Another Step In The Journey

The ad-hoc animal control shelter facility committee took another baby step Monday.

The group agreed to go out to bid with a request for proposals for a new animal control shelter. Originally, the committee was considering buying plans for $19,500 and then going out to bid, but this was preferred because it requires no upfront funds, Committee Co-Chairwoman Margaret Ormond said.

First Selectman Dan Steward has said many times to get a true price, and then negotiations and allocations can begin. The town of East Lyme, which shares the shelter, wants to know the total cost of the project before it will commit money to it, Steward said.

The request for proposal (RFP) will address that issue and get a definite price, Ormond said.

Too Much Of A Burden

Putting the RFP together will be a lot of work, Ormond said, far more what other boards and committees are expected to do.

“It puts a tremendous amount of work on us laypeople,” she said. “I have been involved in town government for 20 years … This is way above and beyond what is expected of most committees.”

The RFP can be created in about three weeks, according to a letter by Police Lt. Jeff Nixon read by Ormond. The group will probably get the request out by October, and then some prices from developers will begin to come in, she said.

Meanwhile, Ormond said she has been courting a local engineer who brings his dog to work with him to join the committee. Getting more people with experience is key to making the RFP happen, she said.

Ormond also asked Public Works Director Ron Cusano for help. Cusano said he couldn’t as he was overloaded with work at public works already, she said.

That leaves the committee to make this happen, Ormond said.

“We are going to have to put our nose to the grindstone and really get this going,” she said.

Money Issues

This spring, the board of finance by the group for $45,000 to design the shelter. In June, the board of selectmen rejected , one for $1.7 million and another for $1.2 million, before finally agreeing to a conceptual $500,000 plan.

Meanwhile, the group has raised $12,000 through fundraising. But while every little bit counts, the cost of the shelter is ultimately going to fall to the taxpayer, Ormond said.

“These small efforts are not going to build the shelter,” Ormond said. “The town has to step up to the plate to fulfill its statutory and humanitarian duty to build a new shelter.”

The group is spending $1,500 of the raised money to put fundraising brochures in the Waterford Times and East Lyme Times, weekly newspapers sent to all homes. That wound up being $3,500 cheaper than mailing them out, Co-Chairwoman Robin Perkins said.

Also, the group unanimously approved asking Michelle Yuchniuk, wife of Animal Control Officer Robert Yuchniuk, to be in charge of the committee’s fundraising.