Ed ElkinsAT A GLANCEThe SPCA of Bradley County will meet Monday at 6:30 p.m. and Sept. 22 at 5:30 p.m. All meetings will take place in the Bradley County Courthouse.
CLEVELAND, Tenn. - With four new board members, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Bradley County has been meeting weekly to overhaul the organization's no-kill shelter operations.
This week the board voted 6-0 to explore contracting for emergency animal pickups, which is part of the SPCA's $80,000 annual agreement with the county.
That would allow the shelter director to focus on operations, said new board member and president Ed Elkins.
Treasurer Chris Turner, who joined the board on Aug. 18 along with businessman Perk Evans and Bradley County Commissioner Dan Rawls, said the meetings are needed to provide "a stable foundation" for the organization.
But board member Mark Hall, also a county commissioner, has said the reset is doing nothing more than "camouflaging" the organization's problems.
Conflicts surfaced this summer over allegations that shelter operations were being hampered by opposing factions of volunteers and Cleveland For a No-Kill City, an animal rescue network. Four board members resigned recently.
"It is incumbent upon the board to restore confidence and to attack concerns vigorously until we are satisfied," said Elkins, who called for procedural changes in how minutes are distributed and new business placed on meeting agendas.
"It just speeds things along," said Elkins.
Evans, the board secretary, said he would remedy the situation going forward.
The Times Free Press had asked for advance information on new business before the meeting but Evans said it could not be made available.
"Things are very fluid as we work to fix and fine tune so many different aspects," said Evans. "The details you want are not able to be listed, as things are updated and changed daily."
Howver, Tennessee's open records law requires public access to detailed agendas in advance of scheduled meetings.
Although SPCA of Bradley County is a private organization, it receives most of its funding through its contract with Bradley County and uses county facilities whose remodeling was paid for by county tax dollars. Two county commissioners sit on its board.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Contact him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.