Fairfield County Animal Ordinance Ad Hoc Committee members named

FAIRFIELD COUNTY – The county’s animal welfare ordi­nance has long been under scru­tiny with the aim to strengthen and update it. Last year a pro­posed amended ordinance was presented to council with some inaccuracies that had been in­cluded by the county attorney and were objected to by some in the community.

To that end, council voted Mon­day night to seat seven members to an animal welfare ad hoc com­mittee who will be tasked with updating and strengthening the current ordinance. Qualifications for those committee members “shall consist of seven members appointed by council. Repre­sentation in the committee shall include animal welfare organiza­tions, registered and licensed an­imal breeders, the hunting com­munity, and the general public.”

The three members of the Pub­lic Services and Development standing committee, consisting of Council members Doug Pauley (chair), Oren Gadson, and Carl Bell, proposed seven names to council to be voted on. They are:

• Laura Thomas
• Katie Odom
• Liz Bankhead
• Aimee Griffith
• Ann Corrao
• Dr. Roger Gaddy
• Jerome Armstrong

Gaddy and Armstrong repre­sent the hunting community; Katie Odom represents breeders, and the others are community members.

None of the nominees’ quali­fications were discussed or re­vealed to the public or even to some council members during Monday’s meeting.

“I don’t know all of these folks or if any represent animal wel­fare organizations,” Councilman Don Goldbach said. “But there are two individuals who have spoken here in public many times and have spent many hours volun­teering for animal welfare and animal care.”

He identified the two as Kathy Faulk, president of the local Hoof and Paw organization, and Boo Major, retired Head Coach of the USC National Champion Eques­trian Team, member of Hoof and Paw and every other animal welfare organization in Fairfield County.

Jo Shaw, the Director of the Fairfield animal shelter, was also not included in the list of nomi­nees.

The Hoof and Paw group donates over $25,000 every year to Fairfield County government to fund spay/ neuter surgeries for shelter-bound animals as well as for dogs and cats in the community. The funds go toward heartworm medical treatments and medical emergencies as well as a program provided through Christian Assistance Bridge that assists the county’s senior citizens who need help providing feed for their pets.

“I think their participation on this committee would be very valuable and maybe even needed for this mission and vision to be achieved by the committee,” Goldbach said. He made a motion to add Faulk and Major to the committee, and to increase the membership of the ad hoc committee from seven to nine.

The motion failed with Pauley, Clarence Gilbert, Dan Ruff and Gadson voting against.

While the vote to appoint the seven nominees passed, it was unclear whether some of the votes were ‘yays’ or ‘nays.’ Gilbert recorded 5-2 votes for most of the nominees, but there were several abstentions, which Gilbert recorded as ‘no’ votes. The council bylaws, however, state that, “A member who fails to vote, having not been excused, shall be recorded as voting in the affirmative.”

The ad hoc committee is charged with helping amend the current county animal ordinance to bring animal welfare to a higher standard in Fairfield County. It has not been determined when or where the committee will meet or when the members qualifications will be made public.