NEW CITY, NY — Operations of the Hi-Tor Animal Care Center in Rockland County will officially transition to Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority (SWMA) at the start of the new year. SWMA, also known as Rockland Green, is the county’s waste management authority. The existing Hi-Tor facility will be leased by the county to SWMA for $1 per year.
Officials said that the new arrangement will “preserve taxpayer dollars and the health and safety of the animals” at the existing facility. A new lease agreement, which runs for two years, between Hi-Tor and SWMA was signed at a news conference Thursday by County Executive Ed Day and Haverstraw Town Supervisor Howard Phillips, the current chairman of SWMA.
This decision was made earlier in 2022 by the county’s town supervisors all of whom serve on the board of SWMA. The stated goal of the new arrangement is for them to have “complete control and leadership over siting and constructing a new animal shelter.” The county will retain approval rights to all maintenance, repairs and alterations to the property made by SWMA.
