Holmes County Commissioners seek more info on plans for new kennel

The concept for the construction of a new facility for Holmes County Dog Warden and Adoption Center continues to take shape, although the newest plans presented to the Holmes County Commissioners required their request for additional information to figure out the financial aspects of the investment.

Jonathan Beam, Holmes County dog warden, met with the commissioners recently to discuss the initial outline presented to him by Tekton Engineering. While it offered some initial specifications and gave a rough outline of what the new facility could entail, the commissioners wanted to see more.

“This is fairly vague,” Commissioner Chair Joe Miller said. “It doesn’t include of a lot of information that we need to know the cost involved. We need a lot more. We need to be made aware of things like sprinkler system, sewer and septic system design; we’ve got to be made aware of what this stuff is going to cost.”

The plans are designed for a new facility that would not be incorporated into the current building.

Beam said he had Tekton come out to help flesh out a basic blueprint for the facility, spending 90 minutes doing a walk-through and discussing what Beam and his people envisioned for a future facility.

“It was a good conversation, and they thought of some things I hadn’t even thought of,” Beam said.

The conceptual drawing presented a circular desk in the lobby, and Beam said the new construction of the adoption center would include three pods that would house up to 10 kennels each. He said the adoption center was a critical part of the drawing.

“That’s the most important thing we do, and we need easy access because you don’t want folks coming in and getting lost looking for the adoptable dogs,” Beam said. “So as soon as people walk in, the adoption pods are right there and they can walk straight back to them.”

The lost and found animals would be located on the other side of the building.

Beam said the concept of having a variety of rooms known as pods containing up to 10 dogs apiece in their own individual kennels is ideal because it lessens noise and provides stronger biosecurity.

“If dogs are split up rather than having them all together, if you get one sick dog in a pod, you can contain the (possible) spread of that sickness, compared to if they are all together,” Beam said.

That separation creates a barrier between pods, with all the units being heated and cooled through one system and each kennel providing access to dogs going outside.

“We’re not looking for anything super-fancy,” Beam said. “It can be a pole-type structure with the pods inside, so it doesn’t have to be elaborate. The biggest thing is having that intake area where we can take dogs in and not have them come through the front lobby where everyone is and have a place where we can easily monitor them for 72 hours to make sure they’re not sick before moving them over into the general population.”

Miller said one good thing is the county owns plenty of land connected to the current center, with close to 30 acres where the former Holmes County Children’s Home used to be located. That site is located next to where the current recycling bins are now located next to the center.

That is a major factor because the current situation lacks in parking spaces and is often full of vehicles, so an expanded parking lot is a big factor. Beam said they would like to expand the current lobby area, which right now is very narrow.

In speaking with Chris Reiser of Tekton Engineering, the commissioners presented their thoughts on what needed to take place.

“We appreciate you getting started on this project, but we as a board would like to expand (the plan presented) to get more of a vision and a concept of what it looks like and what it is eventually going to cost,” Commissioner Dave Hall said to Reiser. “At the end of the day, we have to do a budgetary process, so let’s see if we can take it to another level.”

Reiser agreed, noting Tekton could take the original proposal, gather as much additional information as possible and amend what they presented.

Tekton Engineering presented the engineering plan at a cost of $16,000.

He said developing the plans further than the basic study that was presented would mean they would have to evaluate what the total engineering cost would be in taking that next step.

“Providing what we just showed you keeps us below the threshold where we would have to go for (a Request for Quotation),” Reiser said. “We were permitted to do this much under the prequalified list that (the commissioners) gave us for your design. We will look at what the total engineering cost would be and determine whether or not you would have to publicly announce that you are seeking design professionals to design this project.”

Should the county choose to do so, it would consist of a host of additional steps in the process. Reiser said that is the mechanism that allows an entity to go more than $50,000 on design services.

Beam said currently there are no details as to what would happen to the old building once the new facility is built.