Residents of Cashmere at odds with city leadership over animal control issue

CASHMERE — In January 2025, the Cashmere City Council declined to renew its contract with the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society (WVHS), citing cost increases and concerns over transparency. Since then, residents have been left without access to core animal control services — and many say the effects are growing unmanageable.

One resident, Kathy Matney-Harris, has taken on the role that city government and the Humane Society once filled. Known locally and online for her Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) efforts, Matney-Harris has been managing outdoor cat populations almost entirely on her own, aided by private donations and a community GoFundMe.

“I’ve been doing this for over nine months and I’ve trapped over a hundred cats,” she said. “You talk about gas and time, and everything associated with this — thousands [of dollars] out of pocket.”

She recently announced a temporary pause in her efforts, posting in a community Facebook group: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, I am taking some time off. I have donated some supplies to others caring for colonies in Cashmere. I am hoping that July will be better for all of us.”

Her work, she said, has had to focus on the few residents willing to fund the cost of spaying and neutering themselves. “I’ve done 40 to 50 cats in the Division Street area alone, and I haven’t even begun to touch [the problem],” she said. She personally took her request for funding to the mayor himself. “I pretty much got ghosted on that,” she says.

The lapse in contract has wider implications. Washington law requires cities to manage animal control functions such as dangerous dog designation, bite quarantine protocols, and pet licensing. In fact, Cashmere’s own municipal code 6.24.010A directly addresses the requirement to have a license for any dog.  Without WVHS, those responsibilities now fall to the city — which, as of mid-June, has not publicly outlined a plan to fulfill them.

BJ Andersen, Executive Director of WVHS, said her organization was excluded from contract renewal discussions. “We got no outreach, no conversation. We were not invited to the council when they were discussing it,” she said. “I actually had to dive into their public records to see when they were voting on this stuff — and it turned out it had been voted on before [Mayor Fletcher] even talked to me.”

Andersen shared an email sent to the mayor in January that explicitly detailed which services — including dangerous dog management and rabies quarantine enforcement — the city would need to provide if it chose to end the contract. She said WVHS does not offer those services à la carte, but provides them comprehensively through negotiated contracts.

Residents have reported both nuisance and safety issues since the contract ended. One local business owner said she and her staff now “dodge cats” on their way to work. Others, like Mallory Burns, have expressed frustration over unresolved dog incidents.

Burns said police failed to act after a neighbor’s unvaccinated pit bull, which had previously attacked her Golden Retriever, was again seen roaming off-leash. “They told us to call animal control,” she wrote online. “We provided pictures and video — nothing was done.”

City Councilmember Jeff Johnson acknowledged the community concern but defended the city’s actions, saying “it didn’t seem like a good use of taxpayer funds.” He invited residents to speak at the next council meeting. But the meeting was canceled, with the city citing a lack of “business action items.” The next meeting is scheduled for July 14.

Mayor Jim Fletcher maintains that the city sought to renegotiate the contract but found WVHS unwilling. “The council is still willing to negotiate a renewed agreement with a lower budget and understanding of the level of services to be provided,” Fletcher wrote in an email.

However, documents and statements from Andersen suggest the city requested a contract for limited services WVHS does not offer independently.

When asked how the city intends to meet legal obligations in the absence of a contract, Fletcher responded: “The city has the ability to contract with a veterinarian service to assure care during quarantine,” and “set up a temporary animal confinement if needed.”

He also pointed to city code that allows the Chelan County Sheriff to assume enforcement authority in the absence of a local animal control contract — which effectively shifts the burden of response to county taxpayers, something that seems out of line with councilmember Johnson’s assertion that the money was essentially being wasted.

Despite communication breakdowns, both WVHS and city officials say they are open to renewed discussions. As of this writing, Andersen confirmed she has once again reached out to the city.

Meanwhile, residents remain caught in the middle, many unaware that the June council meeting was canceled. With mounting concerns about both public safety and city compliance with state law, community interest is likely to surge ahead of the July session.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media