Volunteer supports decision to sell local animal shelter

At the risk of boring folks with yet another letter concerning the SCAA shelter issue, I would like to at least say a few things as someone that has watched this entire soap opera objectively from the fall of 2005.

I first discovered the SCAA thrift shop when they were located at the old saw shop. I had just moved here and received a coupon for a free feline spay/neutering, and after having my cat Stretch taken care of, I decided to give back in some way by becoming a volunteer at the store in June of 2006.

From day one I heard nothing but grumbling about how the shelter had come to a standstill. I distinctly remember a notice up at the store the previous fall saying it would be open the spring of 2006, summer at the latest.

So I was surprised to hear that it was not moving ahead. Everyone was ready for the old board members to step down and let fresh eyes come in and see what could be done…hence, the new board.

They obtained bids, had experts on kennel operations come in and at the end of it all they discovered that finishing the shelter as it stood would be a much more expensive undertaking than previously thought.

Wire had been stripped, and a police report had never been made by the old board, therefore the new board members could not file an insurance claim. That was the first problem.

So here it is 2008 - the roof at the shelter needs redone, wiring needs fixed, there are no drains in the floor in which to wash down and sanitize kennels and drains cannot easily be installed now due to the way the radiant heat in the floor is done…the drains should have been installed from the get go when the floor was poured. And where is the money going to come from to run such a large facility?

So I ask, all of you that are determined to stop the sale of the shelter, please come to the open houses that are to be held later this month. Look around, get the full story and give us suggestions of what you think can be done. Instead of using all your energy in such a hostile way, use your energy to come up with positive ways of dealing with the problem. Be sure to bring your pledges to volunteer on a daily or weekly basis at the shelter, bring your checkbooks and pledge to give on a monthly, not yearly, basis to run a future shelter.

The thrift shop alone cannot come close to reaching the budget needed to run both the shop and the 9,000-square-foot building you are fighting so hard to keep. Not to mention still provide for the spay/neuter program, and the feral cat program.

Ask yourselves if you are fighting the sale out of emotional ties to the old board or do you truly have the facts to back up the fight? Come to the open houses on March 22 and March 30, look around, and see the bids that were obtained and the list of what needs to be rectified to even consider opening the existing building. And if, after looking at all the facts objectively, you still feel the need to save the building, then so be it. But I doubt if many of you can look over the facts and still say it's financially feasible to save the existing building.

I believe in the decision of the current board and I support their efforts to move ahead to get a shelter built that is up to code and will truly answer the needs of the community and that the SCAA can financially maintain.

Maria Bledsoe

Moyie Springs