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I urge each and every county citizen to pay attention to the new animal shelter and how it is handled. Even if you have no particular interest in animal welfare, you should care about the $3.2 million (+) and how it was spent.
The following were comments I made during public comment addressing the Fayette County Board of Commissioners on 9 May 2024. (The meetings are recorded and available on the BoC page link.)
Great leaders shine the light on others when things go right.
Great leaders accept blame when things go wrong.
What we witnessed at the previous BoC meeting (23 April) was a staff member throwing volunteers, advocates, and community members under the blame bus. Commissioners then endorsed this shared blame by praising the staff member.
Volunteers and advocates were blamed for not showing up at hearings. Did any commissioner or staff reach out to any of the shelter volunteers, leaders of rescues, or advocates to make them aware? Volunteers and advocates were blamed for not finding flaws in the blueprints for the new shelter. Did anyone bother to share them and ask for input?
You referenced pre-Covid weekly meetings at the shelter with Jerry. It was not considered a forum for animal advocacy. It was made abundantly clear that an animal welfare committee was not wanted and now you try to lay partial blame at the feet of volunteers and advocates?!
The community never asked for a new shelter; they asked for improvements at the old shelter. Given the undesirable location of the new shelter, PTC came out well ahead on the land swap. However, the community was hopeful when the announcement was made to build a new shelter, not realizing the emphasis would be on appearance and not functionality.
You were elected and salaried to represent your constituents. You have paid staff who should be responsible for doing the due diligence, making sure project details meet current standards. It is not the voters’ job to evaluate and oversee projects from concept to completion, especially given the commissioners’ and staff’s lack of desire to collaborate with an animal advocacy committee.
After they saw the new shelter with its obvious inadequacies, those interested in animal welfare easily located published kennel size standards and searched publications on the kennels installed, finding that they were recommended for smaller dogs in temporary situations like grooming salons and vet clinics.
They also located subject matter experts on shelter design willing to provide advice. Why didn’t the commissioners and/or staff search for these resources when the project began? Could it be that, like the food for shelter animals that is not funded in the shelter’s budget, the county expectation has become that the volunteers and community will pull together to provide what is needed?
Leaders who deliver look for the best solutions.
Leaders who divide look for someone to blame.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Lynne Lasher
Peachtree City, Ga.
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