Construction of a brand new animal shelter building for the Lincoln County Humane Society is underway at the corner of Memorial Drive and Sixth Street in Merrill.
“Weather permitting, our hopeful finish date is in October,” said shelter manager Liz Friedenfels.
Fund raising for the project has gone well thus far, with over $600,000 raised toward the $700,000 goal. The amount of money raised was sufficient to get the project started this year, Friedenfels noted. If necessary, the building could be completed with the funds available.
“We have about $100,000 to go,” she added.
Fund raising is ongoing, as the shelter still hopes to meet the original goal. The shelter is also selling engraved bricks and photo tiles, which can be personalized to the donor’s wishes. The bricks and tiles will be incorporated into the new facility.
“We want to say thanks to the people that have gotten us this far,” Friedenfels said. “The community has been incredible with donations this year.”
Lincoln County sold a lot at the corner of the fairgrounds block to the Humane Society last year. The project started with the removal of trees from the corner of the property.
The groundwork is now completed for the new building as concrete work and plumbing continues.
The current shelter building, which was built in 1978, will be demolished once the new building is completed. The property on which the current shelter sits will revert back to Lincoln County as part of the fairgrounds.
The new shelter building will be able to house about the same about of animals as the present building, but will be set up for greater efficiency. There will be group colony rooms for cats, and dogs will have access to the outdoors on nice days.
“Those changes will improve the quality of life for the animals while they’re staying here,” Friedenfels said.
The building is laid out in an “L” shape, facing into the fairgrounds. The shape of the building will help block any noise from the surrounding neighborhood, Friedenfels said.