Boone County broke ground last week on the site of the new animal shelter to be named the “Ron & Sherri Lou Noel Boone County Animal Shelter” in honor of the lead donors.
This is the culmination of a process that began in 2015 and has included evaluations by Animal Arts, a nationally recognized animal sheltering expert, a feasibility study by SMP Design of Cincinnati, a capital fundraising campaign that has raised $2.3 million in private funds to date aided by Convergent Nonprofit Solutions and the Horizon Fund of NKY, and final approval by the Boone County Fiscal Court.
The shelter will be located at the corner of Idlewild Road and Conrad Lane adjacent to England-Idlewild Park. It was designed by SMP Design, Project Engineer is Woolpert Engineering and Construction Manager is Conger Construction Group. Approved construction cost for the project is $7,866,449 and total project budget with contingency is $8,294,997.
The need for an upgrade from the current shelter was highlighted by a thorough review of the current services, staffing and physical location. Animal Arts, a nationally recognized industry leader in the sheltering field completed a thorough analysis that concluded: “Boone County Animal Care and Control achieves success because of its staff and leadership, despite the limitations of current physical infrastructure. While the staff members and volunteers are working hard, the building itself works against them. It is difficult to clean, has poor traffic flow, is not friendly to visit, and is stressful for the animals. …. our recommendation is to replace the building with a structure that suits the current operations of Boone County Animal Care and Control.”
A public-private partnership approach was utilized to allow the new facility to meet statutory requirements that are the responsibility of local government, but also provide expanded services to the citizens of the County and region through the contribution of private funding. Two major donors, Ron and Sherri Lou Noel and The Joanie Bernard Foundation in Cincinnati lead the fundraising effort.
“We have demonstrated a very unique approach to meeting our responsibilities, providing exemplary service to Boone County citizens and the animals in our care and better serving the taxpayers by utilizing a public-private partnership for the Animal Shelter,” said Judge/Executive Gary W. Moore.
“This model is an example of how our conservative values result in good government and maximize county service at a tremendous value for the taxpayer in Boone County.”
“The need for a new animal shelter is overwhelmingly clear based on the review from our experts, national experts and the casual observer,” said Animal Care and Control Director Colleen Bray. “We have outgrown our current facility in terms of size and it was constructed in the 1970’s at a time when modern ventilation and sanitation systems for animals were not available. The newly designed shelter will provide appropriate care and be sustainable for decades to come. We could not be more excited to be breaking ground on the new facility”
Conceptualization of the new shelter entrance.
Boone County continues to partner with the Horizon Community Fund as the 501 (C) (3) partner receiving funds for the project. Opportunities continue for support of the campaign and for naming. Additional support will be dedicated toward animal care at the facility. Contributions can be made here and by designating the Boone County Animal Shelter when prompted “Where would you like to send your donation.”
The community can find additional information, read the case for support and follow the animal shelter progress at Building Pawsitive Future website. For information about the campaign and naming rights, please contact Matthew Webster, Assistant County Administrator at 859-334-3509 or Colleen Bray, Director of Animal Care and Control at 859-586-5285.
