Work on shelter has begun

The City of Gaffney is wasting no time in honoring its agreement with the county to upgrade the local animal shelter.

The city has begun construction on a euthanasia room as well as a specific area for cats at the animal shelter. Work also has begun on the nine exterior dog runs at the site.

"It's all going pretty well," said Cherokee County Assistant Administrator Holland Belue, who negotiated the agreement with the city.

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.

For its part, 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 will also 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 facility 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.