MONTAGUE — The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Regional Dog Shelter is exploring the prospect of a new facility, revisiting a years-old conversation during Monday’s Selectboard meeting.
Trish Howells, who serves on the Friends of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Regional Dog Shelter’s board of directors, prompted the Selectboard to consider selling or leasing Parcel 21-0-152, a 15.6-acre plot next to the Public Safety Complex along Turnpike Road, for construction of a new shelter. This new building would allow for increased capacity for rescues and training, while also increasing proximity to the Public Safety Complex, Howells argued.
Howells said the Sheriff’s Office began conversations about a new dog shelter around seven years ago. However, for reasons unclear to Howells, talks stalled. Circumstances remain the same, though, with the current shelter at 10 Sandy Lane “meant to be a temporary location.”
“It’s an old building,” Howells said of the shelter, which was formerly a Department of Public Works facility. “It has not been renovated fully and we’ve been dealing with that, but the intention has always been to find another location.”
According to Howells, pick-up of stray or abandoned dogs by animal control and police has increased in recent years to make up 60% of total shelter intakes. Additionally, police cases involving animal cruelty, dog attacks and related incidents have increased in recent years to make up 15% of total shelter intakes. These statistics, Howells said, make a new location closer to the Public Safety Complex a rational transition for the shelter.
“There are still a couple of possibilities on the table, but the more we think about it, the more we realize how we think it’s a good fit to have us near the safety complex because we’re not totally a private shelter,” Howells said, noting that the shelter is “not having huge luck” elsewhere.
Town Administrator Steve Ellis advised the Selectboard to think carefully about what to do with Parcel 21-0-152. Montague has a “lack of large parcels that have access to water and sewer” and this parcel “is one of the very few parcels” of its size adequately equipped with utilities, he noted. For this reason, he argued, the town might benefit more from saving the parcel for other uses.
“I really love the fact that the dog shelter is in our community and I don’t want to say that there’s no reasonable path forward with this … but I think that there are some significant tradeoffs,” Ellis commented. “If a developer were to come to town with a desire, we can’t point them to another ready-to-develop parcel that has utilities to it, including three-phase power, water and sewer.”
“It is zoned ‘neighborhood/business,’ which does allow for commercial use,” Assistant Town Administrator Walter Ramsey added. “It also allows for housing, so we need to at least think about what future needs might be.”
The Selectboard was receptive to both the shelter and the town’s interests.
“As someone who’s been thinking about empty lots and what development might happen in Montague … I would be more inclined personally to leasing the site rather than selling it,” Selectboard member Matt Lord said.
“I think I’d be in favor of leasing the site rather than selling it to them,” Vice Chair Chris Boutwell agreed.
Chair Rich Kuklewicz expressed a desire to continue the conversation going forward, acknowledging the shelter’s importance to the area.
“I think it’s a good service for the community,” Kuklewicz said, “and I think it’s beneficial for our town to have the shelter in town.”
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.