The city of Emporia’s contract with the Humane Society of the Flint Hills to operate the Emporia Animal Shelter ends later this year, and the city has decided to open up the contract for bid.
The city is using a Request for Proposal to determine its next partner. Emporia Police Chief Ed Owens says Prairie Paws out of Ottawa and Raise Your Paws of Emporia, which gained Lyon County’s animal quarantine contract early last year after a lengthy county partnership with the Humane Society, expressed interest in running the shelter.
Humane Society Director Stephanie Achille says the depth of the RFP surprised her.
Prairie Paws Executive Director Vanessa Cowie says her agency hasn’t officially decided whether to finish an RFP and thus make an official bid, but she says a regional shelter approach is good for shelters, the animals in their care and the communities they serve.
Like Prairie Paws, Raise Your Paws owner Melissa Smith says she hasn’t decided whether to make an official bid at this time.
The shelter at 1216 Hatcher has been full to overfull for years, especially after a change in capacity after the Animal Shelter resumed a partnership with the Kansas State University veterinary program — and a related change in the shelter’s operations model — over the last three years. Prior to the restructuring, Achille says there were as many as 150 animals in the shelter. More recently, the number has dipped to around 50 — although that number occasionally swells significantly due to pet surrenders.
One of Achille’s major concerns with the contract and the full-house status of the shelter is whether the facility can remain as a no-kill shelter. The facility was built as a kill shelter and has been no-kill for several years.
The Humane Society currently gets $132,000 per year for the shelter. Achille says it received almost $5,500 through adoption fees and another $5,000 through donations and memorial gifts. Achille says the Humane Society is asking for an increase but isn’t specifying the amount at this time.
The RFP process ends April 30. The 10-page document asked potential partners to provide information on staffing numbers, services, budgets and partnerships with other entities across the state. Owens says there will be a review process by late May and a decision by the City Commission in June. The new contract period begins Aug. 1.
