Sevier News Messenger Sevier County News and Opinion
At a meeting Thursday, the Sevier County Budget Committee considered three options to solve the current animal shelter crisis and recommended taking the property of Sevier County Humane Society through condemnation via eminent domain.
Pets Without Parents, who is contracted to provide animal sheltering services to Sevier County and the cities of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg for the period July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018, will be closing as of July 1 after recent controversy over reports of overcrowding, deplorable conditions and mismanagement. Sevier County budgeted $220,000, Gatlinburg $34,000, Sevierville $33,000 and Pigeon Forge $40,000 to Pets Without Parents for those services.
According to Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters, the budget committee weighed three options.
“It is my understanding that Pets Without Parents will cease operations on July 1,” Waters said in a statement. “Therefore, three options were presented to the Budget Committee yesterday regarding moving forward with county animal services. One was a proposal presented by the Sevier County Humane Society to work with the county and cities for the next 18 months. The Budget Committee chose to reject the proposal from the Sevier County Humane Society due to the past poor working relationship.”
On April 30, 2018 the Sevier County Humane Society submitted a proposal to each of the local governments to immediately begin providing animal sheltering services for a period of up to 18 months while Pets Without Parents is sanitized and reconfigured to handle the demands of being the county intake shelter, or while the county and municipalities build a new animal control facility. The proposal requested funding equal to the annual budgeted amount for Pets Without Parents, a total of $327,000, for the total 18-month period.
“Despite the Sevier County Humane Society’s success in finding second chance homes for over 100 pets each month, our low cost spay/neuter program for the public, and our foster and volunteer programs that save lives, our offer has been rejected,” the organization said in a statement. “We are supportive of the municipalities creating their own facility.”
“The second option was for the cities and county to operate a shelter on a short-term basis (12-24 months) with people previously affiliated with the Sevier County Humane Society, led by Sally Worden,” said Waters. “That proposal would utilize the current amount of money being allocated for animal services. ”
“The third option was recommended by the committee, to research the possibility of condemnation via eminent domain to acquire the present Sevier County Humane Society facility on Gnatty Branch Road. While I understand the committee’s frustration, I am always very reluctant to use the power of condemnation unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, I continue to believe the best solution for our citizens and the animal welfare is for the cities and the county to agree on the second proposal, working with experienced people on a short-term shelter, while continuing the process of building a county and cities operated facility. The county is researching condemnation via eminent domain, as requested by the Budget Committee,” Waters confirmed.
Sevier County Humane Society is a private 501C non-profit organization located at 959 Gnatty Branch Rd in Sevierville. The organization previously provided animal sheltering services to Sevier County and the cities of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, but declined to renew the contracts last year when a funding agreement could not be reached.
Condemnation via eminent domain is a process in which the government takes possession and legal title to private property for public use, paying the owner what a court determines is fair compensation.
I am ashamed of all the government officials and how they are acting. My tax dollars are not being used appropriately when it comes to running s shelter. I also don’t understand why the government can’t put their differences aside with SCHS to get through 18 months and get their own shelter if they think that will solve issues. If the governments would have offered SCHS the same funding they gave to PWP none of this would have happened. The government is out of control on this issue. Under no circumstances should imminent domain be used.
We vacation in the smokies 3 times a year. This time we went with broken hearts because we had just lost our 16 y.o. furbaby? We visited the SCHS while on a 2-week vacation in April, in the hopes that we might find a needy shelter dog. The markings on the “road” to get there (more like a trail!) were non-existent. Upon arriving at the building we were certain it was abandoned. We entered the front door and were immediately overcome by the STRONG smell of urine and the high humidity level. We left after they explained they were closed on Mondays, never to return! It’s very obvious that Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville spend a tremendous amount of money on tourism. It made me wonder why you have a humane society shelter in that condition. For the animals’ welfare? They deserve better!
I grew up in campaign headquarters and spent nights during elections there before I could even walk. The county Mayor received the suggestions of the budget committee prior to the meeting. This “third options” is a poorly veiled shot over the bow at their misdirected belief SCHS is orchestrating citizens to demand action, accountability and change. It isn’t, it is their own voters, savvy in rescue and knowing how a shelter should run that have seen this over and over again but barely with such thinly disguised denial, stay the course, assurance it will all go away if “we” just stay quiet contempt of their citizenry. 3 weeks and PWP still has the same board, still not responding to even their employees requests for help and still looking at a way to make this all go away and save face. Animals died and are still dying, still being exposed to illness, with NO CHANGE and only half truths or no info at all. This budget committee and these politicians have failed big, are folks going to let them do it again?
PWP did not have room to begin with. Things were thrown on them and the animals suffered.
Rescues came in and helped .
The solution to this problem is to take the second proposal.
There needs to be a complete new building built for the animals.
This is what Blount County did on Currie Rd and it is beautiful. Has room for adoptions, medical ,holding, etc. Money was raised for it. It did not take that long to build. .
There is property in your area that would work great. Stop fighting and get a group of rescuer, area shelter mgrs and trainers to help develope the best shelter in tge area. Even contact Young Williams. There Divison St building I am amazed.
It can be done , there are animal people in the area that would be willing to give money to build a state of the art 3 city shelter. Then get the right MGR. to run it. Give them the power to hirer the right people. Have the right back office people that have experience of running a shelter.
Not elected officials that do not know a thing on shelters. No greedy people
Read this very seriously. These animals are in trouble.
Plus there are out of state rescues that can help take animal that they have adoptions waiting.
I can not stand them being in trouble.
What B.S. County officials got caught doing nothing for the animals. PWP took in money and di not provide a service that they promised to do. Sally Ward is the board President, why did she allow this inhumane situation to happen. The County is being vindictive towards SCHS. If PWP can not run the shelter they have now they are not going to be able to run stolen SCHS property.
The idea of eminent domain is simply ludicrous. This extreme remedy is and should be available only when there are no alternatives. As so amply demonstrated during the fires, there are options. There is open commercial space that could be reconfigured. Or the politicians could act like adults and put their petty bickering aside and contract with SCHS to fulfill those functions they’ve done capably in the past. The fact that PWP operated under conditions that were clearly criminal neglect is evidence of how serious Sevier County takes animal welfare. Calls from HSUS and other national entities go unanswered. Board members refuse to show up or take calls from staff. Rescues and shelters from neighboring counties came in to take animals and help train and fundraise — but without action by the County other than this nonsensical eminent domain idea, they will be back to being a hellhole within a month.