Pets and their human counterparts will be watching Jersey City’s City Council closely over the next few weeks as a decision is made over whether to build a new Hudson County animal shelter. While a proposal to erect such a facility in the city has the backing of Mayor Bret Schundler, several council members expressed concerns last week over cost and placement of the refuge. “Where is the money coming from? Who’s paying for it? Who owns it?” asked Councilwoman Melissa Holloway of a proposed site at the corner of Route 440 and Communipaw Avenue. Amid those questions, the council Wednesday night chose not to vote on, and instead tabled, a $17.5 million bond ordinance for various projects, $50,000 of which was to be seed funds to study the feasibility of a new shelter. The city already hosts an SPCA animal shelter, but activists have complained that it is too small and doesn’t include enough services for stray animals and prospective volunteers. It serves several towns in Hudson County, while a Humane Society shelter in Newark serves the other towns. It’s not clear what will become of the city-owned property at the corner of Route 440 and Communipaw on which animal activists hope build a shelter, but many council members showed their unequivocal support for the idea, including Council President Tom DeGise and councilmen William Gaughan, Mariano Vega, and Fernando Colon. Others on the council said that while they were not against the proposal, per se, but still had questions regarding the site. Those members included Robert Cavanaugh, L. Harvey Smith, Melissa Holloway, and Arnold Bettinger. At the Wednesday meeting, before the vote, Liberty Humane Society President Norrice Raymaker questioned each councilperson on their support of the plan, save one: the councilwoman in whose ward the shelter would be constructed, Mary Donnelly. That may not be much of a surprise, considering the Ward B councilwoman has shown little support for the current proposal. Donnelly has made it clear that she believes money would be better spent on other projects. “There are traffic guard spots which were filled by police officers because we can’t hire enough guards,” she complained on Monday. “I put people first,” Donnelly added at the caucus meeting. “Though I’m not saying we don’t need to build a shelter.” At that same meeting, Councilman Mariano Vega said that when he was an anthropology student, he learned that “A sign of civilization is how we handle our seniors and animals.” Funding a question Mayoral Chief of Staff Thomas Gallagher, in response to a series of questions from Councilman Cavanaugh at Wednesday night’s meeting, estimated the cost to construct a new building at somewhere between $2.1 and $2.6 million. He admitted, however, in a later interview that he would prefer for the city to foot less than $1 million of the cost. He said he hoped animal groups could find ways to raise the rest of the revenue for the facility. But start-up costs are not the only issue, as questions were raised about the day-to-day operations of the facility. The city may run the new center, or look to contract out the service to a private group. LHS wants the shelter to be accessible and high-profile, and the Route 440 location, the site of the former Colony Diner, may fit that bill. After several failed attempts to secure a home for the shelter in the past 14 months, this may be the animal-backers’ best shot. The “one-stop shopping” for animals would include animal obedience training, pet boarding and grooming, veterinary care, spaying and neutering, licensing. LHS claims that, if built, the Route 440 location would be the first in the nation to offer all of these services. Concerns about present shelter Not to be forgotten amid the talk of new shelter homes is the fate of the much-maligned Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals facility on Johnston Avenue. Raymaker claimed prior to the meeting that conditions at the SPCA are not in compliance with state regulations. She said reports of overcrowding in cages and lack of litter boxes for cats were being investigated by the state. (Jersey City has, in the past, withheld money for contracted services from the SPCA shelter because the city did not believe the shelter was responding to its demands.) SPCA director Jack Shaw could not be reached for comment last week. One resident said at the Wednesday meeting that he wasn’t so pleased at the prospect of paying for the shelter. “This is not just a question of being for or against cats and dogs,” said Arthur Zigman, claiming Raymaker had framed the matter as such. “People [in city government] are being laid off. And if an animal center goes up [on the proposed site] who is going to use the space next door?” (The shelter is near a mall and law offices.) Though the matter won’t be resolved soon, one thing is true. “The power of animal lovers has been unleashed, and it is tough to put them back in the kennel,” said Vega Monday.
Helter shelter; Proposed animal refuge faces hurdles
