ARKERSBURG - Aiming for a stopgap measure to get the county through July 1 with after-hours animal control services intact, while working on a longer term solution to animal control concerns, county officials are considering establishing a study task force.

Wood County commissioners are scheduled to discuss animal control issues at 11:45 a.m. today during their regularly scheduled meeting. State code requires the county provide animal control services.

"First and foremost we were facing the issue of losing the services of the humane officer as of July 1. We interviewed some private companies about animal control services, but there is a concern that if we went with a private individual would the humane society allow after-hours access to their facility to house the animal. The private companies might be willing to go on the call, but there is the issue of whether they would be willing and able to house the animals until the Humane Society opened the next day," Commissioner Blair Couch said.

"With about $12,500 we could re-up the agreement (with the Humane Society of Parkersburg) for the coming year, then create a task force to include other members of the community to discuss the options. The municipalities may choose not to participate in the future. This task force could meet and come back in about six months with a cost-effective long-term solution," Couch said.

As proposed, the task force would be made up of representatives of the Humane Society of Parkersburg, county commission, sheriff's office, prosecutor's office, cities of Parkersburg, Vienna, Williamstown and North Hills, Farm Bureau, West Virginia University Extension Service and others.

The county contracts with the Humane Society of Parkersburg for these services. The society has notified the county as of July 1 it will no longer provide after-hours humane officer services and effective July 1, 2010 will cease all animal control services for the governmental entities.

The county increased the budget allotment for the services to the society this year, but not as much as requested. Among all the governmental entities, officials said nearly $200,000 is paid to the Humane Society for the services.

Humane Society officials said the shelter has been dipping more and more into endowments and like funding sources set aside for improvements and expansion of community services at the shelter, because they found themselves running in the red.

Commissioners earlier met with three private animal control service providers while exploring other options for the call-out after-hours service.