Kalamazoo County says it’s time to revisit a soon-to-expire agreement it made with the Kalamazoo Humane Society two years ago. The arrangement provides for County Animal Services and Enforcement to rent shelter space from the Humane Society, when the nonprofit finds a new location.
But County Corporation Counsel Thom Canny says the Humane Society’s current plan – to buy land in Comstock Township and develop it – doesn’t fit with the original agreement.
“I think the 2013 memorandum is intended for renovating an existing building and developing a facility, and delivering a facility in 2015. And that’s not the plan now. So we need a new plan of action,” he says.
Among other options, Canny says the county and the Humane Society should consider building separate buildings on the same parcel.
“In 2013 we were looking at one building. So if you’re looking at one building and two entities they have to be in the same building. If you have an undeveloped piece of land, you don’t necessarily have to be in one single building. There may be advantages to being in two buildings and that’s what – would be worth exploring,” he says.
But Humane Society director Aaron Winters says a shared facility would better meet everyone’s needs. He says that’s what he’ll advocate in talks with the county.
"The Kalamazoo Humane Society maintains its commitment and focus on the original goal of having a modern animal care & resource center which is home to the KHS and Kalamazoo County Animal Services & Enforcement. This will be a facility that meets the current and future needs of the people and animals in our community, " Winters wrote in an email.
The 2013 agreement expires in September. Canny announced the county’s intent to talk with the Humane Society about the future of the agreement at the County Commission’s Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday.
