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Coffee County humane coalition urges action to preserve $500,000 animal-shelter grant
Summary
Speakers urged the Capital Outlay Committee to resolve bid technicalities and move the long‑planned animal shelter project forward to keep a $500,000 grant from reverting.
The Coffee County Capital Outlay Committee heard an appeal from a local humane-society leader on the county’s long-stalled plan for a new animal shelter and learned committee members are delaying a final bid award while the county attorney reviews technical issues in the low bids.
Larry, president of the Coffee County Humane Society, told the committee he and other volunteers have worked on the shelter for roughly a decade and urged the committee to act to preserve a $500,000 grant tied to the project. “I am imploring to you to do something now,” Larry said, adding that the resolution tied to the funds requires a timely start and completion and that the grant “reverts back to the general fund” or the state if milestones are missed.
Committee members said nine bids were opened for the shelter and that two of the lowest bids have discrepancies the county attorney must review before the committee will take a final award. The committee did not take a bid award on the shelter at the meeting and discussed scheduling one or two short follow-up meetings to resolve the legal and funding questions before the full commission meets.
A committee member said land and some donations already are in hand and that county staff plan to meet with the county attorney and with Maryanna (the county attorney’s office) to clarify funding and legal questions. One committee member estimated the group wants to “put that to bed by the end of next month” so the full commission and budget schedule are not affected.
Larry also proposed adding a low-cost clinic component to the shelter and pressed for local ordinance changes addressing animals and breeders to reduce animals running at large. Committee members and the presenter acknowledged those are community priorities but did not adopt any regulatory changes at the meeting.
The committee agreed to schedule a special meeting for the first week of the month (set for March 4 at 4:00 p.m. during the discussion) so Maryanna can brief the group on funding and legal questions and so the body can decide whether to approve an award.
The committee did not vote on the shelter award at the meeting; members repeatedly said the county attorney must first review the bid irregularities before any final action.
