Published: July 01, 2008 05:14 pm      

Humane Society, county officials at odds over property ownership, animal responsibility

Breaking up is hard to do, even for nonprofit organizations and governments. As the Humane Society of Cumberland County and the Cumberland County government parted ways, disputes regarding ownership of property and responsibility for animals have arose.

"We would love to take every animal that is brought to us," said Amanda Merritt, president of the Humane Society of Cumberland County. "But we need funding to care for them."

The Humane Society has completed its moved its location to Cook Rd., and will no longer be taking animals from Cumberland County animal control officer. City residents will be first-served in owner surrenders. The organization's contract to provide animal shelter services for the county expired Monday at midnight.

The county had requested proposals to offer animal care services April 23. By the May 20 deadline, no one had submitted proposals.

"We requested proposals to get a real sense of what it costs to operate an animal shelter," said Brock Hill, Cumberland County mayor. "We have a responsibility for the taxpayers' money. The proposals were to allow us to compare and contrast costs for these services."

Merritt said the Humane Society did present a proposal six months ago asking for funds to assist in the organization's relocation to Cook Rd., and for additional operating expenses.

"We asked for the city to pay one third, the county to pay one third, and for us to pay one third so that everyone could be involved," Merritt said. She said questions were asked about the amount of time animals are kept and the expenses.

In December, the Humane Society sought additional funds from the county, but a motion in the budget committee meeting to provide an additional $74,000 failed. The next month, the committee voted to ask for proposals for operating an animal shelter on the East Lane property.

Merritt said the Humane Society wanted to submit a proposal that moved the operation to the organization's property on Cook Rd., while the county wanted the operation to stay at East Lane, she said. She was waiting on permits from the state when the deadline for proposals passed, and said she could not get an extension to submit a proposal to the county.

Tuesday, a county employee began work as shelter manager at the East Lane facility to care for animals brought in by county animal control officers. Work crews from the jail will be used to provide additional maintenance and labor at the facility.

Now, the county and Humane Society are fighting over ownership of some of the shelter equipment. The Humane Society contends the equipment is theirs, and was added to the facility during its 19 years of operation. The county points to its lease with the Humane Society that says improvements to the facility are considered permanent and can not be removed at the end of the lease.

"Some of that equipment is permanently attached to the building," Hill said. "We sent a letter through out attorney saying they couldn't take it, and they responded by suing."

Merritt said, "We bought everything in that building, and what we told them we were taking were not permanent fixtures. We bought that equipment, we have receipts, or it was donated to us."

Margaret Jane Powers, attorney for the Humane Society, filed a complaint for declaratory judgment in Chancery Court May 15. The suit has not been settled at this time.

Friday, Hill sent letters to county commissioners advising them of the situation. According to the letter, when the Humane Society began removing supplies from the East Lane facility to prepare for its move to its Cook Road location, "over 70 photos were taken of the destructive efforts of the Humane Society as cabinets and plumbing were being taken from the walls of the shelter building, along with many other items that Cumberland County included in its list of items we own," Hill wrote.

Merritt denies any damage was done to the building, and noted she took photos herself showing that to be the case.

"We took equipment that won't ruin the fixtures of the building," Merritt said. "We even left them a lot of equipment like the incinerator, washer and dryer, cooler and food shed. We brought an electrician out at our expense to make sure the wiring for the cooler and the food shed was up to code. We've done everything we are supposed to do, but how is a file cabinet part of the building? They wanted everything. We've asked to keep working with them and they don't want that.

"It's frustrating to be dealing with this. It's supposed to be about caring for the animals."

Another issue regarding county animals left after the end of the contract. More than 70 animals found new homes during the weekend following a plea on a Knoxville television news cast that those left on Monday would have to be euthanized.

"The response was wonderful," Merritt said Monday. "We adopted all but what will come in today. Those animals that come in by 4 p.m. [Monday] will be relocated to our new facility, depending on how many we receive."

But, the issue raised questions of why the Humane Society wasn't taking the animals to their new location, or why the county did not intend to take over care of the animals when it's new employee reported to work Tuesday.

"According to the contract, they are responsible for any animals accepted through the 30th," Hill said Monday. "We know they have another facility on Cook Rd., and would assume they would take them with them, but we can't tell them how to deal with those animals."

Ron Getz, vice president of the Humane Society, told WBIR-TV in Knoxville, the new facility only had enough funding and room to care for animals brought in by the city officers and residents.

In the meantime, many residents may be wondering what's to become of strays and pets they can no longer care for.

Merritt said the Humane Society will only be taking animals brought in by city of Crossville animal control officers, and owner surrenders of pets will give priority to city residents. There is a $20 fee for surrendering pets to the Humane Society. The Cook Rd. animal shelter will be open during the summer Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information about the Cumberland County Animal Shelter, call 484-9700.

The county facility will be taking animals brought in by the two animal control officers employed by the county. The facility will not take owner surrenders. Hill said county officers bring in an average of 100 animals each month.

"We're excited about this opportunity," Hill said. "We've been talking to other groups, like Wags and Whiskers. They do foster pet programs. We're looking for opportunities to network and work with other animal groups to have a good shelter and a good program."

Information regarding facility hours was not available at this time, but Hill did note the county facility will offer pets for adoption and adhere to all policies previously in place.