New borough animal shelter set to open doors

WASILLA — On Tuesday morning, the doors will open to the new 14,000-square-foot Mat-Su Borough Animal Care and Regulation Shelter.

Built next to the existing building, the new facility offers more room for animals, more efficient operation and separate entrances for animal pick-up and drop-off.

The new canine section will have 66 regular and 28 isolation and observation kennels for dogs. Kennels will be made of stainless steel and Plexiglas, rather than the cement and chain-link fences of the old facility. There will also be a puppy room with six kennels and a playpen visible from the lobby.

Also visible from the lobby will be the 30 hardwood cat cages that butt up against a glass wall. There will be a playroom for the cats to socialize and separate observation and isolation rooms.

Additionally, the new facility will have a new exotic pet room, three adoption rooms for people to interact with animals and a larger training classroom for obedience classes, board meetings and employee training.

All of this will be much more efficient than the old facility, according to Bob Haskell, the chief of animal care and regulation for the borough.

“This is a big upfront cost,” Haskell said of the $5 million project, “but we will start seeing savings on maintenance quickly.”

As an example, he points to the new voice-over Internet protocol phone system. The VoIP system was $15,000 to set up, but it saves them $300 each month.

“It will pay for itself in just over four years, and we have the ability to expand the system without spending any more money,” Haskell said.

The facility will save on gas and electricity, he said. The new building will have a heat exchange system where the circulated air is blown out, but the heat is retained, and the lighting system is up to date and will use less energy.

The new facility will have two entrances, one for animal drop-off and one for animal pick-up. People often come in upset about dropping off an animal or having to pay a fine, and Haskell does not want this to spoil the experience of the family adopting a new pet.

Rather than shutting down the current 7,600-square-foot facility, it will be remodeled to house seven stalls and three pens for livestock and large animals. Construction on this part of the facility is projected to be completed in July and will coincide with a grand opening celebration.

After voters turned down a bond to build the shelter in 2005, the Borough Assembly voted in 2007 to issue a bond to get the shelter built.

Howdie, Inc., the general contractor, estimates the construction cost at $5 million. The largest subcontractors on the project were Trans-Alaska Mechanical, General Mechanical, Northstar Electric, EP Roofing and Siegel Construction.

This expansion is much needed, according to Haskell, as the facility serves the whole borough except for animals picked up inside the city limits of Wasilla and Houston.

Temporary closing

The shelter will be closed Monday so the staff and equipment can be moved into the new addition. The shelter will return to normal operating hours Tuesday.