Locations for dog kennel likely to be reviewed at upcoming council meeting

In response to citizen comments regarding the future of the city’s dog kennel project, Newton Police Chief Rob Burdess said last month that he plans to bring a list of other potential locations to be considered for approval at an upcoming council meeting in December. The last council meeting of the month is Dec. 16.

Which means in the next few days council members will likely see what other options are at their disposal. Burdess noted in his comments at the end of the Nov. 18 council meeting that the city has gone past the point of any kind of “turnkey” solution, and it is going to take more work to get new locations ready.

The kennel itself has been delivered to the City of Newton. Measuring 12 feet by 52 feet, the kennel features eight units to house dogs. The modular kennel has indoor and outdoor dividers with guillotine doors, door feeders, water bowl systems and a 10 feet by 12 feet lobby area with a sink and storage area.

“It’s sitting on a Newton property right now,” Burdess said. “There is not a final location at this point. City staff has realistically surveyed about 20 different city properties. We’re going to be bringing to you in early December a list of those properties with the goods, bads and costs to put the kennel on those properties.”

Newton City Council held a special meeting in September after learning Parkview Animal Hospital would be dissolving its animal control agreement with the city, thus ending its sheltering services. The kennel was purchased at this special meeting for about $84,000. A location was not settled on at that point.

By October, the council decided the most cost-effective option would be to have the kennel installed on a concrete pad poured at a former Maytag landfill site. Neighbors petitioned hard against this location, saying the noise and potential environmental issues when installing utilities would disrupt the neighborhood.

Although city staff brought forth a different location near the golf course, council members did not feel it was a good alternative. They also disagreed with the process in which the dog kennel location was being handled. Council members like Joel Mills wanted more information and more detailed information on sites.

Mills later said he felt like council was doing the right thing by waiting.

While finding new sites to compare was not an impossibility for city staff, these delays meant the timeframe in which the city would be able to start operating the dog pound would be severely altered. This was the turnkey solution Burdess alluded to. The most cost-effective options have been exhausted at this point.

So now Burdess said it will likely cost additional money to prepare the dirt work and utilities on other sites. Altogether the city budgeted around $150,000 for the animal control facility project. More than half has been spent on the kennel itself. Burdess said it is now going to take more than just pouring a pad and installing it.

“The rest of these are going to cost additional money than what was initially and realistically quoted,” Burdess said to council members.

By the Dec. 16 council meeting, elected officials and members of the public will have an opportunity to see what the options are and then provide staff with direction. Then staff will come back at a later meeting with more finalized numbers. Burdess said initial estimates will be rough.

“I can’t have the contractors running around to 20 different sites … and giving us quotes,” the police chief said. “The initial costs on the 16th are going to be best guesses or best quotes based on what we’ve been dealing with. If you say, ‘This is the site,’ then we’ll lock those in and we’ll bring back a resolution.”

Most likely that resolution will appear on the first council meeting in January.

“Ultimately, once the site is decided, then we’ve got to move forward with the infrastructure and all that stuff,” Burdess said, noting permits and state inspections would be needed. “… So even when you determine a site, I know there can be opportunities to do some work in the wintertime.”

Realistically, Burdess said council could expect the site to be ready by spring. Until then the city will still be able to work with Parkview Animal Hospital to provide two kennels for animal control services until May. Burdess said services will be interrupted in a sense that police will only be able to fill those two kennels.

“Dogs that come up that are strays, they’re going to continue running and we’re not going to pick those up,” Burdess said.

“It’s just a consequence of what we’ve got going on.”