The first steps for a potential change of regime regarding the Davidson County Animal Shelter are underway following a 6-1 vote requesting a contract negotiation with United Animal Coalition to take over operations.
“We instructed our staff to begin negotiations with the UAC and bring a copy of the preliminary negotiations back,” said Davidson County Board of Commissioners Chairman Larry Potts. “We have probably taken two or three steps tonight, not just the first one.”
All members, with exception of commissioner Sam Watford, voted for the measure. Preparations will begin for the Davidson County Animal Shelter to be under the guidance of the UAC, which also runs the animal shelter in Guilford County.
“I think the majority of the board is looking to that as the solution rather than an alternative,” Potts said.
Marsha Williams, executive director of the Guilford County Animal Shelter, was at the meeting to discuss how their shelter works. Williams is an employee with the UAC, but is contracted with Guilford County.
“I am not here to bash the Davidson County Animal Shelter and I am not here to talk about the employees or say anything negative, because we do understand there are challenges with running an animal shelter,” she said. “I believe everyone that is passionate about the animals have the same goals, which is to find them homes and save as many lives as possible.”
Williams said UAC already has a working relationship with Davidson County by helping providing spay and neuter services through their shelter's programs.
“We are here to offer our expertise to help you to continue to meet and improve on the mission of your shelter by offering the shelter operation services by the United Animal Coalition,” she said. “Our mission is animal services and animal services only.”
In addition to receiving funding from Guilford County, the UAC also holds fundraisers and takes in donations for the shelter in Greensboro. Williams said the adoption rate has increased at the shelter from 3 percent to 52 percent in the time the UAC has taken over.
“We are not perfect of course, but we strive to be as perfect as we can in this environment,” Williams said. “We do mistakes, and yes, we do learn from them. We grow and improve on them daily.”
The shelter operates on a $2.2 million a year budget, with $1.5 million coming from Guilford County government. County manager Robert Hyatt said Davidson County's animal shelter runs on approximately $260,000.
Commissioner Don Truell wanted to know how the size of the Guilford County shelter compares to Davidson County's. Williams said Guilford handles approximately 16,000 animals a year, while Davidson County handles approximately 8,000.
The UAC has been in existence since 1998. Williams said the shelter has 48 employees, but over 250 active volunteers and at this time, the UAC only operates in Guilford County.
“A lot of our funding comes from fundraisers, contributions and things like that,” she said. “We do partner with a company that donates all of our food so we don't spend money on food. We think outside the box.”
Hyatt said he had followed the direction of the commissioners and brought forward the three options for the board to look at. Aside from looking at having a nonprofit come in, other options include keeping the shelter within the Davidson County Sheriff's Office or moving the shelter to another department under the direction of the county manager's office.
“What I presented is not all conclusive,” he said. “There's a lot of variations about the management and oversight could take place, but I tried to give what was some basic options.”
Hyatt said he did not believe any of the options would drastically change the current financial costs.
Commissioner Steve Shell was the most vocally supportive of moving the shelter to the UAC, saying the shelter has been an issue for too long.
“I'm the new kid on the block here, but I've been involved with these meetings for several years,” he said. “I think if we don't take some action, five years from now we're still going to be beating this thing to death.”
Shell said it was time to put the issue to rest and mentioned there were outs in a contract if the negotiations did not work out.
“I think it's time to put this out and get this thing over with,” Shell said.
Watford, who was against the motion said he believed the shelter needed to stay under county control.
“This is a different county from Guilford County and we are just completely different,“ he said. “You can say animals are animals, but their population is 10 times the size of ours and look at the number of animals.”
Paula Barkley, representing the grassroots organization Fix The Shelter, said she appreciated the efforts of the commissioners looking into the issue.
“With this decision, I am very excited and optimistic about the future of the Davidson County Animal Shelter,” she said. “The commissioners have taken a long, hard look at shelter operations and made a decision for Davidson County to move forward in a humane, compassionate way.”
The next meeting of the Davidson County Board of Commissioners is scheduled at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5.
Wil Petty can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at wil.petty@the-dispatch.com. Follow Wil on Twitter: @WilPetty