[0:00] It's 5:30 and um our call meeting is slated for

[0:05] that time. So, if you all will, we're going to begin our meeting and we're

[0:12] going to ask our uh chief of police that he'll give us that invitation. Please

[0:19] pray with me. What gracious God, we come to you now, Father, in your prayer,

[0:23] Lord, call upon your name, Lord, dear God, to be with us tonight, Father. We

[0:27] ask you to be with the city, Father. We have to meet with the attendees. Father,

[0:30] we come here for a focus and a purpose, Lord. Dear God, tonight, Lord, I pray

[0:34] that you will work with this city government. They'll be good stewardship,

[0:38] Father. They'll do what's right for the city, Father, for everyone that's

[0:41] involved here, Father. Father, we focus on the circumstance tonight. We ask for

[0:45] the wisdom and the guidance, Lord, that it will be pleasing to everyone here,

[0:49] Lord. Only you can work these things out, Father. I trust in you, Father. As

[0:53] we come here tonight, Father, just give us everything we need that we all focus

[0:57] that we come together as unity. Father, in unity become strength. Father, if it

[1:02] is in the name of your son, Jesus, we pray for this. Thank you. Amen. In the

[1:07] name of Jesus. >> Amen.

[1:09] » If you all stand for pledge, please.

[1:15] I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

[1:20] republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[1:26] justice for all. >> Thank you, sir.

[1:39] » All right, y'all. We thank y'all for coming today. Um, our mayor had an

[1:47] appointment so he's not able to be here and um, it's going to be informal. So,

[1:54] we're going to go ahead. We have a councilman that is on the phone. I think

[2:00] it is. >> Yes, sir. We have Elizabeth. You there?

[2:04] » Yes, I'm here. >> So, uh, we're going to just have a

[2:07] byside discussion. We're going to turn this part because we're here to discuss

[2:11] the animal shelter and I'm going turn that part now in the hands of Mr. Jones.

[2:18] » All right. Good afternoon or good evening. How's everybody doing today?

[2:25] All right. So, um even though we we titled it as a call meeting, we won't be

[2:30] making any votes tonight. This is strictly an informative

[2:35] session that we're having dealing with the animal shelter and the procedures

[2:41] that should happen from now on. So I just want everybody to understand that

[2:48] um we have those policies are in um in our standing opposite of the

[2:55] procedures that we have. We're just going to reiterate them. So then in case

[2:59] something like this may happen again or close to this that everybody will know

[3:03] what the protocol is. Okay. All right.

[3:08] So once again I said this meeting is inform our partners that we have here.

[3:12] Vhos where you at? Well Vh

[3:18] okay good. And the citizens of the recent actions taking place in the city

[3:23] on Friday. Um, that wasn't a call meeting. That wasn't a formal meeting,

[3:28] but it was a meeting with certain individuals in it. We're just trying to

[3:32] clarify the the policies that we have set in place months ago.

[3:37] This is what the city must do to keep good

[3:42] relationship with our partners cuz that's our focus.

[3:46] Without our partners in the city, we do know based off of the budget and

[3:51] everything else, we as a city cannot afford certain expenses. And we we

[3:57] definitely appreciate what our partners do for us.

[4:00] Like I said again, we will not be voting today. Just clarify.

[4:06] The city shelter as we know it is shut down.

[4:11] It means that we cannot have any intakes.

[4:18] So what does that mean exactly for the citizens? I know we still have stray

[4:22] dogs that may be running the area, whatever. We as a city cannot hold those

[4:28] animals. We can't pick them up and we can't do

[4:33] the things that needs to be done for the city. The shelter is closed due to some

[4:39] replacing and repairs for the shelter due to the storm that happened almost

[4:44] two years ago. So, it's needed repairs. Where's our uh carpenter? Uh

[4:51] thank you ma'am for being here. Um and the reason that the shelter is shut

[4:57] down because of the department of agriculture. We had two violations. One

[5:02] of the violations was structure and the other violations was was drainage.

[5:08] All linked into uh the storm that happened.

[5:13] With that being said, we have to evacuate all the dogs.

[5:19] What we will do, and it's in our policy, the first thing that we will do is that

[5:24] we will notify our partners as soon as possible. I said our partners who

[5:31] partner with the city. Raise your hand again for the ones that partner with the

[5:35] city to make sure things happen and spending y'all volunteer time going out

[5:39] there to the shelter feeding, bathing, worming, and all that. So from now on,

[5:45] when we have to evacuate the shelter for whatever it may be, you guys will be the

[5:52] first to be called. And after you are called, the city

[5:58] um will give you a timeline on which the dogs, the animals can be picked up and

[6:05] that timeline and for whatever reason sometime things come up where you can't

[6:09] do it. Then we will activate our outside sources like we have now which is

[6:15] Thomasville, Georgia. So the first step that we will do is activate Vhos.

[6:26] Then if you cannot respond, we will activate our outside sources.

[6:36] when the shelter reopens. What we would like also every dog names

[6:42] I know y'all do already. But one thing that we we do have inside

[6:47] of the shelter, we have an R on the board. Good, good idea, but we would

[6:53] like to go a step further. This will help us out as well.

[6:57] every dog that has been officially rescued with that with one of the

[7:03] partners that you have that you've been talking with. We want the name of the

[7:08] dog. We want the name of the rescue agency and the different medical things

[7:13] that that rescue has took have done. That helps us out. That'll help Miss Kim

[7:20] out. She's the one does accounts payable. So anything any transaction

[7:24] that goes to the vet when she gets those bills in she can put name for name

[7:29] procedures to procedures. With that being said

[7:33] um we want that at the shelter and we want via email

[7:39] so that way we can keep track and see just because we won't give you a

[7:43] response but at least we'll have a paper trail in case something happens.

[7:48] The individuals on that list who needs to be notified will be our spokesman.

[7:54] The person that is supposed to speak for the city is Officer Brown,

[8:01] Chief of Police,

[8:05] Miss Bernese, Miss Kim,

[8:09] the mayor, and the council members.

[8:16] I know I don't know did that trans did we have any pickup today to go to um

[8:24] I just said the name Thomas field today come and I think

[8:30] » okay so right this moment it should be 6 at the shelter

[8:35] » I do understand that you guys are making coordinations to move

[8:40] but before they move this is going to our partners

[8:44] before they move. We need the names of the dogs. I know y'all did that already.

[8:50] Um, and we also need um the rescues or who is ever

[8:58] giving monies or volunteering whatever that they have, whether toys or

[9:03] whatever. We need that today so we can put that in our paperwork

[9:07] to show that these dogs are taken care of.

[9:12] Um, I know y'all say y'all want to do it today. So, I'm hoping y'all prepared to

[9:16] give that up after this, right? And what we're also going to do is I'm going give

[9:21] a timeline if we don't have it before 12:00 p.m.

[9:26] tomorrow, right? We'll make the coordinations with Thomasville for the

[9:31] additional six. This is to protect the city,

[9:36] our partners, and the animals. clarify that right there, Chris. Go

[9:41] ahead. 5 p.m. That just means we need the arrangements by 12 tomorrow.

[9:46] » That is correct. I mean, we understand y'all are working or whatever. Like,

[9:50] just so we know the arrangements, you know, and Thomasville has confirmation

[9:54] that we do have them taken care of. We're all good. Not clear there.

[9:59] » Did everybody get that? Just confirmation to ensure that they are

[10:02] taken care of, that that [snorts] they're good to go.

[10:06] And I guess >> like they don't physically have to be

[10:09] picking up by 12:00 p.m. tomorrow. >> Yes.

[10:11] » Um you just need the paperwork 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. Just the paperwork.

[10:15] » Just the paperwork. That's what we need cuz we know it's I think one's supposed

[10:18] to be potentially leaving tomorrow based off of the medical if it's going to

[10:23] transport tomorrow. I think to Florida, right? Is that the one that you was

[10:27] talking about? >> Working on.

[10:28] » Okay. Um,

[10:32] and lastly, we do appreciate everyone for showing up today, showing your

[10:36] support. And I guess the last thing, Mr. Johnson, would be like, um, does anybody

[10:42] have any questions or comments dealing with

[10:44] » I would just like to clear clear something up really quick if I could on

[10:49] the update to the procedure um that Chris explained. So we know that you

[10:53] know there have been there has been recordeping on outtakes and intakes but

[10:56] we're just asking moving forward that as soon as you know of a organization that

[11:02] is going to rescue a dog that we get that both printed and electronic. So,

[11:07] all the details that you would typically put on an outtake form, I'm assuming

[11:10] could go just on a document to say, "Hey, on October 5th, this dog Rocky,

[11:15] I'm just I'm using that name. No clue." But Rocky is going to be out to this

[11:19] organization. And that is to protect you guys as much as the city, as much as our

[11:24] officers that are working out there and our employees. That way, if this happens

[11:28] again, we have it both written and electronic, you know, and everyone knows

[11:31] where every dog is, what's in in in motion, right? because I realize a lot

[11:36] of times y'all have worked on things in the background which we're so

[11:40] appreciative of that we have no clue about. You know, I'm willing to admit

[11:42] that like y'all are doing double triple the work that we even know of. And so,

[11:47] but we need to know of that to have your back when this happens again in the

[11:51] future. I think that's the biggest thing. And that could be as simple just

[11:54] like today that email thread where you're just informing us like, "Hey,

[11:58] we've talked to this organization in South Dakota and we're transporting this

[12:02] dog on October 5th." That's all we're asking for moving forward. That's all I

[12:07] got. >> Okay.

[12:11] » I think one second. That's that's it for me, Mr. Johnson. But we had a hand in

[12:17] the back and if you want to acknowledge or

[12:19] » All right. >> May I ask when

[12:21] » can you step up front, ma'am, please? >> Can I need your name for a minute?

