Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Animal Shelter Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Advisory commission backs sending proposal for fenced dog exercise area to commissioners; shelter reports steady adoptions, pending repairs
Summary
The Carbon County Animal Shelter Advisory Commission voted to forward a proposal for a fenced, staff-only dog exercise area to county commissioners and heard monthly operations and facility updates including donations, pending camera installation, a leaky ceiling and an ordered set of kennel doors.
The Carbon County Animal Shelter Advisory Commission voted June 3 to forward a proposal asking county commissioners to approve creation of a staff-only fenced exercise area for shelter dogs, and received routine operations and facility updates from shelter staff.
The commission voted to send a written proposal and a cover letter to the county commissioners asking that the commissioners consider use of donated funds to build an outdoor kennel/run area adjacent to the shelter's memorial garden. The motion passed on an aye vote; a roll-call was not recorded in the transcript.
The proposal calls for a fenced area limited to shelter dogs and staff, not open to the public, to provide exercise and enrichment and to allow staff to assess dogs off-leash before adoption. Commissioners discussed potential locations (the grass next to the memorial garden or a small corner parcel) and said the project could use existing donations earmarked for shelter materials.
Tom, the shelter director, delivered the monthly director's report. For May, he said total kennels remained at 16; the number of dogs at the start of the month was 16 and at the end of the month was 15. May adoptions were nine, with two owner surrenders and four animals returned to owners. He also reported police calls for the month totaled 11 with nine after-hours calls. For April, the shelter received $2,736 in donated food and 7 adoptions; supplies donations were listed as $20,091 for that month. Tom said FreshPak donated a large pallet of dog food in the reported months.
On facilities, Tom reported several items remain pending: camera equipment has been inspected but not yet installed; ceiling repairs in the kennel area are waiting on suitable weather; and the shelter ordered the last three kennel doors needed to complete that retrofit. He said a roof leak occurs intermittently depending on wind and rain and has produced a small moldy spot in a ceiling panel that the shelter would like repaired.
Commission members discussed the storage shed on site. Tom said no work has been done yet on the shed despite $5,000 in donations designated for materials. Commissioners suggested soliciting local contractor bids and forwarding a recommendation to the county commissioners, noting that in-house maintenance is currently occupied with other county projects.
Other business: the commission reported submitting a formal request for a yard sale fundraiser; approval by the county was pending, and the shelter indicated it may again borrow a storage unit if the yard sale is approved. The commission also forwarded a request for an Eagle Scout project to build a weather-protected donation box outside the shelter; the matter was sent to county commissioners for approval.
The commission set its next meeting for August 2025 at 6 p.m. at 44 Susquehanna Street and adjourned by unanimous aye.
"Nothing has been done yet on the shed," Tom said when asked about repair progress. "It might be nice to have it finished up and to be able to use it."
