized. The award was presented at a celebration held near Rep Button's district offices in Richardson. The celebration was to recognize constituents and volunteers that have assisted Rep Button. It was heavily attended and numerous council representatives were there from Garland and Richardson. Roundtable groups organized to meet and recommend on various topics, such as transportation, energy, and senior affairs, were recognized.

I have posted many times on suburban sprawl. Is there something wrong with sprawl? After all, it's a model we've been using in this country for 50 years and in many cases quite successfully.
 

The suburban form is much less dense than the urban form. The urban form is a more efficient use of space and public investment yet under the zoning laws in most suburbs, illegal. None of it could be built without locally-approved special districts and variances, if at all. Suburbs are built for cars and urban places are built for people. Graphic: from Retrofitting Suburbia

 
Before I offer my answer, let me better define suburban sprawl. Ellen Dunham-Jones and June Williamson (mentioned previously here), authors of Retrofitting Suburbia, Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs, define it as the suburban form because they look at the form it assumes. The suburban form and the urban form differ in several important ways, to quote:

• Suburban form is characterized by buildings designed "in the round" to be viewed as objects set back in a landscape they dominant; in urban form, a clear focus is on the fronts of buildings and how they line up to meet the sidewalk and shape the public space of the street. [Think of the Cisco campus along SH-190 in Richardson, standing alone, and the Firewheel Town Center where you hardly ever notice anything but the fronts.]
   
• The dominant spatial figures in suburban form are private buildings. Public roadways, schools, and parks exist but are rarely treated as dominate spatial figures or outdoor public rooms, as is the case in urban form. [Compare the Wal-Mart and Sams on N Garland Ave to Downtown with its public square.]
   
• Suburban buildings tend to be dedicated to a single use—residential, retail, office, or industrial—while urban buildings are more often mixed in use or may transition in use over the life span of the building. [Compare the industrial buildings in west Garland to the Downtown, which has evolved many times over the last century and is evolving again.]
   
• Suburban form is almost entirely auto dependent, typically involving surface parking lots surrounding buildings, while urban form is not. [People drive from the Wal-Mart to Target, then to Chick-fil-a, and finally to Marble Slab and Starbucks. Compare that to the Town Center where you probably never move your car once parked.]
   
• Suburban roads are often organized in a dendritic pattern with dead ends and culs-de-sac, while urban streets are organized into interconnected networks. [Think of any strange subdivision where you're afraid of getting lost and then the easy-to-find streets Downtown.]
   
• Suburban form tends to be lower-density and evenly spread out, while urban form tends to have a higher net density as well as a greater range of localized densities. This is true for densities measured by population and by building area. [Just study the graphic for a moment.]
   
• Suburban form is predominantly funded by short-term investors interested in volume, such as real estate investment trusts (REITs) and large home-builders, while urban form is more likely to be funded with a combination of short- and longer-term investment vehicles as well as a variety of public-private partnerships.

In the examples above, we can see differences even locally. Our urban examples locally are few. We have the Firewheel Town Center dropped into a green field and the much, much older Downtown. That we've evolved full circle from a Downtown back to a Town Center is not really that coincidental—for the history of mankind, we've built primarily on a scale for humans and only in the last 50 or 60 years have we built on a scale for cars.
 
Drum roll-ll-ll ... So my answer to "What is wrong with suburban sprawl?" There is nothing wrong with it.
 
Suburban sprawl is a product that has brought trillions and trillions of dollars of investment to this country. It's impossible to be "wrong" in the marketplace if your product is so, so successful.
 
So what is wrong?
 
The mistake we as a country have made is mandating sprawl through our zoning laws to the exclusion of the urban form. This is true in virtually all suburbs and, other than the dense downtown, even most large cities. We have given sprawl a monopoly. We've engineered and built for cars instead of people. We've created room for the cars and pushed the people away from one another.
 
Sprawl has indeed worked for half a century but there is a finite limit to its success: we eventually run out of room that can be accessed within a reasonable drive (time) and high energy prices further contract that threshold (expense).
 
In suburb and city, this is becoming evident. Unfortunately, so far most planners and citizens sense something is wrong but they haven't been able to identify it. They're spending lots of time driving in congestion and on more frequent occasions having to think about a second mortgage to keep their cars fueled but they don't have the experience of a time when or a place where it was different.
 