[12:25] » Space sellers. I was wondering when the city's going to have the repairs to the

[12:30] animal shelter completed since it's been two years since the hurricane and when

[12:34] will the drainage I mean it's something like lighting or power the wastewater

[12:40] treatment plant when when will that be done? We actually have the contractor

[12:46] for the city here with us tonight. Unfortunately, FEMA, GEMA, and insurance

[12:52] companies do not work in a hurry. We had to hire a public adjuster for the city

[12:57] to work our claim. >> So that is to be

[13:00] » two years. >> Yes, ma'am. It's been two years and

[13:02] we're still battling that. And I have talked with the public adjuster every

[13:08] week, if not every week, every 10 days and they are telling us that it will be

[13:13] settled by September the 30th. However, we as the city have to contacting Miss

[13:19] Christina Jones. She is going to begin work this week. Roberto's work. You've

[13:25] already started. We're going on the assumption that we'll be receiving a

[13:31] check. I'm not going to say by the end of the month cuz I dealt with it for two

[13:36] years. >> Let's not put a time on it, but we'll

[13:38] get it. >> But we're working on it.

[13:40] » And this will be up to the Department of Agriculture standards or

[13:44] » Yes, ma'am. >> Department of the State

[13:45] » and then we can place it off there again. Uh but once the department

[13:50] because they will have to come in and inspect and do I'm very I'm pretty sure

[13:55] I've never had to work with them before. Um whatever they say that's what will go

[14:00] by. Okay. Well the people out there that have been taking care of the animal they

[14:04] do a amazing job with very much support from the city and I just think that that

[14:09] this needs to be a priority. I mean, if we have animals roaming the city, we

[14:13] need to provide, you know, humane stuff for them to you wouldn't want your

[14:18] animal, you know, the heat, poor drainage and structural problems and

[14:22] stuff like that. And I think they need to be a top priority. And I'm here on

[14:26] the animal. I'm the animal. I love animals and I think they do an amazing

[14:30] job, but for some reason, it seems like they always get the

[14:35] they get we've had to rearrange priorities since May. I'm not going to

[14:39] tell you no fear. Trust me, as finance director and city clerk, I do all of it.

[14:46] And we have moved this one to the top. We actually pulled her from another job

[14:51] so that we can get this done. Unfortunately, with the state coming in

[14:56] that kind of put it up there for us. So, and thankfully I've got good counsel

[15:02] that they will see to that. So, you

[15:05] [clears throat] say by September 30th I'll have all the renovations completed.

[15:09] I don't know. Um >> I don't I don't So, this is the thing.

[15:13] This is the the tricky part. I don't I don't like giving my opinion. For those

[15:17] that know me, I don't like giving an opinion on something. I only speak on

[15:21] facts. The fact is that right now is that it's been almost two years. Fact

[15:26] is, we have people working on it now. I don't want to give my opinion and I

[15:30] don't want anybody to give an opinion on the deadline or when it's going to be

[15:34] completed. All we know is it's getting done and we're doing the best that we

[15:37] can with the resources that we have. >> But for the state to have to step in, it

[15:42] seems like it's a priority. >> Well, this so the state

[15:48] comes and inspects all the time and last time we had a couple other things that

[15:54] they said that needed to be done and then every time I know how y'all know

[15:58] inspections when they come in, they'll see this and you fix that and then they

[16:03] may come in again and see something else. So, I'm not want to blame the

[16:07] state. I don't want to blame the city. I don't even want to blame the insurance

[16:10] company. I want to blame the hurricane. That's who I want to blame. But that's

[16:14] nobody at all. So, we're doing the best that we can.

[16:17] » I just want to make sure it's priority. >> Yes, ma'am. It is.

[16:24] Sir, asking you.

[16:30] » I'm Ron Bonds. My first question I think has been asked and that was is this

[16:34] going to be a permanent shutdown or is it just a temporary thing?

[16:38] » Temporary. >> Temporary. And then my next question is

[16:41] uh what steps, if any, are we taking to reassess what's going to cost in the

[16:46] next fiscal year to run the shelter? Are we making any plans to augment that

[16:52] funding somehow? So based off of our partners that we

[16:57] have right we don't we can't do a guesstimation of cost and the main

[17:02] reason is I mean for the building itself for the general maintenance we can do

[17:07] that however we don't know what the intake is going to be we we can I think

[17:12] we hold a total of the state level is 22 total

[17:16] » your license >> 20 so if we have 20 the whole entire

[17:20] time right like for like meals and whatever it could go up. Right now we

[17:25] have well right now we have a total of six at our facility but prior to that we

[17:30] had 14. So it does fluctuate. >> All right. Thank you.

[17:34] » And your name again sir? >> Ron Bombs.

[17:36] » Okay. Ba Ms. >> Thank you.

[17:41] » Anyone else y'all? We thank y'all for coming and uh you say you finished. I'll

[17:48] come up to you. >> No no I'm the club. Go ahead. Go ahead.

[17:55] I was going to say something. >> And you are?

[17:59] » My name is Janet Corker. I'm repres Hazelhurst Animal Shelter or VHAS. Over

[18:04] the past two years, I stood in this room 15 times. I've spent more than a decade

[18:09] volunteering at this shelter. VHAS is a nonprofit organization of volunteers,

[18:14] fosters, advocates, donors, and rescue partners who spent nearly two decades

[18:17] serving this community and the animals that live in shelter temporarily.

[18:21] Together we've transformed the shelter from what was 100% euthanage rate to a

[18:25] no kill shelter status by statistics. We provide medical care, spayneuter, um

[18:32] cost of bedding, rescue, transport, education, and resources to reduce the

[18:35] overpopulation of the internet community. We've cleaned kennels, walk

[18:39] dogs, foster animals, dur rescue partners, and transported them thousands

[18:42] of miles, quite literally 95,000 miles in my car. That's a year and a half.

[18:47] We've raised money, paid vet bills, and spent countless weekends and holidays

[18:51] caring for the dogs in this little pink building tucked away in the corner of

[18:54] the town. We've all done this because we love the dogs. There are 14 dogs who

[18:58] were residents of shelter yesterday. They're not numbers. They are not

[19:02] spreadsheets. They're not pawns of controversy. They're living beings. We

[19:06] know these dogs. We know their personalities, their fears, medical

[19:09] histories, and needs. We've photographed them. We've written their bios, arranged

[19:13] veterary care, networkkedorked them hundreds of times in social media and

[19:16] emails to advocates and partners around the nation.

[19:19] Before Thursday stop order, six of these dogs have confirmed rescue

[19:22] opportunities. Then the stop order was issued. A rescue offered to take two

[19:26] more, meaning we could have moved eight to 14 dogs the moment we were given

[19:30] notice, but we were never given a chance. Today, eight dogs were moved to

[19:35] Thomasville, Humane without meaningful discussion with EAS, despite our long

[19:38] history with the shelter. Tonight I speak for Leah, Diamond, Licorice,

[19:43] Flips, Domino, Cookie, Rocky, and Luna. They did not cause the stop order. They

[19:47] did not fail an inspection and not choose any of this. They are individual

[19:51] lies caught in the middle of decisions. They have no rule in making and just

[19:54] want a second chance. My concern is not looking. I'm not here to judge them. I

[19:58] have not done my research on them. My concern is the process and transparency.

[20:02] I'm glad there's a calling tonight, but this is not it. There's more discussion

[20:07] that's needed. On Thursday, the Georgia Department of

[20:10] Agriculture issued a stop order affecting the Hayesburg personal

[20:12] shelter. We were in this room Thursday night and not a soul said anything. On

[20:17] Friday, members of the city, I'm told, had a meeting with representatives of

[20:20] Department of A. That was not publicly announced. Details have really shared

[20:24] off hands. Very limited at this point. Who attended? Where are the minutes?

[20:27] When is that going to be provided? What was discussed? Why was the timeline

[20:31] given to Wednesday? The first I've heard about a deadline for dogs to move was

[20:35] today. Again, I've been involved with the

[20:37] shelter for a decade. The state agency took significant

[20:42] regulatory action against a city shelter on Thursday. Again, you guys met. You

[20:46] made discussions, but you didn't involve those who've been

[20:50] involved for a long time. I have questions about the dogs themselves and

[20:53] what's going to happen to them. What's happening to Licorice? She's on stray

[20:57] technically. She's not even been at the shelter for 10 days. She's been

[21:00] transferred. We're actively trying to find her owners because she was recently

[21:04] stay. What is the plan with Thomasville if she works around?

[21:10] Who's responsible for the medical care going forward? What medical care are

[21:12] they going to get? You've asked about medical cost brought up in the room. How

[21:16] much do things cost? The dogs that were sent the eight of them over $3,000 in

[21:21] veterary care could be provided. Are we going to be reimbured? Is that a

[21:24] discussion? Will Thomasville Humane be adopting

[21:27] these dogs out? Are they transferring them to other organizations with Best

[21:30] Friends Animal Society they partner with? Are they simply housing them

[21:33] temporarily? Can you give me those answers? And why again are people who've

[21:38] been working volunteering at the shelter for rescue placements for over a decade

[21:42] not brought to the conversation until afterwards?

[21:45] We understand the stop board was issued. We've been a volunteer at the shelter

[21:48] for a long time. I've been in this room to complain about standards. I've known

[21:52] more many more of you than off record. We've dealt with the insecure the in

[21:57] incompatible shelter needs are what we see is there. However, why was he

[22:01] passing out the phone call? The very first one. I encourage you to think

[22:04] about that thought every single day. Again, we've been your partner for two

[22:09] decades. Trust cannot be rebuilt when

[22:13] communication is absent. Early this year, a rescue relationship was damaged

[22:16] related to puppies at the shelter that were there before the stop order and

[22:20] meant to leave the day after. It took three weeks for the city to advocate for

[22:24] those dogs to be released to us. Unfortunately, it took another week for

[22:27] the stop order to be ended at 34 days. Those dogs waited another four months to

[22:32] leave for rescue because we lost a rescue partner. That rescue partner

[22:36] pulled 12 dogs from the shelter last year. They had not pulled a single one

[22:39] since that first stop order. We spent months trying to rebuild that

[22:43] relationship. Another rescue was meaning to visit in

[22:46] September. That was just confirmed last week. I had to tell them they don't need

[22:50] to come now. I had to turn away a potential adopter and turn them to

[22:54] another local shelter and rescue organization.

