With the city having trouble finding a spot for a new shelter, he thought it would be a good idea to get Houston County, Centerville and Perry involved to build a countywide shelter, especially since Houston County and Centerville use the Warner Robins shelter.
Horton hoped the idea would get some traction, but he didn't expect that it would move at greyhound speed.
"It moved much faster than I anticipated it would move," the veteran councilman said.
Thursday, in a called meeting of Vision 2020, the members of the intergovernmental advisory group approved a final plan for a new shelter in Warner Robins with the county and Centerville sharing in the cost. Perry opted out because the city already had plans - and funding - to build a new shelter.
All three participating local governments still have to ratify the final agreement, but supporters said they do not expect any problems getting it passed by their governing boards.
The agreement calls for Centerville and Houston County to contribute to the construction costs and pay a higher fee per animal brought to the shelter, which will be built on one of two tracts available in the industrial park behind Anchor Glass off Ga. 247. The Warner Robins City Council will decide which tract will be used for the shelter.
Vision 2020 members said they were elated Thursday about the deal, which achieves the group's original but rarely realized purpose - to find ways for governing bodies in the county to cooperate.
"It's like a breath of fresh air on a spring morning to see all of these governing bodies working together," Warner Robins Councilman John Williams said during the meeting.
Centerville's City Council unanimously approved the tentative agreement Tuesday night. A day earlier, the Warner Robins City Council discussed the agreement in its work session, with four of the seven members expressing approval. Three others, including Mayor Donald Walker, raised questions about the equity of the financial end of the agreement.
Three of the council members in favor - Williams, Horton and Bob Wilbanks - were also at Thursday's Vision 2020 meeting and all reiterated strong support for the plan. The fourth proponent on the Warner Robins council, John Havrilla, did not attend Thursday's meeting, but Williams affirmed that his colleague is a strong supporter.
The bottom line, Williams said after the meeting, is that he does not see any problem with getting the final plan approved by the council.
"It's going to go," he said.
Houston County Commission Chairman Ned Sanders, who also chairs Vision 2020, said the final agreement will be presented to the county board at its next meeting.
The county would contribute $200,000 to construction of the facility, with Centerville kicking in $50,000. Warner Robins will use the $562,000 it already has set aside.
Warner Robins will handle the construction and operation of the animal control facility.
County Commissioner Larry Thomson hadn't attended previous Vision 2020 meetings that dealt with the shelter, but he showed up Thursday and expressed his support. He told the group he didn't even mind that it was costing the county $200,000.
"I'm glad the county had a chance to put some skin in the game," he said. "I think Warner Robins needed some help."
The agreement came from the work of a committee that has met three times in the past three weeks. The committee was made up of two members each from the county and the two cities. The committee suggested two locations, both in the industrial park behind Anchor Glass.
Members in the meeting agreed that both sites were equally suitable and left it up to the Warner Robins City Council to decide which one will be used.
One, however, appears more likely - a two-acre site at the end of Industrial Park Boulevard and between the Warner Robins Fire Academy and the Warner Robins Police Academy. The property is ready for construction.
The other, on Stalnaker
Avenue, contains fuel tanks that would have to be moved.
Vision 2020 members also agreed that neither sites should draw "not in my backyard" opposition as there are no residents close enough to be concerned.
To contact writer Wayne Crenshaw, call 923-6199, extension 235.
