The Lincoln County Board voted Tuesday night to sell a corner of the fairgrounds in Merrill to the Lincoln County Humane Society. Introduced by Supervisor Jim Alber, the resolution passed on a 14-8 vote.
The animal shelter has been located on the fairgrounds block since 1978, when a lease agreement originated between the county and the Humane Society. There are currently 14 years remaining on that 50-year lease. The way the lease is written, both parties would have to agree to end it.
The county is obligated to provide animal control services and does so through a contact with the Humane Society.
LCHS is in the midst of a capital campaign to construct a new shelter. They have raised $492,000 toward their $700,000 goal.
When the property transfer is complete, LCHS will own a 200×500-foot lot in the northeast corner of the fairgrounds. The lot will have 500 feet of frontage on Memorial Drive and 200 feet of frontage on Sixth Street. By the resolution, the County Board agreed to sell the property to LCHS for $1.
The new LCHS property is directly north of the 200×300-foot lot they have leased from the county since 1978. When the new building is completed, the current shelter will be demolished and that lot will revert back to county ownership.