[22:56] There are dogs in this community need to help. For 39 days year this year in

[23:01] counting, the city has been unable to provide animal services to its community

[23:04] because of stop orders. 39 days. I will post that and regularly communicate that

[23:09] to you. This is the second stop order 2026. I'm all for repairs to be done. I

[23:15] support it. I can tell you about thousand things that could be done if

[23:18] you want to listen. It's great that we have plans, but you haven't once again

[23:22] picked up the phone and talked to me as I want transparency. How long are the

[23:27] repairs in progress? We might wave on funds, but they've been designs and

[23:31] thoughts. Again, you haven't encouraged people who've been out there for two

[23:34] decades to be involved in the conversation

[23:38] as it says for what is the timeline. I know you can't give an answer, so I'm

[23:41] not going to continue on that topic. But the community deserves to know these

[23:45] answers. The taxpayers deserve to know the donors to be pass again. $3,000 of

[23:51] medical medical expenses gone. We have to account for it. We have to tell

[23:55] people what happened to it. The volunteers and rescue partners in this

[23:58] room tonight and those that are present for years have passed deserve answers.

[24:02] This is a publicly funded shelter. VHAS has been a willing partner for decades.

[24:07] VHAS and the rescue partners we work with locally have covered $15,000 of

[24:11] veterary expenses this year. An additional $1,500 of physical items, not

[24:17] including food and treats and toys, blankets, etc. have been donated. Over

[24:21] 2,000 pounds of food and treats have been donated by the local rescues and

[24:26] our donors to a shelter this year alone. Additionally, just last week, I was

[24:30] asked to bring more food because there were concerns about paying a food bill.

[24:33] 225 pounds of food was brought last week.

[24:37] We provided volunteer hours on countless times, fosters, network, transportation,

[24:42] etc. What are you going to do with your

[24:45] medical rescues? We're your your point blank. I have three of your medical

[24:49] fosters in my home. we take willingly and incur those costs. You have a bill

[24:54] for $1,000 eped related to one of them on emergency care walk. Think about that

[25:00] in the future when you want to isolate your partners. I am angry. I'm

[25:04] exhausted. I'm heartbroken. Things have to change. If you want a partnership, it

[25:09] is not excluding the people in the room who do the work. It starts with

[25:13] communication. It continues with transparency.

[25:17] And we want a seat at the table. Tell us the plan. Tell us what the Thomasville

[25:22] agreement has been made with city with GDA. What are the details? What are the

[25:26] future for the eight dogs who left today? Give a timeline the best of

[25:30] possible. We're tracking for repairs. I'm glad again there are repairs

[25:35] happening. There are so many that can happen. The well-being of the dogs. Tell

[25:39] the community your actual plans. Be transparent to everyone. The dogs in

[25:45] this community deserve better. The community deserves transparency and your

[25:49] volunteers will only be here so long without all of that.

[25:53] » Thank you. >> Can I just ask a question of her so she

[25:58] can give us a little bit more information for clarity? Is that okay?

[26:02] That I appreciate you. Um Janet, quick question for you.

[26:06] » Can you come can you can >> you can't hear me? I am loud.

[26:10] » Protocol. >> We want you to come say your name.

[26:13] » Le Moore with guardians. I'm coming to ask a question. the microphone cuz I

[26:17] need it. All right. You said that with these animals that

[26:23] are going to Thomasville, right? You gave a bunch of numbers and I was trying

[26:27] to follow, but was it was $3,000 of your funds on those dogs that are going to

[26:34] Thomasville. So, we gave away >> They're already gone. They're already

[26:36] gone. >> Okay. So, you your your

[26:39] » your own us or our rescue partners directly locally that we work with. Yes.

[26:44] And I I want to clarify something. So, Elizabeth made

[26:47] » You don't have a microphone. >> I know. I'm loud enough. Mary Katherryn

[26:51] Kimp, I think y'all can all hear me. Um Brown, sorry. Mary Catherine Brown. Um

[26:57] so, Elizabeth wanted to make clarification

[27:02] on we need to let you guys know what dogs we're working on. It's every dog in

[27:06] your shelter. Always. >> I was getting there.

[27:08] » Every dog. That's why there's $3,000 floating out

[27:13] in somebody else's shelter now of ours.

[27:17] » We can't sit a dog without some basic information related to that dog

[27:20] depending basication rings, etc. So, every dog is our policy that was passed

[27:25] in January is the guy who's gay. So, we do that.

[27:28] » So, to to kind of >> clarify,

[27:30] » can I ask this? What what vet bill what vet bills has the city paid in the last

[27:34] like 15 years? Well, I think we paid them, but y'all definitely reimbursed

[27:39] us. So, that's kind of a trick question. >> Okay, good clarity.

[27:43] » May I ask how much the city funds the shelter

[27:47] » and why the repairs take two years? >> No, we're talking So, I don't want to.

[27:54] So, if you we you talking about the shelter, what about the structure that

[27:58] we're in right this moment? We have repairs that need to be done to this

[28:02] building right this moment since the storm for two years. It's not just the

[28:06] shelter. It's buildings. We had an a I forgot her name on Thursday.

[28:12] » But the state won't shut you down if it's not done.

[28:15] » Does anybody live here? >> Does any

[28:20] I I hear what you're saying, but we're talking about repairs. We're talking

[28:23] about funds from the [clears throat] federal government. All of this stuff

[28:27] sometimes. >> So, but do we have those funds to repair

[28:30] the shelter? But we're saying we're going to repair it regardless of if we

[28:34] have the funds or not. >> We're going to begin work on it. Mary

[28:37] Catherine, yes. I mean, she's already out there. I haven't been out there, but

[28:44] I've emailed the necessary persons and they're responding to me. Get the work

[28:50] started. >> And the plan is to reopen the shelter

[28:53] » as soon as possible. And then the the ones that's in Thomasville, the the I'm

[29:00] sorry. >> You said the tentative date is September

[29:02] 30th >> to do what? No, ma'am.

[29:04] » No, we didn't give a tenative date. That's the to have you said.

[29:09] » No, no, that's the reason why this is when they said they were going to settle

[29:13] the insurance. >> That's September 30th.

[29:16] » That's the reason I don't want to I said again, we don't know a date and I don't

[29:22] want to give a date based off of my opinion because my opinion doesn't mean

[29:26] anything. So, I can't give you that. But however, what has been going back and

[29:31] forth with Thomasville, they're just a holding place until the repairs are

[29:37] finished and they're supposed to be moving back to our facility once it

[29:41] passes. >> That's the first time that we've heard

[29:44] that for >> shelter or they are.

[29:50] » So, are they going to be made to sit there? No. Sorry. Are they going to be

[29:54] made to sit there? Because if you're transferring them back here, technically

[29:58] they're still city property hazel.

[30:02] So are they going to have to sit there till you finish repairs?

[30:06] » Um I don't know and I don't want to give you an answer.

[30:09] » Were they agency transfer >> from our agency to theirs?

[30:15] I don't know that question, but I think they may be because license to license.

[30:21] But hey, here we go. Officer Brown, our spokesman. Thank you, Jesus, for being

[30:26] in here. Can you can you come forward, please, if you wouldn't mind? He's our

[30:32] spokesman for the city. >> He's the guy.

[30:37] » Ask my question from over there. >> Caus me trouble.

[30:39] » I'm sorry. >> I didn't I didn't see you when you

[30:42] walked in. >> You're fine. You're fine.

[30:47] » Ask my question. It's fine. I'll get there. So we are

[30:52] shipping from >> Hey,

[30:55] » we're transfer >> transferring. So what does that mean

[30:58] exactly? >> We transfer

[31:02] those elements to time management. >> We're no longer responsible for those

[31:08] elements >> until the repairs are finished and then

[31:10] they come back over. >> That's right now.

[31:13] » That's what the plan >> as right now. Yes.

[31:15] » Okay. >> How is that written in the contract? So,

[31:17] you have an agency transfer that is required by the Department of A that

[31:20] says it's going from my agency license to this agency license. Therefore, all

[31:24] liability is then transferred from this license to that license. How do we write

[31:27] that contract that says it's for a specific amount of time that's

[31:29] unidentified and that we're going to take them back?

[31:34] » Exactly how you just said. >> I love that. Do you have a copy of that?

[31:37] » Not on, >> but it's been done. And so both

[31:39] Thomasville has that copy that states that they are just a temporary holding

[31:43] facility and that they are holding on to care custody and control in the interim,

[31:46] but that return will be done at some point in the future.

[31:53] » I feel like you're not. >> All right. [laughter]

[31:56] » There's no way you wrote that into a contract.

[31:58] » Do we do we have any? >> But we'd love to have a copy of it.

[32:01] » Okay. >> So, I'll tell you this. If you tell them

[32:04] it's a contract, you better produce a contract. I want you to be clear with

[32:08] this room. I drilled you hard today. Don't stand there and tell this audience

[32:13] that there's a contract. There's not one. I'm going to be the first one you

[32:16] going to deal with. >> Is there a contract?

