NORTHAMPTON — A long-running controversy over the city’s proposed location for an animal pound appears to have been resolved with an agreement to house the facility on the Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School campus.

“This was really just a remarkable aligning of the stars,” Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra said. 

The city is now looking at building affordable or mixed affordable and market rate housing at the Moose Lodge property on Cooke Avenue off Hatfield Street, the latest location where residents had opposed siting the project, according to Sciarra.  

Sciarra announced the deal with Smith Vocational in a news release late Tuesday. The vocational school is preparing to open a companion animals program, and the animal control facility would be located near it. The facility would be built at the back of the campus, near the animal science department.

“It’s very far from many residences,” Sciarra said.

The building would house stray cats and dogs and other companion animals picked up by the town. Currently, such animals are housed at the police station, until they are claimed by owners or moved to shelters.

It will also be sited near a building on which Greenfield Community College has an expiring lease, and which Smith Voc will be converting for use in its companion animals program.

“That was really the catalyst,” said Smith Voc Superintendent Andrew Linkenhoker.

He also said that the animal control facility will provide students in the animal science department an opportunity to interact with small animals and give criminal justice students the ability to learn about animal control.

“I think it’s a win-win,” he said.

The city has spent several years trying to find a site for a place to house stray animals. After being rebuffed by neighborhood opposition on Glendale Road in 2019 and on Chapel Street last year, officials set their sights on the Moose Lodge property on Cooke Avenue off Hatfield Street. Last month the City Council voted 8-1 to buy the property for $100,000, with the goal of using it for an animal control facility.

But not everyone was happy with the Moose Lodge proposal, with a number of residents in the neighborhood voicing opposition to the project. The barking of dogs was one of the big concerns raised by the neighbors.

Following the March vote, Sciarra was notified by Smith Voc trustee Julie Spencer-Robinson that the new companion animals program could mean that the school would be willing to reopen talks to locate the animal control facility on its property.

Previous talks between the city and Smith Voc had yielded no deal, but this time an agreement was reached.

“I really look forward to a partnership with them,” the mayor said.

Smith Voc trustees signed off on the plan on Tuesday and it’s now in the hands of the City Council.

Ward 1 City Councilor Stanley Moulton, who represents the Moose Lodge area, said that he is supportive of the plan and that the few councilors he has spoken to are supportive of it as well.

“This is probably the best possible resolution” Moulton said. “This is a great example of how city departments should be working together.”

He also noted that the new location will provide educational opportunities for students, and credited Sciarra for swiftly responding to the concerns of residents.

“I give her a lot of credit,” Moulton said.

Christine Clark, one of the residents who opposed the Moose Lodge proposal, also expressed support for the new plan.

“We are thrilled that it is going to Smith Voc Tech,” said Clark.

Clark praised Ward 6 City Councilor Marianne LaBarge, who was the only councilor to vote against the Moose Lodge plan and whom she credited for advocating on the opponents’ behalf.

“Out of all this, Marianne LaBarge really deserves acknowledgment,” Clark said.

She also noted that LaBarge did this even though the Moose Lodge isn’t in her ward.

“She’s really a hero,” Clark said. “She stepped up for us.”

Additionally, Clark said there was a “huge community effort,” against the Moose Lodge project.

“We’re back to peace and quiet on Cooke Avenue,” Clark said.

The former Moose Lodge property, meanwhile, is set to be retained by the city and Sciarra said that her hope is that it will be converted into affordable housing units.

Asked about the prospect of putting affordable housing units at the Moose Lodge property, Clark expressed support for affordable housing there.

Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.