Second Bradley commissioner calls for end to SPCA shelter

photo Bradley County Commissioner Mark Hall

WHAT'S NEXTThe SPCA Board of Directors will meet Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Bradley County Courthouse, followed by the Bradley County Commission meeting at 7 p.m.

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - In less than a month, a second Bradley County commissioner has called for an end to the county's agreement with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Bradley County, a private organization that provides animal shelter services for county residents.

This time it is Mark Hall, who actually serves as a county representative on the SPCA board of directors.

"They are ineffective, inefficient and dysfunctional," Hall said. "It has never been a smooth transition since day one."

SPCA is torn by infighting and has gone through many board members and a number of shelter directors since its no-kill shelter opened on March 17, he said.

The recent addition of three new members to the SPCA board -- County Commissioner Dan Rawls, businessman Perk Evans and school board member Chris Turner -- is not enough, he said.

SPCA President Betti Gravelle disagreed.

"With the new direction the SPCA is headed, and the new leadership it is under, there will be no reason to end the contract," Gravelle said. "The SPCA is fulfilling its contractual obligations."

The new board members were brought on board to provide "some backbone," Rawls said.

"Terminating the contract with SPCA is a tough decision and takes backbone," countered Hall. "To say the SPCA is doing all right is misleading the public. If the new County Commission doesn't end this agreement, we'll still be talking about this a year from now."

Commissioner Jeff Yarber, who made a failed attempt to call it quits with SPCA in early August, equated their operational and funding plans with "snake oil."

According to the SPCA funding plan, the county would annually contribute $80,000 to operations while grants and donations would provide $20,000 monthly, Hall said.

"That $20,000 in monthly fundraising has not happened," he said.

Gravelle said the ultimate problem was not funding, but with conflicts between former shelter director Bobbi Anderson -- supported by a faction of volunteers -- and members of Cleveland For a No-Kill City, her own animal rescue network "army."

Gravelle contended that No-Kill members were alienated or barred from the facility, while Anderson and former treasurer Jack Burke cited concerns about bullying and improper documentation of animals taken from the shelter by No-Kill rescuers.

Charlotte Peak-Jones, a county commissioner who resigned from the SPCA board after Anderson's firing in mid-August, has called for Gravelle's resignation, citing conflicts of interest.

No conflicts of interest exist, said Gravelle, who also is the executive director of Dixie Day Spay, a low-cost spay/neuter clinic that provides services to the SPCA shelter.

Hall said alternatives to SPCA include the county employing shelter personnel, partnering with the Bradley County Sheriff's Office and seeking a temporary agreement with Cleveland's municipal shelter.

Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Contact him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.

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