By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Plans for a new and improved animal shelter in St. Joseph have been delayed even further.
Six years ago, Friends of the Animal Shelter began seeking a destination for the shelter. The pandemic was the first hurdle as it delayed development.
And now, Friends of the Animal Shelters Melanie Barnes says development is being delayed by the rising cost of materials.
"It's a little scary and all the estimates were pre-COVID so now we're going on shoot, almost three years," Barnes tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr. "But we had worked with an architect, they had donated their time we were very grateful, and the original costs were approximately $2.5 (million) to renovate this building."
Barnes says because of delays, the building is still currently in its design phase.
"We've had a design phase, but essentially because it's three years old we have to go back and make sure that it's still accurate, we have realized a couple of changes need to happen," Barnes explains. "And so soon we should have that design phase finished and have a realistic estimate of what it's going to cost today."
Barnes says the new space is being designed to be large enough to house more animals as well as provide space for community events.
While the city is providing CIP funds to the project, Barnes points out everything else has been done by Friends of Animal Shelter in agreement with the city.
Barnes says volunteers have done all their fundraising and while they await what the new cost might be, they are ready to spend.
"We've met our goals, we're ready to get into the spend phase process and the first part is the design and getting an estimate but we're not going to let up, whatever number comes back at us" Barnes proudly says. "Hopefully it's something around 2.5 or 3 (million), but whatever number comes back at us we're going to continue, we're going to continue striving, pushing, and fundraising for a new shelter because our pets need it."
Barnes says the new shelter will be designed to hold more pets, with hopes that it won't overflow as often as the current shelter.