Updated on animal control

Jay County Animal Control Task Force is asking for more resources.

Jay County Commissioners on Monday gave the group the OK to continue, but have not committed funding yet, after the task force presented a report and summary requesting several actions, including the construction of a new animal control facility.

Commissioners requested the creation of a task force in October 2018 to review the current animal care and control system and recommended the need for future action. The task force has taken two years to gather findings.

“I cannot tell you how much time and effort we have put in to try to come to a plan for providing animal care and control countywide,” said animal task force chair Julie Forcum.

She listed a summary of recommendations for moving forward, including repurposing an existing building or constructing one to house a new shelter. The process would take a little more than $1 million, and the task forced asked for about $275,000 toward that total from commissioners. They plan to raise the remainder from grants, donations and Jay County municipalities.

The group’s goal is to have a shelter that would house about 200 cats and 36 dogs.

Proposed plans for the building include two different options. The lesser option — it includes office areas, dog and cat housing, a reception area, animal care and control spaces, staff and public areas and janitorial spaces — totals 4,776 square feet. The expanded option, which most notably adds adoption spaces and a garage, totals 5,688 square feet.

Annually, the facility would need about $235,000 in operating funds. The task force is proposing that about $110,000 would come from local government units, including the county, and $125,000 would be raised by Jay County Humane Society.

Mike Medler, the task force’s structure, governance and operations chair, explained that in its current state, the Jay County Humane Society shelter is unable to provide adequate exercising and socializing needs for animals. Adoptions should be taken advantage of as well because the process allows for animals to find a new home and brings in revenue, he said.

The question of who is in charge has been an issue in Jay County for years, Medler explained. All task force members at the meeting emphasized that currently there is no designated entity for dealing with animal emergency calls.

For public clarity, the task force recommends Jay County Animal Care and Control merge with Jay County Human Society to become one entity. Midwest Pet Refuge, which branches into other counties, will not merge with the two animal organizations but rather remain as an independent partner, according to fundraising co-chair Mindy Weaver, who is president of the humane society board.

Medler also requested law enforcement be involved with animal control and Jay County Sheriff’s Office be responsible for training individuals to respond to animal emergency calls. In Henry County, he said, law enforcement trains responders, giving them the right to go on property and investigate and write reports.

Dean Jetter, facilities chair for the task force, also made pointed out the shelter needs to be in a visible location.

“We’ve learned through research we’ve done that, if you can move from being out of sight to a location that is much more visible, your adoption rates can double, and that’s what this is really about,” he said. The current humane society shelter is tucked away on the south side of the city next to its wastewater treatment plant.

Other recommendations included: hiring a board of directors with certain expertise (pertaining to legal, business operations, finance, veterinary medicine, human resources and law enforcement); hiring an executive director, three full-time caretakers and two part-time workers; creating a list of licensed, third-party organizations for dealing with wild animals; enacting a county-wide animal ordinance to include mandatory, annual licensing for dogs and then implementing a county option dog tax at $5 a year; and establishing a volunteer program for animal care and various fundraising events.

Commissioner Mike Leonhard pointed out he would like to see the amounts requested to each surrounding municipality before approving funding toward the project. Forcum said she would work to get those numbers within the next few weeks.

Also Monday, commissioners approved moving forward with Time Clock Plus, a virtual time clock system for county government employees. Holly Caston, a regional sales representative, shared information via video call about the benefits to going digital. The system allows employees to clock in and out from their work computers.

There is a mobile app available, which can be set to only accept entries from certain locations using geographical phone data. The county can also chose a biometric options, which would allow employees to scan their fingerprints in order to sign in and out.

Depending on which system each department receives, the software will cost total between $17,600 and $30,000. Annual maintenance will cost roughly $8,000.

“Right now, everybody has to do it by hand,” county auditor Anna Culy said.

Users of the new system need to have internet access and an internet browser in order to set up the time clock system. There are options to leave notes in the program, such as in the instance if an employee forgets to clock out, Caston said. Administrators also have the power to change times and leave notes for employees as necessary.

Overall, Caston commends the software for being open and visible, with easily accessible logs and records.

Commissioners also approved moving forward with drafting a contract for installing new lighting at Jay County Jail. Wayne Burrell of Florida-based Future Energy Solutions proposed a 15-year contract that includes replacing all of the interior and exterior light bulbs and fixtures with more energy efficient LED bulbs and providing regular maintenance to the county. The program comes at no up-front charge to the county, with Future Energy Solutions paid through savings the county will have by using a more energy-efficient system.

After nearly an hour of discussion, commissioners voted 2-1 to move forward. Commissioner Chuck Huffman, who voted against the motion, noted he would like to have local input before proceeding.

In other business, commissioners:

•Decided against having the annual county employees’ Christmas lunch, typically hled in November, because of coronavirus safety concerns.

•Approved the following: Jay County Development Corporation’s five-year plan for economic development income tax dollars, which was tabled at the last commissioner’s meeting; a request from courthouse building superintendent Bruce Sutton to spend $2,550 on an electrostatic sprayer for disinfecting from Four-U Office, Celina, Ohio; purchasing a body scanner for approximately $142,000 for Jay County Jail; and purchasing two Dodge Durangos for Jay County Sheriff’s Office from Fuqua Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Dunkirk.

•Discussed county engineer Dan Watson’s resignation, which is expected to be effective at the end of the year. Although commissioners have yet to receive a formal letter of resignation, highway superintendent Donnie Corn noted Watson has started to clean his office in preparation. Commissioners noted job descriptions in the highway department will need to be revised. His former duties will be divided between Corn and road foreman David Shepherd.

•Signed a title to sell an old ambulance chassis for Jay Emergency Medical Service and heard the department’s monthly report from directors Gary Barnett and Wesley Miller. Barnett said JEMS is on track to be $100,000 better than last year. Miller pointed out it is with the 15% to 20% decrease in revenue earlier this year because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

•Appointed Nicole Winkles to the Wabash River Heritage Commission.

•Signed claims, including: a $25 payment for the Nov. 10 resolution to record the resolution to formalize the county’s responsibility to maintain the roads near Golf Brook Estates; $17,400 to switch county notification systems from Nixle to Rave Alert, as discussed in a previous commissioners’ meeting.

•Accepted a $75 donation from the City of Portland reserve officers to go toward the K-9 unit.

•Received commemorative A&W root beer mugs from the Dunkirk Mural Committee for commissioners’ support of the project.