Evansville board approves $5,282.56 security upgrade for animal control; consultant assessment pending

The Evansville Board of Public Works on May 8 approved a contract and addendum with Sonotrol of Evansville Inc. to upgrade the security system at the city animal-control facility for $5,282.56.

Mister Robertson, Animal Control staff, told the board the contract cost rose because the shelter installed new equipment that did not match the older system. "Basically, this contract is increased simply because we upgraded the equipment," Robertson said. "The old equipment was so outdated. So, we had to go through and update the entire infrastructure of our camera system there for security."

The contract vote was made and seconded during the meeting; board members voted "Aye" and approved the item.

Robertson also described an ongoing assessment by an outside consultant. "They do an assessment phase in the first phase and then the second phase they do some recommendations and we're close to getting the recommendation portion," he said. He said the consultant brought a veterinarian for on-site work and held in-depth cleaning classes, because the shelter has experienced an illness that can spread among cats. "Cleaning is a big issue for us...they came with some new protocols and understanding how to try to eradicate that illness," Robertson said. He added that the shelter cannot adopt out animals during that illness phase.

Robertson said the consultant will report back to the mayor's office; the animal-control staff will make the report available to the board if the mayor allows it. "We're gonna report back to the mayor's office...so we can see if we can make it available as the mayor sees fit," he said.

The board took no additional formal action on the consultant work during the meeting.

The vote to approve the Sonotrol contract was unanimous, recorded on voice vote as "Aye."