February 2, 2008 By Kristin Longley
klongley@citpat.com -- 768-4917
It's almost moving day for Jackson County 's abandoned and neglected animals.
The county's new Summit Township shelter, 3370 Spring Arbor Road, passed state inspection Friday and Animal Control will begin the transfer this weekend.
``It met the expectations of the state and it's been approved for operation,'' said Dr. Steven Halstead, veterinarian with the state Department of Agriculture.
Halstead
said there are still ``very minor things that you do at the last minute,'' such
as final cleaning and disinfecting, that need to be completed. The state will
check back on those next week, he said. County facilities workers were hard at work at the new shelter Friday, installing phones and tiling, acting county Administrator Randy Treacher said. People sentenced to community service also helped with maintenance, he said.
The county plans to hold an open house next week, he said.
``It's going to be so much different and better than what we currently have in terms of what we can do for the animals,'' he said. ``It's just a wonderful building.''
Linda Dake, the former owner, will run her Top Dog Pet Care business out of the smaller building on the property, Treacher said. She's renting the space for about $1,100 a month, he said.
The county board bought the former pet grooming facility for $1.3 million in October to replace the current shelter, 2004 Blackstone St. , which for years has received unsatisfactory marks on state inspections.
The purchase didn't sit well with the new building's neighbors, who are opposed to having a county animal shelter in their backyard for safety and environmental reasons, they said.
One nearby resident, Wayne DeVries, said the ``whole thing is a joke.'' ``I personally have a bad taste in my mouth and I think the whole thing smells,'' he said. ``I wish they hadn't done it, but what can you do?'' To appease some neighbors, the county decided not to move the animal incinerator to the new site. The board is considering three bids to privatize animal incineration services: $17,360, $19,800 and $70,667 annually.
The third bid is ``clearly off,'' Treacher said, but the other two bids are less than the county's estimated annual $24,506 cost to run the incinerator. ``It will give staff considerably more time to take care of the kennels,'' he said. ``We'll be doing many things differently that are going to make it better.'' Treacher said he plans on consulting with a landscaper for ideas on how to separate the property from nearby homes, whether it's fencing, a berm or something else, and present the idea to residents. Some neighbors aren't convinced it will be enough. ``We still have concerns -- we'll still have dogs barking and we're wondering what's going to happen with our property taxes,'' Peggy Cox said. ``I guess we'll find out soon.''