At the regular monthly meeting of the Vance County Board of Commissioners, a newly formed Animal Control Advisory Committee has met twice since its inception.
According to County Manager Jerry Ayscue, they met with Chief Animal Control Officer Alex Hargrove during one of those meetings.
The committee has developed three goals: public education, review of animal control ordinances, and fund raising for updating the existing animal shelter or building a new one.
Ayscue told commissioners that is it becoming “increasingly difficult” to meet new standards [for animal shelters] being imposed by the state.
The county’s Public Safety Committee recommended to the full board that the goals of the animal control advisory committee be endorsed with the proviso that there is a detailed plan for fund raising to make sure that everything is “kosher”, as Ayscue put it.
Commissioner Scott Hughes noted that the deadline for meeting certain state requirements falls in 2012.
Vance County Board of Commissioners Chair Danny Wright called the committee’s aims “noble goals”, but noted that tough priorities have to be set as to funding.
“We can’t do it all at one time,” Danny Wright said, referring to Vance County Schools’ request for new instructional facilities.
Commissioner Terry Garrison pointed out that upgrades for the animal shelter had “been approved a number of years back”. Ayscue agreed with Garrison, but noted that “standards and regulations have continued to increase”. According to the county manager, state regulations have grown to include county shelters which were previously exempted from state rules.
Garrison also expressed a concern that county government would be required to pay into a project for which only partial costs had been raised by the committee.
Ayscue noted that the newly formed committee’s mandate is “open-ended”, and that they will not be able to raise money for a project not approved by the board.
Rudi Abate, the chair of the Animal Control Advisory Committee, addressed the commissioners, telling them that he hopes to get funding from businesses. He said that such donors want stipulations like county approval.
A motion to endorse the committee passed unanimously.