Allowing whichever product the marketplace wants is the simple, self-correcting way to address development. If one is built but is wrong in the marketplace, the other can replace it. If conditions change, the more efficient or preferable (and affordable) form will prevail. Left to the market, urban places would sprout between suburban expanses. The edges between the two will oscillate according to market conditions.
 
I've advocated New Urbanism many, many times but always in the vein of allowing another product to compete. I don't advocate one over the other. I can choose one for myself and you can choose one for you. Our neighbors and friends will do the same.
 
In the simplest terms, sprawl is ideal for introverts and urbanism for extroverts. Why did we ever pass laws that mandated everyone be an introvert?

While attending the 2002 Neighborhoods, USA national conference in Houston, my favorite workshop was on Redevelopment Financing Tools in Texas. I learned about Tax Increment Financing Districts (TIFs) and Public Improvement Districts (PIDs) and Municipal Management Districts (MMGs) and Neighborhood Empowerment Zones — and that's a partial list. These were all legislatively-approved tools that cities could use to spur redevelopment. I was excited to return to Garland to learn which tools we were using. The answer: None. (We do now have two TIF districts.)
 
Almost three years ago, I learned that Grand Prairie was using PIDs in neighborhoods. The concept was almost unheard of. Since the improvements to be paid by the special district have to be public, on public property, most PIDs are in commercial areas. Grand Prairie has 15 neighborhood PIDs, 7 created for new neighborhoods and 8 created within existing neighborhoods. The special district must be approved by, essentially, a majority of the property owners. They then tax themselves for improvements in their district. The city council cannot create the district but the council is required by law to approve the budgets.
 

This unorganized neighborhood petitioned the Grand Prairie City Council to create a Public Improvement District that would fund and maintain entrance landscaping, screening walls, and speed humps.

 
I've been talking about neighborhood PIDs every since. I see it as one tool a neighborhood might use to finance improvements in their area, improvements that will enhance their property values and the quality of their neighborhood. State law allows:

We have learned from the Neighborhood Vitality process, Envision Garland, and in conversations with neighborhood leaders that many of these improvements are what neighborhoods feel they are missing. Obviously if we are having to close a library and not give raises, the city doesn't have the money to provide these amenities to a neighborhood. However, if the neighborhood wishes to create a district and pay for the improvements, those improvements and services can be had.
 
The neighborhood would need to petition the city by filing with the City Secretary. The petition doesn't have to be signed by every property owner but the minimum requirements do require two of three types of majorities:

• The owners of taxable property representing more than 50% of the appraised value in the district, and
• Owners of real property liable for assessment who:
  • Constitute more than 50% of all owners of taxable property within the district; or
  • Own more than 50% of the taxable property area within the district.

Once created, everyone owning taxable property within the district would be required to pay the additional tax.
 
The Council's Development Services Committee is currently studying PIDs. The committee and a couple staff members toured several of the Grand Prairie neighborhoods several months ago. A draft policy and ordinance could be delivered to the Council before the end of the year.
 
The tool could be used to buy and maintain property for a local park, add additional street lighting, fund sidewalks for sections that never received them, or build a walking or bike path. The primary projects in Grand Prairie were screening walls and landscaped entrances. One neighborhood built a park with a baseball diamond where neighborhood teams practiced. Because it was public property, anyone in the city could also use the park.
 
This tool won't be for everyone but it may be just what some neighborhoods need. There are pros and cons.

Protesters carry signs on October 20 opposing carbon monoxide euthanasia at the city animal shelter. Photo: Dallas Morning News/Garland Blog

The group of protesters that rode the train to the Downtown DART station and others that marched to City Hall before the last City Council meeting have announced that they will return for tomorrow's Council meeting. They are opposed to the City's current euthanasia methods for animals that remain unclaimed or have not been adopted. Specifically, they are opposed to the use of carbon monoxide, claiming the only acceptable method is lethal injection of sodium pentobarbital.
 
The city staff has adopted a policy that will cease carbon monoxide euthanasia (except animals that pose a risk to staff and themselves) in the next few months but several protesters have said they will continue their vigil until all use ceases and the carbon monoxide chamber is removed. The Council has shown no inclination to overrule the staff or to interfere with the announced schedule. Protesters have also asked for a public hearing to express their feelings but as their goal seems to be the same as the city's there is no issue to be discussed, other than the schedule. Protesters have used the citizen comment period to express their feelings to the Council, they've been given very favorable (and some one-sided) coverage in the local media, they've hoisted signs for passing motorists, and they've sent ample e-mails to the Council.
 
