FeedsShelter to get much needed facelift
Though city officials agree a new animal shelter is needed, repairs to the existing facility cannot wait.
That prompted Eagle Scout Joseph Forbush, seeking a public service project, to volunteer to assemble a group of residents to make repairs and paint the shelter – which is the next best scenario to having a new facility.
“I thought I would collect food, but then I thought with the price of gas, who would want to drive door to door to pick (food) up,” said Forbush at the regular city council meeting Monday.
To finalize Eagle Scout status, candidates who have spent several years in scouting must complete a public service project that brings needed assistance to a good cause. Giving back to the community is part of the concept of scouting.
Council members received the idea of fixing up the shelter, located on Goddard Road, with enthusiasm.
“I want to commend (Forbush) for doing this because it’s something that is needed,” said Councilman William Wadsworth, an avid volunteer at the shelter who is leading the fundraising drive to build a new shelter to house abandoned and stray animals.
Although the volunteer effort did not require council approval, Councilman William Crova said city officials are on board with any improvements to the shelter.
“I know this is an issue that is near and dear to Councilman Wadsworth, but we all know we need a new shelter.”
A drive to build a new animal shelter has been under way for about four years.
The current facility on Goddard Road does not have enough capacity to hold all the abandoned and stray cats and dogs in the city, and has fewer places to store food, medicine, and supplies.
Wadsworth asked the city council to designate a bank account so he could raise money to pay for the construction of a new shelter, and since then, numerous fundraisers have taken place to benefit that end.
Estimates indicate that a new shelter would cost $250,000 to build. Wadsworth said that funds from individuals and businesses, as well as in-kind promises for labor, means that work can get started without necessarily having all of the money in hand.
To date, $130,000 in cash has been donated, and about $70,000 in in-kind services from local businesses has been pledged.
The Tax Increment Financing Authority (TIFA) is also overseeing a process to design a new shelter, and is working with the design firm Ghafari & Associates.
The new shelter will be located on a city-owned parcel of land on Northline Road, near the Department of Public Works Building. The new plan calls for many new amenities, including an adoption area and an improved storage area for supplies.
But for the foreseeable future, animals will be housed at the old shelter, which is badly in need of a facelift, said Wadsworth.
“I commend (Forbush) for volunteering to help,” he said.
