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Thread: Dog lives matter

  1. #151
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    Several town board meetings ago, Dog Control Committee Chair Mike Wozniak presented a timeline when new dog control construction bids would be submitted and where construction would begin in June 2021.

    Seeing there is no resolution on the agenda for bids to go out, where the next board meeting is in the first week of May, hopefully Councilmember Wozniak will update us at Monday’s upcoming meeting on facility construction progress – building design and especially safety features implemented to protect staff and dogs alike against aggressive dogs.

    Dog bites are not only on the rise, but where two dog bite events were especially violent and required individual hospitalization visits and loss of work. An assistant dog control officer was bit, required numerous stiches and missed primary work attendance for several weeks. A resident was bit and later was hospitalized for several days because of infection setting in.

    Near two years since developing and submitting Companion Animal Capitol Fund grant application, 13 months after grant approval and we are still awaiting construction bids and building construction.

    Dog Control activity report from January 1, 2021 through April 15, 2021:

    770 Complaints or calls received
    251 Calls responded to / follow-ups
    35 Compliance notices
    154 Final notices
    44 Court appearance tickets
    11 Dog bite reports filed
    17 dogs redeemed.
    1 Dog rescue transfer
    1 Dog transfer to SPCA
    0 Dogs euthanized
    1 Deceased dog – hit by car
    4,196 miles patrolled by van

    Still awaiting news on dog census - promised several years by the town.

  2. #152
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    Dog facility construction update

    At Monday's town board meeting, Councilmember Mike Wozniak, Dog Control Committee Chair, gave an updated timetable on the pending new dog control facility regarding construction bidding process and anticipated construction date startup.

    A few meetings ago, Wozniak spoke on construction starting the beginning of June. Wozniak said that plans have been distributed for the project and will be sent out for construction bids at the May 3rd meeting. Approximately 21 days after that, the bids will be opened, reviewed by the town engineer and town board – hopefully, no later than June 21st. Wozniak closed by saying that the town anticipates breaking ground no later than late summer, early fall.

    Comment

    The estimated June 21st date for bid completion, review, and decision making will be 7 months after the initial bid process took place in late November 2020 - denied December 2020 because the lowest bid was $600,000 over town engineering estimated construction cost.

    No building design details were offered by Mr. Wozniak. Whether or not any information will be provided in the May 3rd bid resolution on what has been sacrificed in regard to building design / number of kennels / safety features, etc. remains to be seen. What changes have been made to reduce construction costs to close the $600,000 gap will be of interest. Of interest because it remains perplexing how the town and town’s engineering department underestimated the costs of building the dog facility when applying for the state grant. More state grant funding could have been applied for.

  3. #153
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    Last night, the town board approved a resolution inviting public bids for the construction of Lancaster’s 2020 Dog Shelter Grant Project.

    At the pre-file resolution public comment session, I asked Dog Control Committee Chair Mike Wozniak whether the plans that were being submitted for contractor bids were able to be accessed through FOIL?

    Wozniak: Yes, they can be foiled through the Clerk’s Office.

    Chowaniec: Could you recap what you presented in the work session regarding the increased cost of materials, their impact on the bid process and whether you are confident the bids will meet our design estimates? And, in a general sense what will be in place regarding an office within the building, a safe entrance way to bring aggressive dogs to the kennels away from the public? We both know of the dog bite situation in the town. Can we be assured protections will be in place?

    Wozniak: Sure. Right now the building is designed with an attached garage, an office and a kennel area. There is an exam room, a rest room facility for staff, meeting the Market-Ag spec as far as I am aware of. I am not a Dog Control expert on how to control dogs but I belief the drawing complies to meet those obligations. I don’t think there is any reason to FOIL for any information. There isn’t anything there that we would not want to share.

    Chowaniec: I agree from what you have just related it assures that the building is constructed well and meets requirements as stated previously. I will not pursue FOIL. But again, for those who may have missed your work session presentation on the implications of the increased material costs and possible impact on the bids, could you recap that?

    Wozniak: The cost of building materials is substantially higher now from last year. And it is going to be challenging even with the new design and methodology Ed Schiller (Town Engineer) and his crew came up with.

    We won’t know what the overall cost is until the end of the month. If it comes in higher than what the budget is, then we will have to go to Plan B – go outside the box a bit. I think Ed (Schiller) and his group has done a good job thinking outside the box. If the bids come in higher than our budget, then we are going to have to go farther outside the box.

