The newly created Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard opens today at the site of the Katharine M. Foote memorial shelter in Edgartown, quietly taking over where the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which ran the facility for the past 50 years, left off.

The old MSPCA sign came down early yesterday morning, and the last remaining animals — which included a German Shepherd mix and several cats — were adopted over the past week or sent to the MSPCA shelter in Centerville.

Starting today, volunteers, board members and staff of the new animal shelter will begin the work of cleaning and building repairs, getting the shelter ready for Island animals who need a place to stay while awaiting new homes.

On Tuesday, the shelter signed an open-ended lease with the MSPCA allowing them to rent the building and take over most of the equipment at no cost. One condition is the building must be used as an animal shelter in perpetuity, and the new facility will no longer receive funding from the MSPCA.

The shelter will for now be owned and managed through a public-private partnership that includes a nonprofit board and county government. Funding will come from donations, contributions from Island towns, and fees generated through services. Dukes County Commissioners have agreed to provide funding to run the shelter for the next six months to get the operation off the ground.

The funding will be taken out of the county’s reserve fund, with the understanding that the six Island towns will pay it back at a later date.

The new shelter will be governed by a five-member board of directors chosen by county commissioners for their experience and expertise with animals. The board members are Greg Orcutt, general manager of radio station WMVY, Rosemary Haigazian, an Edgartown attorney, Jessica Burnham, who works in the Dukes County registry of deeds, Mary Jane Pease of Chilmark and Diana Muldaur of Edgartown.

Two part-time employees will serve as shelter directors: Lisa Hayes, who previously worked as a veterinarian technician at Animal Health Care Associates, and Sharon Rzemien, the former animal control officer for Oak Bluffs and Tisbury. As a cost-saving measure, both will work under 20 hours and receive no health benefits.

Their combined salary will be approximately $34,000, according to a financial prospectus drafted by county manager Russell Smith. A third staff member may eventually be hired at an annual salary of around $15,600.

Mr. Smith estimates the shelter will cost around $94,620 to operate annually, which includes the salaries of three part-time employees. Other expenses include $7,000 for heat, $5,500 for electricity and $3,000 for phone service. He estimates the shelter will take in about $70,000 in revenue, with $15,000 coming from adoption services, $35,000 from donations and $20,000 from fund-raising events.

This leaves a deficit of $24,620, Mr. Smith said, which will be made up using contributions from the towns. Under the plan, Edgartown would contribute the most at $6,251, followed by Tisbury at $6,064, Oak Bluffs at $6,001, West Tisbury at $4,217, Chilmark at $1,520 and Aquinnah at $564.

Mr. Smith said the range of services is still being determined, although it is likely they will be scaled back to save money. In previous years, the shelter has run at a deficit of around $130,00, and for the past two years the MSPCA has spent $250,000 to keep the shelter financially solvent, which played a part in the organization’s decision to leave the Vineyard.

Mr. Smith said he is confident the new group can do better.

“Revenues for the MSPCA shelter were $61,169 last year. We think we can do better, and have estimated $70,000 in revenue. They spent $47,843 last year for expenses; we think we can do it for $44,700. Of course, these are all guesstimates. But we think with some creative financing and hard work we can do more with less,” he said.

It is uncertain whether the shelter will continue to operate the crematorium, which has been a point of contention among animal activists on the Island. Some would like to see the shelter be dedicated as a so-called “no kill” facility. But others point out that the facility perform a necessary function for disposing of the remains of deceased animals, or animals that are put to sleep with the consent of their owners due to devastating injury or terminal illness.

“People have this idea that animals not placed in homes are destroyed [in the crematorium]. To my knowledge, that has rarely, if ever, happened on the Island,” Mr. Smith said. “The two main reasons animals are destroyed is when there is suffering, and when they become a danger to society. This idea that animals are destroyed because of a lack of planning is not accurate,” he added.

Mr. Smith said the final decision on the crematorium will be made by the board of directors, although in his opinion, the facility could be profitable.

Brian Adams, senior manager for media relations for the MSPCA, said he was pleased a group of Islanders has taken over the shelter. He said he was impressed that a board of directors had formed and drafted a business plan in the short period since the organization announced it would close the shelter, only three months ago.

“This is about as happy an ending as you can hope for, all things considered. It was always our hope an Island group would take over after we left, and this really worked out. We are excited the shelter will remain in operation and take care of animals in need,” he said.

The MSPCA announced this week it had sold another one of its shelters, a much larger facility in Springfield, to the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society as part of a deal similar to the one on the Vineyard. MSPCA president Carter Luke said in a prepared statement he was pleased that local groups stepped in to keep both shelters open.

“Animal welfare is alive and strong in Massachusetts,” Mr. Luke said. “Through an open and cooperative approach with local communities we are ensuring animals in need of care will be helped in western Massachusetts and on Martha’s Vineyard.”

Donations to the new shelter can be sent to the County of Dukes County at P.O. Box 190, Edgartown, MA 02539. Checks should be made out to County of Dukes County, with a note in the memo denoting the donation is for the animal shelter. Donations are tax deductible.