The Garden City Telegram
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Officials get early look at new animal shelter
Published 11/4/2009 in Local News
By MONICA SPRINGER
The new city and county animal shelter is nearing completion, and city staff said on Tuesday that the shelter should be open by the end of the year.
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Brad Nading/Telegram City employee Roque Flores uses a bobcat to level out a section of sub-dirt for a parking area this morning at the new animal shelter under construction in the 100 block of South Fleming Street
Progress continues on the interior. The walls, ceiling and tile floors are complete in the front of the building, which will house the lobby and offices.
City commissioners toured the new shelter at Fleming Street and Terminal Avenue after their meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
The shelter cost $698,969, Steve Cottrell, city engineer, said. Additional funds needed to equip the 7,454-square-foot building were raised through Finney County Humane Society efforts.
When members of the public enter the new animal shelter, they'll see two cat colonies across from an office area. Cottrell said the cat colonies, where cats can play behind glass, resemble what you would find in a pet store.
The shelter has the space to accommodate about 60 dogs and 40 cats, which is about double what the current shelter holds, Cottrell said.
A large room in the back of the shelter that will hold dog kennels still is under construction. Cottrell said the poly-vinyl walls are being installed, and the cement floor will be sealed. The material on the walls, called Nu-Plank, resembles plastic and can be washed down with a hose for easy cleanup, he said. Fencing will be added next week.
The shelter has an education room the local humane society will use, along with an adoption room with a separate entrance. People can bring their current pets to meet future pets, and a separate fenced area also will be located outside of the adoption room.
The new shelter also has a cat isolation room, a dog isolation room, storage rooms, garage, medical room and offices.
Cottrell said the dog kennels will be stainless steel, so there's no worry of the kennels rusting or corroding.
Also during the meeting, commissioners:
* Reviewed sales tax receipts. The county's receipts for October totaled $108,343, down from $117,796 in October 2008. The city's sales tax receipts totaled $411,421, down from $446,179 in October 2008.
* Voted to tear down a house located at 1206 N. 11th St. that city staff said is unsafe and an eyesore for the community. Utility service in the house has been disconnected since July 2007. The house also has broken windows, structural problems and graffiti.
* City staff said there's no new information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency regarding the proposed flood plain maps. FEMA filed a motion to dismiss Garden City's lawsuit against the federal agency's mapping efforts, which aim to place two drainage ditches and their surrounding areas within a redefined 100-year flood plain.
If FEMA mandates that the proposed maps go into effect, it would add more than 1,800 city and county properties to a revised flood plain in an area that has not been included in any of the Flood Insurance Rate Maps in the past 30 years.
Further info can be found in the City Commission meeting PDF file here.
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