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Fairfield County says review found no impropriety at animal shelter; outlines plan for surplus properties
Summary
County administrator told the council a review found no evidence of wrongdoing by animal shelter staff and encouraged public visits; he also outlined plans to publish and dispose of 27 surplus properties with opportunities for public comment.
Mister Carpenter, the county administrator, told Fairfield County Council on April 13 that a review into recent concerns at the county animal shelter found no evidence of misconduct by shelter staff. "We have found no evidence of any improprieties, wrongdoing by any member of the staff of the county of the county animal shelter," Carpenter said.
Carpenter said external agencies including the sheriff and SLED had examined the matter and that any further directions from SLED or the county solicitor would be handled by those offices. "Any other directions that SLED takes, a solicitor takes is up to them," he said, characterizing the county's review as complete from the county's operational perspective.
He urged residents to visit and support the shelter. "I encourage our citizens to go out and and make arrangements to visit the shelter and see. We are able to, adopt animals, of course," Carpenter said, noting staff and volunteers run the operation and that the county found the shelter to be well run.
Carpenter also gave an update on 27 surplus properties the county plans to dispose of. He said staff will publish an accessible list with additional columns showing street addresses and short descriptions and then proceed with bids, proposals, or auctions. "We're gonna make sure that, these these properties, in some cases, have potentially significant value. So we're gonna make sure that we do everything we can to maximize the value to the county," he said. Carpenter added the county would be open to proposals that include working with developers to create community-benefit projects and that there will be public opportunities to review and comment on the sales or proposals.
Carpenter told the council he has already received interest from outside the region and that the council will decide the final disposition. The administrator's comments came during the county administrative report portion of the meeting; council members asked staff to add street addresses and simple descriptions to the published surplus list before it is released.
