Committee will explore humane shelter issues
There is still no operating humane shelter in Putnam County, but a group will examine ways to get the Humane Society of Putnam County on its feet again.
Putnam County Councilman Phil Gick spoke about the group at the county commissioners meeting on Monday. He said the ad hoc committee will look at the interests of the county and the interests of the humane society, looking for common ground and an operating plan.
"So far it's just been (Humane Society President) Lynn Bohmer and I talking about it," Gick said.
To further represent the county's interests in the discussion, the commissioners appointed Bainbridge Town Marshal Rodney Fenwick to the committee. The new appointee offered some thoughts on the county's ability to collect dog tax money.
"We get a huge amount of calls each year on animals," Fenwick said. "All we have to do is change our ordinance and figure out how we're going to get our fees."
He said another step will be making sure dog owners have their paperwork anytime an animal has an incident.
"If you have an incident and you don't have paperwork for your dog, there's going to be a fine," Fenwick said.
Gick emphasized the need for the humane society to be conservative with budget estimates and make sure it is budgeting based on reliable revenue streams, not simply donations.
The first step, though, is a meeting of the minds. Gick said the committee needs to get in black and white the expectations of the county and those of the humane society.
County Attorney Scott Hoff will also sit in on the committee sessions.
No meeting date was announced on Monday.
The commissioners also filled a vacancy on the Floyd Township Fire Protection Board. After much discussion of the board in recent months, Gene Beck nominated Debbie Summerlot to fill out the term of Wayne Kelly, who resigned last month.
The measure passed 3-0.
The commissioners held off on signing a contract for an attorney to represent the county in speeding ordinance cases. The contract presented was with Indianapolis attorney Gable Sadovsky.
"I'd like to see if someone local is interested," Nancy Fogle said. "I'd like to get these local guys the business if we can."
The District 2 Commissioner continued that she had spoken with County Clerk Marty Watts, who said she believed more than one local attorney had interest in the cases.
Fellow commissioners Beck and Kristina Warren concurred with Fogle, and the issue was tabled until Hoff is present to discuss the matter further.
Jim Smith of the highway department also presented letters of interest for the County Road 725 East highway safety road improvement project.
The seven firms expressing interest in the project are Schneider Engineering; Shrewsberry and Associates; Eagle Ridge Civil Engineering; Parsons, Cunningham and Shartle; USI Consultants; and Clark-Dietz Engineers.