The tight quarters for dogs and cats will be a thing of the past once the city and county build a new facility for the Churchill Animal Protection Society.
All dogs (and cats) may have a slice of their own Churchill County heaven ready within a year. Both the Churchill County commissioners and City of Fallon have approved a joint venture to build a new $560,000 building for the Churchill Animal Protection Society northwest of the city. Half of the building, according to County Manager Jim Barbee, will be used for CAPS and the other half for storage. “The city voiced concerns on the current facility,” Barbee said. Robert “Bob” Erickson, the city’s chief of staff, said the city became concerned after reading an article in the Aug. 25, 2022, edition of the Lahontan Valley News which outlined the challenges CAPS needed to improve the facility and the number of animals it houses. At the second county commission meeting in August, Julia Ameil, CAPS executive director who oversees both a paid and volunteer staff and the day-to-day operation, said CAPS is not only struggling with donations for food and neutering but also with the condition of the building. Ameil said the cost associated with products to keep the floors clean, for example, has climbed to $2,500. “The old building has a lot of use over the years,” Ameil told commissioners in August. “Various areas are falling apart. The cat quarantine is teeny.” Ameil said CAPS big goal is to get a new building. “They outlined their challenges and their basic needs to improve the facilities and the number of animals they take in,” Erickson said According to Barbee, the two main issues facing CAPS is limited space for the dogs and cats, and the degradation of concrete which will not seal properly and provide the cleanliness the facility needs. The current building’s water source, according to the county, has become degraded to the point of poor water quality and potential failure. The city and county met to discuss how both governments could help CAPS. Erickson said Barbee “jumped on it right away” to look for a location with water and sewer. Barbee said it was necessary for the city and county to step in with a new facility that will be a fully insulated, steel building with restrooms, storage rooms and indoor holding pens. Furthermore, the county will connect the building to the current utilities servicing the Moody treatment facility. Barbee said the project costs will be equally shared between Churchill County and city. “Their well is almost dry to almost a point of nonfunction,” Barbee said, explaining how donations to CAPS falls short of making improvements to the existing structure which is about 30 years old. CAPS, which began in 1986 according to Norma Klenakis, one of the founding members, had a small facility off Crooks Road before moving to the current facility in 1992. “In a conversation with (Mayor Ken Tedford), the proposal is to create a new building, a steel structure, located at the current wastewater facility at the top of Moody Lane,” Barbee told commissioners. Barbee said it’s important to relocate CAPS to an outlying area away from homes. “Also, we can use our purple pipe for reclaimed water from the system,” Barbee said, adding the reclaimed water would be used for washing pens. Barbee said there’s also a freshwater well that would be used for the restrooms and breakroom. During his presentation, Barbee said this will be a county-owned facility which will have enough square footage for CAPS “for many years to come.” Barbee reiterated the only half the building will be used for CAPS, and the other half for storage, although the additional space could be reverted for dogs and cats in the future if needed. Erickson said the city would have a contract with the county if they have a request for an animal control officer to round up a dangerous dog, for example. “We’ll have a mutual aid contract,” he added. Erickson added CAPS helps the city with adoptions providing the cats and dog fit into their program. County Public Works Director Chris Spross said the volunteers at CAPS are very supportive of the proposal. While the city and county are funding the construction, Spross said the two government entities would expect CAPS’ volunteers to install the perimeter fencing and interior fencing for the dogs. He said the CAPS share for the fencing would come from their donations. Spross said the plan called for the construction of a steel structure similar to the Rafter 3C Arena at the fairgrounds but only smaller. Ameil said she was very surprised when the proposal was presented to CAPS. She and board member Janice Woods met with the county earlier in the week before the commissioners took action. Once the bids come in to begin construction, she and the city and county will have a better idea how long construction will take. Spross is hopeful the facility can be constructed within a year. The CAPS executive director also wanted to emphasize only half of the building will house CAPS. Ameil said CAPS has an annual budget of $155,000 which includes money from fundraisers and donations from individuals and companies. She added donations derived from Facebook totaled more than $12,000 for 2021. Other contributions and donations exceed $32,000 for the same period. Additionally, Ameil said CAPS’ pet food pantry gave away 2,000 pounds of food to 23 families in 2021. NEED TO KNOW For information, the CAPS Facebook page is https://capsnevada.com. The address is 5894 Pasture Road, and the telephone number is 775-423-7500. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
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