Status of new dog control facility

At last night’s town board meeting, the board unanimously voted to reject all bids received for the construction of the facility on December 1, 2020.

Having not heard anything about the project’s status in the past year, I questioned the board for clarification on the project’s status.

Chowaniec: Supervisor Ruffino, on December 1st, the town was made aware the bids to construct the new dog facility well exceeded the town engineer’s estimated cost of $305,000 – by $700,000. Why did it take 7 weeks to reject those unrealistic bids?

Supervisor Ruffino: There were discussions going on between the town and Ag & Markets (State grant agency). Ed (Schiller – (Town Engineer) you can talk more about the bids.

Ed Schiller: The contractors were notified that the buds were not going to be accepted. They were notified prior. There will be a rebid. Three or four weeks ago we had a discussion with Ag & Markets.* They signed off on some of the modifications. We sat down with the Dog Control Committee and we reconfigured the floor plan and put together the new specifications.

*Agriculture & Markets - State Agency awarding the New York State Companion Animal Capitol Fund Grant

Chowaniec: Has the town submitted the new building design to the State for their review and t application approval – a design that meets construction costs, State grant standards and compliance to meet dog safety and security needs? Has the State looked at your new proposal and agreed the new design meets their standards?

Schiller: Yes.

Chowaniec: I can’t get any information on the status of the project. And I am an advocate of this project proposal. So I would like to ask the following:
What is the size of the building compared to the 2,150 sq. ft. in the 2020 grant application?

Schiller: I don’t have the numbers in front of me, so I don’t want to misquote it. We dropped off a couple of kennels. There are six (of nine originally proposed) still being allocated; two for large dogs. We made the office a little smaller. Ag & Markets looked at it and said in their mind there is no change in how they reviewed the original application and the modifications submitted.

Chowaniec: Is this still going to be a brick & mortar building?

Schiller: Well, no. The original application was going to be a brick-and- mortar building, but Ag & Markets is open to what the shell construction is. It can be It can be wood. It can be brick. It can be steel.

Chowaniec: In the new design, will there be a garage?

Schiller: Yes.

Chowaniec: Will there be adequate separation between kennels to provide safety from aggressive or sick dogs?

Schiller: Yes.

Chowaniec: Will the facility have an HVAC system (heating and cooling).

Schiller: Yes.

Chowaniec: Will there be adequate sound proofing? From what I understand even the people who work in other buildings in the town complex they can hear the dogs barking – as well as the neighboring residents. If the building is not brick-and mortar, which dampens sound, is there some kind of soundproof package?

Schiller: Yes, there will be standard construction as far as the walls go There will be some additional soundproofing put in between the kennels in the office area. In the current situation you have those kennels outside.

Chowaniec: So there is going to be an office, become right now her office is down the road of the complex, in another building. For me it’s important to have someone in the building to overlook the operation to ensure the dogs are being provided for as to safety and security.

Schiller: Yes, there is office space provided in the building as well as a work area, bathroom, sink, and washer / dryer,

Chowaniec: When there a design in place and where construction bids are put out on what you are proposing could it be put on the town website or available by FOIL?

Schiller: I don’t want to answer. That would be up to the town board.

Supervisor Ruffino interjected: Lee, it is up to the town board. This is a town project, and we can’t go out and ask everyone’s opinion. That’s not how it works. We trust the engineer to put up the building.

Chowaniec: I understand that end of it, but as a taxpaying resident of the Town of Lancaster, I should have the ability to look over the project. That is what openness and transparency is all about.

I am especially interested in this project because we frequently hear and read of families taking in dogs because of the Covid pandemic, Families are going to be encountering difficulties keeping the dogs when they go back to work, kids go back to school, and realizing the cost of maintaining the dogs, whatever,

The town may encounter the difficulty of having a lot of dogs released onto streets or brought to the dog facility for placement. You have to be prepared for on the potential onslaught coming.

Councilman Wozniak: Your time limit is up. But I can assure you as part of that Dog Control Committee we will have conversations with the public on how we move forward.

Chowaniec: In the past we would get committee reports on projects. Perhaps that’s the avenue you want to pursue. Let the people know of the projects status, not so that a year later they are wondering what’s happening.