FORNEY, Texas — Construction on the new animal shelter and adoption center in Forney is set to begin soon after the Forney City Council approved the guaranteed maximum price for construction on Tuesday night during their regularly scheduled meeting.
FORNEY, Texas — Construction on the new animal shelter and adoption center in Forney is set to begin soon after the Forney City Council approved the guaranteed maximum price for construction on Tuesday night during their regularly scheduled meeting.
Speed Fab-Crete was awarded the construction contract not to exceed $1,979,396 which will be funded by $2 million in bonds obtained in 2014.
The 5,500-square foot animal shelter will also serve as an animal adoption center with a proposed 24 dog kennels and two cat rooms — one for domestic cats and the other for feral cats.
The facility will be built at the site of the existing shelter on Holly Leaf Trail with construction expected to begin in June 2016, according to Community Development Director Peter Morgan. Construction is expected to take eight to nine months and complete in early 2017.
Speed Fab-Crete is also constructing the Fire Station No.2 on Reeder Lane and was selected for the animal shelter project due to expedited time schedules and additional cost savings expected by using the same local contractors which are being used on the fire station construction.
Morgan said the initial construction estimates exceeded the $2 million budget for the project and revisions were made to the plan including alternate exterior construction material, relocating the parking area, and removal of the sally port at the rear of the building. Morgan said the changes did not affect the shelter’s capacity.
Previously budgeted funds may also be redistributed for the purpose of creating a secure fenced area in place of the sally port.
The city currently owns approximately four-and-a-half acres at the site of the current animal shelter. In 2012, when the shelter was first discussed, Hobbs presented an optional dog park that could be built at a later time adjacent to the animal shelter. The dog park proposed two separate enclosed dog parks — one for small dogs and the other for larger dogs.
Funding for the dog park, which included design elements for restroom facilities for the park, water fountains, landscaping, a pond, and trails, estimated at $880,000 was not included in the issuance of the certificates of obligation.
