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Minutes from the Public Safety Committee work session on May 17, 2006.
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Public Safety Committee Minutes
Work session
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
11:30 p.m.
Members present were: Jim Hargis, Tim McCall and Chris Moore. Councilwoman Furr, Councilman Johnson and Councilman Perrin were unable to attend.
ANIMAL CONTROL
Councilman Hargis read a memo he had prepared stating the history of the new animal shelter project. He presented the committee with a copy of an article printed in December’s edition of City and Town magazine written by Ms. Glen Gossett stating the price of a new building would cost $250,000. He stated a contract building approximately 124x167 was estimated at a cost of $175,000. With the addition of concrete slab and footing, the total cost would increase to approximately $295,000. He added the City should hire an architect and take bids for the project.
Mr. Brian Wadley stated they do not have a proposal yet; the project is still in the visionary stage of trying to determine what type of facility is needed and how much should be spent on it. The Animal Control Department, with help from the Engineering Department, put together what they thought they would want in the new building and passed the information on to Nabholtz. Mr. Gene Vance was given the plans and put together some figures on how much the plan would cost. Discussion was held regarding the three animal shelters that were they visited.
Mr. Vance stated the estimated cost of the new Animal Control shelter would be $2,009,848. He presented the committee with copies of the facility plan. It will have 120 kennels to hold dogs and will be four times bigger than the shelter that was looked at in Bowling Green. He added if the City wants anything similar to the facility in Bowling Green it would cost in the range of $2.09 million. He further stated the facility would last a long time, would be air conditioned and easily washed out when needing cleaning. Discussion was held regarding the facility and what would be in it.
Mayor Formon added the property where the shelter will be built is by an industrial area, so ideally the animals should be kept inside. He stated the Humane Society is keeping all their animals inside their building.
Animal Control Director Jim Bowman stated they need at least 80 kennels. He added the building in the plans would allow them to grow over the years. Discussion was held regarding the City’s liability keeping several dogs in one pen at a time. Mayor Formon added the 120 kennels in the plans would reduce the City’s liability since dogs could have kennels by themselves. It was added other animals such at cattle could be held as well. It was also explained the building would have no public access except to the office and administrative area.
Chairman Moore questioned whether they could just have the kennel area with a roof and open on the sides. Mayor Formon stated the amount of mosquitoes in the area could possibly harm the animals if they are in an open area. Mr. Bowman explained if the area is open it would increase the spread of diseases.
It was questioned why the facility is going to cost so much. Mr. Vance explained for the facility to last it would need to be made of stainless steel, but the high price was just a combination of all the elements needed to make a lasting building. Mr. Bowman added someday they will need to pass a cat law. He explained cats and dogs cannot be kept in the same area, but they can use one of the wards in the plan to house cats. Chairman Moore stated he did not want to cut the number of kennels because 120 kennels would be needed.
Mr. Vance stated there will be an architect as well as engineers on the project. He explained his purpose in the project is to budget so when an architect is hired that person will know what the City can get for the budget.
Discussion was held regarding the facility in Bowling Green.
Mr. Wadley questioned the committee as to how much a reasonable amount would be to budget for the building. Councilman Hargis stated in comparison to other buildings $400,000 should be adequate enough to build a shelter. Mayor Formon added that there is almost 6,000 square feet just in office space, which alone would cost at least half a million dollars. Mr. Vance explained over $40,000 is being spent just to galvanize the building. He also stated a reason for the cost of the building is because the construction company is seeing an increase of 12-15% every year. He explained $2 million is a realistic number that will be what comes back when the bids for the project come in. Councilman Hargis reaffirmed the City needing an animal control shelter and it has been needed for a long time.
Chairman Moore asked how much the cost of galvanizing would decrease if the offices were in a separate building from the kennel area. Mr. Vance explained the cost would be cut by $10,000 to $15,000 since the galvanizing cost only $40,000 for the whole project. It was then questioned whether the dogs could be kept separate using just chainlink fencing as opposed to building walls. Mayor Formon stated that would be a false savings because they’re constantly replacing chainlink fencing. Ms. Glen Gossett added dogs can chew through the chainlink fencing. It was added that using chainlink would also help spread disease.
Councilman McCall asked Mayor Formon what they should do and how much the City could afford. Mayor Formon stated he thought the building would come in around $750,000 to $1 million. He also discussed cutting the number of kennels and adding them later. Mayor Formon stated after learning how much the office space alone would cost, he would estimate spending at least $1 million on a new building. Mr. Vance discussed what could be cut from the building and how much the cutbacks would save. Mr. Vance explained that realistically the City should be looking to spend about $1.3 to $1.4 million for 60 kennels. Chairman Moore expressed concerns over the Council approving an animal shelter costing over $2 million. He questioned with the City’s other current building needs whether the Council would approve the project if it cost over $1 million.
Discussion was held regarding having open sides on the building. Mr. Vance explained the open sides goes back to the spread of disease and being unsanitary for neighboring facilities. Chairman Moore questioned how much it would cost to have a separate building for the offices, with a galvanized chainlink building for the kennels with open sides. Mr. Vance stated the posts will have to be replaced someday and that would be a responsibility of future administrations and Councils. He added if the City does not go with the closed in sides, they should consider what his company did at VetCare with having pre-cast concrete panels halfway up and fencing on the top of that. He explained he did that so long ago he is not sure how much that would cost now. Mayor Formon stated if chainlink worked, they would’ve seen it in more facilities.
Mr. Vance suggested setting the price and allowing the Mayor to hire an architect so they can work with the architect to make the project fit the budget. Mayor Formon added he doesn’t mind cutting back on things as long as the items are built whenever the money is available. Mr. Vance stated one of their goals is to make things expandable.
It was questioned how much money Mr. Vance should budget for when making plans for the new building. Councilman Hargis stated $400,000 should be enough. Chairman Moore, Councilman McCall and Mayor Formon stated they were comfortable with budgeting $1 million for a new animal shelter.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.