NORTHAMPTON — The way the city manages stray dogs and cats is “an unstable situation, to sort of put it mildly,” Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra told the City Council on Thursday night in defense of a plan to build a police-run animal control facility at the former Moose Lodge site on Cooke Avenue.
Some neighbors of 196 Cooke Ave., however, told Sciarra and the council that they should choose a site further away from people’s homes, while others said the city should not spend nearly $900,000 to solve what they termed a minor problem.
Sciarra and the Office of Planning & Sustainability requested $100,000 to buy the former Moose Lodge building and lot. The council has appropriated $795,000 to the project so far, but neighbors and abutters also pushed back against two previous proposed sites in residential areas on Chapel Street and Glendale Road, and the city agreed to look elsewhere.
Councilors on Thursday voted to hold a site visit with the goal of conducting an experiment on the potential for sound reduction. Ward 5 Councilor Alex Jarrett suggested playing a recording of dogs barking at 57 decibels, a number based on a noise review conducted by Berkshire Design Group that detailed the potential effects of soundproofing measures, and having the councilors walk 250 feet away, the approximate distance from the site to the nearest residence.
Jarrett said he recognized that dog barking would not be constant, but he wanted councilors to be able to gauge the impact of the facility on the overall sound level in the neighborhood.
The facility would have room for eight dogs, plus other animals including cats and ferrets, but city officials do not expect more than two dogs on a typical day, and often fewer.
“This scenario is very concerning, that this is the city’s third attempt to put a kennel in a residential area, and tonight I ask the council to vote no on this proposal,” Christine Clark, of the abutting Pines Edge condo complex, said. “The interruption of wildlife and human life is unacceptable behavior for the town’s officials to impose on this neighborhood.”
The council referred the $100,000 purchase order to the Finance Committee for further review.
“I want to assure the residents in that area that I know and absolutely hear their concerns, and I want to work to address them,” Sciarra said during the virtual meeting before presenting slides showing how stray animals are currently managed at the Northampton Police Department.
Cats are kept in the station’s vehicle bay until they are reunited with their owners and dogs are kept in the basement until the animal control officer can drive them to a shelter in Amherst, according to Sciarra’s presentation, but animals are also stored elsewhere in the building. The Amherst facility only accepts certain dogs, and no other animals.
“They’ve not always agreed to contract with us and we’ve had to find other solutions,” Sciarra said of the Amherst facility. “In addition to the annual cost, there’s also a per-dog cost that can be very expensive. … They do not accept all dogs; for example, pregnant dogs they will not take. They will not quarantine dogs, which is a requirement we need to meet.”
The arrangement is “not a good temporary solution and could cease at any moment” to be an option, she said. “We often rely on the generosity and good graces of vet clinics and others to help.”
The Police Department’s ability to care for the animals does not meet state requirements. Caregivers are required by law to wash every blanket and bowl after each use, which Sciarra said “we can’t accomplish.”
“This has been a need for a very long time and the council has appropriated funds for it in the past through capital improvements,” Sciarra said. “It’s been an active discussion for many, many years and many locations have been thoroughly investigated.”
The facility would not be commercial or open to the public.
“I think you should honor the previous mayor’s commitment to finding a non-residential location for this facility, as most cities and towns do,” Kimberly Gerould, of Pines Edge Drive, said. “I hope you can figure out how to do that, and be creative.”
Residents of the Pines Edge condo complex have organized against the plan, asking the city to find another use for the land, which abuts wetlands and the Broad Brook-Fitzgerald Lake Greenway, a popular place for hikers, dog walkers and family outings every day of the year. In addition to noise, neighbors worry about smell, waste management, lighting and property values.
David Pritchard, vice president of the Broad Brook Coalition, asked planners to dedicate as many as 20 spaces to conservation area users.
“There are currently only four or five dedicated parking spots at Moose Lodge. … Most people don’t use these spots,” Pritchard said. “People are used to coming to the Moose Lodge and being able to park, no matter how many cars are already there.”
Not every neighbor who spoke was adamantly opposed to the plan.
Jody Rosenbloom said she uses the conservation area at least once a week, often daily. She said the presence of an animal control facility could encourage other users to act more responsibly, especially with their pets.
“I think a small facility that upgrades the area could be a positive, and I think some of the assumptions that it’s all negative, I would disagree,” Rosenbloom said. “There’s plenty of reasons why there’s noise, not to mention all of you who live there just re-roofed your condos, which was a lot of noise for a stretch of time.”
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.