Building should be revamped

A consultant hired to assess St. Joseph County’s animal-control facility suggested the current building could be gutted and reconfigured instead of constructing a new building.

St. Joseph County Animal Control Advisory Board Chair Bev Levett and member Suzanne Lee told panel members Wednesday that engineer Scott Learned made the observation during his Feb. 6, half-day tour of the county-owned building.

The three options yielded by Learned were revamp the current building and not include a wing specifically for its cat population, re-do the existing building and include an area exclusively for cats, and keep the building as is but add a shelter-only section.

Learned is expected to compile a detailed summary of his findings and present the document to members of the county commission. A date for when the task will be completed, however, has not been identified.

Animal Control Advisory Board members said further discussions about the status of the current animal-control facility would probably have to be put on hold until the results of Learned’s analysis are available.