[32:20] » Oh, it's >> we have an agreement with them to

[32:24] transfer them over to

[32:28] » So, statement of understanding then is that what we have

[32:31] » written? >> No, I'm No, no, stay with me for a

[32:34] second. I I hear everybody else, but I'm just asking that question. Is it a

[32:38] statement of understanding in writing >> or is it

[32:41] » is it a verbal contract with verbal agreement with them

[32:46] » to to everyone that is >> No, it can't be Hold on for a second,

[32:50] Mr. It can't be completely written because if the if the animals leave our

[32:54] facility, they must have paperwork transferred to

[32:59] » you asking what happened in the whole process. That's what you're trying to

[33:01] ask me. >> I want to I want to make it as

[33:03] transparent as this. So when they left our facility,

[33:07] » did we we should have did paperwork to show them going to the

[33:10] » outtake form? >> That's what I'm there's an outtake forms

[33:12] to transfer them over to Thomas Humane Society.

[33:16] » This typical thing that we do for any other transfer or movement of the Thank

[33:21] you. >> Yes. And that was their email. That's

[33:24] what it was stated. >> Okay.

[33:26] » Okay. Y'all received the council, received the email

[33:29] coming back >> because that's how we transfer animals

[33:32] out to other rescues. >> And the verbiage actually states on

[33:35] those those transfer forms that care, custody, and control is now in

[33:39] » transferred overact. And so, yes, they could out of the kindness of their heart

[33:43] and I don't know why they wouldn't because nobody's fighting over dogs

[33:46] right now. None of us can easily talk to us because we're not the point of

[33:50] contact. So, >> yes. So the only point of contact that

[33:53] we have that should be making contact is officer Brown and as soon as we have the

[33:59] rest of those details. >> So what happens to those two that have

[34:02] rescued one of our rescues? Like because he just transferred them to Thomas

[34:06] Humane. So what I mean >> when you say those two that's including

[34:11] the eight total that you >> two dogs that were stepped up after the

[34:16] stop order. >> I don't understand.

[34:17] » No, but why why not? Why not? Why am I being told that now I have to go to

[34:22] Chandler through Brown? I have a phone. >> No, because he's he's our

[34:28] » Oh, you guys have a contract with Thomasville. Is that what you're saying?

[34:30] » No. >> So, they're your partner.

[34:33] » Officer Brown. >> I'm asking

[34:36] » and I'm trying to give it. Officer Brown is the person that's assigned to ask

[34:41] questions and do whatever dealing with the department of a Thomasville or

[34:46] anybody dealing with the shelter. But Thomas Gill Humane is a 501c3. I can

[34:51] pick up the phone and call them at my own will in a court. Why are they

[34:54] refusing to work with somebody that's a citizen?

[34:57] » They're not refusing. What they want is our point of contact for the city of

[35:02] Perth, which is officer Brown. >> But I'm not calling on behalf of the

[35:06] city of H. Hold on. Let me let me stop that real quick because I want to make

[35:08] some clarification. Hold on. You're still at that microphone. You got this.

[35:11] So, let me ask Brown. How many animals have you as the spokesperson, as animal

[35:18] control, as the person over the the shelter bequested by our our council

[35:23] and the chief? Um, how many animals have you personallyworked

[35:28] and moved to other rescues? >> As today,

[35:34] » you personally, not through VAS, Brown has moved from this rescue license to

[35:38] this rescue license, not including Thomasville, but any other time. When

[35:42] have you personally moved a dog from point A to point B? Not ever. Okay. So,

[35:47] when have you personally you as a spokesperson

[35:52] with any other organization for the movement of the analyst that maybe just

[35:56] didn't come to fruition? How often does that happen in your as a spokesperson

[36:00] for this organization? How often does that happen

[36:03] » recently? >> Just give me from the entire time you've

[36:06] been animal control as a spokesperson here. And I'm about to defend you here

[36:09] in a second. So, don't be too sad. I promise.

[36:11] » No. You're fine. You're fine. U let me go back.

[36:20] I can't be exactly wrong. I'm not going to lie to you. I can't

[36:24] » But the reason for that is because you're not a live release coordinator,

[36:27] right? You're an animal control officer. That's what you do. So, your job is

[36:31] legal. We're going to protect the people of our city. We're going to go get that

[36:35] dog that is being crazy and biting somebody. We're going to go try to

[36:39] prosecute somebody who is treating a dog poorly. Right? Your job is law

[36:42] enforcement and your job is kind of the overall management of the shelter as it

[36:47] stands right now. Right? But live release coordination in most shelters is

[36:51] its own separate designation. So it is the people who work those networks, know

[36:56] all the other rescues, have been doing this for decades, have decades in their

[37:00] pocket that says, "I know this rescue is really good with three-legged dogs, so

[37:04] I'm going to call up Jenny on her cell phone when she's cooking dinner for her

[37:07] kids and say, "Hey, Jenny, can you take this dog that I got? This is what we

[37:10] have here. You've got a license. Since we've got a license, let's move them.

[37:13] And pay, how many animals in the last 6 months has VHOSWorked

[37:19] as a live release coordinator for our city?

[37:22] » That's our numbers, girl. About 40. >> Okay. So, we went from 40 to none. And

[37:28] the problem is we now have a conduit that is in between this ability for your

[37:33] live release board names. How many over the last decade? [clears throat] Give me

[37:36] a spitball number. I know that's ridiculous, but

[37:38] » we're we're in problem with the five digits. So, if they are the sole people,

[37:44] here's your your sole rescue that is acting as a live release coordinator,

[37:48] which is a designated position, >> which is the designated position in most

[37:54] no kill shelters, which we've been designated, right? We're on their kill

[37:56] shelter now. So in that situation, we've now created a barrier which is causing

[38:02] frustration with the girls who put on put their time, effort, energy, and

[38:07] believe for this city to move these dogs and have worked for these these networks

[38:11] and the opportunity to speak to all these other rescues. It's like you

[38:14] scratch my back, I'll scratch yours, and we're all going to get along. We're

[38:17] going to move dogs because everybody has the same common theme. They're not law

[38:20] enforcement. So their job is not to run and go get the dog that has bit somebody

[38:23] and quarantine them. They're two totally separate entities that are required for

[38:28] a nokill shelter to be successful. What we've done, unfortunately, I think just

[38:32] truly out of ignorance and and a lack of understanding of how these organizations

[38:36] traditionally work. We've kind of put all this on Brown who's like squishing

[38:40] under the pressure because it's not really fair. like we handed we said to

[38:43] him the decades that these girls have worked in order to be able to get these

[38:47] networking and and to know all these other rescues and to put their heart

[38:51] into these dogs. We've now said he's responsible.

[38:55] That's not really what animal control officers do. That's why they have live

[38:59] release coordinator. So, I just wanted to make sure that we were all

[39:01] appreciating there's two separate denotions here. It's not. We can't yell

[39:05] and scream at him and we also can't block them from doing their job because

[39:10] if these girls decide this is too hard and I can't effectively do my job and

[39:14] the actions of this one officer trying to do our job is affecting our ability

[39:18] to keep our promises to these other rescues. They're going to walk and they

[39:23] should walk and then we are all in a world of trouble and it will look bad on

[39:26] him and it will look bad on them and it will look bad on all of you and the

[39:29] taxpayers will be mad because we'll be paying money that these other people

[39:31] would then pay. But that's it. Got it.

[39:37] Thank y'all. >> Oh, [laughter] wait, wait, wait. No, no,

[39:41] no. I was just addressing that. Hold on. I got more I got more questions.

[39:44] » No, [laughter] no, no. Serious.

[39:47] » So, let me ask you. We were asking about the $3,000 because I want everybody to

[39:51] understand, especially anybody who's reporting this or sending it off to

[39:53] somebody else, whatever. $3,000. Your organization, you received the

[39:59] donations. You've got your rescue partners. That money went into these

[40:03] animals that were then just transferred by an animal control officer as a

[40:06] spokesperson to another rescue. So now when you go back as a good steward of

[40:11] the funding that you get to your donors, you're going to say,

[40:16] "Sorry, we used $3,000 of your money um because our our council put somebody

[40:22] else in this position and we're not working well right now and I've lost

[40:28] eight dogs that had this funding in it that we were hoping to get somewhere." I

[40:32] want that to be underscored because donations are hard to come by and those

[40:36] donations mean our taxpayers like myself and the rest of you in here aren't

[40:40] having to fund that. This is free money that they're working for that that one

[40:46] person who doesn't understand because this is not his world. It's just handed

[40:50] to somebody else as a spokesperson for all of you who are supposed to be good

[40:54] stewards of taxpayer money. So there's not just these people who are angry.

[40:59] It's not just the subsidiary rescues that are angry. Your taxpayers, if they

[41:03] understood that their money that goes to you, that they think they have an animal

[41:08] shelter, they think they have somebody who's coming to get some stuff done. And

[41:10] it turns out that it's not. It's the behind the scenes and somebody making

[41:14] decisions from donations that they're receiving. That's not okay. Just on a

[41:19] business level, forget the dogs. Who cares? Nobody cares about animals. Think

[41:21] about the money. That is screwing their ability to get the donations, which by

[41:26] the way keep our city. So, we are not just hitting crazy animal people with

[41:31] all their emotions. We're hitting their ability to keep our city going and keep

[41:36] them safe. My next question for you, we are closed, right? Stop order, nothing

[41:40] can come in. DOA said that we have certain legal requirements over there,

[41:45] chief and soon to be chief chief almost. Um,

[41:50] what happens when we have a bike dog? What's our plan? Good

[41:53] » question. >> What's our plan? I've told this panel

[41:57] from the getgo, I'm law enforcement. I know nothing about animal control. I've

[42:01] been honest with Miss Mary Kay and the rest of them from the very getgo.

[42:05] » We're going to call you. >> So,

[42:07] » listen, I answer. You guys know it. >> That is a very good question. That

[42:09] bothers me. Is it subject to happen? It is. How would I handle it? I'll be done.

