York County committee hears plan for new animal shelter; consultants recommend greenfield site

The York County Public Works Committee on [date of meeting] heard an update from consultants Croft & Associates and owner’s representative Jim Britton of LMG on options to replace the county’s animal shelter, and signaled support to advance design for a proposed greenfield site.

Heather Lewis, a shelter designer with Bridal Arts, told the committee the existing facility is both overcrowded and out of date. "The required number of kennels for dogs ... is approximately 130. We have only 74 kennels," Lewis said, and added that "not a single one of those kennels is compliant with any industry standard," describing single‑compartment kennels, failing HVAC and cramped clinical space that create safety and operational problems for staff and animals.

Those operational constraints shaped the consultants’ two options: expand and renovate the 2005 facility, or build a new greenfield facility on county‑owned land. Jim Britton, owner’s representative with LMG, said expansion would cause substantial operational disruption during construction and would leave little room for future program growth. "Our first pass as a development budget, we are at 19.9 for the new facility," Britton said, summarizing the greenfield estimate as roughly $19.9 million for a building in the 31,000‑square‑foot range once finish and equipment are included.

Consultants identified a candidate site near the Terza convenience center at "416 Highway," about 4.2 miles as the crow flies from the current facility. They said two infrastructure constraints remain: lack of public sewer (the team proposed opening on a septic lateral with later sewer connection) and ongoing conversations with the railroad over securing an on‑grade crossing for direct site access rather than routing traffic through the convenience center.

County staff described available funding options. A county finance staff member said the project would be paid from the capital fund and noted the fund balance is significant and earning interest; the staff member stated that during the CIP process the county had shown roughly "$100,000,000" in that fund and that pay‑as‑you‑go approaches would be possible for portions of the work.

Consultants said they had developed a program that was sharpened from about 34,680 square feet to approximately 31,388 conditioned square feet using value design; they cautioned further reductions would harm essential operations and animal housing. They also outlined a target schedule: six months to develop design, a few months for procurement, and 12–14 months for construction, putting delivery roughly 24 months from design start if the committee moves forward.

Committee members pressed on lifecycle costs, material choices and the tradeoffs between lower upfront cost and higher long‑term maintenance. Consultants emphasized durable building envelopes (masonry where needed, epoxy and stainless finishes in animal areas) and lifecycle planning for HVAC and roofing replacement cycles.

At the end of the presentation the committee signaled its intent to proceed with the greenfield design phase. Consultants said their next steps are to hold a first design iteration with users (the team estimated two to three months to refine the concept) and then return to the subcommittee with conceptual drawings and an updated budget before the item goes to full council.

Votes and procedural actions at the meeting were limited and procedural: the committee approved minutes from the Oct. 22, 2025 Public Works Committee meeting by voice vote, and later approved a motion to adjourn.

What’s next: consultants will begin design work for the greenfield option, return to the Public Works subcommittee with conceptual drawings and a refined cost estimate, and work with county staff on site due diligence (septic/sewer planning and railroad crossing discussions) prior to requesting council approval.