Plans Pick up again for Trumbull County Dog Pound after no movement for a year

Plans for a new Trumbull County dog pound are being picked up again after sitting idle for more than a year. 

“We operate out of an old garage and it is very outdated,” Michelle Goss, the Trumbull County Dog Warden said. 

The Warden is urging the move because the current building is outdated and small and sits next to a waste water treatment facility. 

“The conditions in our current dog pound are deplorable,” Rick Hernandez, Trumbull County Commissioner said. 

“Our main goal is not what it looks like but it serves the purpose for us to take care of our animals,” Tony Bernard, Trumbull County Commissioner said. 

New building plans have already been drawn up with four times the kennels and amenities they don't have now like an indoor play area. A front runner for the site is in Vienna Township off of Route 193 on undeveloped land by the Animal Welfare League that’s already owned by the county. 

“We do have some obstacles we have to overcome to get there. We have to find the money and make sure we can finance it,” Commissioner Bernard said. 

Not having the money for construction was part of the reason plans halted last time. After spending $200,000 that was donated to the dog warden and some additional county funds on the drawings, they sat untouched.

Back then the build was estimated to cost $3.3 Million now the price tag looks more like $4 million. The commissioners are considering taking out a loan and then evening out the budget with donations.

“For a three million dollar loan on a county that has no debt that's, to me, a no brainer,” Denny Malloy, Trumbull County Commissioner said. 

To seek out those donors the commissioners will form an advisory committee. 

“I am in full confidence that once the commissioners make the move to get this moving that those donors will come forward,” Commissioner Hernandez said. 

“Obviously we want to move things forward for us, for  the dogs and for the community,” Gross said. “As fast as we can get this project started would be in everybody's best interest.”

The commissioners will reconvene next week with a clearer picture of how many people will be on the committee and how to apply.