By Karissa Minn
kminn@salisburypost.com
The Rowan County Board of Health is looking into creating an advisory committee to oversee animal control operations.
The board appointed a subcommittee to study the issue Tuesday, prompted by a mediation conference about access to county animal control records.
Local resident Brenda Kirby says she should be able to request public records directly from animal control, but the county argues that those requests should be made to the county health director.
Kirby, an Asheville attorney and a representat-ive from the Humane Society of Eastern North Carolina met March 11 with County Health Director Leonard Wood, County Attorney Jay Dees and Animal Control Director Clai Martin for pre-litigation mediation.
Kirby asked for the meeting under a new provision added to state public records law last year. Final results of the mediation have not been provided, but Dees gave a summary Tuesday of the discussions.
To respond to record requests, animal control staff must either sit with people while they look at original records or make copies of the documents, he said. They are unable to provide digital records unless they scan each document in.
The health department has taken steps to digitize its medical records, Dees said, and Wood is now considering doing the same for animal control.
The records even could be made available online, Dees said, allowing people to view them at will without involving animal control staff in a time-consuming process.
He said some groups and individuals have been using public record requests to try to provoke policy and legislative changes.
The county animal shelter meets the state minimum standards — though it could choose to go beyond them — and passes regular state inspections, Dees said.
As part of the mediation, Rowan County has committed to a study into the possibility of appointing an Animal Control Advisory Committee.
“Do you think public record requests would decrease because of it, or do you think the advisory board would deal with the requests?” said Dan Mikkelson, a board member and professional engineer.
Dees replied that digitizing records would more directly reduce that burden, but the advisory board could serve as an outlet for people to voice their concerns about local policy and state law.
Then again, people don’t always use the outlets and access they’re given, he said. When requests were made to view the ani-mal shelter’s euthanasia process, the county worked for hours to meet.
“In two years, after going through the whole exercise to open the process up, not one person has asked to come in and avail themselves of that opportunity,” Dees said.
He said the most common legislative and policy issues brought up are euthanasia, adoption, access to spay and neuter services and the general level of care.
During a public comment period, local resident Beth Bowman said advisory boards in other counties do serve as “filtering systems” for public comments and ideas for how to improve the animal shelter.
Vice Chairwoman Barbara Andrews made a motion to create a subcommittee to study an advisory board for animal control. Mikkelson seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously.
Andrews was appointed chair of the subcommittee, and Mikkelson and Billy Webb, a local dentist, will join her as members. They plan to report back to the board in August.
Contact reporter Karissa Minn at 704-797-4222.