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Meade County approves animal control officer position and awards $2.53 million animal-shelter contract
Summary
Meade County Fiscal Court approved a new full-time animal control officer position, amended the pay scale and job description, and accepted the lowest bid from Prodigy Construction to build a new animal-control facility — a contract the court described at roughly $2.532 million, with county cost‑saving measures and fundraising to reduce net expense.
Meade County Fiscal Court on a unanimous vote approved the addition of a full-time Animal Control Officer (ACO), adopted a job description and amended the county pay scale to add the new classification, and awarded a construction contract for a new animal-control facility.
The court voted to add the ACO role after several magistrates and county leaders described persistent turnover and operational strain at the animal shelter. The new ACO position is a non‑supervisory, pay‑grade‑12 role intended to separate field enforcement and day‑to‑day shelter work from the director’s management duties and to create a career ladder from technician to ACO to deputy to director. The court directed staff to finalize the job description and adjust budget lines so the position can be absorbed in the current fiscal year.
Shannon Slack, president of the nonprofit PINS, told the court PINS has subsidized spay-and‑neuter services for shelter animals for years and that demand has risen sharply. Slack said PINS budgeted roughly $30,000 last year for spay/neuter and can currently guarantee about $22,000 annually through two recurring grants, but warned the program could become unsustainable if intake and procedure numbers continue to increase. She asked the court to consider earmarking shelter fees for spay/neuter, supporting a county resale store to generate revenue, or increasing the shelter’s budget.
Separately, the court accepted Prodigy Construction’s primary and alternate bid as the lowest responsive offer to build the new animal-control building. County staff read a base bid of $2,385,000 and alternates totaling $147,000, yielding a contract amount of approximately $2,532,000. County leaders said the property for the new facility was donated, and they expect cost reductions through county labor contributions, tax‑exempt procurement in partnership with a 501(c)(3), and additional fundraising by PINS and other local partners.
Officials emphasized the building’s specialized construction requirements — nonpermeable surfaces, large septic capacity and enhanced HVAC/exhaust systems — intended to reduce airborne disease transmission, provide quarantine space and protect staff health. The court said those design elements drive costs higher than a simple pole‑barn alternative and that the county and nonprofit partners have worked to identify savings where possible.
The measure to award the contract included authorization for the judge executive to sign the agreement once final terms are confirmed. The court also instructed staff to pursue fundraising and grant opportunities to offset the county share and to seek efficiencies in materials and site work where feasible.
