At the Monday evening Bradley County Commission voting session, multiple volunteers from the Bradley County SPCA shelter told the commission that running an open intake, no-kill shelter on an $80,000 per year budget is not possible.
Talks have continued about having a capacity for the shelter. SPCA Board President Betti Gravelle has remained adamantly against this. However Director Bobbi Anderson has said she does not see another way.
Ms.
Anderson expressed concern that without the proper paperwork and documentation, there's no guarantee that animals sent out from the Bradley County shelter will not end up in puppy mills or similar situations.
Several commissioners wanted to have the county attorney see if the SPCA was in breach of contract because of days when they did not accept new animals or had a wait list.
However, Commissioner Charlotte Peak-Jones said the contract did not say they SPCA had to take the animals immediately.
One volunteer said, "The reason why we can't get along has to do with Beth Foster and Betti Gravelle."
Bradley County resident Dan Rawls said there was too much animosity between the group supporting Ms. Anderson and the group supporting Ms. Gravelle.
He said, "If everyone there worked instead of fighting, there would be no problem. Everything you hear, take with a grain of salt from both sides."
He also said both sides had been posting "attacks" on the internet. He said, "Those attacks are negative. You're not benefiting the animals at all."
Ms. Anderson said, "My agenda is the animals and will always be the animals. Somebody has to be the voice of the animals."
During the meeting, a resolution was also passed to send a letter to EPB requesting service in parts of the county not serviced by any internet provider.