Town seeks money for animal shelter repairs
The town hopes to secure grant money for repairs at the Saugerties Animal Shelter on Route 212, but it missed a recent opportunity to do so.
The issue was discussed during a recent Town Board meeting at which members said they missed the deadline to get money from the Companion Animal Capital Fund that would have covered some of the needed work.
“I might have played a small part in missing the deadline because I was trying to get a hold of an architect firm that could provide an estimate of costs,” Councilman Paul Andreassen said.
The town hoped to get money from a program that provides up to $500,000 for shelters that serve more than one municipality and $250,000 for shelters that serve only one. The town would have been required to contribute 25 percent of the project’s cost.
“We joined [the New York State Animal Protection Federation] that provided a grant opportunity to us,” said town Supervisor Fred Costello. “We are very grateful for the participation we got from a local architect who helped us with some drawings. We also had some participation from local contractors that were willing to help us with some pricing.”
The board voted at its recent meeting to designate the planned repairs to the shelter as exempt from state environmental reviews.
“We have roof and plumbing and some pretty deep structural problems,” Costello said. “Our board is serious about trying to address those concerns.”
Shelter manager Elly Monfett said Tuesday that the facility has 13 dog runs and 16 cat cages, and that it adopted out 194 cats and 77 dogs last year.
“We need a whole new septic system,” she said. “The structure over the outside dog runs is leaking, it’s caved in in one spot, it’s falling apart, it’s just done. The floors need to be redone; they can’t be properly disinfected because they’re all pitted and there’s no coating on them anymore. We have no quarantine room, storage is short.”
Monfett said the town budget includes funding only for the care of dogs. Cat needs are paid entirely through fundraising efforts.