TOMS RIVER – As the governing body moved forward on leasing the Toms River Animal Shelter building to Ocean County, a group of residents are working to recall the ordinance.
The ordinance allows the town to enter into a lease agreement with the county. If it is recalled it will be sent back to the Township Council. They will have to either remove it or put it to voters in November.
Phillip Brilliant, one of the organizers of the recall, told The Toms River Times they have just 20 days after the April 24 meeting to collect 3,079 signatures. This is according to the state law that governs the recall of ordinances. The petition must have at least 15% of the total votes cast in the last election during which members of the General Assembly were elected. This would have been November of 2023, when 20,523 votes were cast in Toms River.
He is optimistic that they’ll reach 3,079. “There’s a lot of momentum for animals.”
Resident Julie Adamek questioned the Township Council about their desire to divest the town of the animal shelter. (Photo by Chris Lundy)
This is more or less the same group of residents who successfully recalled an ordinance that cut police captains. In that situation, the township clerk certified that there were enough signatures but the mayor made the changes administratively instead, thereby nullifying the recall.
Brilliant said that anyone who wants to sign the petition should visit the Facebook page “Toms River Residents For Transparency.” There are times and locations listed for the petition drives.
Public Support
At the Township Council meeting where the ordinance was approved, a number of people spoke out against it.
Dr. Robert Cimer, a veterinarian who contracted with the shelter in the past but currently has no stake in its operation, vouched for its quality and the treatment of animals there.
Debbie Geissinger of Lost Dog Search and Rescue in South Toms River also praised the animal shelter and its staff and said she heard horror stories about one company that the town had previously considered using for animal control.
Alison Lemke of Lacey asked why only dogs and cats count and not other animals. This is in reference to the county only taking in dogs and cats.
Barbara Cypher of Beachwood said if your dog gets lost, you can feel safe knowing they’ll be cared for in Toms River if the shelter remains under local control.
Other residents raised questions such whether the town still owes money on the building, and whether it’s worth losing home rule since the county will make decisions.
One speaker asked how the mayor would be able to justify this to voters, saying he saved them $20 in taxes, but animals had to die in order for that to happen.
Michael Cohen, a Toms River resident and employee of the shelter, thanked Council President Craig Coleman for visiting the site recently. Cohen brought data to the meeting comparing the Toms River shelter to the county’s two shelters. In 2022 and 2023, Toms River achieved “no-kill status” which means that they had a “save rate” higher than 90%. The county shelters were in the 70th and 80th percentile.
The Toms River shelter has taken in animals with special needs and cared for them until they were adoptable. He feared that if animals like that went to a county facility, they would be euthanized.
Some residents are working to keep the Toms River Animal Shelter under local control. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)
He also took issue with the mayor’s move to eliminate fees. Mayor Daniel Rodrick had made that decision in an attempt to get animals adopted faster. However, Cohen said, this leads to people adopting for the wrong reasons, such as the dog fighting ring that was broken up in Howell recently. People will get free dogs to train their attack dogs on.
Also, people getting free pets are not as devoted to animals as people who go through a traditional adoption process. The shelter has had nine returns as of April 24, compared to ten returns in all of 2023.
“A long stay in a shelter is not unusual, unfortunately,” he said, in response to Rodrick’s efforts to drop normal procedures in order to speed up the process.
Cohen noted how this lease is not on any published agenda for future meetings of the Ocean County Commissioners or Board of Health.
Does The County Want It?
While there has been a lot of heated debate in Toms River, county officials have been quiet on the matter.
Hours before the meeting, The Toms River Times reached out to the County Health Department which oversees the county’s shelters. A Department of Health representative said “Our board is aware of the vote tonight but conversations are still ongoing with Toms River. No final decisions have been made at this point.”
They said that since the county doesn’t handle animal control duties, Toms River would still need to have employees or a contract for animal control.
A representative of county government said “We have nothing further to add.”
A large crowd of people attended the Township Council meeting where the governing body moved toward leasing the animal shelter building to the county. (Photo by Chris Lundy)
Lease Details
Township Attorney Gregory McGuckin said that the ordinance has to be passed in order to sign a lease. Some parts of the lease that he highlighted include that the township can terminate the lease within 60 days if the county doesn’t want to use it as an animal shelter. The township can terminate the lease within 120 days for other reasons.
The majority of the Township Council voted in favor of the lease. Councilman James Quinlisk, David Ciccozzi and Thomas Nivison voted against it.
“It’s evil, what’s happening here,” Ciccozzi said.
“You can’t put a price on human emotion,” Nivison said.
He also severely criticized the lease that he wasn’t given until an hour before the meeting. For example, the county would be able to use money that was willed to the shelter on improvements to the building rather than directly for the animals’ care. A new roof would take up all that money, and it’s not what the decedent’s intentions were.
Nivison attempted to table this lease indefinitely, but was outvoted. Tabling means that the council wouldn’t vote on it.
Nivison, who has hosted petition drives against this at his business Silverton Farms, also said the adoption fee should be brought back.
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