Osten, Marx Deliver New Montville Animal Shelter

MONTVILLE – After years of local debate and months of seemingly non-stop news coverage about the need for a new Montville Regional Animal Shelter, state Senators Cathy Osten and Martha Marx and the State Bond Commission have come through: Connecticut has awarded Montville a $2 million state grant to build an all-new regional shelter.

After months of lobbying by Sens. Osten, Marx and others, the State Bond Commission approved the funding at its June 7 meeting in Hartford. Montville will now construct a new animal control facility at its Public Works complex at 225 Maple Avenue in the Uncasville section of town. The new facility will allow the town and neighboring Salem, Bozrah, and the Mohegan Tribal Nation to continue to meet the animal control and safety needs of their communities now and into the future by creating a modern, energy-efficient and sustainable humane facility. The existing facility is in extremely poor condition and continues to deteriorate.

“I’ve been advocating for the Montville animal control facility for more than three years. It is a true regional asset,” said Sen. Osten. “The shelter has failed many state inspections, and it simply needs to be replaced. This project has local grassroots support, too.”

“Working to support the Montville Animal Shelter has been a top priority of mine and I’ve worked hard with my colleagues to get funding for this project,” said Sen. Marx. “The animals have suffered in poor conditions for too long and I’m proud that the Montville community has organized together to get behind this project; it shows how a lot of positive energy put toward a good cause can pay off. I’m thrilled Montville will receive this funding.”

“I want to thank all of the state legislators for their unified effort,” Montville Mayor Lenny Bunnell said. “This project has been in the works for six years, and for five of those six years the facility has failed state health inspections. We wanted to take advantage of the governor’s desire to regionalize more municipal functions, and I think this $2 million project will benefit the region. We’ve had plans drawn up for a new facility for a year, and now we can put them to use.”

Ann Gaulin, with the Montville Animal Shelter Community Team, told the Montville Patch that legislators were key in moving the project forward even as the Montville Animal Shelter Community Team packed town council meetings with 50 to 80 people in recent months to lobby for a new shelter.

In mid-March, The Day newspaper editorial board opined “End the delays and replace Montville animal shelter,” noting that “The deplorable condition of the animal control shelter in Montville is a disgrace. A new facility should be built as soon as possible,” and that “It is unhealthy for the animals and for the officers who must work there.”

Posted by Lawrence Cook