AV Press - October 2013 County OKs $14.9 million to build an animal shelter PALMDALE - Los Angeles County supervisors awarded a $14.9 million contract Tuesday to a Brea firm to design and build a Palmdale animal shelter to supplement the overburdened Lancaster shelter. Brea-based KPRS Construction Services Inc.s $14.9 million technical and cost proposal was judged the best of three submitted by construction firms. County officials had estimated the cost at $13.5 million, but said the KPRS price was reasonable and they doubted they would get a better one by seeking new proposals. Similar to the Lancaster Animal Care Center, the facility will house abandoned and homeless animals, provide spay/neutering services, support pet adoption and provide owners with a convenient location to look for lost pets, said Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, whose district includes the Antelope Valley. At a total cost of $20.1 million, the 25,500 square-foot facility will be built in the 38500 block of Sierra Highway, on city property south of the Palmdale Sheriffs Station. The shelter will position animal control officers for quicker response to the eastern Antelope Valley and will reduce pressure on the Lancaster shelter with its high daily influx of animals and calls for services, Antonovichs staff said. The Palmdale facility will not house livestock like the Lancaster shelter, but it will take in as many as 5,200 dogs and 4,000 cats a year with a daily average peak of 361 animals per day, officials said. Construction work is expected to begin in October 2014, with completion projected for summer 2016. The shelter will contain offices, a veterinary and spay-neuter clinic, and indoor areas to keep animals, plus outdoor fenced exercise yards. When it gets ready to build, KPRS Construction Services will be required to make a good-faith effort to hire qualified local workers for approximately 30% of the construction work, county officials said. First preference will go to workers living in ZIP codes within five miles of Palmdale, and second preference to workers in other Los Angeles County ZIP codes with an unemployment rate 50% higher than the county average. Palmdale City Council members are scheduled to vote Nov. 6 to turn over to the county 5.9 acres of vacant land for the shelter. In return, the county will pay the city $20,125 for use of an existing driveway for the South Valley WorkSource Center employment office. The land was once part of the Palmdale Plaza shopping center, which was damaged by a series of fires in the early 1990s and razed except for the former supermarket that is now the Hammack Activity Center.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 16:22:01 +0000
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