Committee Awards $552K Contract for Animal Shelter

The Township Committee unanimously awarded a $552,000 contract to Passaic-based ML Inc. for the construction of a new animal shelter on Church Lane at its Tuesday night meeting.

Township Administrator Frank Bastone has said the four other towns that use the Montville Animal Shelter—Lincoln Park, Mountain Lakes, Boonton Township and Morristown—are contributing a total of about $100,000 toward the construction costs, he said.

The contract amount includes $56,000 for an HVAC unit. It also includes $9,000 for add-ons that will be paid for by Montville Pet Parents—a masonry screen wall, an overframed roof dormer and accents.

Montville Pet Parents plans to spend another $80,000 it raised to install a kennel system, fencing and gravel for a dog run area and other items.

ML Inc. was the lowest responsible bidder, and a legal challenge by the second-lowest biddger over a technicality was unsuccessful, township officials said.

Sue Goldblatt, president of Montville Pet Parents, who attended the meeting, celebrated the vote. Montville Pet Parents Inc. formed in 2006 to help care for the animals and supplement funding for the town-funded shelter and has been a driving force for the new shelter.

Goldblatt has said the shelter could be completed in about 18 months.

Committeewoman Deborah Nielson was not at the meeting because she was attending a Morris County Open Space Committee meeting.

A Montville Pet Parents list of reasons for building a new shelter:

• Current shelter on River Road is inadequate in providing a healthy environment for the animals.
• Quarantine for new arrivals and sick animals is in the old Department of Public Works garage. There is no quarantine area for dogs.
• Poor air exchange in the facility
• Building materials are porous and difficult to clean.
• Not a positive experience for prospective owners due to location, crowding, noise, no area for getting acquainted or counseling.
• Constrained work areas, no medical procedure area, limited storage space.
• Outdoor exercise area for dogs is inadequate.
• Approximately 30 years old, the building is in need of increasingly expensive repairs.