Animal shelter administrators have long acknowledged that it was only a matter of time before they would switch to injection-only euthanasia, though I think it accurate to now say that the schedule was advanced because of concerns raised by the protesters and by the acquisition of new software and technology at the shelter. There have been several benefits from the attention that the protesters have stirred: our animal shelter is old and small and much deserving of replacement; adoptions of animals is our preference but also our greatest challenge because of the shear number of animals from too many pet owners that do not take responsibility for the reproductive lives of their pets; our animal services advisory board has been expanded to allow greater participation; and the attention has hopefully attracted participation by more rescue groups.
 
While some of the protesters are from Garland, the largest majority are not. In my discussions of this issue with District 1 residents either in person or by e-mail, the vast majority do not share similar concerns to the protesters. Each has understood that death by carbon monoxide is not a painful experience in most circumstances. I've been surprised by the education level of the general public on this point. They know it is an odorless, colorless gas and I'm often offered anecdotal data to support their understanding:

• we have carbon monoxide detectors in our homes because we can succumb to the gas without any warning,
• suicide by carbon monoxide is a common method because it is painless, and
• some have mentioned the use of canaries in coal mines before modern technology to detect carbon monoxide and natural gas that miners wouldn't know about.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, "carbon monoxide euthanasia performed at high levels will cause death in seconds," which is what is recommended by the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Humane Society of the United States. The HSUS does recommend sodium pentobarbital injection, but also recognizes that "carbon monoxide (CO), when delivered in a properly manufactured and equipped chamber, is a conditionally acceptable method of euthanasia for some animals." Animals for which it would not be an acceptable method are dogs and cats that are old, under four months of age, sick, or injured. When used, "CO must be provided by compressed cylinder gas, be used only in a chamber that has been commercially manufactured for CO euthanasia, and be properly maintained. The chamber must be designed to minimize stress and to allow for the appropriate separation of animals. Chambers must never be overcrowded."
 
Policy at our animal shelter has been the same. Out of literally thousands of euthanasia cases, there have rarely been any slips. The one apparent case was by a worker that was subsequently fired, although it was after her dismissal that her violation was discovered. It is the number of euthanasia deaths that is the greater tragedy and that is the result of, first, the irresponsibility of some pet owners, and, second, the limited space in our shelter.
 
Over and over those that have witnessed the procedure describe it as being extremely quick and with no struggles. The body accepts carbon monoxide even easier than it does oxygen, even at relatively low levels. There is no sense of suffocation.
 
An ancillary lesson to this whole episode is the dangers of carbon monoxide in our daily lives. Carbon monoxide is the product of incomplete burning, when there isn't enough oxygen to fully complete the combustion process. In the open, it will eventually combine with more oxygen to form harmless carbon dioxide. When the bag of charcoal says no burning indoors, believe it! When using a space heater and you are advised to have plenty of ventilation, believe it! When you are told to not use a blocked chimney, believe it! At low levels you might experience a headache and nausia. At high levels, you'll quickly lose consciousness and very likely never wake up.
 
However, many of the protesters believe none of it. These are some of the statements from protesters that have been received in e-mails: "gas chambers are tortuous to animals," "Nazi gas chambers are considered normal in your weird thinking and policies," "my heart breaks at the thought of a confused bedraggled creature being forced to choke to death in agony alone," "they suffocate to death, it can take upwards of 20 minutes, they claw themselves bloody trying to get out of the gas chamber, and they're usually crammed in like sardines so they end up tearing each other bloody as well," "I do hope when election time rolls around each of you is voted out of office and is never again allowed to represent the people of Garland or Texas," "I have been on-site to see, hear and be horrified at the sounds of the animals inside the chamber crying, scratching and trying desperately to get out of the chamber," and "sounds like Hitler." Almost all of these statements were from people outside Garland and some from outside Texas.
 
No matter how accurate or inaccurate the understanding of the operations of an animal shelter, euthanasia is an unpleasant reality at a city animal shelter. More than any other aspect, I hope we can now do more to encourage adoptions and to better educate pet owners the consequences of not having their pets spayed or neutered. I also hope that those that are justifiably concerned with the well-being of animals will become part of the solution by helping to raise money for a new shelter, by sponsoring adoption clinics, by spreading information on spaying and neutering, and helping to educate pet owners on ways to accomplish those tasks.
 
We could use a few more protesters and some healthy giving!