Business & Tech
Council Weighs New Dearborn Animal Shelter Location
The city of Dearborn will donate land for the construction of a new animal shelter in 2014.
There's a dream hanging on the wall of the Dearborn Animal Shelter.
Although it's easy to miss during the daily hustle of activities, the architect's sketch shows what a new shelter could be -- individual dog and cat rooms, a multi-purpose room and a welcoming lobby.
It's a 22,000 square foot facility that would create a better environment for the animals and help solve longterm maintenance and overcrowding issues with the current, aging shelter, said Kelle Sisung, development director for the Friends for the Dearborn Animal Shelter.
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"We hope to break ground on a new facility in 2014," Sisung said.
All of that depends, however, on how much money the Friends can raise through a massive capital campaign that is currently underway.
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Sisung said the group anticipates construction of the new shelter could cost anywhere from $4.4 to $5.7 million depending on land and ancillary costs. Of that amount, she said the Friends have already raised $1.44 million in gifts and pledges.
That does not include a land donation from the city of Dearborn, nor a $550,000 endowment provided to the Friends from a private donor, bringing the Friends to 36 percent of their goal.
"At this point, we feel comfortable with going to the community at large for the public phase of this campaign," Sisung said.
Location, location, location
In July 2012 the city signed a letter of intent to donate a $400,000 parcel of land and $600,000 for the new shelter as certain financial benchmarks are met.
During a briefing session with Mayor John B. O'Reilly, Jr. on Tuesday, City Council President Tom Tafleski asked for an update on the location of the new shelter.
O'Reilly said an exact location has not been determined, however one possibility is the current Amtrak station that will be unoccupied once the Intermodal Passenger Rail Station opens up in 2014. The Friends could remodel the Amtrak building for a welcome center, but would also have to construct an entirely new facility to house the animals.
"(Using the Amtrak station) would be an amicable solution otherwise we would have to reoccupy that building for some other function or remove it," O'Reilly said.
Tafelski and Councilman David Bazzy agreed, stating that they would like to see property west of the station that the city owns be used for future development or a possible dog park.
"There are so many things going on right now that are in flux. I would hate to give up a parcel that may have some further value for the city downstream with a parcel of land that doesn't have any further value," Bazzy said.
Shelter population outgrowing current facility
Sophie Bozak, financial director for the Friends, said the group is waiting on requests for proposals from four architects to determine a location that would fit the shelter's needs.
The shelter is currently located on Greenfield Road and has an average daily population of 182, with another 103 animals in foster care. In 2012, the shelter received 2,789 animals (1,063 dogs and 1,726 cats).
Elaine Greene, executive director of the Friends for the Dearborn Animal Shelter said the existing shelter has inadequate space which results in overcrowding for animals and staff."Our goal in the new shelter is not house more animals at one time but to provide great care for animals that we shelter," Greene said. "The new facility will allow us to have properly appointed space for our programs which will provide an improved level of efficiency and service to the animals and the people in the community."
For example, Greene said some of the shelter's cages do not meet the size standards recommended by animal care experts and require more space than is available in the existing shelter. In addition, the shelter is unable to easily separate dog areas from cat areas, and adults dogs and cats from puppies and kittens.
"These types of separate accommodations are critical in reducing the animals' stress and keeping the animals healthy," Greene said.
Other concerns include lack of an adequate animal support area for storage, laundry and dish washing.
That's the main reasoning behind the city's donation, O'Reilly said.
"The city has an obligation to deal with stray animals. While the current shelter is still a functional building, it doesn't meet the high need," he said. "If we didn't have a shelter, we would have to contract with a humane society for those services. It's an investment we're making to achieve a goal, which is dealing with our animal population."
Moving Forward
The Friends for the Dearborn Animal Shelter will kick-off the public portion of its capital campaign during the Black Tie and Tails fundraiser on Oct. 25 at the Dearborn Inn.While the city of Dearborn has verbally committed to allocating money and property toward the shelter's goal, O'Reilly said it will not be official until the city council approves a line item budget in the city's general fund.
Tafelski and Bazzy said they would like to see the money paid out as the shelter reaches certain mutually-established goals instead of a one-time lump sum.
"As much as the city says we're in full support of the shelter, we have to define what that means," Bazzy said. "I'm reluctant to announce a firm commitment without some sort of Memorandum of Understanding between the city and the animal shelter."
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