Days after the Jeffersonville Animal Shelter announced it was cutting Clarksville off from services, it posted on social media Wednesday that those services would resume immediately.
The organization, operated by the neighboring city of Jeffersonville, said last week it would no longer take owner-surrenders and trap-neuter-release cats because Clarksville had not yet signed a new interlocal agreement.
The Clarksville Town Council voted 6-1 to enter that agreement at a special meeting Tuesday, following discussions with Jeffersonville representatives and after exploring other options.
Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore told LPM News on Monday, a day before the vote, that he was not enforcing the block for services. He also later said he had expected the council to approve the agreement this week, which they did. He and Clarksville officials say the service was never interrupted, countering community concerns that it was.
Subhed: Continued questions
Some municipalities that use the shelter raised concerns last year when they received the proposed agreement. They said Jeffersonville’s animal control costs were included to be split among everyone, which they disagreed with. The municipalities pay their own animal control officers.
The agreement has since been modified to take that out and to phase in the increases over three years.
Clarksville Town Council President Ryan Ramsey said at the special council meeting this week the town still has some questions about the agreement, including the numbers.
“But at the end of the day, we're here to do…what's right, not only for the animals, but also for the residents of Clarksville,” Ramsey said.
Last week’s notice of cutting services left some residents in the community worried about what to do or where to take animals. Dozens of people — many of them shelter volunteers — attended Clarksville’s special meeting Tuesday.
Some also rallied outside before the meeting.
Trish Aldred Roehm, who runs Southern Indiana Animal Rescue, carried a sign that read, “Strays can’t wait.” Roehm’s organization works with local shelters including the one in Jeffersonville. She said she got questions over the weekend from concerned people.
“I don't care about the politics and who did what to who,” she said. “I just want to make sure the animals are taken care of.”
Dave and Andrea Braden were also outside the town hall with signs, one referencing the shelter’s high adoption rate. Dave, who’s also known as “Dave the dog walker,” volunteers five days a week at the shelter and works with dogs.
“I'll try to find the ones that are scared, or…maybe had a bad experience, and try to get to know and walk them and get them out of their shyness, to make them more adoptable,” he said. “It's extremely rewarding.”
Clarksville resident Jinn Fuller Renfro was also at the meeting. She said she’s always loved animals but really got involved in helping them after she caught 19 dogs in one month on her block last year.
She now raises money to help keep animals at home and out of the shelter, which she also volunteers at. She said she found a small dog over the weekend and with help from others was able to find their owners.
In public comment after the council vote, Renfro gestured to the rows of people in the seats behind her.
“I'm surrounded tonight by citizens that care passionately about our community and about our animals,” she said. “We're all here because we care, and we don't expect the government to solve all of our problems, but we also hope our government will not contribute to the problem, right?”
She also agreed with some officials who have said there should be a board of directors for the agreement, though that’s not part of any formal discussions with Jeffersonville. She also suggested a community advisory board “because we need to tackle the root causes of the animal welfare crisis in our community.”
The interlocal agreement includes Borden, Charlestown, Clarksville, Sellersburg, Utica and Clark County. Borden signed the initial agreement but Moore said they will need to sign the updated one, which lists lower costs for the first two years. Charlestown is also expected to take up the agreement at a meeting in early February.
The Jeffersonville City Council could ratify the agreement at its Feb. 3 meeting.
“I’m glad it's over,” Moore said, after Clarksville's vote. “Our primary concern is caring for the animals of Clark County and now that the politics has been put aside we can move forward and take care of the animals.”
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