(Edited with change of tentative date)
The journey toward a new countywide animal shelter moved forward at Tuesday’s Jefferson city council meeting as the council tentatively set a date for a joint meeting with the Greene County supervisors to discuss issues of ownership and operation of the proposed shelter.
Don Orris, volunteer coordinator of the effort, met with the supervisors Monday and the council on Tuesday. Both groups had questions about the information he had presented in December, and both groups agreed a new shelter is needed. City administrator Mike Palmer also met with the supervisors Monday for his monthly update. He told them the city council is “open to anything. It comes down to costs.”
Board of supervisors chair John Muir said “no one is looking for new costs,” but later said “I don’t want it to be our inability to fund it that keeps it from happening.”
Supervisor Peter Bardole, a Jefferson resident, was at the council meeting and served informally as the board’s spokesperson in setting a meeting.
A meeting was tentatively set for Jan. 16. Due to scheduling conflicts on the part of the supervisors, the meeting is now tentative set for Jan. 23 at 10:30 am at the courthouse. A joint meeting of the full boards has not happened in many years.
Neither group plans to make a decision at that meeting.
Supervisor Dawn Rudolph and council member Dave Sloan are on the shelter steering committee with Orris, Palmer, and retired sheriff Steve Haupert.
Orris again said he hopes to know before Jan. 31 if the city and the county will cover operating costs of the shelter so that he can make upcoming grant application deadlines for a start on fundraising. The deadline for Grow Greene County grant applications is Jan. 31.
Orris provided plans in December showing construction costs of $1.2 million to be raised without tax dollars, and an estimated $161,000 in annual operating costs. He has said he will not begin fundraising until an agreement is in place assuring operating costs will be covered.
