Recent changes in animal control staff made by the county board may push Mackinac Animal Aid Association out of operating the shelter, Jo Ford of the association told county commissioners Thursday, January 28. Board actions, the new hours at the animal shelter, and the hiring of Lorie Thompson as the animal control officer were a few of the concerns addressed by Mrs. Ford. Commissioners listened before calling a halt to her remarks with the promise they would set a special meeting to resolve lingering concerns.

In December, commissioners hired Mrs. Thompson to fill the position of animal control officer. Mrs. Thompson is a member of Friends of the Animals, another animal care group.

At Thursday's meeting, Commissioner Larry Leveille asked Mrs. Ford to give the board a summary of her concerns and said the commission would set up a meeting to work through the issues.

"I want to resolve it, but let's get to the point," he said. "We can go around and around and around on these issues....

"In 2009, we spun and we spun and we spun on this. Now it's just into January and we're going right back into another spin. I'm not going to spend the whole year going through this again. I want to get it resolved and get on with something else."

In October 2009, Mackinac Animal Aid Association objected to the county's release of animal adoption records to a woman who did not adopt a cat from the shelter and as a result, asked the shelter for the records. The request was granted by the county commission.

Thursday, Mrs. Ford said she had hoped Commission Chair Dawn Nelson would be at the meeting. In Mrs. Nelson's absence, the meeting was run by Mr. Leveille, commission vice chair. Also attending the meeting were commissioners Calvin "Bucky" McPhee, Carl Frazier, and Mike Patrick.

Mrs. Thompson did not attend the meeting, nor did shelter manager Ginger Valentine.

Mrs. Ford questioned whether in Mrs. Nelson's absence, the board would make any decisions.

"I do need to know before I get started because it is said so often in this community, this board will not make a decision without her," said Mrs. Ford. Commissioners did not directly respond to the question.

In December, Mrs. Ford told commissioners the contentious relationship between the two animal care groups may cause problems at the shelter.

"Things are not working down there anymore," Mrs. Ford said Thursday.

The new schedule calls for the shelter to be closed Sunday and Monday . The work schedule of shelter employees does not allow the animals to play in the yard, Mrs. Ford said, and it is not fair to the public. Sunday, she noted, is a popular day for people to visit.

The new schedule was originally proposed by Mrs. Valentine under the assumption that she and former animal control officer Wendy Frosland would share work at the shelter. When Mrs. Thompson was hired to replace Mrs. Frosland, George Ford of MAAA asked the county to continue the previous operating schedule for 30 days, a move commissioners verbally approved, although the shelter has since been operating on the new timetable, with Sundays and Mondays closed.

Previously, the shelter had been open seven days a week for limited hours.

"Would you give us a summary of what was working and how you would like to see it work?" asked Mr. Leveille.

Mrs. Ford questioned why two part-time shelter helpers have not been hired as county employees yet and why all commissioners have to be involved in the hiring process. Commissioners said the application deadline was January 13, they have received four applications, and will begin reviewing them at a future meeting.

Mrs. Thompson, who was hired by the county board to replace Wendy Frosland as the county's animal control officer December 30, is working at the shelter while taking training to become qualified as a control officer.

Mrs. Thompson's placement at the animal shelter by the commission, contended Mrs. Ford, was in violation of an agreement signed by the county in 2004. She questioned the credentials of Mrs. Thompson as the animal control officer. Mrs. Ford contended that Mrs. Thompson is on the board of Friends of the Animals and should not be working at the shelter based on a signed agreement between the county, MAAA, and the Friends group. The agreement states, in part, "the parties wish to memorialize Friends' disassociation from the animal shelter and Aid's association with the animal shelter by mutually executing this release agreement...."

Friends of the Animals participated in shelter operations prior to the formation of Mackinac Animal Aid.

Mrs. Ford also said commissioners had broken the law by hiring Mrs. Thompson as the animal control officer because she is not certified by the Department of Agriculture.

Commissioners said they had discussed the issue with their attorney and Mrs. Thompson is not acting in the role of animal control officer, rather the sheriff's office is handling the calls until Mrs. Thompson becomes certified.

"We don't want her in the animal shelter. She doesn't belong there," said Mrs. Ford.

Mr. Frazier replied, "Once we've taken and made these folks a county employee, there's going to be some bumps in the road and there already is. I think we have something to say about how our county employees operate and do their jobs."

Mrs. Ford said if a meeting is set up, she would want Mrs. Nelson to attend.

"That woman accused our group of dragging her name through the mud," said Mrs. Ford, "and that we're responsible for all the calls she is getting, and she needs to know she's getting those calls because of what's been reported in the newspaper. We [Mackinac Animal Aid] did not tell anybody to call her."

Mr. Leveille said he wants Mr. McPhee and Mrs. Nelson to join him at a meeting with Mrs. Ford and shelter manager Mrs. Valentine, who also is a meeting with Mrs. Ford and shelter manager Mrs. Valentine, who also is a member of MAAA.

In addition, Mrs. Ford said she also would like Mr. Leveille and Mr. McPhee to meet her at the animal shelter to help create a property inventory, including photographs of items that should remain at the shelter and items that belong to MAAA.

"I have a feeling this is a hostile takeover and we're just being pushed out of the animal shelter," said Mrs. Ford, who contended Mrs. Thompson is going to push the group out.

Mr. Leveille said the animal shelter is the commission's responsibility and the commission makes the decisions regarding the shelter.

The shelter on Cheeseman Road in St. Ignace is owned by the county and operated by a county-paid manager, two part-time workers, and volunteers from the Mackinac Animal Aid Association. The county's role is to provide care for stray, abandoned, or neglected animals for 10 days and to give owners of strays an opportunity to reclaim them, after which time they would be euthanized under county ordinance. In essence, the county is sharing the building and its manager with the volunteer group, whose mission is to rescue animals remaining at the shelter after 10 days, raise funds for continued feeding and care at the facility, and find new homes for the animals. The county has maintained contractual oversight of the shelter manager and is in the process of bringing the animal control officer position and two part-time worker positions under firmer county control, commissioners have said. The volunteer group working in the facility operates independently.