Richmond spent $1,961.90 per animal last year to shelter 21 animals at the Henry County Humane Society.
Since 2022, the city has contracted with the New Castle shelter after local shelters could not accept the volume of animals the city housed. The renewable annual contract has cost $41,200 for up to 400 animals, with each additional animal costing $103.
Contract renewal for 2026 came before the city’s Board of Public Works and Safety on Aug. 28, when members learned that only 21 animals were sheltered last year and 60 have been sheltered so far this year. Member Ken Paust moved that the proposed 2026 contract, which again would cost the city $41,200, be tabled, and the motion passed 3-0.
Paust said he had a problem entering an open-ended contract for that amount. He suggested the city again look locally for a shelter willing to accept its animals.
“We need a major facility here,” Paust said, adding he had no luck as a county commissioner facilitating a partnership to build a large shelter.
The county contracts with HELP the Animals, paying $200 per dog, plus $100 for its animals needing to be spayed or neutered prior to adoption.
Richmond Police Department Lt. Mike Britt was RPD’s chief when the city began taking animals to Henry County. The city had contracted with HELP the Animals, but that shelter was overwhelmed by the city’s volume of animals and did not continue the partnership. Britt said that at the time RPD’s animal control officer was sheltering 370 or 380 animals a year. He could not explain the drop in numbers.
“I don’t know the nuts and bolts of animal control,” said Britt, who now supervises detectives. “I don’t know the change that has brought that about.”
Without finding a local shelter able to house Richmond’s animals, Britt said he investigated facilities in neighboring counties, finding the Henry County shelter was “top-notch.” When the city began taking animals to Henry County, the shelter charged $150 per animal, Britt said, and a contracted amount prevented pressure being applied on animal control to not shelter an animal as a cost savings.
Controller Tracy McGinnis, who presented the contract to the board, said that if the city could not find a local facility willing to accept its animals, the city should renegotiate its Henry County contract for the decreased number of animals being housed.
Property purchases
Richmond has agreed to purchase three properties from Wayne County for $1 each. The board approved the resolution 3-0.
The properties at 204 S. 13th St. 441 S. 11th St. and 51 S. 15th St. will be transferred to Intend Indiana, a nonprofit and the parent company to Affordable HomeMatters Indiana LLC. The properties will be land banked as Affordable HomeMatters redevelops affordable housing stock for low- to moderate-income families.
Board member Dustin Purvis said he understands the redevelopment is expected to begin this fall after the properties are transferred.
RFD issues
Richmond Fire Department received board approval for its new hiring list of Grace Townsend, Dylan Cole and Benjamin Bonyhay. The board also approved preemployment contracts with them that mandate they receive paramedic certification within five years of employment.
A change order was also approved for a new rescue boat from Rescue One Corp. The boat will now have a long-shaft motor, rather than a short-shaft motor, because RFD opted for an aluminum bottom. The change costs $217.
This reporting is made possible in part by WCTV’s community meeting coverage.
A version of this article appeared in the September 3 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.