Delco Council Formally Approves Agreement With SPCA

During its Tuesday meeting, the formally approved the agreement .

The county-funded, six-month extension was agreed upon in order for a . And in addition, the SPCA will continue to accept stray animals from municipalities that it has contracts with until Dec. 31 of this year.

The facility is expected to be built by that time.

, the county will pay $125 for each stray animal and the SPCA will charge the county $116 per stray animal. The total will be $241, which is the SPCA’s cost for each stray animal.

“We value our partnership with the SPCA. Most importantly, it’s in the best interests of the animals of Delaware County,” Marcia Noa, member of the SPCA board of directors, told the council before it unanimously voted in favor of the agreement.

After the council’s vote, which County Council Chairman Jack Whelan said, “We are still tweaking the contractual language” of the contract between the county and the SPCA, Whelan expressed how important it was for both the county and the SPCA to be in a partnership.

“We value our partnership with the SPCA,” he said. “Most importantly, it's in the best interests of the animals of Delaware County.”

Justina Calgiano, director of community relations at the SPCA, also attended the meeting and told Patch that the contractual agreement between the SPCA and the county will be a “smooth operation.” 

She said that the SPCA is not the only ones who support the decision between the organization and the county.

“You know, we've already seen the public support us. We were open for the 4th of July, which we aren't normally open. We did a record-breaking 29 adoptions in four hours (12 p.m. to 4 p.m.) Even when we are open for seven hours, from Tuesday through Saturday, we don't even see that,” Calgiano told Patch. “It's safe to say that the community really supports this decision as well."

At the next Delaware County Council meeting, the board will appoint people to the non-profit board for the new facility, said Trish Cofiell, the communications officer for the county.