John Coffelt, Editor

The burden of financing Coffee County Animal Control, namely the new shelter, will not fall solely on the backs of the taxpayers, according to plans laid out during a recent committee meeting.

Coffee County Mayor Judd Matheny told the Health, Welfare and Recreation Committee that the fundraising nonprofit organization, Coffee County Cares for Animals, met Feb. 13 and will empower a fundraiser to match the $500,000 dollars that the county has allocated in ARP Covid relief funds and that of an unnamed donor who will match any funds raised up to $500,000. If successful, all together the county will have a total of $1.5 million to put into the construction of a new shelter.

The location of the new shelter, most likely, will be on a roughly three-acre corner of the former Fann’s Salvage site, that is potentially to be donated by Tom Rice.

A second survey is being performed and a commercial appraisal on the fenced area to gage the value of the property for the donor.

TDOT will take for a Highway 41 road widening project 21,000 square feet of the area to be donated. That ½ acre has not been condemned or purchased by the state as yet, so the compensation for the right of way will go to the county. 

Once up and going sometime around May, the non-profit board of directors will hire a director that will work for commission to handle the fundraising.

The idea is to go past the $500,000, the incentivized position will facilitate that fundraising. 

The county will continue to operate the shelter, rather than be under the direction of a 501 (c)3. 

County currently allocates approximately $150,000 for the animal control. The mayor called that level of funding about half of the surrounding areas’ annual budgets.

But some feel that figure, if inflated, is a burden on taxpayers. 

“—but the taxpayers don’t want to foot that bill,” said Commissioner Rose Ann Carden Smith. “So just as long as that operating budget doesn’t become this big…”

Matheny said, however, said that an aging local population prioritizes animal welfare.

“Part of the demands of the modern society, especially where you’re attracting more and more people and seniors,” Matheny said.   

“We’re going to do what the county has to do to run this shelter. If we want kittens, puppies all these other things, they are going to have to raise the money,” he said. “The money is out there.”

The Coffee County Steering Committee will meet at 3:45 p.m., March 14 at the Mayor’s office.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.