Says animal shelter is a necessity
Jefferson city council member Darren Jackson wants to know community members think about moving forward with an animal shelter. “The press has reported on this, but I ‘d like to hear more from the community as to what they’d like the city to do,” he said.
Don Orris talked with the council during the open forum at the start of the Dec. 8 meeting. Orris assumed a volunteer leader role in the animal shelter project five years ago. With the city claiming no responsibility for planning for or funding construction, Orris has spent untold hours researching shelters, talking with architects, doing presentations, and raising funds. He has raised $634,000, including $201,000 from Grow Greene County and $34,000 for equipment from the Iowa Department of Agriculture.
However, when bids came in last month, they were unexpectedly twice that amount. He discussed the situation as length with the council at the Nov. 24 meeting. The building is designed as a metal building, similar to the new Jefferson Veterinary Clinic. That building a year ago was within Orris’s budget for the shelter.
Since then, construction costs have gone up about 70 percent, Orris learned, due to increased cost of supplies. Also, bidding isn’t competitive currently due to the bountiful work available to construction companies since the August derecho.
At last week’s meeting, Orris said he has talked with the architects about making the building smaller, eliminating overhangs on the doors and outside dog runs, and removing a loft that was to provide storage and a place for the HVAC system. The barebones plan would have the furnace on the main level.
Orris will rebid the project early next year. He isn’t optimistic that bids will come in much lower than before, and he repeated what he told the council last month – if another $500-$600,000 doesn’t turn up by February or March, he’ll call the project a failure and return what has been raised to those who gave it. Grow Greene County has made two of three payments on its commitment. That money would be returned, too.
Councilman Jackson said Orris’s winter timetable for a decision is too short for “even a glimmer of a possibility” of finding the funds. “I’m still hopeful,” he said, but said he can understand how the hope would have been “knocked out” of Orris. “I’m very sorry for that. But I think for donors and the city to make decisions, it will have to be longer than six months.”
“I’ve been asking for money for five years. I think if people are going to give money for this, they’re going to do it in the next three months or they’re not going to do it,” Orris replied. “Even if it’s six months, then if you raise another $100,000, it’s already used up in price increases.”
Jackson asked for input from community members on the next steps. “I don’t know if the city can come up with $600,000, but I’d like to hear something from community people on their feelings on this,” Jackson said. “I’d like to have conversations with people if they feel strongly one way or the other.”
“I feel this is a necessity at some point. Now is actually the necessity time. What is the will of the community?” Jackson asked. Council member Matt Wetrich nodded in agreement to Jackson’s comments.
Orris pushed him for a solution. “I’m not sure,” he said. He’s talked with some city council members about what the city could contribute, “but I don’t know. We’ll have to have more of those conversations,” was Jackson’s reply.
“I think it’s probably time to discuss it. If I give all this money back, you’re going to have to have a facility somewhere. You’re putting the sewer plant right where this animal facility is now,” Orris said.
Council members Harry Ahrenholtz, Dave Sloan and Pat Zmolek, and mayor Matt Gordon said nothing during the discussion.
