Original | $1.6M over budget, new Prince William animal shelter a ‘hot mess’

It’s been two and a half years since leaders approved a new animal shelter they said was desperately needed.

A shovel has not yet touched the dirt, the shelter is $1.6 million over budget, and the dogs are now barking. “This is a hot mess,” said Neabsco Supervisor Victor Angry.

Originally budgeted at $15.1 million, construction on the 29,783 square-foot dog pound was set to begin by 2019 at the latest, and open in 2021, one year after the existing animal shelter reached the end of its “useful” life.

Supporters of a new shelter said the existing 45-year-old shelter at 14807 Bristow Road near the county landfill was too, old, too small. In 2015, it was the center of a virus that infected multiple animals that were forced to be put to sleep.

In September 2017, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors approved a new shelter that would replace the old one. It would boast 106 double-sided cat kennels, 56 dog kennels, have a quarantine room for sick animals, a dedicated room that a veterinarian could use, a dedicated animal adoption room, offices and workout space for staff, and a community room for events.

Alexandria-based Cole and Denny Architects said they would design a building that would serve county residents for at least 25 years.

The Board of Supervisors selected a design for the new shelter from four options presented to it then by the architects. The firm had designed a government-run animal shelter in neighboring Fairfax County, a building that some sitting Prince William Supervisors at the time called too extravagant for their taste.

On Tuesday, it was that same architect firm that county staff placed some of the blame on for the project’s rising costs. “The errors seem to be on the part of the architect,” said Occoquan District Supervisor Kenny Boddye.”Moving forward, maybe we can do a better job vetting these folks.”

Prince William County Deputy County Executive Rebecca Horner on Tuesday briefed elected leaders on the project. She said the project team originally balked at Cole and Denny’s desire to make changes to the interior finishes in the building, the sprinkler system, changes to the building’s mechanical and electrical systems, and axing a plan for a staff gymnasium.

In 2017, Supervisors balked at the $15.1 million price tag. It came at a time when Prince William County’s neighbor to the south, Stafford County, was putting the finishing touches on its newly constructed,17,500 square foot animal shelter. It has 82 kennels for dogs and cats and, at $5 million, was 70% cheaper to build.

On multiple occasions, Horner said, emails from the Prince William County public works staff were sent to the architectural firm to request mobilization on their end. Those revisions and were necessary all necessary in order for budding permits to be issued. That permitting process was only supposed to take six months.

When reached for comment for this story on Tuesday, Cole and Denny Architects had none. A representative from the firm was not present Tuesday during the Board’s discussion.

Horner urged officials to stay the course and continue working with the firm. “We have been updating the board every quarter,” said Horner. “Nobody seemed to think this would be a complete systemic issue. If the goal is to construct this project, we should stick to this architect company to avoid adding at least 18 months to the process.”

“I did feel at the time that this was way over-engineered from the beginning,” said Gainesville District Supervisor Peter Candland, who was one of the Supervisors on the Board that selected the animal shelter design.

“I think it’s a little unfair to pin on the architect. He’s not here. These issues don’t seem to be new, county staff should be more vigilant in terms of the process,” said Coles District Supervisor Lesli Vega.

Six months into the design and value engineering process, Potomac Local was contacted by multiple representatives who sit on the county’s citizen Animal Advisory Board, which works with the county police department to manage the animal shelter. They were ringing bells, saying the county was not going to build the animal shelter to the size and scoped promised by the Board of County Supervisors.

A county spokesman at that time told Potomac Local News that staff was diligently working with the architectural firm, was moving ahead with the permitting process, as well as working on putting the project out to bid.

“We need to decide who’s going to be held accountable for this situation,” said Peter Candland. “There has to be better safeguards put in place to avoid these delays.

While there’s no firm construction start date, Horner assured county leaders that it is in the final stages of contract negotiations with Culpeper-based contractor Taft Construction, which at $13.2 million, submitted the lowest bid to build the shelter.

The current county animal shelter sees at least 41,000 visitors per year and handles more than 4,100 animals annually, according to 2017 figures. The original building was built in 1975 and renovated in 1990.

*This article has been corrected.