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‘Dog kennel project 95-percent complete’
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Posted on May 24 2012
By Clarissa V. David
Reporter
Reporter
The Saipan Mayor’s Office is getting help from engineers on island in coming up with a design for holding tanks that would allow for the full operation of the animal control shelter in Lower Base even without a connection to the island’s main sewage collection system.
Henry Hofschneider, special adviser to Mayor Donald Flores, said Tuesday that the only thing that’s holding back the opening of the kennel project is the sewage connection. Construction of the kennel, which began in December, is about 95-percent complete, he said.
“CUC has helped us in trying to design a way to connect to the island sewer system but they said it’s too costly,” said Hofschneider.
Based on CUC’s estimates, the Mayor’s Office would need about $70,000 to $100,000 to have a “forced line to the main system” for the kennel’s sewage connection. The mayor has already requested for appropriation from the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation, to no avail.
Since the volunteer engineers are already working on the design of the holding tanks, Hofschneider said the opening and full operation of the shelter is “forthcoming” sometime in “late July or around August.”
Hofschneider revealed that the Mayor’s Office has already spent $65,000 of the $75,000 funding for the project, which was appropriated through Saipan Local Law 15-12.
The Mayor’s Office has the responsibility to regulate and license dogs, cats, and other domestic animals and the kennel project is aimed at controlling stray animals that pose health and safety risks to residents and tourists.
According to Hofschneider, a total of 2,300 dogs have been registered with the Mayor’s Office when they began the process in June last year “but there are still more out there that are not yet registered and are not controlled.”
The kennel, which was built by students of the Northern Marianas Trades Institute by virtue of an agreement with the Mayor’s Office and as part of animal control program, is composed of 40 individual holding cells and each cell can be used to hold two to three stray animals.