    Comment

    It appears quite likely that the bids will exceed budget and the ‘outside the box’ thinking will necessitate design and equipment changes that may compromise building function and safety procedures that protect staff, public, and dogs.

    Construction material costs have increased significantly. That begs the question why the initial bid process was so long in the making and where the bids were received and denied in December of 2019 - $700,000 over budget.

    At a March 3rd town board meeting Wozniak had already spoke on design changes because of material costs doubling in the last year and having to think outside the box:

    “I imagine they will be inflated. How much, we don’t know yet. Ed Schiller (Town Engineer) and his group has come up with an alternative from conventional (?) framing that should save some money and increase the likelihood that the attached garage will be part of this initial construction of the project.

    If in fact, the cost of the attached garage comes in too high, I have had conversations internally with the Highway Superintendent regarding the availability of town employees that might be able to assist in that endeavor.”


    The same Ed Schiller who estimated the construction cost of the building and where the bids came in $700,000 higher. The same Ed Schiller who was in charge in redesigning the building, faulting others for the cost override, while procrastinated on getting to the bid stage by declaring “we have time”.

    If the redesigned facility fails to meet NYS Ag & Markets grant application requirements / regulations, one must be concerned on the possibility of the grant being rescinded. A tragedy considering Wozniak declared the conditions in the current dog control shed as ‘deplorable’.

  4. #154
    Member mark blazejewski's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Chowaniec View Post

    Wozniak: Sure. Right now the building is designed with an attached garage, an office and a kennel area.
    Without intending to be overly suspicious, may I suggest that the verbiage "Right now" does not seem to be a fixed commitment, but rather a snapshot in time, and therefore, perhaps subject to change?

    I offer that question out of an overabundance of caution, considering that "Right now" should perhaps be considered within the context of these previous comments:

    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Chowaniec View Post

    At the December 7th town board meeting I asked Town Engineer Ed Schiller the following:

    Chowaniec: Garage included?

    Schiller: Garage, which is not required.
    Last edited by mark blazejewski; May 4th, 2021 at 12:23 PM.
    LIDA Member Rinow to Member Ruda: You were a sitting Trustee on the Board. Did you help support Mr. Sweeney getting a seat on the CDC Board?"

  5. #155
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    Hey Mark:

    I am in possession of the dog control building design that will be put out for contractor bids.

    As councilmember Mike Wozniak presented Monday night when questioned by me, the building is 2,078 sq. ft. in size, including attached garage.

    Within the building:

    Vestibule
    Office
    Exam room
    Rest room
    Mechanical Room (Heating, wash area, etc.)
    Passageway
    6 kennels (reduced from 9 kennel original design
    Kennel support area

    I understand that is Plan A, and in my mind is doomed for failure – as the first bid design.

    There is an alternate Plan B design submitted as well – elimination of the attached garage. The building size would be reduced by approximately 440 sq. ft. This plan may very well come in over budget and is why Wozniak spoke on ‘thinking outside the box’ and building an office and garage in the future.

    Have yet to hear whether the new design still includes a brick & mortar building, has adequate sound proofing, protective kennel caging accommodations, etc., all within the original design.

    Losing 3 kennels at a time when the new dog park is near going into operation is significant. Dog bite incidents in the town is on the rise and there is likely to be an increase of dog-on-dog bites and dog-on-human bites in the dog park.

  6. #156
    Member mark blazejewski's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Chowaniec View Post
    Hey Mark:

    I am in possession of the dog control building design that will be put out for contractor bids.

    As councilmember Mike Wozniak presented Monday night when questioned by me, the building is 2,078 sq. ft. in size, including attached garage.

    Within the building:

    Vestibule
    Office
    Exam room
    Rest room
    Mechanical Room (Heating, wash area, etc.)
    Passageway
    6 kennels (reduced from 9 kennel original design
    Kennel support area

    I understand that is Plan A, and in my mind is doomed for failure – as the first bid design.

    There is an alternate Plan B design submitted as well – elimination of the attached garage. The building size would be reduced by approximately 440 sq. ft. This plan may very well come in over budget and is why Wozniak spoke on ‘thinking outside the box’ and building an office and garage in the future.

    Have yet to hear whether the new design still includes a brick & mortar building, has adequate sound proofing, protective kennel caging accommodations, etc., all within the original design.

    Losing 3 kennels at a time when the new dog park is near going into operation is significant. Dog bite incidents in the town is on the rise and there is likely to be an increase of dog-on-dog bites and dog-on-human bites in the dog park.
    As I understand your comments, I am sorry to read this Lee.

