“We are encouraging Greene County Animal Control and Fairborn TNR to work together to keep moving Fairborn forward,” Fairborn City Manager Mike Gebhart said.
The county would “seize and impound all dogs running at-large and not wearing a valid registration tag,” Gebhart said in a memo.
Meanwhile, the agreement with Fairborn TNR would “outline the roles and responsibilities … in addressing the community cat issue” across the city, Gebhart’s memo states.
“This is probably four or five years in coming,” Gebhart told Fairborn City Council Monday night before it voted to allow agreements with both the county and Fairborn TNR.
More than a decade ago, Fairborn ended its contract with Greene County Animal Control due to budget constraints, a move which led to an increase in the city’s feral cat population, he said.
Volunteers who would eventually become part of Fairborn TNR stepped up to help spay or neuter cats by working with Dr. Laura Miller of NOMAD Inc, a pet care organization, Gebhart said.
The lack of a formal document between the city and the Fairborn cat group “has led to confusion in roles and responsibilities. This document will help address those issues,” according to Gebhart.
“I want to thank our representatives from TNR,” Mayor Dan Kirkpatrick said. “There were a lot of people in Fairborn concerned about the welfare of feral cats. And this MOU will hopefully address those issues and help us to move forward.”
TNR is a method endorsed by both the Greene County Humane and the Society for the Improvement of Conditions for Stray Animals.
The county contract would not exceed $69,020 annually but would be capped and prorated for this fiscal year at $34,510, Gebhart said.
The agreement with Fairborn TNR would expire Dec. 31, 2025, according to Gebhart. Officials have said the city is providing $20,000 for the spay and neutering program from this year’s city budget.
“And then we will sit down with Fairborn TNR to work on” a similar agreement, Gebhart said. “But we needed to get something formalized for this year and all of next year.”
In April, nearly 20 TNR supporters addressed city council about the program and how it may be impacted by any contract the city signs with the county’s animal control.
An online petition posted in late March supporting the Fairborn TNR group seeks to “stop the defunding” of the program. Among other issues, the program should “continue in their current building location under the current lease,” according to the petition.
The city then issued a statement March 30 after it “recently received numerous inquiries regarding the community’s feral/stray cat situation.”
The city’s goal was to “clarify the status of these matters and dispel any misconceptions and unfounded rumors circulating within the community,” according to the document.
Fairborn Vice Mayor Clint Allen said “at least we’re at an agreement. We’re at an understanding … and we’ll move forward.”
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