City Commission Assists Humane Shelter with New Vehicle

The Toccoa-Stephens County Humane Shelter recently purchased a basic transport vehicle with the help of the Toccoa City Commission and a $36,000 PetSmart charity grant.

According to Toccoa Mayor Jeannette Jameison, the board approved a purchase order earlier this month due to a grant deadline and the commission approved the memorandum of understanding at their meeting last night that states the city will contribute $20,000 to this purchase.

Humane Shelter Director Jeff Roberts went before the county commission last week to request $20,000 in support from them in addition to the city’s support, however, in a 3-2 decision, the request was denied.

Jameison says because of the county’s denial of funds for the vehicle, the shelter will now have to find other ways to fund renovations of the inside of the vehicle to accommodate the animals.

“We had to go ahead and purchase the van or at least enter into a purchase order for it, otherwise we would have lost our grant money at the end of July, so the board voted to go ahead with that,” said Jameison. “What’s lacking is once these vans are purchased you have then improvements on the inside, such as places to put the cages and things of that nature. That is something that we’re going to have to do now with we’re already planning a fundraiser, maybe two and any contributions we get. We may have to use a little bit of our operating money, the board has approved some use of operating funds but obviously those are limited.”

However, the vehicle they purchased will be capable of taking animals to local places such as the vet but it limits them, not allowing major transports.

Roberts said if the county had approved his request, they would have been able to buy a vehicle with the ability to transport more animals and travel further.

“Getting the vehicle and being able to fully outfit it would mean we would be able to stack carriers in the back of the vehicle and have them securely mounted in there so that we can transport a lot more animals,” said Roberts.

But Roberts adds that their new vehicle will benefit the animals at the shelter since it’s more reliable than the one they’ve had in the past.

“First of all, it’s a reliable transportation since our other vehicle hasn’t been reliable recently,” said Roberts. “Plus we have heat and air conditioning in the rear of the compartment so we can more safely transport the animals in a controlled environment.”

According to City Manager Billy Morse, the shelter will take full ownership of the van once the purchase price is paid and insurance is in place.