Mahoning commissioners excited to award dog shelter contracts

March 25, 2016 at 12:05a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Mahoning County commissioners are looking forward to awarding a series of contracts that will act as a beginning stage for a new, 14,000-square-foot Mahoning County dog shelter.

“I’m excited that we’re moving forward by leaps and bounds to get this dog shelter built,” Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti said, referring to the facility that is to be built at 1230 N. Meridian Road on the West Side.

The current dog pound and adoption center on Industrial Road is more than 40 years old and is not up to many of today’s codes and standards, Rimedio-Righetti noted.

In addition, the facility typically houses 40 to 60 dogs. The new one, however, will have the capacity for 80 to 90 animals, said James Fortunato, the county’s purchasing director.

Earlier this week, 22 bids were received for everything from plumbing to electrical work to heating and ventilation. Liberty Township-based Copich Architects, the project architect, is to review the bids and designs before ground is broken, which likely will be at the end of May, Fortunato explained, adding that construction will probably get underway within a year.

The new, state-of-the-art shelter also will be better equipped to treat dogs with parvo and other diseases, and will have separate areas for puppies as well as small and large animals, he continued. In addition, it will be on a larger piece of property, so more space will be available to walk the animals, for example, Fortunato said.

Also at Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting, Mahoning County Engineer Patrick Ginnetti announced that a 1-mile portion of North Turner Road between Mahoning Avenue and Silica Road will be closed Monday through Wednesday for culvert repairs and replacements.

The next meeting is set for 10 a.m. Thursday in the Mahoning County Courthouse basement.