(BIVN) – A bill that will create a new “Animal Control And Protection Agency” to serve Hawaiʻi island passed first reading on Wednesday.

The Hawaiʻi County Council voted in favor of Bill 22, introduced by Councilmembers Heather Kimball and Cindy Evans, establishing “an independent agency to provide for the care and maintenance of impounded animals and to fulfill the functions and requirements of Hawaii Revised Statutes, Chapters 143 and 711 relating to the protection of animals.”

Hawaiʻi County Managing Director Lee Lord told the council the administration will be posting the “statistics and metrics about what’s happening at the animal shelters” to a website that will be created for the new agency. A task force, also to be created, will help determine “the best metrics to put on” the website, and also to give “input on what we’re doing and give us support and recommendations.”

“As soon as this bill passes, we also need to hire somebody to be the shelter administrator,” Lord said.

Lord said they plan to expand the West Hawaiʻi and to Waimea animal shelters, “and we’re visiting The Barking kennel this coming Thursday” with Public Works, Finance and Human Resources, “so that we can look at exactly what changes need to be made to the current facility.”

“I feel that time is of the essence to get this first step put through,” said councilmember Michelle Galimba, “and so don’t want to mess around with a lot of amendments.”

“We really need to get this agency and this administrator set up so that we can do all of the good things that we want to do for the animals,” Galimba said.