    Anyone who has had the misfortune of engaging an aggressive dog knows of the potential dangers that most probably may attend the elimination of the attached garage.

    I wonder how many dog bite victims, both human Animal Control staff and helpless canine, will be resident in that futuristic "thought box?"
    LIDA Member Rinow to Member Ruda: You were a sitting Trustee on the Board. Did you help support Mr. Sweeney getting a seat on the CDC Board?"

  7. #157
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    Shelters are reporting high rates of returning and surrendering dogs adopted during the pandemic

    Rescuing and buying pandemic puppies was all but a trend when the coronavirus first swept the nation last year, and now, shelters are seeing that trend fizzle out as the pandemic wanes, with people heading back to their local shelters to return their now-grown dogs.

    Data collected by PetPoint supports this, finding that pet adoptions rose 12 percent in 2020. Owners returning their pets has risen 82.6 percent since 2020,

    The surrendering of these dogs coincides with cities and states that are easing and lifting coronavirus restrictions as more and more of the population becomes vaccinated, allowing these owners to return to work, go out to socialize more often, and even take trips.

    But returning and even rehoming a dog has traumatic effects on the animal. "They get used to a routine pretty quickly. They get used to the family, they get used to their space, they get used to their routine and schedule they have," Roberts said. "It's really scary for them."

    It can also lead to elongated stays in shelters for these returned dogs, or even eventual euthanasia, as the dogs being returned tend to have aged, and older dogs have a 25 percent chance of being adopted, whereas puppies have a 60 percent chance, according to the ASPCA.


    Comment

    Is Lancaster ready for any increase in returns or strays simply let go with its deplorable 4 kennel shed and a disconnected Dog Control office? Absolutely not!

    Will the bids put out to build a reduced sized 6 kennel dog control facility meet the allotted $305,000 budget? Very unlikely.

    When will this shelter be built? A few will answer who cares. The great majority of animal owners should be livid that the construction of this dog shelter has been so long in the making (15 months after approved state grant funding) and when learning the constructed facility will fall short in meeting the original design plans and the services provided to ensure dog and public best interests / safety.

  8. #158
    Member mark blazejewski's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Chowaniec View Post

    Comment

    Is Lancaster ready for any increase in returns or strays simply let go with its deplorable 4 kennel shed and a disconnected Dog Control office? Absolutely not!
    Truly upsetting circumstances.

    Speaking of numbers, any word on the status of the Dog Census Lee?
    Last edited by mark blazejewski; May 13th, 2021 at 07:59 AM.
    LIDA Member Rinow to Member Ruda: You were a sitting Trustee on the Board. Did you help support Mr. Sweeney getting a seat on the CDC Board?"

  9. #159
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    Quote Originally Posted by mark blazejewski View Post
    Truly upsetting circumstances.

    Speaking of numbers, any word on the status of the Dog Census Lee?
    Not to my knowledge.

    I imagine they may be just 'thinking-outside-the-box' on this matter as well. It's only been three years since the town proposed doing a dog census.

  10. #160
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    Dog control construction bids to be opened this week

    It is my understanding that the bids received to construct the new dog control facility will be opened and reviewed this week. Most likely they will be revealed to the public and by resolution accepted or denied at the June 7th scheduled town board meeting.

    Don’t be surprised if the bids come nowhere close to meeting the budgeted construction funding ($305,000). What more can be cut from the original building design that has not already been cut and still meet the needs of an operation that has grown significantly over the years.

    Dog control Committee Chair Mike Wozniak spoke at the last meeting on the possibility of having to think outside-the-box should the bids be denied. It appears to many that the town created the box by underestimating the cost of the facility when applying for state grant funding and by delaying moving the project forward.

    The current design submitted for bid has 3 less kennels than the original design and only 2 more than the wooden shed that is in deplorable shape and in dire need of replacement.

    As posted earlier, the dog control operation statistics from January 1, 2021 through April 15th, 2021:

    770 Complaints or calls received
    251 Calls responded to / follow-ups
    35 Compliance notices
    154 Final notices
    44 Court appearance tickets
    11 Dog bite reports filed
    17 dogs redeemed.
    1 Dog rescue transfer
    1 Dog transfer to SPCA
    0 Dogs euthanized
    1 Deceased dog – hit by car
    4,196 miles patrolled by van

  11. #161
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    Good news for dog lovers?

