(Atlantic) The City Council on Wednesday rejected all bids for the Atlantic Animal Shelter expansion project.
The City recently received $135,000 from the Lorene Eppelsheimer estate to benefit the animals in the shelter, particularly cats.
As of February 29, the Animal Control Gifts Fund Balance totaled $149,419.27, well short of covering the total cost of the construction project. Dave Sturm of Snyder and Associates stated United Construction submitted the low bid of $180,300.00. Atlantic City Administrator John Lund says the City doesn’t have the resources to complete this project already over budget and doesn’t include any additional engineering services.
Atlantic Animal Shelter Director Kris Erickson agrees with John Lund. “We want to do this right,” said Erickson. “We don’t want to partially do this project and end up constantly dealing with repairs and replacing things that will end up costing us more. So let’s do it right the first time and wait until we can do it.”
Dave Sturm says the project can go out for bid anytime the City is ready.
The proposal includes an 18×36-square foot addition to the shelter. The added space allows for the separation of cats and dogs, additional rows of cages for the cats, a grooming station and veterinary area, energy-efficient lighting, expanded storage and separating the water and electrical lines.
