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Architects approved for design of new Mahoning dog pound
YOUNGSTOWN
The Mahoning County commissioners authorized a Liberty Township architectural firm to proceed with design of the new county dog shelter to be built at 1230 N. Meridian Road in Austintown.
The $3.65 million, 14,310-square-foot, single-story dog shelter, being designed by Copich Architects, will be built on that 8-acre site after a house and a former fitness center are demolished.
Separate doors will be used for incoming dogs and for dogs leaving the shelter for adoption, said architect Helen Copich.
Construction is expected to begin in February, weather permitting, with occupancy before the end of 2016, Copich said.
The fitness-center building can’t be used because land where an addition to it had been proposed isn’t level with the building, explained James Fortunato, county purchasing director.
After a bank foreclosure, the county bought the site for $250,000, plus a $25,000 auctioneer’s fee.
The new shelter will replace the current dog pound on Industrial Road.
“Mahoning County has stepped into the 21st century, and we are going to erect a new dog shelter for our community. It will be environmentally friendly. It will be more friendly to the animals. It will be more friendly to the employees,” Anthony Traficanti, chairman of the county commissioners, said Thursday.
The new shelter will include facilities for puppies and small dogs, separate from facilities for larger dogs; a quarantine area; indoor and outdoor dog exercise areas; and an area for police to drop off dogs after hours.
Dog Warden Dianne Fry said she does not know how much additional money the county might borrow for the project beyond the $1 million already borrowed in the bond market for it and does not have a specific goal for the private fundraising effort.
She said her office has $1 million on hand for the project, consisting of dog-license fees, fines for dog-law violations and capital-improvement funds.
Fortunato estimated the cost of demolishing the house and fitness center will be less than $50,000.
Commissioners also learned the $4.6 million restoration of the cornice, gutters and parapet roof of the 104-year-old county courthouse will be suspended in November for the winter and resume in March, with project completion scheduled for September 2016, Fortunato said.
The commissioners also awarded a $708,506 contract to Karvo Paving Co. of Stow for repair of slightly more than a mile of Western Reserve Road between Hitchcock and Tippecanoe roads in Boardman that was heavy damaged by last winter’s weather.
Karvo was the lowest of six bidders for the job.
A federal grant is paying 80 percent of the project cost, with a 20 percent local share, said county Engineer Patrick Ginnetti.