    A lengthy New York Times report today titled: ‘No, people are not returning pandemic dogs in droves’,[/B] assures us previous reports on the number of pandemic dog returns is greatly exaggerated. Hopefully, the report is credible. We shall see within the next several months when children return to school and work-from-home parents return to their offices.

    No, people are not returning pandemic dogs in droves

    Animal welfare advocates were delighted when the pandemic prompted thousands of bored and isolated Americans to adopt dogs last year.
    They also worried that when offices reopened and social life began returning to normal, those new pet owners would cast aside their dogs, like children who had outgrown their teddy bears. Despite some alarmist news reports, the story so far is much happier than that.

    Shelter data and interviews with animal welfare experts point to a confirmed shift in pet ownership in the U.S., as people bonded with their new animal companions during an incredibly stressful period. Giving up their pets borders on the unthinkable for many.

    “We don’t have any evidence to show that shelters are seeing an increase,” said Michael San Filippo, a spokesman for the American Veterinary Medical Association.

    In April, 15,906 dogs were surrendered by their owners – an increase of nearly 80% over April 2020, according to Pet-Point. But many shelters curtailed operations in April 2020, meaning fewer pets could be returned that month. And the numbers were still well below the 20,289 dogs that were surrendered in April 2019, before the coronavirus upended life and commerce.

    “Don’t be deceived by the fluffy puppies and cuddly kittens in the news,” Steve Zeidman wrote in a blog post on the PetPoint website. He added, in another post written with Todd Whittington, that “sensational” reports of pandemic pets being returned in large numbers are “completely untrue.”

  12. #162
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    Are people returning their pandemic pets?

    https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/lo...4-881451ccf040

  13. #163
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    Legislator secures key funding for completion of Como Lake Bark Park

    Erie County Legislator Frank Todaro recently announced he has secured $150,000 in key funding to go toward the construction, completion and maintenance of Como Lake Bark Park in Lancaster.

    https://www.lancasterbee.com/article...ake-bark-park/

  14. #164
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    The town opened the contracting rebids last week to construct the new dog control facility. The November 2020 bids came in at near $1 million – near $700,000 over allotted state grant and town matching funding - $305,000.

    The design plan was modified for the recent proposal for bids with the biggest change being the reduction in number of kennels – from 9 to 6. With the significant increase in building and equipment supplies, it is unlikely the bids will come in anywhere near the $305,000 available project funding.

    Council Member Mike Wozniak, Dog Control Committee Chair stated at a recent meeting that if the bids exceeded the available funding, the town would have to ‘think outside the box’ and again modify the design. Hopefully, whatever scaled-down model version, it is imperative that the design ensures the wellbeing of the animals and provides safety / protection for the staff and community as well as the dogs.

    I cannot understand why the town did not pursue more available state grant funding ($500,000 was available) and how the town’s contracted engineering firm failed to properly estimate facility construction cost from the get-go.

    As Wozniak openly declared at a town board meeting, the current 4-kennel shed is in deplorable condition and the logistics are terrible. It will be interesting to discover what $305,000 can build in today’s world.

    It has been two years since the plan’s inception, 15 months since state grant funding approval, and we have yet to see a shovel in the ground. The town is growing, the number of licensed and unlicensed dogs increasing, and we have a 4-kennel deplorable shed with no drainage for animal waste disposal.

    The dogs, staff and community deserve better!

  15. #165
    Member mark blazejewski's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Chowaniec View Post
    I cannot understand why the town did not pursue more available state grant funding ($500,000 was available) and how the town’s contracted engineering firm failed to properly estimate facility construction cost from the get-go.
    As I understand the history of this thing, and please straighten me out if I am wrong Lee, the ACO submitted her thoughts on what was required of a new facility to ensure staff and animal safety, and to provide a healthy residential environment for the animals.

    Assuming that my understanding is correct, your observation is meritoriously fundamental to this rather perplexing situation.

    This grant was prepared by the new "Whiz Kid" grant writer retained by Ruffino, was it not?

    If I am equally correct on the grant writer's role, does it not appear that the new grant writer may have dropped the ball in her preparation?

    So, who bears the burden of that possible misstep, the animals and the dedicated ACO staff, eh?
    Last edited by mark blazejewski; June 2nd, 2021 at 10:39 AM.
    LIDA Member Rinow to Member Ruda: You were a sitting Trustee on the Board. Did you help support Mr. Sweeney getting a seat on the CDC Board?"

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