[42:16] » So, we have a problem because that legal so both the city and the county which is

[42:20] I know not in your purview and I'll have that fight some other day but in the

[42:24] city and the county we both have a requirement that if a dog bites somebody

[42:28] we have to be able to quarantine them if that dog is vicious and we have to

[42:31] quarantine them long enough that we can make sure that no rabies symptomology

[42:34] shows up and right now I'm sure you guys have seen in the news we've had several

[42:37] rabies cases that have come about. It used to be I would say we've been a

[42:41] rabies pace since 1972 when it was down the border. But now we have them close

[42:45] to home which means that this is an actual health risk that we have to take

[42:49] into consideration. Where are we putting them if we have no containment?

[42:55] And what's our what's our protocols going to be for our officers?

[42:58] » We're going to call you. >> No.

[43:01] » No. >> But so I'm I'm going to take that one.

[43:04] » Seriously. Seriously, y'all. These are important questions and these are things

[43:09] that when you started off the whole thing is communication

[43:15] and you all do a beautiful job, a good job and the city is blessed to have you.

[43:23] I think the word that I got was late Friday. I

[43:28] think it was uh 7 something.

[43:34] Anyway, when the stock order all of a sudden come and said nothing and the

[43:40] city was put in a place that they had to do something right then because they

[43:45] have to go out what the state said. And I think where the problem come in is

[43:51] communication that we really and truly should have talked to the men's and

[43:57] women who talk with the who handle the dogs who who go out there and people

[44:03] sometime make mistakes by working too quick to get things done. So I want to

[44:09] apologize that these things was done. I can assure you that somebody will be

[44:14] getting in touch with Thomasville. make sure that those animals are took care of

[44:19] and come back here. Hopefully that uh the money that was put in them will come

[44:26] back and the work that you all do can continue

[44:31] once this building is to put in place. My question to the mayor was now when is

[44:39] this going to be done? Personally, I thought the building was perfect. I

[44:44] didn't know that the Lord had decided to blow it over.

[44:48] But now that it's being done, there is a process and there's

[44:55] outline saying what they're going to do. If you all would allow us to start

[45:01] getting those things in place, somebody will be talking to you to tell what

[45:05] those steps are and what those thoughts I mean when you can bring them back.

[45:10] Plus, we'll try to get in touch with

[45:13] Thomasville to make sure that you know exactly what's going on with it.

[45:19] » I'm going to visit Thomas. They're open shelter like they're open on Saturday.

[45:24] » Well, let us let us talk with them [clears throat] so we don't have any

[45:28] confusion and somebody has to have a a communication line between each other.

[45:35] That's what's going on. Sometimes when people don't talk, this is where the

[45:40] problems come in. So this was supposed to be a informal

[45:49] uh meeting tonight and mainly to tell you all what [clears throat] was going

[45:54] on or to ask answer question that we could without confusing

[46:01] the pot any more than what it is. >> Mr. Dwayne, can I ask you a question?

[46:06] Yes. >> Before about two or three years ago, how

[46:09] many times had you ever seen me come to a city council meeting?

[46:15] » Never. >> Never.

[46:17] » Never. >> So, and I've been volunteering out there

[46:19] for 14 years now. >> Yeah.

[46:21] » So, there was a good working relationship at some point. There was

[46:25] because I never had to call on any of you guys.

[46:29] » But at some point down the line, I don't know what happened.

[46:31] » When was that? But but three years ago, >> but that

[46:37] » but I I don't know what happened, but what I'm telling you is that there has

[46:41] been a lack of communication and we do feel like we're being shut out,

[46:44] » right? But >> and

[46:46] » but these this type of thing right here, guys, these bumps in the road sometimes

[46:51] can actually help us more than hurt us because talking now

[46:58] and and like she say, I've been given reports and what's going on now. We need

[47:04] to know what's happening. This this can take place. That's what he says starting

[47:10] off. Before these things are done, we have to do it. Yes sir.

[47:14] » I can answer I can answer

[47:20] » when the police department was issued the animal control pound.

[47:26] » Mhm. >> It should have never been placed under

[47:29] the police department. >> That's not when it happened.

[47:32] » What? >> That's not when it happened.

[47:34] » That's exactly when it happened. >> It wasn't. I'll tell you when it

[47:37] happened. >> Our um ordinances are from 2012. That's

[47:41] correct. >> It's been that long. It's been so the

[47:44] old council before I even came to this state, the old council agreed to have

[47:51] the uh the shel animal shelter fall underneath the category for the police

[47:57] department. >> That's what happened.

[48:00] » But it was put on me just last year. >> It was put on not last year, the year

[48:03] before. But it was >> clarification. This problem started

[48:05] before I had correct and cleaned that place up.

[48:09] » That is correct. This problem started in January or February of 2024.

[48:20] That's when this issue happened. January or February of 2024. You didn't get

[48:26] » wasn't under there. >> It was still on the police department

[48:29] » in 2014. >> It's been on the police department since

[48:32] 2012. >> So what was the catalyst? You're going

[48:35] to identify a catalyst. What was that? >> Changing the leadership control.

[48:40] It doesn't matter what the chief. So, so I just I want I want y'all to understand

[48:44] it does not matter if the old chief wasn't signed or not. The old council in

[48:49] 2012 are the ones who assigned it to the

[48:54] police department. >> I agree. They did it on paper. They

[48:57] never took action. >> Then guess what? Then we messed up. We

[49:01] shouldn't do anything on paper that we're not we're not willing to follow

[49:05] through because that's that's focus. >> You are correct. Y'all council did it

[49:08] and they never followed through with anything they said it was going to do.

[49:12] They put stuff on paper and that's the >> No, 2012 was It was on paper in 2012

[49:18] for 8 years and it they never >> That's cuz you never That's cuz you

[49:22] never read the charter. >> Yes, ma'am.

[49:24] » Yes, ma'am. Wait, y'all. Wait, y'all. >> Don't accuse me not reading.

[49:28] » I'm telling you. It's been in the charter since 2012.

[49:32] » Wait a minute. Okay. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. >> Go ahead, ma'am.

[49:35] » Yes, ma'am. Department of Agriculture coming back,

[49:38] pardon me. >> When is the Department of Agriculture

[49:40] coming back to make sure that these >> we don't know yet.

[49:44] » Okay. Um Department of Agriculture assess fines and penalties.

[49:49] » Are y'all fine? I mean, if they found you deficiencies,

[49:53] » no ma'am, we didn't get anything. >> No, ma'am. If you don't address this,

[49:57] you could be. >> Yeah.

[49:59] » That's that's what they that's what was going on here. But listen y'all.

[50:03] » Well, I do I do have one more question leading to what we were just talking

[50:07] about. So, we have had some rocky rocky situations lately.

[50:12] » The other people that are pulling from you guys. Now, we just got hit right in

[50:17] this meeting with a list of demands that you guys want us to do from here on out.

[50:21] That's fine. >> I wouldn't say demands.

[50:23] » That's fine. It were they were demands in in my

[50:26] » required after I've been working with you guys for 14 years. They kind of look

[50:29] like demands. So, did we also require that of Thomasville today?

[50:35] » Or is this just new because we don't want because to your partners right

[50:39] here, it looks like you don't want us involved. That's what it looks like.

[50:43] That's what I'm trying to convey to you guys.

[50:46] » No, you you want the partners involved. I again, I think the whole thing, y'all,

[50:53] is the communication. People not talking to each other, not telling me what's

[50:58] going on. As I constantly tell sometime my working

[51:04] partners, we have too many chiefs and not enough Indian. I agree.

[51:09] » And everybody want to know what's going on. But when we let people know who's

[51:15] actually in the trenches doing the work, what's going on and and let you know

[51:21] what's taking place, you won't have these situations. So I ask you I asked

[51:27] you let's work together and there we we'll we can get to it.

[51:32] » So did you know about the meeting on Friday with department?

[51:36] » I didn't know about no meeting. The only thing I know about was when I was

[51:41] contacted that the animal shelter was closed. I said again is what I said

[51:47] » right >> and I said well now wait what's going on

[51:49] at where the stone got. I said, "Well, whoa, wait a minute now. They just put

[51:54] some air after dishes and all that out there. Then you mean the place is tore

[51:58] up again, right?" >> Yes. And this time they demanded that

[52:02] something be done immediately. This is why you all should have been contacting

[52:08] them. Who should have been the the the gobetween with you? I don't know. That

[52:16] has to be done. And that's why I say these meetings, I'm a firm believer.

[52:21] » Do we know who was in the meeting? >> Can I interject here? My name has been

[52:26] thrown around a few times even though I am there, but I'm not there. You know

[52:29] what I mean? So, I need to clarify first of all that I sent those demands or

[52:33] directions, if you will, in a me in an email to the VHOS email as well as

[52:38] council um before lunchtime today, which gave you over 24 hours because it said

[52:44] Wednesday by 5:00 p.m. First of all, second of all, I would just ask, you

[52:49] know, look around in the room and even on the phone, who's phoning into this

[52:54] meeting, who's at that meeting tonight, and you will see who is trying our best,

[52:59] our absolute best. Because if y'all don't know, just the time and energy and

[53:02] effort that you spend with this shelter, I devote to the city only coming on in

[53:06] January. I will tell you, I lose money weekly with my employed job because I'm

[53:12] self-employed, and time is money when you're self-employed. And this shelter

[53:16] this week has taken up a lot of time, which I'm glad to do. That's the job

[53:19] that I signed up to do. But I would like a little bit of the respect that we're

[53:23] trying to give y'all in return to us. I am currently at home with my kids

[53:27] phoning in and trying my best to listen and hear all of your concerns and answer

[53:32] and give appropriate solutions best that I can. And that is all that I'm asking

[53:37] for y'all to do. Give us the same respect back. a look around in the room

[53:41] and see who is willing to partner with you all and try our best to move forward

[53:47] with this. I gave those directions trying to propose a solution which you

[53:52] can ask any council member and any city employee that I work with. That is my

[53:57] number one goal to give appropriate feasible solutions for everyone involved

[54:01] no matter what department and what issue is at hand. I gather all the information

[54:05] that I can and then try to give solutions. That is all that I tried to

[54:09] do. That is all that I'm asking for moving forward. And to your point

[54:13] earlier about, you know, every dog in there is trying to be rescued. I

[54:17] understand that. I'm sorry if it didn't come across that way. I understand that.

