Columbia County to build county kennels as humane society and county debate shelter role

Columbia County commissioners heard competing proposals Tuesday over how to handle a surge in strays and public-safety animal calls, directing county staff to proceed with building a county kennel facility while continuing the existing contract with the Lake City Humane Society through its current term.

The dispute stems from a change in the Humane Society’s operating stance earlier this year to a largely no-kill policy, which county staff say reduced space for animals the county must pick up during public-safety calls. At the workshop, Humane Society representatives asked the county to maintain the society’s current contract and negotiate terms rather than immediately replace its role for animal handling.

The debate matters because the county must respond to public-safety calls whether or not an outside agency can accept animals. County staff presented staffing and cost estimates that show the county and contracted services currently spend roughly $900,000 annually on animal services. Staff also described two paths forward: build county-owned kennel capacity (staff sketched a plan to construct 40 kennels) and hire a third-party rehoming contractor under a fixed annual fee, or continue the existing relationship with the Humane Society while exploring incremental options.

"We are a humane society, and I ask you what is humane about killing dogs simply because we don't have room," Humane Society representative Chris Batten told commissioners, asking that the county continue existing funding at the society's current contract level of $375,750 (the society said it remains willing to negotiate at $375,750). County staff, led in the discussion by Kevin Kirby, said the county currently allocates about $375,000 for humane-society services and about $525,000 for animal enforcement, "roughly $900,000 annually," and that a private contractor had offered a fixed three-year rehoming contract for about $300,000 per year.

County staff and some commissioners stressed a distinction between the Humane Society’s mission — "no-kill" sheltering and adoption — and the county’s enforcement role, which must remove animals from the field on public-safety calls and have a place to take them. "If you pick up these animals and there is no room at the inn, there is no room at the shelter for us to take them," County staff member Joel said during the workshop, summarizing the county's operational problem.

Officials described a rapid timeline: staff have scouted other counties (Levy and Gilchrist were cited) and prepared a draft capital plan for kennels and a small administrative building on county property. County staff estimated the capital project would require building 40 to 50 kennels to meet expected demand and warned operating costs and maintenance are material ongoing commitments. Commissioners, without a formal vote in the workshop format, instructed staff to move ahead with the county kennel project and to continue the Humane Society contract through its current term while the capital project proceeds and procurement work for any third-party contractor is completed.

Humane Society leaders and board members urged more time to negotiate a collaborative solution, proposing a reduced 20-kennel overflow model co-located with the society and a county-funded, annual spay/neuter program as a compromise. County officials said they will continue to meet with Humane Society representatives and to present contractor details publicly before any procurement decisions.

The workshop produced no formal vote. Commissioners asked staff to return with formal procurement details, contractor credentials, and more precise construction and operating cost estimates. County managers said they will work on a public procurement path for the third-party rehoming option and provide quarterly reporting if the contractor option is used.

For now, commissioners directed staff to pursue the county kennel capital project (40 kennels), keep the existing Humane Society contract active through its term, and complete procurement checks on a proposed private rehoming contractor that staff said could operate under a fixed cost of about $300,000 annually.

The county manager said staff will provide additional briefings and one-on-one updates to commissioners as the capital and procurement work continues.