City proceeding with shelter upgrade

The City of Gaffney is wasting no time in honoring its pledge to upgrade the animal shelter.

Gaffney Administrator James Taylor said the city is completing a survey of the property and has begun a preliminary evaluation of the shelter building in hopes of beginning construction on a new addition in a couple of weeks.

According to its agreement with the county, the city will pay the entire cost of a proposed addition to the shelter, including construction of a euthanasia room, a minimum of nine additional exterior dog runs and separate areas for cats. The price tag for the upgrades is expected to be $30,000.

"We are committed to doing this," Taylor said.

Cherokee County Council demonstrated its commitment to improve animal shelter operations by approving the intergovernmental agreement last week.

The county will assume all operational costs at the consolidated animal shelter, including the salary of the new shelter manager.

The city also is responsible for the costs of any major structural repairs and the installation of a heating/cooling system. The city also must bear the cost to roof the addition.

But the city relinquishes control of the shelter to the county as well as all the costs associated with operating the shelter, under the 10-year deal.

That is considered a key concession by the county since the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating to determine if animal control officers violated state animal cruelty laws. The investigation was triggered by a complaint from local animal shelter volunteers who claimed county animal control officers violated state law by failing to fully sedate animals prior to euthanizing them.

Under the contract, the city-paid animal control officer would only be responsible for transporting animals to the shelter.

The contract stipulates the city will lease the animal shelter property to the county for an annual fee of $1.

The new agreement overrides an earlier deal that created the consolidated animal shelter in the early 1990s. Under that agreement, the city paid the utility bills and shared in the cost of the supplies.