Panel Backs $11,955 From Coal Fund to Replace Animal Control Incinerator

Montgomery County Board Buildings & Grounds Committee Meeting | July 7, 2026

Article Summary: The Montgomery County Board Buildings & Grounds Committee on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, voted to recommend replacing the inoperable incinerator at Animal Control for $11,205 plus $750 installation, drawn from Fund 375 — the county’s coal royalty fund — one day after the animal control warden told a different committee the machine had failed.

Animal Control Incinerator Key Points:

• The committee reviewed a proposal to replace the inoperable incinerator for $11,205 plus $750 installation.
• Motion by Connie Beck, second by Roy Schieferdecker, to recommend the replacement from Fund 375; all in favor, motion carried.
• Fund 375 is the county’s coal fund, built from a 2 percent royalty on coal mine royalties.
• The vendor is not named in the minutes, and no proposal document appears among the committee’s handouts.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Montgomery County’s animal shelter has no working incinerator, and on Tuesday a county committee put a price on fixing that.

The Buildings & Grounds Committee on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, reviewed a proposal to replace the inoperable Animal Control incinerator for $11,205 plus $750 installation, according to the minutes. Connie Beck moved to recommend the replacement from Fund 375, Roy Schieferdecker seconded, and the motion carried with all in favor. The two figures together come to $11,955.

The vendor is not named. No proposal document appears among the committee’s handouts, and the minutes record nothing about the make, the capacity, the delivery time, or how long the existing machine has been down.

Animal Control Warden Tricia Papin attended the meeting. She is listed on the attendance line among those present but is not recorded as speaking to the item, and the minutes attribute the proposal to no one.

Where the Money Comes From

Fund 375 is the county’s coal fund. It is built from a 2 percent royalty on coal mine royalties and is divided into three accounts — reserve, operating and maintenance, and capital improvement — under a board deposit policy that requires the reserve to hold at least $3.5 million before the other two receive anything.

The fund’s stated departmental scope has been Buildings & Grounds, the sheriff’s office, and EMA/EPA/911. An Animal Control purchase recommended by the Buildings & Grounds Committee arrives through that door.

How It Got Here

The incinerator’s failure surfaced publicly the previous evening, at the Development & Personnel Committee’s meeting on Monday, July 6, 2026, where Papin reported that the machine was inoperable and said Animal Control would consult with the Finance & Budget Committee for replacement options. That committee is the county’s usual gatekeeper for coal fund requests.

By Tuesday morning, a Buildings & Grounds recommendation was on the table with a figure attached.

The committee’s vote is a recommendation. The incinerator cannot be ordered, and no money leaves Fund 375, until the full County Board acts.