County in peril of grant default

Phillips County is in danger of defaulting on a $100,000 federal grant agreement if it can’t open and operate a newly constructed animal shelter there, county officials said Friday.

According to the guidelines of the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Rural Grant Program, any project that uses its federal funds must be completed and operational or a default will occur. If that happens, the county would no longer receive USDA grants, which often involve rural development programs and are used to purchase patrol cars and other county equipment, USDA officials said.

Phillips County Judge Don Gentry said the county finished construction of the animal shelter in July, but an additional $25,000 is needed before it can open. Those funds would go toward hiring cleaning crews and purchasing supplies such as dog food and medicine.

In addition to the federal grant, $50,000 in state money and $33,000 in county money were used to complete the project, Gentry said.

Gentry said the Quorum Court has declined six times to pass a measure appropriating the additional expenditure. A count of who has cast votes for and against the funding was not available at the Phillips County clerk’s office Friday.

The issue will again be up for a vote when the body meets Feb. 11.

Justice of the Peace Lenora Marshall said she has voted against the funding with the understanding the county couldn’t afford to let go of the money without compromising its workers and public services.

Marshall said she is an animal lover, has several dogs and is “all for an animal shelter in Phillips County. But we have to prioritize. I voted no because we had the understanding that we were in dire need financially.”

Marshall said she was unaware the county would default on a federal grant if theshelter doesn’t open.

“If that’s the case, then we need to take a long look at this again, because we certainly don’t want to be in a situation where we default on anything,” she said.

Gentry said the county isn’t “rolling in money” but could afford to appropriate the $25,000 needed to open the shelter.

Gloria Higginbotham, president of the Humane Society of the Delta based in Phillips County, said opening the new shelter is a top priority because of the “overwhelming number of stray dogs we have in our area.”

Higginbotham said the old shelter, which is a tin building with no heating or air conditioning, is “bursting at the seams” with about 80 dogs. The new building has heating, air conditioning and 20 indoor stalls.

“We desperately need this new shelter to open,” said Higginbotham, noting the Humane Society operates strictly on donations.

“We are really struggling right now,” she said. “There are so many starving dogs running around our community because there isn’t any type of animal control in the entire county. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 8 on 01/27/2014

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