ASHLAND — The treasurer of the nonprofit spearheading construction of Ashland County’s new dog shelter had to double check who to write a $600,000 check out to on Thursday morning.
“Is that made out to Ashland County Commissioners?” said Bill Harvey, treasurer of Homeward Bound Dog Shelter of Ashland County. The rhetorical question prompted laughter from the commissioners, affirming the complicated fundraising road traveled up to this point.
“I don’t sign a check for this amount every day,” Harvey said.
Homeward Bound Dog Shelter of Ashland County was formed in November 2018 as a nonprofit specifically as the shelter’s fundraising arm. Since then, the group has received donations from hundreds of people and help from the Ashland County Community Foundation.
“We want to publicly thank Denny Bittle and the commissioners for their support throughout this process. Nothing’s easy. And nothing worthwhile is easy,” said Ralph Tomassi, Homeward Bound’s president.
The $600,000 will go towards the construction costs of the new building, which will be located on South Baney Road, just west of the fairgrounds.
Commissioners will need every last penny of that donation.
Part of Thursday’s agenda was approving a $2.9 million contract with Simonson Construction Services, the firm hired to build the facility.
Commissioner Denny Bittle has said the facility’s estimated cost will be anywhere from $1.5 million to $3 million.
Bittle acknowledged the project’s “big number,” but said he is working with Simonson to figure out ways to get the cost down. He said the $2.9 million contract represents the “max” allowance for the project and included everything Homeward Bound wishes to have in the building.
“But we’re continually negotiating with Homeward Bound and the community about ways to save that cost,” he said.
Commissioners earmarked $1.3 million of American Rescue Plan Act money and $200,000 from the county’s capital projects fund to finance the project.
Work on the building symbolically began in June, when stakeholders held a groundbreaking ceremony. All aspects of the project have been bid, but Bittle said the shelter’s interior work has not been bid yet.
Bittle said he hoped construction of the facility would be completed by January, but noted Thursday it might not be until February or March.
“Obviously materials are still a really big problem,” he said, referring to supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Commissioners have said the facility will be around 8,000 square feet and will boast heated indoor and outdoor floors, an air cycling system, a kitchen for preparing dog food and easy access to the outdoors. Bittle has described the facility as “the most modern dog shelter in the state.”
