With $400,000 in state funding recently secured, construction is set to begin in spring 2022 on a brand new animal shelter in the Town of Saugerties.
Town Supervisor Fred Costello said some preliminary work will start this winter and he expects the new shelter will take about a year to build. Once open, it will allow the Town to handle 500 animal adoptions a year, up from 350 now, along with providing facilities for spay and neuter clinics.
Construction will begin just months after the death of Alice Tipp, a longtime champion of all causes for seniors and animals in Saugerties. Tipp died on October 29 at the age of 98. She was past Vice President of the Ulster County SPCA and the first woman to be elected to the Ulster County Legislature.
“Alice was a tremendous supporter of everything Saugerties is noted for in her efforts to help seniors and animals,” Costello said. “It was a treat to know her and she was very inspiring.
The Supervisor also credited the late Marie Post for her efforts in helping animals and starting the existing shelter.
“Our shelter does so much good work, but is constrained by a lack of infrastructure,” Costello said. The Supervisor expects expanded spay and neuter clinics will help to alleviate some of the environmental and quality-of-life issues caused by feral cats.
“The new facility will offer a significantly improved quality of life for the animals sheltered there and employees caring for them,” he said. The present facility was repurposed from an old garage at the Town Transfer Station.
“We make the most of what it is, but it’s not much,” Costello admitted.
Costello said the latest $400,000 in funding for the shelter, secured by State Senator Michelle Hinchey (D-Saugerties), comes from the State Dormitory Authority. The Town is also tapping into a $100,000 state grant secured by State Assemblyman Chris Tague using intermodal and dormitory money and an additional $500,000 in state funds received more than a year back through the State’s Animal Capital Fund, which is designed to help construct and maintain animal shelters across the state.
The remaining balance of the $1.8 million project will come from community contributions, including $400,000 settled in a will. Macy Siracusano of Sawyer Motors helped to secure another $300,000 in community contributions. Costello said Post’s daughter, Adele Zinderman and Elly Monfett, the Shelter’s manager, have also been instrumental in the fundraising efforts.
Costello said officials have about 80 percent of the funds needed to construct the shelter. Still, officials are looking to raise about $500,000 more.
«We have enough to construct the building, but it will still take a few hundred thousand more to finish it out,” Costello said.
Beyond Saugerties, the Saugerties shelter also serves the Town of Woodstock and other neighboring municipalities. The new facility will help to better serve these needs along with working closely with other shelters, including the Ulster County SPCA in the Town of Ulster. “This will reinforce these relationships and allow them to be stronger,” Costello said. “When we expand our capacity, it expands the capacity for everyone.”
Those looking to donate to the Saugerties Animal Shelter can visit http://www.saugertiesanimalshelter.com/ and click on “help fund our new building.”
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