The ARF board, which oversees the Sylacauga Animal Shelter, began the meeting with three board members present and seven members overall. Acting president Wendy Scripps made a motion to accept the resignations of Melanie Bice, Robin Morris and Shari Rayfield.
Board members Shanna Fant and Angela Pearson approved the motion. They then nominated and approved Beth Caine, Jaclyn Cosper, Joe Richardson and Charles Sims as members.
Fant resigned from her role as vice president but said she would remain on the board. Scripps previously resigned as board president in June.
The board also approved Cosper as president, Richardson as vice president, Sims as interim treasurer and Caine as deputy treasurer.
Also discussed were the adoption and financial figures for the shelter. Shelter director Tina Limbaugh said they received 467 animals in the month of June and had 16 adopted.
She also reported 228 animals were transported in June to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society, as previously reported by The Daily Home.
Limbaugh reported 48 animals died at the shelter of illnesses as well.
Financial reports passed to board members showed the shelter took in nearly $5,000 in funding and donations for June. Limbaugh said the shelter’s account held less than $1,800 today after paying expenses.
Sims discussed corporate funding as an additional revenue source for the shelter. He said corporate sponsorships could keep the foundation from struggling month-to-month.
“You won’t always have to be running out (of money),” Sims said. “You will still have your fundraisers, but you will have a core amount of money to meet your vet bills and other operations costs.”
Richardson suggested setting specific cash flows for specific costs. He also said his concern was keeping the shelter from becoming a “killing machine” like some shelters.
But he said it could not be the other extreme either.
“We don’t want that, but it can not be a boarding house either,” Richardson said. “We have got to find homes for animals, but we have to make hard decisions.”
The shelter has dealt with severe overcrowding for at least a year. Tina Limbaugh said in June 538 cats and dogs had been taken to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society since April 28, most of them to be euthanized.
Scripps said having a regular veterinarian to perform euthanasia was a top priority. She said two local vets had temporarily offered their services at a discount, but the total costs would still be more than they could afford.
Mayor Sam Wright also attended the meeting. He said the new board needed to make efforts to “reach out” to people, and to change its reputation in the community.
He also said he believed new board members would be able to do that.
“They will more than make up for a lot of things by the money they will raise for this shelter,” Wright said.
ARF planned to hold their next meeting Aug. 10 at the animal shelter.
Contact Matt Quillen at mquillen@dailyhome.com
