The Centralia City Council has approved the sale of the Centralia animal control facility to Marion County. The county will pay the city $160,000 for the 2.5 acres of property. As part of the transaction, Centralia has entered into an intergovernmental agreement with Marion County to pay $30,000 for animal control service and enforcement in 2026, $15,000 in 2027 and $15,000 in 2028. The purpose of the payments is to support Marion County scaling up its animal control to be able to cover Centralia, which it had not done while Centralia had its own animal control. The council also approved an intergovernmental agreement Clinton County for Animal Control, paying an estimated $3,000 annually for services.
Hours for non-emergency services from both counties are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Centralia residents in Clinton County will be served by Clinton County animal control, and dogs taken in Clinton County will be brought to the animal control facility in Carlyle rather than the Marion County facility in Centralia.
City Manager Galen Mahle said that the agreement will allow the city to save money on animal control while ensuring residents receive the same services from the counties that were provided by the city.
“They’ll be able to provide the same services that we were when we had a department of the city, but at a cost savings to the city,” Mahle said. “I think it’s a win-win for all. It’s something that state statute requires the counties to offer, and it’s just something that the city had never taken advantage of until now.”
Mahle praised Marion County Animal Control’s work on handling dogs, noting that in the month of February 33 out of 35 dogs brought into the animal control facility were either adopted or sent to rescue.
