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The City of Minot would like to extend the use of a county highway building for a temporary dog pound and increase the capacity limit while it continues to search for a replacement site.
On Tuesday, July 21, the Ward County Commission rejected the idea, although indicating an openness to reconsider if the city can provide more details.
The county had approved a six-month lease for temporary space to give the city time to find a permanent location. That lease expires Aug. 31.
County Highway Engineer Dana Larsen said the city has asked for an extension of a month or two. He said he is open to an extension through September, after which time the county will need the building again to house equipment prior to winter.
Larsen added the city has exceeded its lease limit of 12 dogs, but since there is space, he was not opposed to approving up to 24 dogs during the extension.
Commissioner Jason Olson said he would have liked a city representative to attend to explain the request, although Larsen said he did not indicate to the city that it needed to have a representative present.
"It bothers me that they've exceeded the 12 dogs without notifying us or asking permission to do that," Olson added.
Commissioner Miranda Schuler shared similar concerns.
"Initially, this was meant to be kind of an emergency deal. The city is not here to tell us why they need this extension. We don't know where they're at," Schuler said. "Being over the 12 dogs is a concern to me as well. I think that we probably all knew that was going to happen at some point."
"This does not surprise me," Commissioner Ron Merritt agreed. "I would just assume that something like this might happen when we said yes in the original." He supported the extension but stressed that it needs to be a solid deadline with no exceptions.
In June, two animal rescue groups, Animal Empowerment League (AEL) and Hairball Haven, had offered proposals to the Minot City Council for operating pound services. AEL, which would process the dogs, does not have a pound facility. The city council accepted both proposals for the purpose of negotiating contracts.
The council had scheduled tours last week of potential city-owned pound space. The prospects included two city-owned buildings purchased as part of the flood control project. The buildings potentially could be relocated to the Public Works site.
Another site toured was a facility Trinity Health will be leasing to the city in the near future for pound services.
The county commission voted 2-3 against extending its building lease. Merritt and Jim Rostad voted in favor and Schuler, Olson and John Fjeldahl against. However, there was support for reconsideration at a future meeting if a city representative is present to provide an update and answer questions.