Rockland Green takeover of Hi-Tor animal shelter completed. Here are the details.
NEW CITY - After years of hazy promises and development stops and starts, the Hi-Tor Animal Center's future is coming into focus.
Rockland Green, the former county waste management agency, is leasing the dilapidated facility in northern Ramapo from the county government for $1 a year for the next two years.
The public authority, comprising the five town supervisors, several legislators, and the County Executive's Office, will provide the shelter with a $1.4 million budget in taxpayer dollars, relieving the Hi-Tor administration from fundraising.
Lease: Rockland Green leases Hi-Tor facility from county
Video: Rockland Green and Rockland government sign lease agreement for Hi-Tor Animal Center.
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Under the agreement, the Hi-Tor volunteer administration will continue to tend to the hundreds of stray dogs, cats, and other animals until a new shelter is opened in a 15,000-square-foot warehouse in Haverstraw.
Rockland Green officials estimate two years to get the shelter operating at the Haverstraw warehouse on Beach Road. Rockland Green's board president, Haverstraw Supervisor Howard Phillips, has estimated the costs of the new shelter at far less than the $18 million for a new animal shelter on county property.
Rockland Green's $1.4 million will cover the costs of tending to the strays and the facility's overall operation. Rockland Green payments also will provide for the upkeep of the physical facility.
Rockland taxpayers will be charged less than $20 a year in 2023 for the shelter's operation and for the $225,000 yearly lease of the Haverstraw warehouse. The Rockland Green officials haven't released the costs for retrofitting the warehouse into an animal shelter. Officials estimate the cost to purchase the 15,000-square-foot warehouse at nearly $4 million.
The towns are responsible by law for animal control, but the county has allowed the shelter to operate for decades on county property off Route 45 and across from the Rockland Fire Training Center. Phillips and the other supervisors have questioned the quality of the financial oversight of the shelter and want an independent operator to run the shelter for Rockland Green. The Hudson Valley Humane Society and Hi-Tor have shown interest.
The supervisors last year took over the shelter planning from County Executive Ed Day's administration when they and some Rockland legislators balked after the projected cost of constructing a new shelter jumped from $8 million to potentially more than $18 million to $20 million due to rising costs for construction and other economic factors. The supervisor, legislators and Day's representative comprise the Rockland Green board of commissioners.
Officials said residential complaints about fireworks from the Ramapo baseball stadium disturbing the animals played a role in moving the shelter's site. Phillips said smoke exposure from the smokehouse at the nearby Fire Training Center also became a factor.
Phillips and Rockland County Executive Ed Day signed the lease agreement last week, days before Hi-Tor's contract to operate the facility ended on Dec. 31. Phillips has pushed for the Rockland Green takeover on behalf of the five supervisors.
“The ultimate goal is to do something that has been a dream for way too long: to have a brand-new animal shelter; that is what the ultimate goal is here,” Day said.
“I’m very hopeful that finally, we’re on that road, and I thank Supervisor Phillips and the town supervisors for their efforts to do that because it's something I do want to see sooner rather than later as do many people in Rockland County.”
Phillips and Day said the Rockland Green budget for Hi-Tor will cover all maintenance, repairs, and alterations to the property.
“Now Hi-Tor will have a budget that is guaranteed, we’re talking about $1.4 million," Phillips said. "This will enable them to concentrate on the animals and not fundraise, and fundraise, and fundraise."
Phillips said the shelter's future is in focus.
“We have a fixed plan for the next two years, and now we can concentrate on building a new state-of-the-art facility for the animals," he said.
Orangetown goes separate way: Hi-Tor faces calls for takeover as first town pulls out of contract
Rockland Green will tax residents $1.7 million for the shelter operation and the warehouse preparations. Phillips has said Rockland’s taxpayers, except Orangetown, will spend roughly $20 per household for the old facility and leasing the warehouse.
Orangetown taxpayers and taxpayers of the four other towns will pay roughly $2 more per household in 2023 for the $225,000 yearly lease for the warehouse at 427 Beach Road and costs to buy and retrofit the building. Orangetown broke with Hi-Tor last year, citing the financial issues, costs, and the health of the animals. Orangetown Supervisor Teresa Kenny said the town will continue sending its stray dogs to the Hudson Valley Humane Society in 2023. She said the town will analyze the costs and the progress of the new shelter before making a decision for 2024.
Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal.
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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Hi-Tor gets $1.4M budget to care for stray animals
