Carbon County has taken the first step in creating an advisory commission to oversee the operations of its dog shelter.

On Thursday, the board of commissioners adopted a resolution creating a five-person advisory commission for the shelter.

The resolution states that the commission should include people with experience in animal behavior, adoptions, business administration and management, public relations and volunteer recruitment.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said that letters of interest will now be accepted at the commissioners office for those who are interested in serving. There are two three-year terms; two two-year terms and one one-year term available. The deadline to submit the letter of interest is the end of July.

The commissioners then spoke about the shelter with regards to receiving donations and voiced their differences.

Commissioner Rocky Ahner announced that the yard sale the shelter held over the weekend raised $3,996; and two $500 donations in memory of Blaine Finkbiner were received from Susan Beal and the Lake Harmony Volunteer Fire Company.

“I’d like to thank the individuals and organizations for their continued support throughout the years that cover approximately 50% of the operating costs, a great saving to the taxpayers,” he said, noting that the county has trusts for the shelter that have helped offset costs over the years.

Commissioner Chris Lukasevich took a different stance, saying that he was “embarrassed to think that the animal shelter deems it necessary to hold a yard sale to fund its operations.”

He noted that, while the county appreciates the donations from the public for the shelter, he feels that it shouldn’t be seeking to fund its operations through donations because it is a county service.

“It is my hope with the board’s decision to establish the advisory commissioner that we can have a shelter that continues to care for the animals and at the same time more effectively manages the shelter so yard sales quickly become a thing of the past,” Lukasevich said.

Nothstein sided with Ahner in his thoughts, saying he was grateful to everyone who has donated to the shelter.

The creation of the advisory commission comes after an on-site evaluation showed that there were areas of improvement needed to properly operate the dog shelter.

Since then, the county has worked to improve the physical building and is now looked at improving the overall operations.