The Mesa County Commissioners are quietly planning to close Mesa County Animal Services, according to an item on their public hearing agenda for Tuesday, July 2 at 9:00 a.m. (pdf). The meeting will be held at the old courthouse, 544 Rood Ave., second floor.
Word from volunteers at local animal shelters who are alarmed by the agenda item is that the Commissioners plan to close the Animal Services building in Whitewater and terminate all Animal Services employees except for four, who will move to the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office. They will no longer have a care facility for animals.
Mesa County Commissioner Cody Davis (R), running for re-election this year, is among the commissioners planning to close Mesa County Animal Services
After closing Animal Services, the Commissioners then want to rebuild the agency from scratch.
The full agenda item reads:
“Consider approving the County Administrator’s ending current municipal contracts and exploring a Request For Proposal for animal shelter services, and authorize the County Administrator to sign letters to municipalities. (Matt Lewis, Justice Services Director)”
The item is under “Item(s) Needing Individual Consideration,” on page 2 of the agenda.(pdf)
Local animal shelter volunteers are asking people to attend this meeting or weigh in with the Commissioners to protest the closure, since it will put tremendous pressure on other animal shelters in the area that are already cash strapped to house and care for the area’s lost and homeless animals.
The public can attend the meeting in person or by Zoom, and can send an email to all of the commissioners at once at mcbocc@mesacounty.us.
Zoom Meeting Info:
Note that participants cannot comment on agenda items during the “Public Comment” portion of the agenda. That time is reserved only for items that are not on the agenda. You can comment on the agenda item at the time the it is heard and discussed by the commissioners, but public comments are limited to a maximum of three (3) minutes per speaker, unless otherwise further restricted by the Chair of the commission.
To attend and comment virtually, you’ll need to fist complete the “Public Hearing Participation Sign Up” form on the County’s website no later than 8:00 a.m. on the day of the meeting.
Zoom meeting link for the Tuesday, 7/2 meeting:
Meeting ID: 896 1946 4916
No passcode is given, so a passcode may not be necessary.
If you are attending the meeting by Zoom and want to submit a comment on the County Commissioners’ planned closure of Animal Services, you can send an email to all of the commissioners at once at mcbocc@mesacounty.us
Mesa County Commissioner Janet Rowland (R), who lost her June 25th primary election bid to get a fourth term as commissioner
Mesa County Commissioner Bobbie Daniel (R), shown with indicted former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters
