MANSFIELD — The dog days of summer should be cooler next year for canines and volunteers at the Richland County Dog Warden & Adoption Center.
Craig Christie, senior project engineer at Karpinski Engineering, joined the Richland County Board of Commissioners on Thursday to discuss the installation of HVAC air handling units at the shelter.
Christie submitted a proposal on behalf of his firm to design and monitor the installation of three units. The proposal also includes the subcontract and services of Mansfield-based Maurer Architectural Design (MAD) Studio, LLC.
Richland County administrator Andrew Keller said the proposal is the first step in getting central air conditioning installed at the shelter, including the kennel areas, at the 810 N. Home Road facility.
Commissioners approved the engineering services agreement with Karpinski, which comes with a flat-fee of $34,000. Commissioner Tony Vero said the fee will be paid out of the county’s capital funds.
The estimated construction budget ranges from $320,000 to $335,000, Christie said.
Design work will take about two to three months to complete and construction is estimated to begin about four to six months from Thursday, Keller said. Once work begins, the project should conclude within an additional four to five months.
Improving ‘quality of life’ for dogs, volunteers
Christie said the whole purpose of the project is to make canines at the shelter more comfortable — as well as volunteers — during the heat of summer.
Commissioner Cliff Mears said the shelter’s eight window AC units currently cost about $1,800 per month to operate during the summer.
The use of the facility, as well as existing conditions with some current equipment make this project more complex than what meets the eye, Keller said. Ventilation and drainage work will also be necessary with the project, he said.
Conversation between Richland County Dog Warden Missy Houghton and Commissioner Tony Vero about central air conditioning began last fall.
The rising number of dogs entering the shelter was a main concern he cited to begin exploring the subject. Between 2020 and 2024, the number of canines in-and-out of the shelter annually had doubled, Vero said.
“To me, it was a quality of life issue for the animals and the volunteers and it was something that I felt we should look at,” he said. “Initial cost estimates were less than this, but I think the county is in a position from a capital funding standpoint to do this.”
Heat can cause behavior issues
Houghton said a main contributor to sweltering temperatures during the summer is the body heat emitted from the dogs themselves.
She said a dog’s average body temperature is about 100 degrees.
“It gets so humid back there (kennel areas) and with the amount of dogs that we have, we can’t give them breaks like we used to,” Houghton said.
Much like humans, the heat can cause the dogs to become irritable and effect their behavior, she said.
The addition of central AC would be beneficial for everyone, including the dogs, volunteers and members of the public who come to the shelter seeking to adopt an animal.
“People will be able to spend longer back there (kennel areas) and then dogs will behave better, in turn making them more adoptable and hopefully we can move them through quicker,” Houghton said.
