Photo: Town of Hanna Bylaw Officer Skye Suntjens (far right) presented to council Jan. 13. Rural Alberta Report/Screenshot

The Town of Hanna council discussed dog complaints during a regular update from its bylaw officer. The report was presented at the Jan. 13 regular meeting of council.

Town bylaw officer Skye Suntjens presented her fourth-quarter 2025 report, noting her work during that period involved animal control, unsightly premises, snow removal, traffic, land use and noise control.

“Overall, bylaw enforcement activity during the fourth quarter focused on proactive community engagement and achieving compliance through education and enforcement,” Suntjens stated in her report. “Responding to complaints received online, in writing, by phone and in person remains a priority. Proactive patrols to identify bylaw violations will continue, along with the development and implementation of Hanna Bylaw Services.”

The officer reported she worked on unsightly premises files in Oct., with unsightly yards identified as a priority, particularly backyards. Suntjens stated she follows a set process when investigating a bylaw complaint related to unsightly premises, beginning with a warning, followed by a written letter, then a Municipal Government Act (MGA) remedy and, finally, an MGA notice of entry.

As winter arrived, Suntjens noted snowy sidewalks became an issue. “In Nov. and Dec., un-shovelled sidewalks were a priority, and educating the public on where to place shovelled snow was also a focus,” she stated in her report.

“Contractors were hired to clean up unsightly properties and shovel sidewalks where owners did not. Enforcement of unsightly premises will continue until issues are resolved. Other complaints consisted of branches overhanging sidewalks and cut branches being disposed of in alleys.”

Municipalities typically address issues such as unsightly premises, un-shovelled snow or uncut grass by working with the property owner. In some cases, this approach does not resolve the issue and the municipality may hire a contractor to complete the work, with the invoice sent to the property owner. If the bill is not paid, the cost can be transferred to the applicable tax roll.

Suntjens noted traffic issues mostly involved parking. “Several holiday trailers were found in violation of the 48-hour parking rule,” the officer stated. “Warnings and letters were issued to owners, and compliance was achieved.”

“Other violations included sidewalk obstructions, trailers on jacks and not attached to vehicles and heavy vehicles parked on residential streets. Warnings and letters were issued to owners and compliance was achieved. There was some debate on whether several trailers stored in an alley were parked on town land.

Determining property lines can be difficult in the winter, so this will be addressed once the snow melts.”

Canines also accounted for a portion of bylaw enforcement work. “Complaints were received regarding dogs and cats at large, excessive barking, animal noise and owners not cleaning up after their animals,” Suntjens stated.

“Dogs at large was an ongoing issue; one instance resulted in a dog-on-dog attack. Three tickets were issued after several warnings, two for having dogs at large and one for a dog-on-dog attack.”

During discussion, councillors talked about dog control issues and the number of warnings issued, particularly when dog owners are repeat offenders.

Council accepted the report as information.