Mayor says there’s a possibility facility
 could be completed before winter

SOPHIA ALDOUS
S-E Staff Reporter

    After years of being tied up in courtroom litigation, the money willed to the city of Colville by former resident Marion Stead can now be put toward a new dog shelter.
    According to Colville Mayor Dick Nichols, the city received $20,000 last year from the total amount of $160,000 left by Stead in her will. The city received the remaining $140,000 three weeks ago. Combined with the money Nichols said the city has been setting aside over the years for the purpose of constructing a new dog shelter, the city now has over $300,000 to start construc¬tion on a new shelter.
    “The design is basically com¬plete, the site has been selected, and now we’re pretty much just waiting to go to bid,” said Nichols. “The new building will be cleaner and more animal friendly.”
    The current dog facility is lo¬cated on Lewis-Perras Road across from the Colville Waste Water Treatment facility. The new dog shelter will be located 200 to 250 feet south of the current building and will be 2,100 square feet with a height of 21 feet.
    The entire site covers 8.6 acres, but ac¬cording to Colville Building and Planning Director Jim Lapinski, the actual building will only take up 1.25 percent of space.  
    The architect for the project is Tom Bristol of Purple Flat Top Construction of Chewelah.
    As of Monday, Lapinski said that Bristol was putting the finishing touches on the plans for the dog shel¬ter, and that the city should be able to put the project up for contractor bidding in the next few weeks.

A positive thing

    “It’s going to be an attractive building, as well as func¬tional,” said Lapinski. “Issues such as future expansion have been thought out, if the need should arise.”
    Some of the possible fea¬tures for the dog shelter in¬clude a puppy room, an isola¬tion room for ill dogs, nine kennels, an office, a visitor’s room and an outdoors area. A small expanse of wetlands stretches out on the west side of the site.  Lapinski said that the construction will not impact the wetlands.
    “I don’t see any reason for us needing to interfere with that,” Lapinski stated.
    Both Nichols and Lapinski expressed optimism that the shelter could be completed by this winter, but that depends on how the bidding goes. Lapinski estimated that the entire project could cost from $350,000 to $400,000.
    “We have a fragile economy, and we have to take that in consideration, because it affects us all,” explained Lipin¬ski. “Obviously, we want to build this facility and we don’t want to nickel and dime it, because no matter how much it costs, it’s not likely to get any cheaper in the future.
    “But you have to consider the costs of materials, construction, and how far your materials and builders have to travel. You also have to think about the contractor’s workload, be¬cause we are nearing the mid¬dle of summer, and that’s when most contractors are at their busiest. Though with the economy being the way it is, maybe some of their workloads might not be so high. We’ll have to see.”
    Despite these concerns, Lapinski said he has heard nothing but positive feedback from the community regarding the new dog shelter.
    “No one has said it’s a terri¬ble idea, not that I’ve heard,” said Lapinski. “It’s a positive thing that’s needed.”

 

   Jim Lapinski stands in front of the site for the new Colville dog shelter.