Sheriff, BOC to seek alternatives in operating animal shelter

KALKASKA – The Kalkaska County Animal Shelter might be getting a makeover.

But, it may not be the kind of makeover many might be thinking about. Because, rather than upgrading the existing facility located behind the Kalkaska County Governmental Center or even building a new one, officials could soon be looking for a third-party contractor to house animals.

The Kalkaska County Board of Commissioners, by a unanimous 7-0 vote, recently approved a motion instructing Sheriff Patrick Whiteford to contact the county’s legal counsel for a contract to be drafted for the outsourcing of operations currently conducted by the KCAS. Whiteford and commissioners seem to be in agreement that to contract out for animal shelter services might best serve the county, considering budget limitations and the outdated facilities at the local shelter.

“We’ve been tossing it around for a couple years now,” said District No. 2 Commissioner Kohn Fisher, chairman of the board’s County Affairs Committee. “Then, last year, it just became financially unbearable.”

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