Wednesday went to the dogs as Boone County officials broke ground on a new animal shelter.
The new facility will be located at the corner of Idlewild Road and Conrad Lane, adjacent to England-Idlewild Park. It will be named the Ron and Sherri Lou Noel Boone County Animal Shelter, in honor of the top donors. The groundbreaking comes a day after the Boone County Fiscal Court finalized the purchase of 296 acres of property from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, which includes England-Idlewild Park and its surrounding land. It also comes after years of planning and discussion from local officials.
Animal Care and Control Director Colleen Bray said the need for a new shelter was “overwhelmingly clear.”
“We have outgrown our current facility in terms of size and it was constructed in the 1970s at a time when modern ventilation and sanitation systems for animals were not available,” Bray said. “The newly designed shelter will provide appropriate care and be sustainable for decades to come. We could not be more excited to be breaking ground on the new facility.”
An evaluation in 2015 concluded that the county needed a new shelter, and a capital campaign raised $2.3 million in private funds. The Boone County Fiscal Court then approved $8.2 million for the new shelter earlier this month, though the court has hired a construction manager from Conger Construction Group, based out of Lebanon, Ohio, to look for cost-saving opportunities.
“We have demonstrated a very unique approach to meeting our responsibilities, providing exemplary service to Boone County citizens and the animals in our care and better serving the taxpayers by utilizing a public-private partnership for the animal shelter,” said Judge/Executive Gary Moore.
Boone County continues to partner with the Horizon Community Fund as the nonprofit partner receiving funds for the project. Officials are aiming for the shelter to open in 2023.