The ongoing eviction of the Alger County Humane Society, the non-profit organization which does business as and operates the Alger County Animal Shelter, is pushed until November due to a delay in discovery. The delay was finalized after a hearing on Thursday, Sept. 28 in 93rd District Court at the Alger County Courthouse.
According to Alger County’s attorney Roger Zappa, gathering evidence requested by the non-profit is taking longer than expected.
“We had this massive request for documents and it turns out that Alger County utilizes an outside IT department. We first had access to all the documents just this Tuesday (Sept. 26),” Zappa said.
At a previous hearing, the non-profit’s attorney Celeste Dunn had requested emails and text messages from a number of county officials, most of whom are now retired or no longer with the county. This includes former Alger County Administrator Steve Webber and multiple elected officials no longer in office. Going over all the emails to discern what is relevant for the eviction will also take additional time, according to Zappa.
The Alger County government is listed as the plaintiff in this case. The county has repeatedly asked in prior hearings for a quicker resolution over concerns about not being able to accurately run an animal control department without using the building. Animal control, which requires a safe place to store animals for up to five days or longer if the animal is involved in a criminal investigation or court case, is required by state law.
Since the plaintiff was the one asking for more time, and a stipulation was signed by both parties, the delay was granted by Judge Charlie Nebel.
“If we’re not going to resolve the issue amicably, then I want to have the trial,” Dunn said. “But it needs to be reasonably just, so if the county says they want more time and they’re the ones pushing for a change, then the delay makes sense.”
The delay also helps the non-profit continue its permitting processes to construct a new building for the shelter. Dunn has repeatedly said that the non-profit will willfully vacate the building if they have another place to go and the non-profit is attempting to find a new location.
A plot of land was donated to the non-profit in Munising Township behind the Wetmore post office and just west of the Munising Baptist soccer field, but the plot needs to be separated from the larger parcel. A conditional use permit with the township has been filed, but until the parcel is separated, the planning commission cannot address the application. According to Dunn, the parcel separation was delayed due to another permitting process that was in motion, but not completed as of the time of the hearing.
A final pretrial is set for November 8 at 1:15 p.m. to go over any issues that may arise because of the evidence still being discovered, jury instructions and other aspects of how the jury trial will operate. Alger County does not typically have civil jury trials in the 93rd District Court, so all parties expressed their desire to make sure everything is organized before the trial begins.
