Trenton City Council members pressed the city’s Health and Human Services officials on Dec. 19 about a string of animal‑shelter issues — including a kennel the city bought in South Jersey, an alleged $100,000 in‑kind renovation made without a resolution, and payments the city has made to board animals in Pennsylvania.

The matter drew sustained questioning at the Dec. 19 council meeting after Diego Minacapeli, interim director of Health and Human Services, outlined the status of the Columbus, N.J., property the city acquired to house animals currently boarded out of state. “This property was acquired on July 29, 2024,” Minacapeli said. He said staff are completing surveys, inspections and soliciting quotes for renovations.

Why it matters: the city is paying to house animals in Pennsylvania while the Columbus property remains unusable, and council members said procurement gaps and an apparent large in‑kind donation to the Trenton Animal Shelter require audit and potential repayment. Those issues could affect the timeline and cost of bringing animals back to the city and add fiscal and legal steps before the kennel is usable.

Council members asked for specific numbers and timelines. Minacapeli told the council that since August the city has paid $195,000 to board animals at out‑of‑state kennels. “From August up to now, we have to pay $195,000,” he said. He also recited the current on‑site census: “At the Trenton Animal Shelter, we have 50, dogs and 4 cats. 50 dogs. 4 cats,” and reported that 51 dogs are currently housed in Pennsylvania.

The kennel property in South Jersey is still in an inspection and bidding phase, Minacapeli said. He said the city’s engineer is preparing specifications to put the renovation work out to bid and that timeline would push a construction contract award into May or June 2025. “So we are not anticipating that we are going to be able to take any animals the year before June, July 2025,” a city official said during the discussion.

Council members pressed officials about a separate, in‑kind renovation that they said was performed at the Trenton Animal Shelter by a private business that may not be legally operating in the city. Council members said they had not seen a resolution or procurement documents authorizing work. The administration acknowledged the work was done and said it had not been approved through the normal resolution or procurement process.

City legal staff and the administration described an initial pathway for resolving the donation question: obtain invoices or other documentation that establish the value of the donated work, then present a resolution to the council that would recite the amount and the recommended remedy. City Attorney Wes Bridges advised that the first step is to secure a definitive dollar value; the administration’s recommendation, given to the council, was that any improperly procured services should be repaid to preserve compliance with procurement rules. “So my suggestion is that we actually, once we receive invoices or some sort of certification that this is the amount of money that was spent, I think that we need to return the money,” an administration official said.

Council members and staff also discussed steps to prevent recurrence. Interim Director Minacapeli and other staff said they are researching donation policies used by other municipalities and plan to bring an ordinance setting a maximum acceptable donation amount and rules for in‑kind donations in early 2025; one administration official said the draft will include limits on in‑kind values and conflict‑of‑interest safeguards. “I think that we said that we were going to put $500 as the maximum donation that we could accept,” the administration said when describing a proposed threshold under review.

Council members asked for more detail on animal care and operations while animals remain off site. Minacapeli said contracted providers in Pennsylvania are responsible for walking and exercising dogs under the terms of the current boarding agreement. He also outlined staffing and ordinance work: the city has five certified animal‑control officers, with one ACO on call during weekends; the administration expects to return revised breeding ordinances and animal‑control rules in the first quarter of 2025 to strengthen enforcement.

Several council members raised procurement and oversight concerns about how the South Jersey kennel purchase proceeded. Officials said more than one city employee had been involved in the purchase process and that municipal zoning questions arose after the purchase; inspections and remediation needs were not completed before the sale. The administration said zoning and other municipal requirements required follow‑up and that staff are coordinating with municipal officials where the property is located.

Council members requested concrete deliverables: staff should provide the invoices and documentation about the in‑kind work, provide a remediation and renovation cost estimate, finish the site inspections and produce a schedule for bids and contract award. The council also agreed with legal staff to move some personnel‑accountability and procurement discussions into executive session because those matters intersect with pending and potential litigation.

Votes at a glance

As part of a consent package the council approved a one‑year professional services contract for veterinary services at the Trenton Animal Shelter. The council adopted resolution 24‑569 to award a negotiated contract to Yardville Animal Hospital for veterinarian services for the Trenton Animal Shelter for a period of one year in an amount not to exceed $75,000 (RFP 2024‑27b). The resolution passed on a unanimous roll call vote.

What’s next: staff told the council they will gather and present the invoices for the in‑kind work, return to the council with a resolution if repayment is recommended, issue the renovation specifications and put the kennel project out to bid (with a target bid posting by March 2025 and award by May/June 2025), and return draft ordinances on donations and animal‑breeding regulations in the first quarter of 2025.

Reporting note: Council members raised personnel and procurement irregularities that the administration said should be discussed in executive session to protect privacy and because litigation may be involved. The council did not take substantive final public action on those personnel or litigation matters at the Dec. 19 public meeting.