Even as they compulsively speak of “DOGE”-dictated government efficiency and stress over limited budgets, Flagler County and Palm Coast’s governments are setting up a joint task force to study the possibility of building or operating a multi-million animal shelter separate from the non-profit Flagler Humane Society, which since 1982 been the only full-service animal shelter in the county.
The two governments’ elected officials agreed to a task force at a joint meeting on Wednesday. If there is agreement to explore the matter, there’s little agreement on how to get there–or even whether it is necessary to get there. City officials more than county officials favor breaking away from the Humane Society. Its shelter off U.S. 1 is overcrowded.
The society wants to expand. It has no concrete plans or capital campaign to do so. County and city officials, in part pressured by the public and former volunteers at the society, have been critical of the shelter’s operations, accusing it of lacking transparency, accountability and the physical wherewithal to meet its responsibilities. The alleged mishandling or euthanizing of some animals has also drawn criticism.
The society doesn’t dispute that its facility is overcrowded but it disputes the other claims, including accusations that it has improperly or unnecessarily euthanized animals. Non-profit shelters like the society typically have lower euthanizing rates than do government shelters.
“FHS has been providing animal control services and animal sheltering to the county with great efficiency and compassion since 1982,” the society’s executive director, Amy Carotenuto, said today. “We also provided animal control services for the city of Palm Coast until their code enforcement department took it on roughly 15 years ago. FHS provides municipalities with much more bang for their buck because we are able to supplement with fundraisers, our low-cost veterinary services, Thrift store, donations etc.”
Both governments, as do Flagler Beach and Bunnell, contract with the society for sheltering services. All governments except for Palm Coast also contract for animal control services. Flagler County is considering ending that relationship and contracting with Palm Coast for animal control services.
“It’s important that we come up with some plan moving forward,” Palm Coast City Council member Ty Miller said of a separate shelter, “because as of right now, I don’t think we have the facilities to support what we need.”
Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris considers it “pretty simple” to coordinate a new animal control system. “That’s an easy one,” he said. “The main problem we have is the facility and having the capacity to deal with the stray animals, or the animals at large. So that’s where the real meat of this matter that’s been going on for a while now.”
Unlike the cost of animal control services, which can–and have been–itemized down to the cost of vehicles and uniforms, the local governments have no analyses either about the cost of building a shelter or running one. Typically, animal shelters are expensive to build. Orange County’s ongoing experience is sobering, with costs running in the tens of millions of dollars, though Miller cites data from Putnam County that suggests the costs can be much more reasonable. The Putnam data is incomplete for now, however.
Shelters are also expensive to run: the society runs on a $3 million annual budget. A separate operation would inevitably duplicate or add to the costs, shifting theme entirely to taxpayers, without necessarily ending the society’s operations.
Miller said the capital costs will be the largest upfront burden, with recurring costs to follow. “But at some point we have to stop talking about it and do something,” he said. “Because we’ve been talking about it for a while. We’ve been talking about it for as long as I’ve been on our board. And I’m sure this conversation has been going on before that. So at some point, we need to get serious about creating a plan and then going down that road in order to get this done, because it will take some time to get that money set aside. This is going to be a couple million dollars at least, plus land. So as soon as we create the plan, that’s when we got to start saving for it.”
Palm Coast City Council member Theresa Pontieri has been uneasy with the society’s sheltering services but before talking about a separate shelter, the council should discuss adding the initiative to its Strategic Action Plan, or list of long-term goals. “That’s how we get funding for things,” Pontieri said.
County Commission Chair Andy Dance considers discussions of a separate shelter premature. “Let me be the counter to what is being said here,” he said. The most efficient way to provide sheltering services would be with a “sole-source provider,” meaning the society. “There’s room at the Humane Society for additional facilities,” he said. The local governments are strapped for money–officials at the same meeting complained about library funding–“so we have to be really careful,” he said, and not throw out options.
Commissioner Kim Carney said the original goal was to settle the question of animal control services. “But we also understand the need for the expanded facility or new facility,” she said, without necessarily seeing an expanded facility as separate from the Flagler Humane Society–which has land on which to expand, and a central location.
The county and the city are considering including capital dollars for animal sheltering in their annual legislative requests. The council will be discussing that proposal at its Aug. 19 meeting.
Interim City Manager Lauren Johnston and County Administrator Heidi Petito said a task force that would include representatives from both governments and some volunteers–the society was not mentioned–would produce data, including projected costs of land and construction, and present “action items,” in Johnston’s words, to the two governments at a subsequent joint meeting. That’s where the officials left the discussion.
