The Greene County Commission voted to purchase the current Greeneville Greene County Humane Society animal shelter facility located at 950 Hal Henard Road during its meeting Monday.

The board voted unanimously to purchase the facility at a cost of $150,000.

The Humane Society, which is building a new shelter, recently had the current facility and property appraised, and it was valued at $295,000.

The Greeneville-Greene County Humane Society board previously agreed to the $150,000 figure presented by Greene County to purchase the property.

The main building is about 3,600 square feet, with the total square footage of the facility being about 5,000 square feet.

Greene County will not take ownership of the facility until 2023, when the Greeneville-Greene County Humane Society will be moving to a new location on North Rufe Taylor Road.

Greene County will then be the new owner of the 5,000-square-foot facility the Humane Society will be vacating, along with the 2.8 acres of property the building sits on.

The main building of the facility was constructed in 1976, with an addition built behind it in 2005 that is accessed via a covered breezeway.

Greene County Building and Zoning Department Building Official Tim Tweed told the Greene County Commission that he walked the facility and that the building was old but that it was in good shape.

Tweed noted that the only real issues he saw with the building are that some of the soffits would need repairing and that a fan on one of the HVAC units rattled.

Tweed also noted that the building may need a new roof sometime in the future.

The facility will be used by Greene County Animal Control and is adjacent to the current Animal Control property.

A large amount of cages, cabinets, desks, chairs and storage sheds will also transfer into the ownership of the county as a result of the purchase.

The purchase includes six storage buildings built of metal, wood and resin, a barn with a stable and a small pavilion. Most of the property is fenced in, including a small field of about an acre.

Also included in the purchase are three banks of stainless steel cages, and those banks include about 30 cages.

Multiple rolling cages, chain-link kennels, a smoke alarm system and security system with 12 cameras will also come with the building, as will multiple storage cabinets and shelves, desks and chairs, two refrigerators, a microwave, two washing machines and two clothes dryers, among the other items.

Two county committees, the Greene County Animal Control Committee and the Greene County Budget and Finance Committee, unanimously endorsed the purchase of the facility before the county’s full governing body gave final unanimous approval to the purchase.

County officials say the purchase of the facility will improve issues with overcrowding, mitigation of diseases such as parvovirus, the holding of livestock animals and required holds on dogs belonging to possible offenders of animal neglect laws.

A parvovirus outbreak that occurred at Animal Control in April forced the facility to cease all dog intake and adoptions for about a month. The facility also experienced parvovirus outbreaks in March 2021 and in 2017 which also forced extended closures.

Greene County Attorney Roger Woolsey said the facility was being purchased at a good price and that the county had previously explored expanding its current Animal Control facility, but received costly estimates.

The county received a $144,000 estimate for the construction of pole barn and a $66,000 estimate for the expansion of cage space. The purchase of the former Humane Society facility will help negate these needs.

“The Animal Control guys are so good,” County Commissioner Robin Quillen said. “Thank you all for supporting this purchase resolution.”

The commission also approved amending zoning regulations dealing with self-storage facilities.

The Greene County Commission unanimously approved amending zoning regulations to permit self-storage facilities in A-1 Agricultural Districts.

Regulations will now allow self-storage facilities in A-1 zones as long as they are accessed by arterial or collector streets, developed at least 500 feet from property zoned A-2, R-1 or R-2 and developed with landscaping buffers. No noise-making equipment will be permitted to be installed, according to the amendment, and buildings will have to be at least 50 feet from side and rear lot lines.

The Greene County Planning Commission recommended the zoning amendment.

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