Perry Council may have relief for animal control facility

PERRY — The City of Perry was presented Friday with a time-sensitive opportunity to receive a portable building at no cost for use at its animal control facility. The City Council will decide Tuesday whether it will accept the offer.

The building, sized 24 feet by 54 feet, is currently being used as a temporary physician’s lounge at the Houston Medical Center.

“The hospital became aware of our need for a new facility (and) even though they have a use for this particular building, they are making an offer to us specifically if we want it for us to use this building as a part of the animal control facility,” Mayor Jimmy Faircloth told the council at the tail-end of the meeting. He said the facility has bathrooms and is fully functional.

The opportunity to receive the structure comes at a critical time for the city’s animal control services as the council prepares to vote on constructing a new facility at a different location or outsourcing services to the city of Warner Robins. Building a new facility would cost about $650,000.

The current facility on Ball Street consists of three trailers, a sheltered area and a building once used for storage. Faircloth recently deemed the facility unacceptable and said animal control had risen as a priority.

“(The building) would be a great start if Council wanted to go in that direction,” Faircloth said. “Here’s the caveat: They need to move it in a week and a half. The question I have for council is, ‘Are you willing to accept it?’ ”

The city would have to pay for the relocation of the building, and it must be used for the city’s animal control facility regardless of where it could be moved, Faircloth said. The building would not accommodate dog runs, but Faircloth said it can house a washer and dryer, cats or serve as office space.

“I don’t want this to interfere with our plans to build a new facility,” Councilman Riley Hunt said to Faircloth, but Faircloth said this acquisition would be part of the new facility.

Hunt also voiced concerns on the structure’s longevity, calling it temporary housing at best. Faircloth said he wasn’t sure the city would ever be able to afford the cost of building a new facility.

“I don’t want to be pushed into a corner to do this when it doesn’t make sense to do it,” said Councilman Randall Walker. “I don’t want to spend a lot of money on a temporary building when we’re looking at other options.”

When asked for his thoughts on the matter, Police Chief Steve Lynn said it was better than anything already on the site.”

Faircloth said he would allow the council to think about the offer overnight before voting on it at Tuesday’s meeting.

“Let me remind Council that one of the issues is that we’ve decided that we can’t do anything,” Faircloth said. “And at some point, what we have down there is just going to collapse. Then, we’ll be out of the (animal control) business whether we want to or not.”

To contact writer Laura Corley, call 744-4334 or follow her on Twitter @Lauraecor.

This story was originally published September 14, 2015 at 10:21 PM with the headline "Perry Council may have relief for animal control facility ."