Christ Yoder
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SAUGERTIES, NY — City board members have approved a contract to drill a well that will service the planned $2.5 million Saugerties Animal Sanctuary.
The agreement was adopted at a meeting on Thursday. Supervisor Fred Costello said this would be the first step in building the facility.
“We have done other preliminary work on the site, but the well is essential because we need to know the volume of water available and the quality of the water available,” he said. “These data will be decisive in the development of the application document. We won’t know how much water treatment or water storage we need to incorporate into the building design until we have this well data.
The new two-story facility is expected to be approximately 10,000 square feet in size and constructed approximately 500 feet from the existing facility. There will be 20 dog enclosures larger than the current enclosures, two cat rooms and a kitten space, along with 24 cat condos.
Costello said the building will be farther from State Route 212 than originally planned.
“There is a wooded area on the west side of this property that is undeveloped or undisturbed,” he said. “Our planners and consultants have identified a suitable area to support the building. This site was chosen after many weeks of visits to shelters throughout the Hudson Valley.
The location was chosen to help keep the animals calm, according to Costello.
“Our first thought (had been) we would like commercial visibility closer to the (State Road 212) so people can see the shelter,” he said. “Visiting a number of other shelters we love, we realized we were wrong and that a campus (in a) rural setting is much more appropriate. It certainly improves the quality of life of the animals that are housed… and it helps the volunteers who come to walk the dogs and take care of these animals.
Officials expect to solicit bids for construction this fall and hope to have the building ready by next year.
