A report by the Humane Society of the United States laid out several options Superior should consider as city and Animal Rescue Federal officials contemplate how to replace the city's inadequate animal shelter facilities.
The national organization visited in early November and met with board members and staff at ARF, which operates the city's shelter; the Douglas County Human Society and also made a visit to Animal Allies to explore the city's options.
The purpose for requesting this report was to get a sense of direction on how to best move through dealing with animal control issues and aiming to build a shelter in Superior, said Superior Finance Director Jean Vito.
"We thought [the Human Society of the United States] could kind of help us get our arms around the things that we're dealing with," Vito said. "It gives us a lot of good recommendations and guidance about how we can get started."
The first recommendation is establishing a seven-member task force with people with a variety of backgrounds and expertise to review the entire 20-page report and develop a working plan for the city to follow.
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"Any number of individuals could make up that seven-member task force," Vito said.
Among the recommendations made by the national humane society
Seeking an outside vendor or assistance from Animal Allies, leaving the rescue federation and county humane society out of the equation. A number of board members of Animal Allies would be opposed to any move that would include the organization in solving Superior's problems, said Bob Bruce, a member of the Animal Allies board. He and board member Jim Stauber agree Animal Allies is willing to provide advice as a "good neighbor."
Other recommendations indicate that the city needs to do more -- getting more information on its Web site, staffing in the police department and putting more money toward animal control and stepping up licensing efforts to help fund it.
Robert Bergquist, an architect who has been working with the shelter project committee said the task force could make recommendations that aren't even included in the national humane society report.
"This task force will carve out its own mission, objectives and so forth," he said. "It also has the responsibility - I would think that it has the responsibility of responding to the needs of Douglas County and the city of Superior ... You can't presume an outcome yet. You have to trust the process."
The city's administration plans to make a recommendation for the task force membership to the council March 16, said Jeff Vito, development and government affairs director for the city.
