Orange County NC Website
When the County or another agency takes over shelter operation {and it must), how can <br />residents be assured that this police state mentality will no longer be part of shelter protocol? It <br />is partly a matter of oversight, and of retaining any competent staff and certainly volunteers, <br />wonderful volunteers. It is about hiring competent and ethical management that has no blight on <br />his or her reputation, as Laura Walters had in Arkansas, as we now know. <br />I suggest that you to create a citizen's advisory board that will work along with the County to <br />ensure processes are democratic and that remedial action is taken immediately in case of risk <br />to animal health. All shelter records must be open to the public at the shelter for inspection. <br />The County has a long way to go to rebuild public confidence in our shelter. Indeed, the shelter <br />Walters ran in Arkansas was faced with a similar credibility problem by the time Walters left to <br />come to Chapel Hill. We can return to our former status, hopefully surpass it, but it will take <br />diligence on the part of BOC and our community. Thank you for the actions you have taken <br />which reflect the community desire for change at our animal shelter. <br />Jill Bone asked about the financial situation. She made reference to the $20 million bond for <br />parks and recreation. She suggested having a band far a new shelter facility. <br />Bannie Norwood said that it is difficult far her to know where to stand. She has been affiliated <br />with the shelter for 17 years. She said that there will continue to be good staff and there will <br />continue to be problems. She said that another example of what is going on at APS is that they <br />want a closed session with the County Commissioners. She said that there needs to be an <br />open door policy with anyone that pays taxes in this County to be able to use what is there. The <br />administration needs to allow this and not run and hide behind doors and waste taxpayers' <br />money calling the police. <br />Alex Kent said that he has been a volunteer at the shelter for five years. He said that the <br />hassles of the management are hurting the operation. He said that there is no discrimination of <br />dogs kept and there is good fiscal management. He said that the shelter has a good staff. <br />Steven Kaufman said that he and his wife are teachers and his wife is a volunteer at the shelter. <br />He is impressed with the enthusiasm of the staff and valunteers. He is nat an animal lover, but <br />he does have respect for the amount of time spent by the staff and volunteers. He is amazed at <br />the controversy surrounding this. He asked the Board to please come to some decision quickly. <br />Jackie Allen said that she has lived in Carrboro for ten years and she has adopted from the <br />shelter. She said that she has seen very bad shelters in other places. She said that the shelter <br />in Orange County was very goad and the animals are well cared for. The animals that she <br />adapts are healthy. <br />Ellen Weiss said that she is a faculty member at UNC. She started rescuing feral cats at UNC <br />and this has brought her to APS. She has no doubt that the staff is dedicated and caring. She <br />also acknowledges that the kind of concerns brought up in the HSUS report are not uncommon. <br />She has been disturbed about the problems in the shelter that the public brought up and they <br />were ignored. This seemed to lead to the necessity of bringing HSUS into this. A lot of the <br />problems brought up by HSUS were the same as those brought up by the public. She is <br />disturbed because APS said that the report was not an indication of the public's concerns. She <br />said that if the County chooses to form a task force, it should have professionals in shelter <br />management in addition to those from APS. She said that there are programs that can reduce <br />euthanasia and she encouraged the Board to look at this. <br />