Uxbridge retains an architect as part of New Animal Shelter plans

DAN CEARNS The Standard

UXBRIDGE: Uxbridge councillors received an update on where the Township is at with the New Animal Shelter for Uxbridge-Scugog project at a meeting on Monday, November 25th.

At the meeting, councillors saw a report from clerk Debbie Leroux on recent action on the project and the next steps.“Staff and the Project Manager have been working on compiling the requirements for the new shelter and produced a mock-up of a floor plan which staff agree [to] meet the current and future needs of the shelter,” the report stated. “In addition, an architect has been retained to create the official drawings for the new shelter. These drawings will then be used to determine costs for the construction of the new shelter, which will be presented to Council for consideration and approval to move to Phase 2.”

Ms. Leroux’s report also noted a future report “will outline the scope, cost, funding and affordability” of the project.

The years-long project to replace the current animal shelter on Reach Street in Port Perry was revived in late 2023 with a $1.1 million donation from the estate of the late Marlyn Ruth Rennie.

At the meeting, Ms. Leroux was asked why the Township is going with a new architect instead of using existing plans.

“The previous drawings we had are owned by the contractor we had retained. So we did not have ownership of those drawings, and therefore, we had no right to use them,” she responded.