[54:20] What I meant was if they if it is actively in motion, and I think I said

[54:24] those two words, but if it's actively in motion, meaning you have confirmed

[54:28] someone who is very interested in a dog to be rescued, like let us know that.

[54:34] and you and even like an estimated timeline because I understand things can

[54:38] fall through the cracks. You know, they might not fulfill that hole with another

[54:41] dog from another area. I understand those things can happen. But if as long

[54:45] as we're in the know about some sort of communication written and electronic,

[54:50] that's all that I was asking for. And no, I don't want to put more on your

[54:54] plate. And I'm sorry if it feels that way. I'm just trying to protect everyone

[54:58] who is adequately and appropriately trying to partner together moving

[55:01] forward because no, I don't want to see two decades of work and volunteer and

[55:06] service thrown down the drain because I know that the city in our capacity

[55:11] cannot take it on without you guys. I'm fully aware and I appreciate everything

[55:15] that you do. Well, and we appreciate everything that you do and you've been

[55:19] very responsive to me when I reach out to you and I'm that was not uh directed

[55:24] towards you. But I I do want to say that there's some gray area there too,

[55:28] Elizabeth. Sometimes we put money and bedding into dogs based off behavior.

[55:33] You know, you might have a male dog at the shelter that needs to be neutered um

[55:38] just for behavior reasons. So, it might not always be that we put money in this

[55:43] dog because they've got a rescue party that's super interested and ready to

[55:49] take them next week. Sometimes it's because we want your people that are out

[55:52] there working every day to have a decent I don't know interaction with the dogs

[55:58] because sometimes when you got females in heat, you got males out there going

[56:02] crazy, they're getting out, they're tearing up kennels, they're I mean

[56:05] they're acting crazy. So, it's not always just based off rescue interest.

[56:09] whenever we put money into these dogs, but how much money does the city

[56:14] actually put into the medical at all? Just as just in general,

[56:17] » I don't have those figures for you, ma'am.

[56:19] » Is it possibly zero? May I ask? >> Well, I will tell you it's not zero.

[56:23] » Okay. >> It's not zero.

[56:24] » Is it close to zero? >> Um

[56:28] I don't I can't give you those figures. And the reason why cuz a few months ago

[56:32] there was bills that came in and some covered and but that's why I'm saying I

[56:36] don't know the exact figures. the person that knows. I'm not going to say it

[56:41] because she does accounting. She does she does pay accounts payable. That's

[56:45] why I say we need some of the names. >> The $3,000 I've spent.

[56:51] » It can't be. And it was $16,000. >> And I knew I had one more ask of

[56:57] Elizabeth. Elizabeth and I talked. She was not aware of the stock on Thursday

[57:02] and she did not know what was going on Friday morning. So I know she wasn't

[57:05] involved in the meeting. Mr. Jones, were you involved in the meeting?

[57:09] » Let if I know the city clerk. Okay. Okay.

[57:13] » And Miss Bernice, I mean, what about you?

[57:15] » There was no meeting. >> Okay. So, I don't know who put it out

[57:19] there that there was a meeting. >> Okay.

[57:21] » I came in a little after 7 and at 77 on Friday morning, I had an email from

[57:31] Officer Ram with the stop order attached.

[57:34] » Okay. >> So, Why was nothing on Thursday evening

[57:38] at city council? >> I didn't know anything about came in on

[57:42] Thursday. So >> I I don't know. I can't answer that. I

[57:46] truly cannot. >> But the only way I knew about this was

[57:50] an email Friday morning and officer Brown said, "I do not remember the

[57:55] mayor's email. Can you >> meaning?" So So when we say meeting, we

[58:02] need to make sure that this wasn't a qual. You talking about just people

[58:06] sitting down having conversations? >> What was the meeting?

[58:09] » No, that's what that's what I'm saying cuz I wasn't at the meeting. Mr. Johnson

[58:13] wasn't at the meeting. Elizabeth wasn't at the meeting. And that's three people

[58:17] right there to in order to make the point. So just

[58:20] » Elizabeth over the shelter. >> Is that

[58:25] » technically she would be >> That's strange. Okay. But there was well

[58:30] when I when you say a meeting I put the agenda out there and let everybody know

[58:35] but there was not this type of meeting the department of agriculture come

[58:44] » had to come see >> that was the brown though which is which

[58:47] is appropriate because he's the animal control officer but I guess what I

[58:50] really want the council to hear and hopefully stick in your pocket for the

[58:54] next time the only rescue that is working the I've released side of this

[59:00] is veh. If I as guardians wanted to pull a dog, I call Janet or I text M. If they

[59:07] need help with a dog, they're going to text me. All of those things don't go

[59:10] through Brown. So, the fact that we put Brown in this position and said all

[59:16] of this weight goes on you and now you figure it out. That poor man's doing the

[59:19] best that he can, but we sidestep the actual people who do it entirely and

[59:24] none of this would have been an issue. If they ran into a stressful situation

[59:28] and couldn't do it, it doesn't come down to Thomasville. It comes down to hey

[59:31] heart, hey Boore, hey guys, we got to do something. We got to get this taken care

[59:35] of because that is how we have done it for a decade. Well, then longer, but you

[59:38] know, the rest of them come in the day. So, in this situation, I'm hoping that

[59:42] you will take away that this is not what an animal control officer does. And we

[59:46] have put this man in a a position of spokesperson without having any

[59:50] knowledge about what he's supposed to do. The department of a does not care

[59:53] about rep say that because someone quote me. The department of a

[59:58] has a bunch of stuff on their plate. Rescues and the movement of animals and

[1:00:02] whether or not the live release occurs isn't really top of their priority.

[1:00:06] Right? For our citizens it is. For our rescues it is. And their understanding

[1:00:12] of our inner structure is not necessarily what they're going to be

[1:00:15] making their decisions on. So when Brown says, "Hey, I'm going to move those dogs

[1:00:18] to where our our evacuation point is, they're going to say, "Check the box.

[1:00:22] Love it. That works. It's all legal, right?" But then the people who have

[1:00:26] been working under the table without the acknowledgement that they should have

[1:00:29] forward funding all of this, they end up getting stuck holding the back and they

[1:00:33] won't do it again. I have heard these ladies complain about things 10 years

[1:00:38] and what I got was not a complaint. What I got was, I can't do it anymore. We're

[1:00:42] going to lose them because we are not acknowledging them as the most intricral

[1:00:48] part of our successful system. Not Brown, not the council, not the

[1:00:53] taxpayers, the most intricral part of our system. They are why animals

[1:00:58] survive. They are how animals get out. That is how we network. It has nothing

[1:01:02] to do with Brown. It has nothing to do with the partner bag. It has nothing to

[1:01:06] do with council. >> It is them. Okay,

[1:01:08] » but let me go back really quick about what do we do with the doggies? Find

[1:01:12] somebody. >> We'll talk about because we need your

[1:01:14] help. >> Wait now. Uh, we got one more and then

[1:01:18] one more and then we got to go. Y'all listen. Everybody saying the same thing,

[1:01:25] the communication. If it wasn't done right this time by George, we have to

[1:01:30] get it right and we have to talk to you. Only one chance to get it right.

[1:01:38] » No. No. Wait. Wait. >> Are you trying to limit the amount of

[1:01:41] concern in the room? >> No. No. No. No. Home eat dinner because

[1:01:46] » I am ready to go home and eat dinner. But no.

[1:01:51] Wait a minute. Wait. One second. Get a little bit of order.

[1:01:54] » Hold it. Hold it. Listen. >> This is what I've been saying. Hold for

[1:01:59] one second now. Just communication. And I'm not saying

[1:02:04] everybody's been saying the same thing. When this when this stop order came

[1:02:10] down, the city worked on it or whoever worked on it and was passed down to the

[1:02:18] elected people and whoever made it the city and I don't know who, but they did

[1:02:23] it and it should have been communicated with them, the people that's working out

[1:02:29] there. It wasn't done. That's why I say I apologize on behalf of whoever and let

[1:02:35] us make sure it don't happen again. >> But it sounds like it didn't happen.

[1:02:40] Somebody's covering up because there's no communication. There's nobody up here

[1:02:44] that's willing to say they had a meeting and Georgia Department of Agriculture

[1:02:48] even step in. The facility has been in disrepair way longer than before the

[1:02:53] storm. >> They have hosted several outreach days

[1:02:56] where I personally have went out there. I got this. I have went out there

[1:03:01] personally and walked animals with them and I've seen the love they pour into

[1:03:05] that facility and although they didn't have a very nice facility, they have

[1:03:09] made the most of it for several years and I just don't believe it's fair for

[1:03:12] them to have to sit here and fight for the right to do a volunteer job. None of

[1:03:17] these women are getting paid. They're taking money out of their own pockets to

[1:03:21] fund animals

[1:03:25] » and and they're doing a good job. And this is why I'm saying somebody cuz the

[1:03:31] people that has been dealing with it should know a channel

[1:03:35] » take over and deal with it instead of sliding it to somebody else.

[1:03:39] » Absolutely. >> How much does the city fund the shelter?

[1:03:44] Why is it disrepair to begin with? >> We fund the schools. We fund taxpayer

[1:03:49] money. I'm a taxpayer. I back up. I'm a voter and I don't get rid of some of

[1:03:53] these people up here who are not willing to success.

[1:03:57] because y'all are not doing your jobs. >> Well, I wouldn't say that we're not

[1:04:02] doing our jobs. >> Two years to appear. If you have a

[1:04:07] squeaky door at the house, >> but did you know that the repairs needed

[1:04:11] to happen? Did you guys actually know? >> Yes.

