City Commissioners approved a contract change for the Animal Shelter remodel during their Feb. 18 meeting.

The change adds $26,652 to their contract with A&R Construction and the increase will be paid through the shelter’s HUG fundraising campaign.

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.

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.

Renovations to impact city animal shelter operations, animal control

Commissioners awarded the original construction contract in December for $129,688.35, plus $11,550 in design fees.

SLIPA is covering $85,987.50 and the HUG funds were used for $55,250.85.

The contract included some contingency, according to city staff, that a small change order already and the remaining contingency funds, $2,532.35, will be used to offset this $25,652 change order, bringing the total contract cost to $152,808, according to city staff.

Construction began at the animal shelter on Feb. 3 and while cutting concrete to locate the plumbing that needed to be replaced, the construction crew cut through electrical conduit within the concrete, according to city staff.

The cut affected some lighting in the office area and the shelter has temporarily moved, ahead of schedule, to 2701 16th St. N.E. in Black Eagle.

City Commission approves animal shelter remodel contract

Crews also discovered additional conduits in the surrounding concrete and the public can’t continue without relocating those conduits, which can’t be patched and reused since they’re disintegrating and “running conduit through the concrete slab is asking for trouble down the road,” according to staff. “Therefore, the only recommended course of action is to re-route the electrical conduits along the walls to keep them out of the way of any future repairs.”

A&R hired an electrician to fix the damaged line and the shelter’s HUG funds can cover the additional expense, according to city staff.

County switching from city to private dog shelter services [2024]

Sylvia Tarman, city ARPA project manager, told The Electric that existing plans for the animal shelter building that could be located from 1970, 2014 and 2019 were examined and given to the architect, but were for different projects over the years, weren’t comprehensive of the entire building and didn’t show existing conditions across the building.

Tarman said original construction documents for the building couldn’t be located.

City staff said they didn’t know when the current city shelter building was constructed, if it was constructed as a city project, or built by the Humane Society and acquired by the city when it took over animal shelter operations in 2007. Staff said they were looking for that information.

City Commission approves new animal shelter fees [2023]

Laramie Smovir, shelter operations manager, said that the shelter is continuing daily operations with limited holding capacity.

They’re not taking strays from the public, but are supporting city animal control officers with their animal intakes.

Smovir said they’re continuing cat adoptions at their temporary locations.

Dogs are being held through their stray hold period, she said, and shelter staff is working with partner organizations stateside to transfer them for adoptions.

As of Feb. 18, Smovir said they have transferred 24 animals, 20 dogs and four cats, to other animal welfare organizations. She said they’ll continue that process to ensure space is available for animal control intake.

Smovir said that the decision to begin shelter renovations on Feb. 4 was made on Jan. 8 and shelter staff contacted multiple partner agencies, local businesses and owners of vacant spaces in the city for possible animal housing options during construction.

Smovir said shelter staff contacted MacLean-Cameron Animal Adoption Center on Jan. 13 about the possibility of the center handling animal control intakes during construction. She said the center denied the specific request and they did not discuss other types of intakes, such as public strays or owner surrenders.

Maclean is accepting animals from the public.

The shelter is not accepting any stray animals for the public, but animal control can be reached at 406-455-8599.