Richland County board approves private-funded air conditioning for animal kennels

The Richland County Board voted 3–2 on June 11 to accept a private bequest to install air conditioning in the county animal kennels, approving a motion to purchase equipment funded by the donated funds.

County board member Cindy Gibbon, who led the discussion on animal control conditions, told the board the kennel area reached 88°F before the heat of the day and described staff hygiene and safety concerns. "I'm in there sweating my butt off," Andrea, an animal-control staff member, told the board.

Gibbon said the amount was covered by a community bequest earmarked for animal-control projects and that vendor quotes were on file; she said two units were quoted at about $15,000. "This doesn't change the budget. This will be funded fully by a request already received," she said. Board discussion reflected support for installing air conditioning to improve staff working conditions and the adoption environment for visitors.

During the motion and roll-call vote the board recorded yes votes from Cindy Gibbon and Morgan Hinton and no votes from Brian Van Bla and Dennis Graves; the motion passed 3–2 per the meeting record (the transcript records a third "yes" without associating a name). The motion as stated in the meeting record was to "purchase kennel AC funded by private donation, not to exceed [transcribed figure]." (The transcript contained inconsistent digits in the donation amount; see clarifying details.)

Board members asked that the public safety committee set temperature and monitoring parameters at its next meeting; members discussed app-controlled thermostats and humidity control as options. The board also discussed staffing and volunteer coverage for kennel operations and whether to reserve some donated funds for future utilities or repairs.

Installation timing and the remaining vendor quotes for ERV/UV (ventilation and filtration) were described as pending; one vendor was named in the discussion and staff said they were still awaiting a complete quote for additional components. The board indicated staff should coordinate installation once procurement details and technical specs are finalized.

Next step: the board directed further discussion and parameter-setting at the next public safety meeting; the meeting record shows the motion passed and staff will follow up on procurement and monitoring arrangements.