White County Executive Denny Wayne Robinson told County Commissioners Monday that Waste Management has offered to pay the county between $500,000 and $750,000 if officials agree to relocate the animal shelter.
Robinson said company wants to use the space to increase revenue through success fee collection.
“They would, give us that money this, this calendar year,” Robinson said, “So that the county would not have, If, if we chose to move the animal shelter, the county would not have to borrow any money. We would have money to move it.”
The county currently holds a long-term lease for the shelter and a convenience center at the landfill property. Robinson said the convenience center is located within a buffer zone where no waste can be placed, but the shelter sits on land that could otherwise generate revenue.
Commissioner TK Austin said the offer could provide a solution to long-standing facility issues at the shelter that have been discussed for several years. Austin said the involvement of a private entity might allow for a more efficient construction process than the county could manage alone.
“In the long term for the animal shelter, for a shelter, not animal control, it would be in the best interest if somebody else other than a government entity done it,” Austin said. “It would definitely go quicker.”
Robinson said the decision is voluntary and that Waste Management is not pressuring the county to vacate the property.
“I just wanna, you know, emphasize there, nobody’s kicking us out,” Robinson said. “We’ve got a signed long-term lease. We’re good. This is a voluntary action upon the county to increase revenue. It’s again, it’s not pro-animal, not anti-animal.”
In other business, the committee also discussed a request from citizen Dani Blitz to place restrictions on “AI structures” and data centers. Robinson said he would ask legal counsel to research what regulatory authority the county has under general law regarding such facilities.