[1:04:14] » So, you knew for two years and they that we were stuck in a bad spot.

[1:04:17] » We knew the repairs needed to be done. We kept talking about the repairs. When

[1:04:22] it came down to funding, we could not do the repairs because we did not have the

[1:04:27] funding to do it. >> The budget for the following year.

[1:04:32] » I want to clarify that budget. >> We even offered to donate which I I

[1:04:37] spoke with Miss Bernice about that. Miss Bernice said it's insurance. Don't don't

[1:04:41] touch it. cuz that was that was one of the procedures that we had because we

[1:04:46] could not do any repairs on anything >> that was covered

[1:04:50] » to your limitation on the insurance. >> We were instructed not to fix any

[1:04:57] building that was covered by the insurance factors.

[1:05:03] » How that go? >> Say again. Now that goal today,

[1:05:11] » we're shut down. So now it's a priority because we

[1:05:16] » became a priority because the Georgia Department of Agriculture bringing down

[1:05:19] your neck. >> That's why I have a close working

[1:05:22] relationship with the Georgia Department of Agriculture and they only step in

[1:05:25] when things get in a terrible situation. Clearly they've been warning you and now

[1:05:29] there's an issue at that hand that literally closed for animals to be

[1:05:33] transported elsewhere and there's no documentation. There's definitely

[1:05:36] nobody's answer >> for which what are you asking ma'am?

[1:05:39] » The department they had to have meet with somebody. I mean somebody had to be

[1:05:43] there as a chain of command >> give y'all the information that the

[1:05:48] place was being closed down and why that was Brown though. Correct. Brown was

[1:05:51] there. He's the animal control officer which is reasonable and that makes

[1:05:54] sense. the dissemination of information after that is where we have a problem.

[1:05:57] » And I got it Friday morning. Anybody knows me, I am straight up. I'm black

[1:06:01] and white. And I'm sick of this mess. >> I have met with them. They dumped it on

[1:06:06] me. I told the mayor that I have no knowledge of animal control or

[1:06:10] operations, but he insisted I run it. I use this terminology. He throw me down a

[1:06:16] black hole without a flashlight. Did I not tell y'all that?

[1:06:19] » The problem didn't start with the police department. Let me crank something. It

[1:06:22] was put on there by a previous council. >> That's correct.

[1:06:25] » Nobody proofed anything. I'm always finding stuff that needs to be revised.

[1:06:29] I'm steady bringing attention. Nothing being done. I am a police chief who

[1:06:34] gives a data about everybody. And I will do the same for you I do for everybody

[1:06:39] else. But when you can't get nothing done, I'm leaving here because of this

[1:06:43] because I have fought and thought and false. It didn't start with us. It

[1:06:48] started WITH THE MAYOR. NOBODY WILL SAY IT.

[1:06:52] I will. Y'all can run me off tomorrow, but that's where it started at.

[1:06:57] » I will say previously I met with the mayor that was not this mayor.

[1:07:02] » So, I had never met with the police chief until this administration come

[1:07:06] over. >> Well, I'm saying

[1:07:08] » she is correct. And I'm sorry, y'all. >> You're good.

[1:07:13] » Yes, ma'am. >> I've met with this lady here several

[1:07:16] times, but I think she knows it. I've tried. I've worked with her. I want to

[1:07:20] tell you something. I won't do. I ain't never fact down from nobody about

[1:07:24] nothing. If I tell you I'm going to do it, you call me out on.

[1:07:30] We got a problem here. I didn't know anything about till Friday. As far as a

[1:07:33] meeting, I don't know of a meeting. I was not in a meeting. I don't know of

[1:07:37] anybody here having a meeting. I honestly don't. I'm not offending

[1:07:40] anybody. Okay? I just want some clarification here because we're just

[1:07:43] talking around the room. I don't know of a meeting. As soon as I was aware of it,

[1:07:47] I went straight to Bernice's office. So, a few minutes after 8, she said, "Honey,

[1:07:51] I just got a paper, too. What we gonna do?" And I went back there and told the

[1:07:56] mayor, "I'm in." >> Yes, ma'am.

[1:08:00] » Yes, ma'am. >> There it is. Um, I said I wouldn't say

[1:08:04] anything. Sorry. >> We miss you.

[1:08:06] » We have to. >> We miss you.

[1:08:07] » I walked away. I walked away when Rene last year.

[1:08:12] » Um, I'm a retired educator. I spent 20 Karen Bowen. I am the um CEO of another

[1:08:19] rescue in Hingley County, a part of Adley. We have a shelter license for

[1:08:23] $40. I currently house 37 dogs. I'm 65 years old, retired. Um

[1:08:30] work 8 to 10 hours a day with 37 dogs. Over

[1:08:35] 50% of them are pets and black dogs that nobody wants. Don't ask me why, but that

[1:08:40] came over 50% are from Jeff Davis County and the Z worst that we were called when

[1:08:47] animal control could not or would not step in. I had

[1:08:52] after I retired in 2011 from the school system, I went to the then mayor um and

[1:08:58] said I had I started volunteering, excuse me, 2011, I started volunteering.

[1:09:02] I guess that's where I really I mean I knew Mary could impact in some of these

[1:09:05] but we started working together then as a volunteer I saw some egregious things

[1:09:11] at that shelter awful dogs not being fed I will say it I have said this to the

[1:09:16] mayor >> days on end dogs not being fed um anyway

[1:09:21] so I went to then mayor and I said listen I'm retired hire me I won't cost

[1:09:26] you anything but just $12 an hour when I work and I can keep that shelter clean I

[1:09:31] can keep those dogs exercised and fed and tend to their medical needs. At that

[1:09:35] time, I was not aware of how much um will be us was there, but we were I was

[1:09:41] just getting education about what all they did. But anyway, as an employee um

[1:09:46] we have a very good relationship. The former mayor really not care what

[1:09:49] happened in that shelter as long as things were going smooth. And there and

[1:09:53] guess what y'all? Everybody say that there were no hiccups.

[1:09:57] the problems happened, the issues, the the uh lack of communication has got has

[1:10:05] has occurred in the past two years and everybody's dancing around about it.

[1:10:09] Don't want to blame the council member because I know the conversations I've

[1:10:13] had with some of the individual council council members and I know we have a

[1:10:17] newer now who I've not met, but I know they were more than willing to look into

[1:10:20] things and try to do the right thing. They were the problem is they weren't.

[1:10:26] They didn't know there had been too many things going on by closed doors starting

[1:10:30] at the top decisions made without informing the public without informing

[1:10:35] the even the people that are in that should be in charge that should make

[1:10:39] decision and I said I wouldn't open my mouth but you danced around it and it's

[1:10:43] right there for you. you have broken the trust of the people that have done and

[1:10:48] done and done for the dogs and for the community. And until somebody steps in

[1:10:54] and says this cannot continue to happen, you as an individual do not get to make

[1:10:59] decisions about that shelter. Uh that's where all the problems started and it

[1:11:03] started when the American.

[1:11:07] » Yes, ma'am. >> Yes.

[1:11:10] I'm sorry. That's all I want to say.

[1:11:14] Well, again,

[1:11:19] please don't leave sh. Please work with the city. Help us to

[1:11:26] start communicating like we should and let's get it done. It can be done. um

[1:11:34] the things that it brought to their attention as you said when you come and

[1:11:39] give those reports those reports should mean something and they should uh if

[1:11:43] it's something that you need out there something that's going on it should be

[1:11:47] brought for us or brought to us when we have council meetings so it can be

[1:11:51] addressed again I think these kind of meetings are good I think that when we

[1:11:57] hear each other's side and we able to talk and and and get these things out in

[1:12:04] the open, it works. That's all I can say.

[1:12:08] » I'm sorry. I totally you. Excellent. And and if if we can get some procedures

[1:12:12] into place so that the same thing doesn't keep happening that I struggled

[1:12:15] with for ever since, you know, as I said, uh but the one thing we haven't

[1:12:20] had answered, those eight dogs, is it I still don't hear an answer that we're

[1:12:26] going to be able to get those eight dogs back.

[1:12:28] » Yeah. Reasonably, you know. >> Hey, hey, I have an answer. I have an

[1:12:31] answer. You guys know that at this point it's an agency transfer. The agency

[1:12:34] transfer means we're now at the whim of Thomas.

[1:12:37] » We're going to make contact and um >> I've already talked to Thomas. I called

[1:12:41] him on the other line because I'm calling in. So I called him on another

[1:12:44] line and he is willing to have documentation and do what if like if we

[1:12:49] can he first of all he is willing for it to be a temporary thing and in you know

[1:12:54] two weeks if construction is done and we can house them again they can return.

[1:12:58] Also, if in those two weeks y'all can rescue them out, like he's perfectly

[1:13:02] fine with that. However, if if y'all want to say, "Hey, work with us to get

[1:13:06] these fostered out." Like, if he has connections, he's willing to do that,

[1:13:09] too. He literally said he will work with us in any capacity that we need. He

[1:13:13] literally wants to partner with us and do whatever is best for the dogs and for

[1:13:17] us.

[1:13:20] » Thank you, Elizabeth. You're awesome. >> We're missing the point, though, I

[1:13:24] think. And that the issue is that you already have that support that's here

[1:13:27] that could have dealt with those dogs had they been given the opportunity. I

[1:13:30] know the number around but >> it's important because now their money

[1:13:33] is in it and those dogs are there and Thomasville may be fantastic. By the

[1:13:36] way, they lost their own contract with their county to do municipal sheltering

[1:13:40] because they weren't doing what they should have done. But I digress on that.

[1:13:43] At the other side of it, that's another county. All of us are struggling. Nobody

[1:13:47] has good resources. We're all trying to get dogs.

