Construction at the city’s animal shelter begins in a few weeks and it will disrupt operations this spring.

The project includes replacing the front door, remodeling the kitchenette area, cutting concrete and replacing plumbing lines, and patching and painting the cut areas, as well as repainting the entire floors and walls in the dog kennel area.

In December, City Commissioners approved a $129,688.35 contract to A&R Construction for the project.

State funding is covering $85,987.50 and the HUG fund is covering $55,250.85, according to city staff.

The project includes $11,550 in design fees.

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The animal shelter project is comprised of three smaller projects and is part of a larger package of projects the city is funding through the State-Local Infrastructure Partnership Act that the Montana Legislature approved in 2023.

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Laramie Smovir, shelter operations manager, told The Electric that the “project focuses on replacing deteriorating drain pipes that are backing up, which poses a risk of exposure to waste and increases the potential for illness within the facility. These issues were not part of the earlier project and represent critical infrastructure updates that are essential to maintaining safe and functional operations.”

In 2019, the city completed the cattery addition and relocated the main gas and electrical supply lines during construction. The drain pipes were not part of the 2019 project, she said.

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The SLIPA projects were born “out of necessity due to the age and condition of our facility,” Smovir told The Electric.

The dog kennels haven’t been resurfaced in about 15 years, a 2024 break-in left the front door in poor condition and the plumbing issues had escalated beyond basic maintenance, she said.

“These projects are critical to maintaining safe, functional, and sanitary conditions for both animals and staff, and while they may align with aspects of the previous master plan, they are driven primarily by the immediate needs of the shelter,” Smovir said.

The project will have a significant impact to shelter operations as the shelter needs to reduce the number of animals in the shelter during construction and relocate them entirely during painting.

The shelter is offering an adoption event throughout January with reduced fees.

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Beginning Jan. 20, the shelter will stop accepting stray animals from the public until renovations are completed later this spring. The estimated completion date is April 1.

By Feb. 1, the shelter must be empty of dogs for the renovations.

“Residents who find stray animals are encouraged to hold onto them and attempt to locate their owners. If they are unable to care for the animal until the owner is found, we ask that they ensure the animal is not in immediate danger and then leave it where it is, as it may still be able to find its way home,” according to the shelter.

During construction, city animal control will have “significant limitations” and will continue responding to emergent calls, but their ability to take in animals “will be greatly reduced as the shelter will not be available as a housing option,” according to the shelter.

The shelter will fully close to staff and animals in mid-March for about two to three weeks due to fumes from the resurfacing and painting process.

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During the closure, any remaining animals will either be transferred to other facilities within the state or housed at an off-site location, and according to the shelter, “the specific locations will not be disclosed for security and privacy reasons.”

Smovir told The Electric that any off-site sheltering is still being worked out and could include foster homes, private agencies, rental facilities and city-owned properties.

For dogs, Smovir said that some will be placed in foster care, while others will be transferred to partner animal care agencies statewide.

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“Our goal is to ensure all animals are housed in safe, suitable environments during this period,” she said.

As of Jan. 16, the shelter had:

• 18 cats
• 19 kittens
• 23 dogs
• 5 puppies

Of the current population, those available for adoption are:

• 11 cats
• 8 kittens
• 11 dogs
• 5 puppies

According to the shelter, the community can help by:

• adopt a Pet: Participate in our January adoption event and give a deserving animal a loving home.
• stray animals: Only pick up a stray animal if you are able to care for it until the owner is found. Use resources such as Pawboost, Petco Love Lost, and the Facebook group “Great Falls Lost and Found Pets” to help reunite animals with their families more quickly.
• encourage responsible pet ownership:
  • ensure your pets have microchips and visible ID tags to make it easier to reunite them with you if they become lost. Tags and microchips are available at the shelter for a fee.
  • update your contact information associated with microchips and tags to ensure owners can be contacted without delay.

The shelter will provide regular updates on the renovation progress and operational changes through its website and social media channels.

The shelter project is one of several through the State-Local Infrastructure Partnership Act that the Montana Legislature approved in 2023.

The bill allocated about $20 million from the state general fund to the Montana Department of Commerce to be distributed to cities and towns to help them fund the maintenance or repair of local government facilities on a partnership basis, with local governments supplying a cash match.

Great Falls was allocated $755,461 of SLIPA funds.

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Commissioners approved the package of projects for SLIPA funding in March 2024 and ratified contracts with Commerce in September for each project.

SLIPA funding was approved for $85,987.50, with a 25 percent match of $28,662.50 from the shelter’s Help Us Grow campaign, for a project total of $114,650.

City staff worked with LPW Architecture for design and bid documents receiving four bids for the project.

The bid was broken into a base bid and one additional alternative.

The base included replacing the front door, remodeling the kitchenette area, cutting concrete and replacing plumbing lines, and patching and painting the cut areas.

The additional alternative includes repainting the entire floor and walls in the dog kennel area.

Painting the entire dog kennel area was identified in the original grant application, but staff determined that repairing the pipes was more critical as frequent backups were becoming a major operational issue and it didn’t make sense to paint the floors only to have to tear them up in another year, according to staff.

The Montana Department of Commerce agreed to the change, staff said.

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Since the animal shelter has some additional funds available for the repairs, city staff recommended awarding both the base bid and additional alternative.

The city received four bids for the project ranging from $239,270 to $129,688.35, with A&R Construction being the lowest bid for both the base and alternative.

The project includes $11,550 in design fees.

SLIPA is covering $85,987.50 and the HUG fund is covering $55,250.85, according to city staff.

The SLIPA funds had to be obligated by Dec. 31, 2024.

Tom Hazen, city grants manager, said last spring that only existing infrastructure can be maintained or repaired, the funds can’t be used to expand or build new and can’t be used on private property, such as to support the replacement of lead water lines for homeowners.

Water systems, fire suppression systems, roads, street lights, airports, public buildings and grounds are among the eligible projects.

Local governments must provide a 25 percent match to the total project cost.

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Hazen said the law wasn’t clear in the application process for the funds, but during an informational session with Commerce, it was clarified that cities and towns were to request that city departments submit proposed projects by Dec. 31, 2023.

Hazen said his office sent a memo to city department heads outlining eligible projects, the match requirements and submit their proposals by Dec. 15, 2023.

Seven departments submitted a total of 23 projects for a combined $8.4 million.

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Hazen reviewed the proposals for eligibility, then with the criteria for recommendation, then discussed them with the finance director and city manager.

The criteria for recommendations, Hazen said, was whether the projects were previously recommended for funding, specifically American Rescue Plan Act, or federal COVID relief, funds.

He said city staff had vetted dozens of projects for ARPA funds and identified several as tier one projects, but some of those got eliminated as other priority projects had higher costs, or were among the tier two projects, to be done if there were remaining ARPA funds after the tier one projects were completed.

Those projects were considered priorities for the new state funding program, Hazen said.

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Other criteria included whether other funding was available for the project and if the proposing department was willing to provide the match out of its own budget.