Location for shelter gets first city vote
By Andrew Bell
Published in News on March 28, 2007 1:46 PM
The Goldsboro Planning Board approved a rezoning request this week that would allow the construction of a new animal shelter off Clingman Street.
Now, whether or not that will be the location for the shelter will be up to Goldsboro City Council.
Although a final decision isn't scheduled to be made by the council until Monday, Wayne County officials hope construction of a new facility can begin soon.
If council does approve the 4.5-acre rezoning request, county buildings and grounds director Brant Brown said the county can complete the designs for the proposed 11,500-square-foot, $1.6 million animal shelter over the next two to three weeks.
Those plans are available to the public on the county's Web site, www.waynegov.com, by selecting the "Departments" link on the left side of the screen and then choosing the "Animal Control" link.
Also, the county has additional funds that could be used for site preparation if the request is approved by council, County Manager Lee Smith said. Then, county officials could put the project out for bid, which could take up to 45 days.
"We know it's only a couple of months away, but we hope to be under construction this summer," Smith said.
Monday night marks the second time county officials have requested county-owned land to be rezoned for a new animal shelter. Last September, city officials considered a rezoning request for county-owned property on the north side of Eighth Street between Humphrey Street and Wayne Memorial Drive.
Several property owners near the proposed site spoke out against the project because some believed an animal shelter so close to other Wayne Memorial Drive businesses would be a "detriment to future development."
Others complained that an animal shelter's noises and smells would keep potential customers from patronizing nearby businesses.
Last Monday, several more property owners voiced their concerns to council during a public hearing concerning the possible rezoning of the Clingman Street property.
Some said an animal shelter would create more traffic, while others reiterated that the shelter's noises and smells would decrease the value of their property.
Smith insisted during the public hearing that the shelter will be a state-of-the-art facility that will contain all of the animals' smells and noises.
After city council voted against the county's first rezoning request last September, county officials believed they could build a new animal shelter on county-owned land near the Goldsboro-Wayne Muni-cipal Airport north of the city. Engineers' borings on that site determined that the land was not sufficient enough to support the structure.
But borings conducted at the Clingman Street site came back "perfect," Smith said.
The county could also benefit from Clingman Street's central location in Wayne. An animal shelter that is easily accessible in a central location is one of many criteria county officials must meet to receive $200,000 from two anonymous donors.
The donors' stipulations also require the county to build an animal shelter that focuses on increasing animal adoptions. When an animal does have to be euthanized, the animal will be euthanized with a sodium pentobarbital injection instead the current carbon monoxide chamber method, according to the donors' criteria.
County officials have already considered suggestions from experts at North Carolina State University that will be implemented at the new animal shelter.