[1:13:50] to have them have those dogs. It's not even fair to them in their defense to

[1:13:54] feed, farmer, manage, deal with those dogs. And to the dogs, it's not fair to

[1:13:59] sit over there for two weeks not beingworked either. So, if that's truly

[1:14:03] the case, you need your live release coordinators who know the dogs, who

[1:14:07] understand what their needs are, who are our network connections to everybody

[1:14:10] else to talk to Thomasville. That line of communication is what needs to open

[1:14:15] up. Not Brown who does not know what he's doing in that aspect, who doesn't

[1:14:18] have any business being in the light release side of rescue. Let them who've

[1:14:23] done it this entire time, open up that communication with Thomasville because

[1:14:26] right now what it looks like is it's Thomasville versus Beos with Brown in

[1:14:30] the middle. And that's not going to be good for anybody including the dogs or

[1:14:33] either rescue or the other rescues on the outside. So figure out how to open

[1:14:37] up that communication. Let the girls who know what they're doing work with the

[1:14:41] other gentlemen figure out what they want to do with the dogs that they have

[1:14:44] money in if we're opening communication.

[1:14:50] » That would be my thing. My question is those eight dogs right now, how do we

[1:14:55] communicate to pull those dogs if we have a rescue within the two weeks?

[1:14:59] » So those are some details that we're going to work. Basically, this meeting

[1:15:03] here, this meeting here was just to inform everyone that there was a mistake

[1:15:09] made. We're going to own it. I will take it

[1:15:13] all myself. In the future, if this happens, similar to we have to evacuate

[1:15:19] or do whatever we have to do at the shelter for whatever reason, the very

[1:15:23] first persons that we're going to be calling is our partners.

[1:15:26] » Are you changing the evacuation plan then? Stop. I don't think

[1:15:30] » No, no, that's not No. The evacuation plan specifically says what I'm saying.

[1:15:37] » Now, we're going to have priority. >> Well, the reason I'm asking is because

[1:15:41] we never saw what the evacuation plan is made.

[1:15:45] » Um, but I know that I know what we did for evacuation prior to that. I mean, I

[1:15:50] know we were out there literally the day of Colleen because

[1:15:54] » No, and I'm not taking out. I'm not taking anything from

[1:15:57] » I'm just saying we were never made that was never made transparent and that's

[1:16:00] been recent. VHOS is priority on moving any dogs that we

[1:16:09] have in the city of Hazer shelter and if they cannot handle for whatever reason

[1:16:14] meaning you're going to work your networks and whatever else the

[1:16:16] surrounding area and let's just say they can't do anything with your connections

[1:16:21] then you get back with the city and say hey we can't do it we have a partner in

[1:16:26] Thomasville we're going to see what they can take and that's what's going to

[1:16:29] happen from now on That is the procedure.

[1:16:34] » We're going to have that in writing somewhere.

[1:16:35] » Oh, yeah. It's going to Oh, yeah. It's going to be in writing and it will be a

[1:16:38] policy. >> When will it be voted on?

[1:16:43] » When will it be voted on? >> The evacuation plan has already been put

[1:16:47] together. It's just the verbs needs to be cleaned up.

[1:16:50] » So, when will it be voted? >> If

[1:16:54] we can, >> we have we have one in place. It's just

[1:16:58] which is a plan of action that we have. It just the verbage needs to be cleaned

[1:17:02] up and vetted by our attorneys and then it will be published.

[1:17:06] » Will this be excuse me for interrupting because I have to remind you all of

[1:17:10] certain things. >> Will [clears throat] it be an ordinance?

[1:17:14] » Mhm. >> Because if it's an ordinance,

[1:17:18] » we have to have two readings and >> um a referendum. That's what we're going

[1:17:23] to do. >> Refer referendum goes for a vote.

[1:17:28] Resolution can be voted on in a regular council

[1:17:32] meeting. If it's an ordinance, you have to have two readings. One one month, one

[1:17:38] the next month. In a regular council meeting, not in a special call meeting,

[1:17:42] not in a work session. side. >> But you're doing this for the

[1:17:47] requirement of the department of a correct because the department of bag

[1:17:52] what we're talking about now >> the evacuation plan it has to be noted

[1:17:55] for the department of bag. >> That is correct. However, we're adding

[1:17:58] in specific verbiage so this doesn't happen again.

[1:18:05] » And you think that requires both? >> We're going to talk to our we going to

[1:18:10] talk to our attorneys to make sure that we do what we're supposed to do.

[1:18:13] » Yeah. We should have that to begin with. It would have not been under what we're

[1:18:19] supposed to. >> Miss May, if I may say, I and I had this

[1:18:22] to happen today. I've only been the city clerk 10 years.

[1:18:27] So, someone was here in my spot for 50 years.

[1:18:31] I literally had to go back to 97 to look for procedures

[1:18:38] that were voted on and approved in n actually it was the gentleman was hired

[1:18:44] in 97 that were voted on in 2000 that I had to send for an open records request

[1:18:52] and it was only in the minutes of the city of Hurst.

[1:18:58] So, those are the struggles that I as city clerk have to deal with in looking

[1:19:05] for things. And I don't know, and Mary Katherine may be able to help with this

[1:19:12] since she's been there 14 years. I don't even know that there was any written

[1:19:18] things in the minutes when soaps came in. So,

[1:19:23] that's the way it worked before. And we're Before I leave, I'm going on 70

[1:19:30] years old. I'm going on 70 years old. Before I leave, I hope a few things are

[1:19:34] in place that never have been in place.

[1:19:40] » I try. That's all I can do. >> What about the dogs that are left?

[1:19:47] » Well, if we let Dwayne in the meeting, I will be taking the six dogs to the

[1:19:51] rescue pulling. There are six dogs in the shelter that

[1:19:56] were allowed to be released to be house rescue partners.

[1:20:01] We end this meeting and I can go get them and take them where they need to be

[1:20:05] tonight. Um so um we will continue to hopefully have good discussions. You all

[1:20:11] have my phone number because give it out to the public so you have it. Um so

[1:20:15] let's have some conversations. Let's be transparent to not only the behior

[1:20:19] citizens in this community. Um, and let's make better choices and changes

[1:20:23] moving forward. >> Wait, wait a minute. Now, you say you

[1:20:28] going to take them yourself? >> I transport 99.9% of the dogs at least.

[1:20:33] » She works right there. She likes road trips.

[1:20:36] » I have 95,000 miles on that. >> She personally transport them to where

[1:20:41] they need to go >> just for breakfast.

[1:20:43] » All over the place. I mean, but thank you. That's okay. Okay. I'm

[1:20:52] » That's [snorts] fine. That's fine. And did I understand that the other

[1:20:56] eight that are in Thomasville now you or what someone from this council is

[1:21:03] going to ensure work to ensure that they will be

[1:21:08] transferred back here or that they can be pulled over there during the two week

[1:21:13] or four-week interim by a licensed rescue.

[1:21:16] » Yes, ma'am. Yeah. >> No, we're gonna I'm gonna

[1:21:20] » I'm gonna work on this as soon as this is over with.

[1:21:23] » We're going to get with one of our partners and ensure that this moves

[1:21:27] smoothly. >> Are we good?

[1:21:31] » We're going to relay this to everybody that sits at the table up there. Yes.

[1:21:36] » Yes. >> But remember, before you get crucified

[1:21:38] though, he really doesn't have the ability to do that. You guys know that

[1:21:40] the ownership belongs to Thomasville. Now, I hope that it works, but I'm just

[1:21:44] saying don't crucify him if he's trying. And I just

[1:21:47] » they don't give up on >> I just meant the transparency of

[1:21:50] speaking with you know your volunteers. >> Yes.

[1:21:53] » To try to help you guys. >> Yes.

[1:21:55] » That's what we're going to do. >> Okay.

[1:21:56] » We're going to get better at it. >> Another thing like in the future.

[1:22:00] » But can you stop? We encourage you and who's

[1:22:04] just

[1:22:08] I have a rescue rescue also frost rescue and um I volunteer

[1:22:16] How many years? >> More than me.

[1:22:19] Yes, she husb.

[1:22:36] But anyways, in case something happens in the future, again like this,

[1:22:41] » um I know officer Brown say, but you know, he he was sitting there saying,

[1:22:46] "Yes, we have a contract with him." Well, in reality, no, he didn't have a

[1:22:51] contract. >> What you're talking about in the future?

[1:22:53] » In the future, have a contract so that whenever they leave

[1:23:00] » or statement of understanding or something of that nature,

[1:23:03] » they're going to be coming back. >> Yes, ma'am. And I do want to say because

[1:23:07] I did volunteer for years. There have been things through the year.

[1:23:12] This is before y'all. There have been things through the years. Always break

[1:23:17] up the shelter. It's always put on the back burner. I I don't know if any of

[1:23:22] y'all have ever went out there and tried to clean out a drain

[1:23:27] with you know what all in it. But I've been there, done that. No pay, no

[1:23:32] nothing. walked them, stayed out there with them for hours

[1:23:37] cleaning. But it

[1:23:43] you put your heart and soul in to do with this.

[1:23:48] And these animals deserve better than the

[1:23:52] chance they got. And that's what we're trying to give them is a better second

[1:23:56] chance. And we put our heart and soul into them. and we just we want them

[1:24:02] taken care of and we will, you know, we will still sit there and fix where

[1:24:07] they've tried to bust out so that y'all don't have to. We piece things back

[1:24:11] together, you know, but we just definitely want transparency from the

[1:24:15] future in how things are going because we we put our heart and soul into this.

[1:24:22] » Yes, ma'am. >> We definitely appreciate it.

[1:24:27] » All right. Without further ado,

[1:24:33] Mr. Johnson, do you have a motion?

[1:24:36] » Oh, that's right. I'm glad glad y'all came

[1:24:40] y'all. We have to have a open line and um communication is the key.

[1:24:48] » Amen. >> Hey, y'all know today's Mr. Johnson's

[1:24:51] birthday, too. >> He's 76. [applause]

City Council Meeting 8/25/2026

Transcript