MONTROSE --It's not always easy to promote the tasks performed by city government.
Unless they're directly affected, residents don't automatically warm to new sewer pipes or a traffic light.
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The animal shelter will host the grand opening of a 5,300 square-foot expansion on Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. thanks in part to all of the generosity inspired by its furry residents.
"This community has been tremendous in their feelings for the welfare of animals," said Don Stoutt, president of the Board of Directors for the Montrose Animal Protection Agency. "We got some large donations because a lot of people are animal lovers."
MAPA received nearly $50,000 in cash donations, while city Public Works Director Steve Ryan estimated that nearly $60,000 in in-kind donations came to the project.
The city budgeted $310,000 for the expansion.
"I don't have the final numbers but the project will come in under budget," Ryan said.
While the animals inspired much of the giving Mike Duncan, the city's animal control supervisor, and the rest of the staff at the shelter will benefit from the added space.
"By having the new facility, we'll be able to keep all the sick, diseased and aggressive animals away from the healthy pets," Duncan said. "We have separate rooms to quarantine those animals until they are put up for adoption or need to be euthanized."
The expansion will feature 23 additional kennels for newly acquired dogs and it will triple the shelter's current allotment of 14 cat pens. Both sections will be in the new expansion, while the area containing animals up for adoption will be entirely in the old building.
The segregated facilities will make it easier to assess the behavior and medical needs of the incoming animals, Duncan said.
Medical treatment and grooming will be conducted in a separate room.
The new building also comes with some badly needed additions for staff. The expansion holds a staff bathroom and lockers with a fresh uniform in case the officers have to deal with skunks or have messy encounters with any other animals.
Animal food storage will also be more secure. Before the expansion, food was kept in dumpsters behind the building and even in coat storage at times.
"Rodents would contaminate the old dumpsters about three times a year," Duncan said.
Four silos inside a secure room will house food in the expansion.
The new addition also includes a conference room for staff training and educational activities for children.
The push for the shelter's expansion began in 2002 when the citizen-based Montrose Improvement Team made its first attempt at prioritizing the city's Capital Improvement Plan.
MAPA, whose mission includes providing financial assistance to spay and neuter cats, educating the public about animal issues, and working with the shelter, wanted more space for the animal shelter.
The group wanted to expand the building that was built in 1988, a time when Montrose only had 8,800 residents.
"It was OK for the time, but times change," Stoutt said. "They were just bulging at the seams."
The MIT gave it the second highest priority in its update, but the city asked MAPA in the fall of 2002 if it could raise $50,000 for the facility.
"None of us are professional fund-raisers so we wanted to talk about it," Stoutt said. "This was a big chunk to chew off."
It turned out that an expansion for lost and abandoned animals was a soft sell.
"To make a long story short, there were two parts to this campaign and part of it was cash donations," Stoutt said. "The other part of it was in-kind donations. This was materials and services the city went after. That was even a bigger chunk than what we raised."
The stream of in-kind donations to help with the construction came from Avila Concrete, Buckhorn Geotech, Cobble Creek Golf Community, Del Mont Engineering, Delta Sand & Gravel, Honnen Equipment, Ken Hunt, P.C., Independence Building, One Track Communications, Ridgway Valley Enterprises, ServiceMaster, Summit Roofing, Western Gravel, and landscape architect Julee Wolverton.
Nearly 30 members of the city's public works staff also donated their free time to work on the shelter.
Contact Matt Hildner via e-mail
at matth@montrosepress.com
Katharhynn Heidelberg
MONTROSE - Yes, but don't ask again, county commissioners told those seeking planning funds for the utilization of a Job Access Reverse Commute grant, in a 2-1 vote.
Lacey Anderson of Aspen Diversified Industries came before the board of commissioners Tuesday seeking a contribution of $5,000 to help pay for the planning process of a $250,000 federal transportation grant that, if it reaches fruition, would furnish limited public transportation for commuters and seniors.
Aspen Diversified is working with Region 10 League for Economic Assistance and Planning to secure the grant money, which is to be disbursed over a three-year period and requires a 50 percent match.
Anderson told the commission the city of Montrose had pledged $25,000 toward the $30,000 necessary for planning, contingent on another entity kicking in the remaining $5,000. This money is strictly for planning, she added and said planning would include re-establishing the transportation committee, identifying goals, transportation needs and costs.
Previous plans were for a transit van six days a week, at a daily charge of $5 per passenger.
The grant itself, through the Federal Transit Authority, was originally offered to Montrose in 2003. Anderson's company did the planning legwork then, but ultimately withdrew, citing administrative costs. The plan was shelved until this May, when the Colorado Department of Transportation contacted Region 10 about reviving it. Without a solid plan, the money would be given to another community.
Though not opposed to projects that would enhance public transit, commissioners were reluctant to plunk down thousands on a study.
"When I hear people asking to fund another study, it turns me off, but if this thing is ever going to get off the ground, I guess it's got to be done at some point," Commissioner Allan Belt said.
Commissioner Dave Ubell said public transit involved more than vehicles. "I just look at what's ahead of us. ŠIt's kind of a chicken and the egg. We can have all the buses and transportation in the world but we don't have the proper streets to move people around."
Audience member Bob Koch also weighed in, asking whether ADI could utilize retired engineers on a volunteer basis, or contact Mesa State College for help with planning, rather than hire staff to perform the study.
Anderson said ADI and Region 10 wouldn't be opposed to that, but would still need to locate and recruit volunteer experts. "Saving costs by getting volunteers could definitely be put on the agenda," she said.
Where the county would get the $5,000 also concerned the commissioners. Belt threw out a recent increase in Payment in Lieu of Taxes money - annual payments from the federal government to counties with public lands in their district - as a possibility, but was reminded these funds vary from year to year and are under constant threat of being cut.
However, one of the main uses of PILT money locally is for transportation and Belt said he was especially concerned about seniors.
"The way the city approved this puts us in a situation that people would believe we've forsaken our senior citizens if we fail to come up with one-fifth of what the city did," he said.
"This isn't the first time that kind of tactic's been used," Ubell added.
Belt moved to dedicate $5,000 for the study, but made it clear the county would not continue to fund it as an additional line item in the coming years.
"It would have to be understood this is a one-time thing. The county of Montrose is not interested in getting caught up in a long-term subsidy of the transportation program. That's just something we can't afford," he said.
Health and Human Services Director Peg Mewes reminded Belt that county funds could well be applied to the project, in the form of money used to fund Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and Colorado Works programs.
"If we have a transportation program, we're going to use this program," she said.
Whether the county would contribute matching funds for the project itself - distinct from the study - would depend on how much Health and Human Services utilizes the end product, Belt clarified after the meeting.
Ubell was the lone nay vote concerning planning money. "I might consider something next year, once we've looked at the budget," he said.
Contact Katharhynn Heidelberg via e-mail
at katharhynnh@montrosepress.com
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