CHRISTINE BYERS writes another fabulous story for the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
03/01/2010
HILLSBORO — A crisis in Jefferson County's animal control has jump-started interest in building a new shelter.
Last week, county executives sent a letter requesting a proposal from a nonprofit group that has offered to do just that.
The county's current shelter took a double hit recently when the state banned it from euthanizing animals and closed about a dozen outdoor kennels.
The Missouri Department of Agriculture last month ordered Jefferson County to stop euthanizing animals, after the Post-Dispatch reported that animal control workers were using narcotics without supervision by a veterinarian. The state earlier had cited the county for improper drainage from its outdoor kennels.
Jefferson County leaders know they have to do something to correct the situation. But they might not have to look farther than St. Charles County for inspiration, said Cathey Break, who heads the nonprofit ADOPT, or Animals Deserving of Proper Treatment.
Break's offer to the county is based on big dreams, big donors and big names. Her proposal to build a county shelter relies on donated services from architects, engineers and general contractors, as well as support from Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and others interested in animal welfare. In return, she is asking to lease 1.76 acres from the county for $1 a year.
"We're basically ready to break ground this summer if the county would give us the land," she said.
County leaders have asked Break for a proposal to build a shelter for 40 dogs and 30 cats on county land next to the juvenile detention center in Hillsboro.
The current shelter has 16 indoor dog kennels and 30 cat cages. It sits at the top of a hilly area in Barnhart, several miles from major thoroughfares and sewer lines.
ADOPTION VS. CONTROL
St. Charles County executives spent about $1.6 million to build a new shelter in a highly visible area about 10 years ago and saw its euthanasia rate drop to about 20 percent from a high of 80 percent.
The county adopts out about half of the dogs and cats it takes in each year. Two of those dogs call director Theresa Williams' office home.
Williams credits the army of animal rescue volunteers with augmenting the animal control center's budget by donating time, money and supplies.
Veterinarians treat animals on site, spaying and neutering adoptable animals, and voluntarily offering spay and neuter clinics for feral cats once a month.
In contrast, Jefferson County animal control workers euthanized about half of the 3,800 animals they took in last year, said animal control manager James "J.T." Taylor. Adoptions came in just under 10 percent last year.
Some animal rescue volunteers said they have stopped working with the county shelter and have filed complaints with the Department of Agriculture because of how quickly adoptable animals are euthanized, or sometimes left untreated for illnesses and injuries. A notice on the front door warns visitors that the health of animals is not guaranteed.
Animal welfare takes a back seat to public safety in Jefferson County, Taylor said. "That's what animal rescue groups are for," said Taylor, who has a dog-catcher's pole hanging in his office.
But he described his operation as a "low-kill shelter."
The county's shelter is not equipped for medical procedures, so animals needing treatment are taken to a veterinarian in Arnold.
Break believes that Jefferson County can change all that, just as St. Charles County did in 1999.
"We can go from an embarrassment and a tragedy to being a role model," Break said.
In the late 1990s, St. Charles County had space for 24 dog kennels and 40 cat cages in a former boarding facility nestled between a recycling center and a highway department building, away from major thoroughfares.
County leaders spent about $600,000 for land along Mid Rivers Drive, where an estimated 200,000 cars pass every day. They spent $1 million on the shelter, which has 96 dog kennels and 144 cat cages.
Scott Green, chief animal control officer for St. Charles County, said philosophy determines a shelter's success as much as its bricks and mortar. The county changed its agency's name to St. Charles County Humane Services from St. Charles County Rabies Control a few years before the new building opened.
"We went from this rigid, 'This is all we're going to do is animal control,' to opening the doors to save animals," said Green, an animal control officer since 1986.
ACCEPTING HELP
The St. Louis Animal Care and Control inserted the word "care" into its name in 2005.
"It's no longer just about controlling animals, it's about providing care," said Drew Hane, animal care and control supervisor, as a 96-pound dog rested in his office.
The city is in a similar bind as Jefferson County when it comes to its shelter. It was built in the 1940s and is tucked under Interstate 55 near an industrial area by Gasconade Street.
Because of $30,000 in donated goods and 5,500 volunteer hours last year, Hane said, he was able to buy medications to treat animals that might otherwise have been euthanized. To help control the animal population, the city sets aside $9,000 to offer low-income families spay and neuter services.
Volunteers are running a capital campaign to raise $4 million to build a new city shelter — an effort that has been under way for about eight years.
In Jefferson County, this is Break's second attempt at working with county leaders on a new shelter.
In early 2009, County Executive Chuck Banks coordinated a deal between former County Administrator Larry Church and Break to turn a trucking facility Church owns along Interstate 55 in Herculaneum into the county's new shelter. Church's asking price was $530,000. Its assessed value was $350,000. Break said she had hoped the county would buy the land, but that didn't happen.
The deal fell through. Break approached the county again early this year with the Hillsboro plan.
County executives told Break last week they wanted a new shelter by Aug. 27, 2011.
But the county executives have concerns about an arrangement involving donations.
In his state of the county address in January, Banks suggested the county could build a shelter using a bond issue, with voter approval. He said any project would have to pay the prevailing wage.
County Executive Ed Kemp said he is concerned that the site in Hillsboro will not allow for expansion. He is leery of working with volunteer contractors.
"Free is good, but not if there's issues with what you're given," he said.
Meanwhile, Break is preparing her proposal.
"This is the opportunity of a lifetime," she said. "But these subcontractors are not going to hang on forever."
No comments:
Post a Comment