FORNEY, Texas — Crews broke ground on a new animal shelter in Forney earlier this week.
FORNEY, Texas — Crews broke ground on a new animal shelter in Forney earlier this week.
A construction contract was awarded to Speed Fab-Crete, the same firm constructing the new fire station, in April 2016 in an amount not to exceed $1,979,396 which will be funded by $2 million in bonds.
Crews began on the dirt work earlier this week and construction is expected to take at least nine months, weather dependent. The 5,500-square foot facility, which will serve as a shelter and an animal adoption center, will be built at the site of the existing shelter on Holly Leaf Trail.
The facility proposes 24 dog kennels and two cat rooms — one for domestic cats and the other for feral cats.
“We are excited to be working on a new shelter that will further enhance the animal care and adoption opportunities for the residents of Forney,” Community Development Director Peter Morgan told inForney.com.
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.
