BY NICHAELA SHAHEEN & LIZZY SPANGLER
County forms library review committee On Oct. 22, in a 3-0 vote, Montgomery County commissioners moved to form a new committee that will review and revise library policies and bring back new policies to a future court for approval. Precinct 2 Commis- sioner Charlie Riley was absent. What you need to know The committee will be made up of repre- sentatives from County Judge Mark Keough’s office and Precinct 1 Commissioner Robert Walker’s office, alongside Precinct 3 Chief of Staff Evan Besong. The committee will be advised by the county’s attorney’s office. The court also approved a stay against all actions of the reconsideration committee, which includes placing any future actions of the committee on hold until revised policies are in place.
Conroe rejects vendor bid to run animal shelter On Oct. 24, Conroe City Council voted against approving a bid from Texas Litter Control, a non- profit that offers low-cost veterinary services, to run the city’s animal shelter. In a nutshell “In order to preclude us from getting back into this situation that we found ourselves in, the city must ultimately
have responsibility and oversight to this thing.” HARRY HARDMAN, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER
City staff recommended not awarding the bid to TLC due to certain stipulations placed on council and the city, according to the agenda packet. In an Oct. 18 memo, interim City Attorney Mike Garner expressed concerns with TLC’s bid and said that approving the bid may violate state law “with respect to giving city funds to a person or entity without sufficient oversight by the city.” Some of the concerns outlined related to: • A stipulation that the city would enlarge the animal shelter • TLC’s request for control over the policy regard- ing returning stray animals to their owners • TLC’s request for the right to shift funding
within the budget without city oversight The Conroe Police Department is operating the animal shelter, per prior reporting. How we got here After a dog injured himself at the Conroe Animal Shelter, City Council terminated the contract with the former operator, Care Corporation, on Aug. 22.
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CONROE - MONTGOMERY EDITION
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