A New Waterford-East Lyme Animal Shelter Sooner Than Expected?

This article was reported and written by Paul Petrone.

It looks like a new animal shelter might come before 2016 after all. 

Last week, Waterford First Selectman Dan Steward met with the co-chairs of the Waterford-East Lyme Ad Hoc Animal Control Facility Study Committee, Yvette Savoy and Robin Perkins. Based on the minutes of that meeting, the tone was certainly different than it was with Steward in the summer of 2011, when he proclaimed that a new animal shelter wouldn’t be built until 2016, at the earliest. 

“It is a possibility,” Steward said, when asked if the shelter could be built sooner. “The [committee] has done what they were supposed to do. They’ve contributed a good portion of the funding and now it’s a question of how big it’s going to be, what players are going to be involved and the cost. That’s the biggest thing for me, is how much it is going to cost.” 

Steward said Waterford’s new planning director, who should begin on April 22, will be charged with running the project, along with his other responsibilities. He said he will look for the planning director to finalize a plan for the new shelter and have an estimate of how much it will cost. Meanwhile, the animal shelter committee has already raised $116,560.23 for a new animal shelter as of April 5, according to the committee’s meeting minutes. 

“The [committee] has basically been doing this for a year-and-a-half with no success from the town,” Steward said. “Now, let’s sit down with them and really figure out what we are going to do.” 

Steward also said other towns have shown interest in possibly regionalizing with Waterford and East Lyme, which would defray the cost for all involved. He said Old Lyme, Montville and New London are all potential partners. 

History 

All agree the Waterford-East Lyme Animal Shelter, which was built in the 1950s for $5,000, is outdated and out-of-code and needs to be replaced. But Steward has been reluctant to fund the project, saying taxes are going up from school construction and the town can’t afford a new shelter. 

In the summer of 2011, Steward rejected two proposals by the Ad Hoc Animal Control Facility Study Committee – then chaired by Margaret Ormond – for a $1.7 million shelter and a $1.3 million shelter, saying they were too expensive. At the time, the group had only raised about $12,000 for a new shelter and Ormond was unwilling to regionalize with other towns, most notably New London. 

Since, Ormond has left the committee, and the group has focused on fundraising. The committee now has raised $116,560.23 for a new animal shelter, according to meeting minutes. It also has lowered its expectations for the new shelter, meaning a cheaper building, and also is more willing to regionalize with other towns, Steward said. 

Now, it is time for the town to get serious about the project and find a real cost for it, he said. Also, the town needs to finalize what other towns want to partner with Waterford for animal control, he said. 

“It gets into the whole regional marketplace as well," Steward said.  “(The committee has) shown interest in that, and I’ve shown interest in that as well."

Steward said he still anticipates the new shelter to be built where the old shelter is, as there is space there and the ground is mostly level. However, that again will have to be discussed as other towns want to join in with Waterford and East Lyme, he said.