After a meeting with contractors interested in submitting bids to construct a new animal control facility for Franklin County was held last week, the Franklin County Commission approved an extension of the deadline to submit bids for the project at a special called meeting held October 1st.
Commissioners approved extending the deadline to submit bids from October 3rd at 2 p.m., to October 8th at 2 p.m., at the request of contractors who attended the mandatory bid meeting held September 25th.
Franklin County Administrator Leah Mansell said the additional days were requested by contractors based on information they received at the meeting, including architectural drawings of the building commissioners want to have constructed.
The location for the new Franklin County Animal Control Facility will be on county-owned land behind the Franklin County Jail on Walnut Gate Road. Architectural drawings call for 26 indoor kennels and six outdoor kennels in the one-story building. Estimated square footage will be 3,030 square feet.
The commission approved advertising for bids last month. A condition of any bid was the September 25th required meeting.
Franklin County Engineer Jason Baggett, Animal Control Officer Joey Wingo and Mansell looked at animal control facilities in neighboring counties and prepared the bid specs based on their research.
The schedule of architectural drawings was prepared by Robert W. Whitten, Architect, LLC, in Florence. The commission approved hiring Whitten as the project architect at a meeting in August.
Franklin County Probate Judge Barry Moore said the facility will be paid for out of funds the county received through the American Relief Plan Act, a pandemic-related program that brought millions of dollars to state, county and local governments to help jump-start the economy.
Issues with stray, abandoned and loose animals, particularly dogs, has become a rampant problem in Franklin County. Commissioners have received a steady diet of citizen and animal advocacy groups attending work sessions to voice concerns about this problem.
With a bid deadline of October 8th, commissioners should be able to vote on the low bid at their October 21st business meeting.
