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One item sticks out for Wednesday’s 6 p.m. Niagara Falls Council meeting. An agreement to extend the dog sheltering agreement between the City Kelli Swagel, (Pit Chic) and the city.
An agenda has been emailed to the media but as of this morning was not posted on the city Website as of this morning.
Swagel was awarded the contract last year on a no-bid emergency basis more than 3 years after pleas to end the city’s agreement for sheltering with the Niagara County SPCA had brought inaction from the Restaino administration.
Two weeks ago, Councilmember Donta Myles attempted to enter a resolution onto the agenda to put out a request for proposals for a new dog shelter service provider.
He was rejected by acting corporation counsel Thomas DeBoy who determined that under the city charter, RFPs are the purview of the executive branch.
The city is currently constructing a new dog shelter inside a building at Hyde Park at an expense of more than $4.5 million in American Rescue Plan funds.
No site study was ever completed. There were also no bids.
Swagel has been the target of critics since taking over shelter services. Included are critics of Swagel, like Janine Gallo, a former associate who has since opened her own shelter in Wheatfield, and Tanya Barone, a dog lover and animal rights activist.
Gallo said her facility is fully licensed as a shelter and she has been receiving calls from other municipalities looking for shelter services.
