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The animal shelter is a go.

The Porterville City Council approved the awarding of a bid for the construction of the $7.3 million animal shelter to be placed at 185 N. D Street at its meeting on Tuesday.

The former City Bank building at the site will be remodeled into an animal shelter. There were still concerns expressed at Tuesday's meeting about the location of the animal shelter basically being in the middle of the town.

Council members addressed those concerns with council member Milt Stowe stating the animal shelter will be sound proofed. Porterville's newest council member, Don Weyhrauch who was serving at his first meeting after being sworn in at the start of the meeting, also referenced after doing research he was aware of other animal shelters that have been sound proofed.

“It's going to be sound proof,” Stowe said. “Nobody's going to know there's a dog shelter there unless they go inside.”

The awarding of the construction contract to Santa Clarita's AMB & Associates, Inc. paves the way for the construction of the facility to begin by the end of the year. The awarding of the contract was originally scheduled to be approved as a routine matter as part of the consent calendar.

Stowe moved to approve with the exception of one item, the consent calendar, including the bid for the animal shelter and vice mayor Kellie Carrillo seconded the motion.

But after hearing concerns expressed about the location of the animal shelter during oral communications, Weyhrauch originally intended to vote no on the approval of the consent calendar. But then Stowe rescinded his motion and Carrillo also rescinded her second of the motion.

Weyhrauch then pulled the matter from the consent calendar so it could be discussed at the end of the meeting. After the discussion the council unanimously voted to approve the bid for the construction with Weyhrauch, Stowe, council member Lawana Tate, Carrillo and Mayor Martha A. Flores all voting in favor. Weyhrauch made the motion to approve the bid and Carrillo seconded the motion.

“I appreciate council member Weyhrauch having the matter pulled so we could have this discussion,” Stowe said.

“I don't want to be the person that holds it back any further,” Weyhrauch said. “I feel it's a needed project. I don't know if we're going to please everyone.”

Gail Nuckols, who has expressed her opposition to the location of the animal shelter, again expressed her opposition during oral communications at Tuesday's meeting.

“It's not the right location,” she said. “Down in your heart you know it's not the right location for animals. You're going to ruin your quality of life.

“I just wished you would reconsider the location that it's not the right location for Porterville. Who has a dog shelter downtown?”

Rae Dean Strawn, who regularly attends the meeting again accused the council of not listening to the community as she has done in the past.

“They're pushing through the animal shelter,” said Strawn about the city and council. About the council and city, Strawn said the animal shelter is “what they wanted, not what the people wanted in downtown Porterville. We get a blind eye an a deaf ear every time we stand at this microphone.”

Strawn also noted more than 400 signatures were collected at the SETCO Republican Women booth at the Porterville Fair against the location of the animal shelter.

Greg Meister, who's running against Jason Gurrola to replace Stowe to represent District 2 in the November election, also spoke out against the location of the shelter.

“It's a bad deal for the people,” Meister said. “We still have a chance to re-evaluate. If we can still get away and back away it's good for the people. It's not the best option.

There was also a reference to a location near Veterans Park being more suitable for the animal shelter. But Stowe said it was decided that location was “more practical to put something else that we need.”

He also said the process to find a property for the animal shelter included finding “something we could afford” and the thinking ended up being “this was probably the best location,” referring to the former City Bank property.

He added a lot now goes into developing an animal shelter which affects the location that can be used. “It's not just you put up a fence and put them in a pen anymore. There are so many other requirements.”

Carrillo also noted the “design of shelters are much different than we've had in the past.”

Carrillo also said after her research on the project, “I felt very comfortable with the decision” as far as the location of the shelter. “I think it's going to be a good site for the animals.”

The immediate need for the shelter was covered as the current shelter is located far away between Lindsay and Exeter and is lacking.

The process to develop the new shelter has also taken seven years. “The conditions are very sad,” said Flores about the current shelter. “It's sad. It's a sad situation.”

Flores also noted the public has had a chance to participate in the process in the past. “There was a public hearing,” she said. “There wasn't any comment at that time.”

Tate also referred to how much better the new shelter will be than the current one, saying the new shelter will be “stellar.”

“It's going to be more humane than what we have now,” Tate said. “I think we're reading to go ahead. I'm ready to support it.”

The bulk of the funding for the project will come from federal American Rescue Plan funds the city has receive at $4.85 million. There has been $1.3 million in donations that will help fund the project and another $500,000 in land sale revenue will be used along with $300,000 in Local Transportation funds. Another $550,000 in Measure R funds will be used to fund a dog park at the location.

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