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Commissioner Halkiotis said that he was a bit perplexed about option B and the broken line that <br />goes from the Health Board to Animal Control. He said that there is a whole menu of offerings <br />in the Triangle area, and if we create another bureaucracy with this issue, we are in trouble. He <br />said that it appears that all of these other groups are coming back to the Board of County <br />Commissioners somehow. He thinks this is misleading because their plates are already full. He <br />said that he does not have time to do this. Now, if the Commissioners want to know anything <br />about County operations, they go through the County Manager for information. He said that he <br />voluntarily left the Tourism Board because there were two County Commissioners on it. He <br />understands where they are going with an animal services board, but he thinks option C is the <br />better option. He does not want to see another bureaucracy created. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked what kind of statutory authority remains with the Health <br />Department if Animal Control is taken out from under it. <br />Commissioner Carey asked Rosemary Summers to talk about this issue and he said that they <br />discussed many different scenarios and felt that these schemes would allow for the statutory <br />regulations of the Health Department to be carried out. He said that the Health Board did not <br />prefer any of the options recommended. He said that there are other counties where the animal <br />contra) and APS functions are not housed in the Health Department. <br />Health Director Rosemary Summers said that the primary function of the Health Department <br />and Animal Control is the rabies control. If Animal Control was not in the Health Department, <br />they would need to establish very clear procedural lines that if there is an animal bite in the <br />County, that it would be referred to a communicable disease nurse without question or <br />complication with the resident that was bitten. The State laboratory reports an testing for rabid <br />animals came back to the Health Director. In recent years, the Health Department has become <br />more involved in dead birds and West Nile Virus. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked about the Board of Health's preference and Rosemary Summers <br />said that they would like far Animal Control to remain under the Health Department and bring <br />sheltering under the Health Department's purview. <br />John Link said that the Board was not being asked to make a decision tonight but it needs to be <br />made soon. He said that if the Board wishes for the operation of the animal shelter to be a <br />County operation, then the staff needs to know where that function should reside by April 20t". <br />He said that they have to make all of the moves by mid-June and APS will vacate by June 30t" <br />and the County has to make purchases by July 1St or before. The employees have to be in <br />place before July 1St. In terms of the Health Department and Animal Control issue, they can <br />make that decision in-house at a later point. This does not have to be addressed now. The <br />recommendations have to be addressed first. <br />Commissioner Carey said that they do not have much time and if this Board of County <br />Commissioners wants to consider more options then it cannot make a decision as to the running <br />of the shelter and that means that the APS may still run it for a longer period of time. <br />Chair Jacobs asked if the task force could meet again before April 20t" and discuss different <br />permutations. Commissioner Carey said that he was busy and had a tight schedule where he <br />would be out of town. <br />John Link said that the Board could give him the direction of haw they want this to be a function <br />of the County. This does not mean that all pieces will be in place but they need direction so that <br />