Town of Southampton, Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation, Announce 5-Year Agreement

The Town of Southampton and the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation (SASF) recently announced a new 5-year agreement which will allow the foundation to continue to operate their local shelter on a privatized basis.

Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst and Clifton Knight, Executive Vice President of the SASF Board, recently executed the new agreement to be effective January 1, 2016.

Councilwoman Bridget Fleming also served as Town Board liaison to the Shelter.

“The Southampton Animal Shelter continues to be a source of tremendous pride for the Town and we are pleased to renew our relationship with the SASF so that, with Town support, the Foundation can continue to provide outstanding services to the community and provide for our animals and pet owners,“ Fleming said. “The terms of the new agreement received the unanimous support of the Town Board and will serve our community well for the next five years.”

The contract provides that the foundation will continue to operate the Southampton Animal Shelter and Adoption Center (the “Shelter”), located at a Town-owned facility at Red Creek Park in Hampton Bays, with the Town contributing graduated limited funding on an annual basis.

They will begin by receiving $175,000 from the town in 2016 and culminating in $250,000 in 2020, in order to assist the Foundation’s client services.

The Town will also provide $33,600 per year for the boarding of stray animals delivered to the Shelter Facility by Town Animal Control.

The Shelter takes in all animals, regardless of condition, from throughout the Town of Southampton including all its villages and hamlets.

Its live release rate is 97 percent.

Jonathan McCann, President of the SASF Board, calls the agreement ”a bridge to the future for the Shelter.”

According to McCann, there will be continued outreach by SASF on many levels, including an enlarged Training Department to provide educational programs to the public, a broader reach for the traveling veterinary van, and more wellness days at the Shelter.

“We intend to cast a very broad net,” he said. “As in the past, we will continue to support partnerships with organizations that believe in the healing powers of human-animal relations.”