A group representing ‘Friends of the West Hartford Pound’ addressed the Town Council on Tuesday night during community comment to advocate for construction of the new West Hartford Animal Control facility to begin ASAP.

By Ronni Newton

The first piece of equipment arrived Tuesday on the site that has been cleared for the long-awaited construction of West Hartford’s new Animal Control facility, and additional equipment will be mobilized on Wednesday, Town Manger Rick Ledwith said at Tuesday night’s Town Council meeting.

“This will become an active construction site by Monday,” Ledwith said during his Town Manager’s Report.

Delays were initially due to determining where to build the facility, said since the decision was made last fall to construct the new Animal Control building on the same parcel of land as the old building, there have also been delays, Ledwith said. “We did go out to bid this past winter,” he said, but the bids came in much higher than expected. In March, the Town Council appropriated the needed funds.

Then there was a need to redraw the lot line before signing the contract with the firm chosen to do the work, G. Donovan Associates, Inc.

Earlier in the day Ledwith told We-Ha.com – in response to a question about G. Donovan being the same firm working on the Rockledge Golf Club driving range – that there are two different teams from the company working in town. He later reiterated that to the Town Council noting that the driving range project “will not slow down the progress of Animal Control.”

During a Community Comment session prior to the Council meeting – before Ledwith gave his report – several representatives of the “Friends of the West Hartford Pound” Facebook group spoke to Council, stressing the importance of building the new facility, and advocating for it to begin as soon as possible, without further delay. At least a dozen other supporters were in the audience.

Cindy Gauthier said she was very concerned about the lack of progress. “This project has been discussed for years. I believe the initial plans date back to 2022,” she said, but there have been many delays, listing the need to allocate additional funds and to redraw the lot line before finalizing the contract and permit. “Quite frankly I really don’t care to hear any more [excuses],” she said.

She also expressed concern that the contractor hired to construct the Animal Control facility is the same firm hired to do the work on the Rockledge Golf Club driving range, alleging that the Rockledge work would be “fast-tracked” because it’s a revenue generator.

Debbie Sheridan, owner of the dog behavioral consulting and training business Debbie’s 4 Dogs said she spends a lot of time at the current Animal Control facility, helping with people who are considering adopting oe of the dogs, and just to help out the Animal Control officers, who are wonderful.

Sheridan shared how inadequate the current facility is. “The office is also the lobby, also is the storage room. It’s, I would say, about the size of a small bedroom, maybe 10-by-10.” Sometimes the office also has cats stacked in cages. “There’s a bunny on the counter. There’s a parrot on the floor.” And when the office is in that condition, then there are no places for people to meet with the dogs.

“It just needs to be done,” said Sheridan, asking why this project is “pushed to the bottom of the barrel because, you know, the animals have no voice,” and urging for it to move forward as soon as possible.

Andrea Stone, co-founder of the Friends of the West Hartford Pound, said it’s embarrassing that the town still has an Animal Control facility built in the 1970s. “West Hartford is the ‘town that cares’ but there’s a serious brand realignment going on with the town.” She asked for greater accountability and to be notified about milestones, like the awarding of the bid.

Community Comment is not an interactive discussion, but at the conclusion Mayor Shari Cantor said the comments were very much appreciated and taken seriously. She noted that Ledwith already planned to provide an update during his report to the Council.

The existing Animal Control facility is roughly 1,000 square feet, and at 5,300 square feet the new facility will be more than five times larger than the current structure (gray outline at lower left in image above). The existing facility will continue to operate while the new building is being constructed, and when that’s complete, staff will move in, the old building will be torn down, and the driveway will be renovated. There will be plenty of parking for staff as well as the public, and several separate entrances including for animals that are being brought in and need to be isolated due to health or other reasons. There will be three spaces – with interior and exterior space – for dogs that are in isolation.

There will be covered exterior space at the new building, heated cement flooring, and dog runs in the rear of the building, where staff can bring dogs for exercise.

The facility will also have grooming and laundry facilities on site, and a large multipurpose room where the public can meet with animals for potential adoptions, and other events can be held.

Ledwith said Tuesday that the construction of the Animal Control facility will take approximately 16 months.

Like what you see here? Click here to subscribe to We-Ha’s newsletter so you’ll always be in the know about what’s happening in West Hartford! Click the blue button below to become a supporter of We-Ha.com and our efforts to continue producing quality journalism.