News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Residents and volunteers want improvements to begin at the White County Animal Shelter immediately, telling White County Commissioners Monday night that they already have money to begin the work.
Shelter volunteers requested $5,000 to install heating at the shelter, expressing concern that the lack of heat could put the safety of the animals at risk for the upcoming winter. The group said they had already taken some steps in the project. Commissioner Roger Mason said he acknowledged the concerns of residents and volunteers for wanting to improve the shelter but the commission could not pass anything at the moment.
“What we do with the taxpayer funds has to go through this process,” Mason said. “There’s a process we don’t just do things because we want to do things. It has to be handled through the proper channels.”
The county received some $70,000 in a will with the designation that it would be used towards the animal shelter. White County Resident John Maas claimed the shelter has yet to see any of that donation.
“To date, not one dime has been spent on food, shelter, or even care of one animal,” Maas said. “Not one dime, not one animal.”
The commission approved sending the funding request for the shelter to next month’s Committee B meeting. Commissioner Becky Golden said sending it to the next Committee B meeting is the correct form of action as the commission has not yet seen the logistics of the project.
“Unfortunately that has never made it to us to look at,” Golden said. “So we couldn’t say yes we have looked at it and we can approve this, so unfortunately it’s just going to have to wait another month and I’m sorry.”
White County has considered moving the animal shelter after the property of the landfill was sold. In November, Commissioner Dakota White said at the time he was hesitant to spend money on improvements at the animal shelter as relocating the shelter is still a serious possibility.
“I’m very hesitant to do a lot of work there because it’s contingent upon the landfill,” White said in November. “That’s my honest thought. I would hate to put, you know, 20, 30, 40 grand into the building, making it much better for the dogs, which they need.”
