Work on the new Franklin County Humane Society animal shelter is approximately 80% complete, according to board president John Hibbard. (Photo submitted)
It has been 14 months since the Franklin County Humane Society broke ground on the new animal shelter on Carpenter Farm off Flynn Avenue. So what’s the latest on the project?
Well, there is good news and bad.
Let’s start with the good news.
John Hibbard, who took over as humane society board president from Sam Marcus in July, told The State Journal that the shelter is approximately 80% complete.
On the flip side, the organization needs to raise or borrow additional funding to finish the project. More specifically, the humane society needs to come up with another $350,000.
“Unanticipated costs, such as the well-publicized access road issue and added infrastructure expenses like substantial rock removal have made our job more difficult,” he stated. “The Frankfort community has given us amazing support, we just need that final push to get this done.”
In October, Hibbard informed the fiscal court that more than $1.1 million had been spent on infrastructure “just moving rock, dirt and nature in that area.” He also noted that it was difficult to determine what the cost for infrastructure would be beforehand and the price of the road just added to that number.
In addition to use by humane society vehicles, the road will also see traffic from city vehicles as they access the sewer pump as well as people utilizing the Vaughan Branch Nature Preserve.
The humane society sought more funding assistance from the city, which eventually set aside another $75,000; the Frankfort Plant Board, which committed $50,000; and the county, which voted 5-2 against donating an additional $50,000.
Work on the new Franklin County Humane Society animal shelter is approximately 80% complete, according to board president John Hibbard. (Photo submitted)
Hibbard said one area that is lacking is corporate giving. In fact, just 3% of the overall donations for the project have come from corporations and businesses.
“It’s a challenge for us to reach out to all of them, and we’ve tried, but it would really help if entities interested in available sponsorships could contact us,” he explained.
Marcus, who continues to be involved with the humane society and is overseeing the construction phase of the project, said that he is available to give personal tours to anyone to “show them exactly how their donation could be recognized in the new facility.”
But, he was quick to add, tours and donations will need to be done soon in order to be in place for the shelter’s grand opening — which is currently projected to be at the end of April.
“Frankfort and the Franklin County Humane Society have waited many years for this moment,” Hibbard remarked.
The humane society has several naming opportunities still available to memorialize a beloved pet, family member or friend. Cat enclosure sponsorships are $2,000 and a dog kennel is $3,000.
According to Hibbard, specific areas and some equipment sponsorships are also available at $5,000, $10,000, $15,000 and $25,000 levels, which could be of special interest to business and corporate executives. More information is available on the humane society’s website, www.fchsanimals.org
“Along with construction, there is more fundraising work to be done,” Hibbard added.
One way to help is by purchasing a ticket for the humane society’s second annual bourbon raffle. There are 20 prized flights of bourbon with more than 100 bottles up for grabs.
Tickets, which cost $100 each and are available at www.frankfortbourbonraffle.com, qualifies the holder for any of the 20 prizes — including the full six-bottle Van Winkle collection and the five-bottle Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.
The drawing starts at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9 and all proceeds go toward the completion of the new facility.
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State-Journal.com’s comments forum is for civil, constructive dialogue about news topics in our community, state, nation and world. We emphasize “civil” at a time when Americans, in the words of the current president, need to “turn down the temperature” of political debates. The State Journal will do its part by more carefully policing this forum. Here are some rules that all commenters must agree to follow:
Absolutely no attacks on other commenters, on guest columnists or on authors of letters to the editor. Our print and online opinion pages are sacred marketplaces of ideas where diverse viewpoints are welcome without fear of retribution. You may constructively critique the ideas and opinions of others, but name-calling, stereotyping and similar attacks are strictly prohibited.
Leeway will be given for criticism of elected officials and other public figures, but civility is essential. If you focus your criticism on ideas, opinions and viewpoints, you will be less likely to run afoul of our commenting rules.
Keep comments focused on the article or commentary in question. Don’t use an article about the Frankfort City Commission, for example, to rant about national politics.
Hyperpartisanship that suggests anyone on the other side of an issue or anyone in a particular particular party is evil is not welcome. If you believe that all Democrats are socialists intent on destroying America or that all Republicans are racists, there are lots of places on the internet for you to espouse those views. State-Journal.com is not one.
No sophomoric banter. This isn’t a third-grade classroom but rather a place for serious consumers of news to offer their reactions and opinions on news stories and published commentary.
No consumer complaints about individual businesses. If you’ve had a bad experience with a private business or organization, contact the Better Business Bureau or the government agency that regulates that business. If you believe the actions of a private business are newsworthy, contact us at news@state-journal.com and we will consider whether news coverage is merited.
Absolutely no jokes or comments about a person’s physical appearance.
No promotion of commercial goods or services. Our outstanding staff of marketing consultants stands ready to help businesses with effective advertising solutions.
If you state facts that have not been previously reported by The State Journal, be sure to include the source of your information.
No attacks on State Journal staff members or contributing writers. We welcome questions about, and criticism of, our news stories and commentary but not of the writers who work tirelessly to keep their community informed. Corrections of inaccurate information in news stories should be sent to news@state-journal.com rather than posted in the comments section.