Southampton Town is close to sealing a deal with the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation to hand over the shelter’s reins. Assistant town attorney Joe Burke is in the midst of preparing the contract and will present the highlights of the agreement to the town board on Friday, November 13, in the form of a report. This week, Burke reported that the town and the foundation have agreed on the financial terms of the contract. The town will contribute $200,000 in 2010 for the care of the town’s abandoned dogs and cats. In the following two years, the town will pay $250,000 and $300,000, respectively. The contract is for three years.
Animal control, a mandated service of the municipality, will remain a separate entity of the town. According to Burke, the animal control unit, which is comprised of four staff members, will be relocated to the animal shelter facilities in Hampton Bays.
According to the vice president of the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation, Dorothy Frankel, the organization hopes to maintain most of the current animal shelter staff with the exception of animal shelter assistant supervisor Christine Russell. Susan Kelly, assistant to the foundation’s chair Susan Allen, said she could not comment on the specifics of staffing.
Russell believed the foundation had eliminated her position as assistant supervisor. Animal shelter and animal control division supervisor Don Bambrick will move into the Hampton Bays location and act as supervisor of the shelter’s operations.
In their proposal, the foundation encouraged existing staff to apply for their positions and promised to provide wages and benefits comparable or better than those provided by the town.
“The idea is to make this a fluid transition,” reported Frankel.
In addition to five kennel attendants and two animal shelter education specialists, the foundation will hire additional staff. According to the proposal, the animal shelter will have a veterinary technician — a position equivalent to a nurse for human patients — a volunteer coordinator and a full-time receptionist.
Supervisor Linda Kabot said the $200,000 will come from mortgage tax revenue. Kabot will raise the amount of expected revenue from the tax from $5.25 million to $5.5 million. The difference will be used to cover the contribution to the foundation. Kabot added the Suffolk County Clerk’s office which tracks real estate sales in the area has already signed off on the measure.
At the beginning of 2010, the foundation is expected to take over care for the nearly 140 cats and 40 dogs currently housed at the animal shelter.

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