Animal shelter gets city funding for new facility

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

 

Every dog – and cat and rabbit and gerbil – had their day recently when the Key West City Commission voted to give the local animal shelter $149,000 towards building a new facility on Stock Island.

The grant, which will come out of $2.1 million the city recently received as its portion of the BP Deep Horizon oil spill settlement, was controversial and squeaked by on a 4-3 vote. Commissioners Billy Wardlow, Clayton Lopez and Margaret Romero were the dissenters, concerned that funding the Florida Keys SPCA would lead other local non-profit organizations to beat a path to city hall to ask for similar financial contributions.

The $148,800 donation will be used by the SPCA to pay city construction permitting fees for the planned $8.4 million animal shelter on College Road. And it more than doubles the annual $140,000 grant program city officials currently divide between 11 local non-profit organizations, including The Boys and Girls Club, the Lil Conch Baseball League and Positive Step.

The SPCA donation also reverses two earlier decisions made by commissioners, one in January that restricts the annual non-profit grant program to the current 11 organizations that receive money, and another made in April that allocates the BP settlement money “primarily” for recreation and youth-related activities.

But impressed with the SPCA capital campaign that raised $6.1 million dollars for a new animal shelter, a majority of the commission voted to help bail out the organization when bids for the new facility came in more than $2 million above what had been raised. In addition to the city grant, the funding gap has now been filled by additional donations from Monroe County and private donors.

“We don’t want this project to fail,” said Commissioner Sam Kaufman, referring to the Oct. 7 deadline for the SPCA to sign a construction contract or be forced to start the bidding process over. “Is it great it’s coming out of the BP money? No. But it’s a necessity this time.”

But Commissioner Lopez complained that there are other children-related causes that need funding more urgently than the animal shelter. He said he would propose that the remaining $1 million in BP money that has not already been designated for a specific project be given to help the Monroe County Health Department clinic relocate its offices within Bahama Village, Lopez’s district.

“I think this is a stretch for monies that are supposed to be earmarked for children’s functions,” he said about the SPCA grant.

Indeed, before the vote was even taken, Jay Kaczmarek, a fund raiser for the Key West Police Athletic League (PAL) and the Monroe Association for ReMARCable Citizens (MARC), came to the podium to ask for a portion of the BP money.

“PAL and MARC both are a lot higher on the scale than the SPCA. Both benefit individuals,” he said, adding, “To divvy up this BP money to SPCA is ridiculous. You have much more worthy organizations.”

But Jeff Johnson, chair of the SPCA capital campaign, said that the animal rescue organization provides a free service that is mandated by the city code of ordinances. And the $148,800 grant will go back into city coffers to pay the permitting fees, he pointed out.

“The new animal shelter will essentially be a public building even though the vast majority of the cost of building the new shelter will be borne by private supporters of the Florida Keys SPCA,” Johnson said.

Major Craig Cates said the city already provides significant funding for local children’s programs. In addition to $1 million in BP settlement money already being spent to provide a new home for The Boys and Girls Clubs and renovate Cozumel Park, the PAL organization was included in the new fiscal 2017 budget for the first time.

“We do so much for the kids. Can we do more? I’m not sure we could,” the mayor said.

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