On Tuesday, mayor Sean Ryan announced more than $412,000 in funding for major upgrades to the City of Buffalo Animal Shelter.
The scope of the work includes expanding kennel space, installing a new HVAC system, repairing and repainting walls, installing new epoxy flooring, and installing sound-deadening ceiling tiles. New cat kennels, a hydraulic lift examination table, and a complete overhaul of the outdoor recreation area for shelter animals is included as well.
This announcement brings much-needed change and excitement to the current location, and Ryan, who made sure to greet and pet an adoptable pup named Rue prior to speaking, said it’s the beginning of a long-term plan.
"We know we need a new animal shelter," he said. "Buffalo deserves a modern animal shelter that meets the needs of animals, staff, volunteers, and the entire community. The improvements we're announcing today will help stabilize and modernize this facility, but it's short-term."
Nolan Skipper, the Commissioner of the Department of Public Works, said each project will have its own timeline, but the expectation is most of the renovation work on Oat St. will be done by next year.
"The first step is actually receiving the money, so we'll be working with the grant source to receive the money, but some of the improvements, especially like a play area, once we receive that money, we can bid that out pretty quickly and get the work done, so we're hoping they can start this year and then finish up next year, depending on the scope of each project," said Skipper.
As far as where the new animal shelter will be, Ryan said those plans are still developing.
"We're working with a large group, including the people who put together the SPCA state-of-the-art shelter in Tonawanda, so we're doing planning, working with architects and design folks to come up with the square footage that we would need, whether it could be in a repurposed building or a brand new building,” Ryan said.
