8:48 p.m.: City moves to restructure shelter

By Jessica Kerman

March 27, 2008 08:48 pm

— ANDERSON — City officials announced Thursday their plans to restructure the Anderson Animal Shelter.
The announcement came after Larry Russell, then senior humane officer, performed an unscheduled euthanization on 28 dogs on Wednesday morning, and several concerns were voiced to the mayor’s office.
Mayor Kris Ockomon said the city would try to structure the shelter similar to the way the Hamilton County animal shelter is modeled, where they are subsidized but still privately run.
“We’re trying to figure out what’s best for (the shelter),” Ockomon said. “We’ll try to do this as quickly and as efficiently as possible.”
However, Ockomon said he wanted to make sure it was done in a way that would work long-term.
The city will hold a public meeting on April 9 to get input on the matter.
Susan Frye, of the Halfway House for Pit Bulls, said she believed privatization is a good avenue for the city.
“I think that is a wonderful, wonderful idea, but that takes time,” she said.
However, she was worried about how the shelter will be run until the process is complete.
“Animals are not widgets,” she said. “They can’t just be placed on a shelf. In the meantime, those animals are there, and they need something.”
The city also announced Thursday that Russell and Deputy Humane Officer Brad Cox were no longer running the shelter, located at 613 Dewey St., and local veterinarians would run it temporarily.
“If we could snap our fingers and the animal shelter could be privatized, that’d be great,” Frye said.
As a taxpayer, Frye said she did not want to see money roll into the shelter if it continues to be run the same way.
“I want to make sure that people who are qualified are there to do that job,” she said. “I have that fiscal worry, and I have a community safety worry.”
Ockomon said the city is obligated to continue animal control, so officers in that capacity will continue to do their job.
However, other people are not thrilled with the idea of privatization. Deborah Fuller Long, a member of the Madison County Animal Welfare Coalition, said she was not sure that was the best way to go.
“I don’t know, I don’t know how I feel about that,” she said. “It’s going to have to be someone who can really raise the money. The city shelter has been run by taxpayers now. I don’t know why it can’t be (in the future).”
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Public meeting about the Anderson Animal Shelter structure
6-8 p.m., April 9
City Building, 120 E. Eighth St., Anderson
Room 201
Residents and animal groups interested in submitting a proposal to operate the shelter should plan to attend this informative meeting.

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