County eyes architect for animal shelter

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Williams

The county Buildings and Grounds Committee has recommended the county hire an architect who said a new animal shelter can be built for $5 million, and possibly completed by the end of 2009.

The Petersen Group of Clifton Park was one of three firms interviewed, as supervisors sought to find out how much shelter could be built for a $5 million budget.

“We thought their presentation was the most personal; they had the most feel for the situation,” said Supervisor Preston Jenkins Jr., R-Moreau, who chaired the subcommittee that did the interviews last month.

He said the Petersen Group was the only firm that said it could design a 27,000-square-foot building with a spaying-neutering area and other amenities within the $5 million budget set by supervisors.

The recommendation, made at a meeting Monday in Ballston Spa, will go before the full Board of Supervisors for consideration on April 15.

Studies done by another firm in 2006 and 2007 estimated the cost at $12 million and then $8 million — both figures most supervisors thought were too high.

The current animal shelter at the County Farm property on County Farm Road in Milton is more than 30 years old, and is considered too small for the current needs. It also no longer meets recommended standards for animal care, shelter Director Dan Butler has said.

The shelter provides a place for abandoned and stray animals, mostly dogs and cats, and it offers for public adoption those that are eligible.

Butler has said the county needs more room for dogs and cats, and should have a surgical area where animals can be spayed or neutered, to reduce pet population pressure, before being offered for adoption.

“I want to make sure it’s done correctly, that’s all,” Butler said after the committee meeting.

The need for a new shelter is generally acknowledged, and $500,000 for further design work was included in the 2008 county budget.

Jenkins said the firms interviewed generally said a shelter could be finished and ready for occupancy by the spring of 2010, though some supervisors would like to see it finished sooner. The new shelter will be in the proximity of the current one, on the County Farm property.

The other firms interviewed by the county were Sacco-McKinney of Schenectady and Butler Rowland Mays of Mechanicville, the firm that did the earlier animal shelter studies.

The Petersen Group will be paid $425,000 in design fees, plus up to $39,500 for expenses. Jenkins said that was the lowest fee among any of the three firms.