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Independence, MO —
I have a puppy dog named Sophia who came to live with my family via a neighbor who rescued her from a ditch where she was cold, hungry, filthy and abandoned.
Sophia often tells me about her early days in despair, but her early life has made her sensitive to the plight of other puppies and she often asks me how the new animal shelter is coming along.
Recently, I was troubled to report to Sophia that the new building was done but that the county had stopped the Aug. 1 transfer of the building to the city. The county must be pretty unhappy to violate a contract (2009 intergovernmental agreement) signed a long time ago regarding the construction and operation of the new shelter.
The contract established that the county would build the new animal shelter (on city land) and the city would operate the shelter as a regional asset.
Last fall, the city conducted a bid process to evaluate whether any animal rescue groups could step up and operate the new animal shelter at a price less than the city. That request-for-proposal process brought in one bid. That bid, when compared with the proposed cost of operation by the city, demonstrated that the cost was going to be higher than a city operation. The city did not award the bid to the private animal rescue firm and instead moved forward with operating the shelter with city staff.
So if the RFP process was reasonable, why are some county officials still pressing the city to hire the private firm to run the animal shelter at a cost to the city of an extra $400,000 a year or more?
The city management analyst was requested (this spring) to review both the city proposal as well as the proposal from the private firm (the final audit is not found on the city website for some unknown reason). The analyst noted that both proposals met the standards in the contract (between city and county) but that the proposal from the private firm would cost at least $400,000 a year more than the city proposal.
A few weeks ago City Hall was inundated with e-mails alleging that the current Independence Animal Shelter was euthanizing large numbers of animals. The e-mails were factually wrong. Who stirred up that mess?
While Sophia (my dog) has often told me she is a big fan of having a “no kill” shelter, it turns out the Independence Animal Shelter is pretty close to that status. The shelter euthanizes animals that are sick or vicious and occasionally when the shelter is in overload. Often our shelter has animals that have been kept for more than three months awaiting adoption. Sophia pointed out that the new shelter is much bigger than our old shelter and (when it becomes operational) will help solve the overcrowding question. So why has the county refused to honor the contract and transfer the new building so we can mitigate the overcrowding at the current building?
I have a puppy dog named Sophia who came to live with my family via a neighbor who rescued her from a ditch where she was cold, hungry, filthy and abandoned.
Sophia often tells me about her early days in despair, but her early life has made her sensitive to the plight of other puppies and she often asks me how the new animal shelter is coming along.
Recently, I was troubled to report to Sophia that the new building was done but that the county had stopped the Aug. 1 transfer of the building to the city. The county must be pretty unhappy to violate a contract (2009 intergovernmental agreement) signed a long time ago regarding the construction and operation of the new shelter.
The contract established that the county would build the new animal shelter (on city land) and the city would operate the shelter as a regional asset.
Last fall, the city conducted a bid process to evaluate whether any animal rescue groups could step up and operate the new animal shelter at a price less than the city. That request-for-proposal process brought in one bid. That bid, when compared with the proposed cost of operation by the city, demonstrated that the cost was going to be higher than a city operation. The city did not award the bid to the private animal rescue firm and instead moved forward with operating the shelter with city staff.
So if the RFP process was reasonable, why are some county officials still pressing the city to hire the private firm to run the animal shelter at a cost to the city of an extra $400,000 a year or more?
The city management analyst was requested (this spring) to review both the city proposal as well as the proposal from the private firm (the final audit is not found on the city website for some unknown reason). The analyst noted that both proposals met the standards in the contract (between city and county) but that the proposal from the private firm would cost at least $400,000 a year more than the city proposal.
A few weeks ago City Hall was inundated with e-mails alleging that the current Independence Animal Shelter was euthanizing large numbers of animals. The e-mails were factually wrong. Who stirred up that mess?
While Sophia (my dog) has often told me she is a big fan of having a “no kill” shelter, it turns out the Independence Animal Shelter is pretty close to that status. The shelter euthanizes animals that are sick or vicious and occasionally when the shelter is in overload. Often our shelter has animals that have been kept for more than three months awaiting adoption. Sophia pointed out that the new shelter is much bigger than our old shelter and (when it becomes operational) will help solve the overcrowding question. So why has the county refused to honor the contract and transfer the new building so we can mitigate the overcrowding at the current building?
Several weeks ago a county legislator met with some City Council members and city administration regarding the private animal rescue firm and the city operation of the new shelter. Apparently, an offer was made to provide more county COMBAT funds to the city to offset the increased cost to the city if the city were to hire the private firm. Such a quid pro quo raises serious legal and ethical questions, and fortunately the city declined that suggestion.
Sophia thought that all sounded pretty stinky. Smart dog.
So the new animal shelter sits empty. The city and county have a contract on hold, awaiting some explanation regarding an undefined problem with a potentially costly solution to the taxpayers of Independence. About that time in my story Sophia whined at the door and needed to go outside.
