Animal shelter to get new multipurpose building

The Flathead County Animal Shelter is on track to get a new multipurpose building thanks to private donations.

The county commissioners heard an update on the project Tuesday from county Health Officer Joe Russell, who presented three contractor bids for the architectural design of the building. The shelter is under the purview of the Flathead City-County Health Department.

Preliminary plans call for a 24-by-40-foot freestanding building with restrooms, a storage closet and a large countertop inside. It will sit beside the shelter's main building at 225 Cemetery Road in Kalispell, in a spot currently occupied by a small shed.

Cliff Bennett, the shelter's director, said the building will meet a variety of needs, serving as a place to hold meetings, train staff, assess animals' behavior, shelter large influxes of cats and dogs during emergencies and occasionally host expert instructors from around the country.

"Sheltering has gotten to be more of a science than an art," Bennett said.

Russell told the commissioners Tuesday the shelter desperately needs more space to assess animals' behavior. "We need a little extra space sometimes, because we've had animal surrenders that have just knocked that shelter upside-down," he said.

The building also will serve as a break room; Bennett said the shelter tore down a wall and got rid of its break room last year to facilitate social distancing due to COVID-19.

Bennett said he hopes construction of the new building will take place this summer.

"I'd love to think we could have it ready for use by October or November," he said, "but only time will tell."

Amy Dexter, the county's finance director, said a little under $18,000 was budgeted for the design work this year. The full cost of the project will come into focus once that work is completed, she said.

No taxpayer money is budgeted for the project. Private donations to the shelter are expected to cover the full cost.

Bennett specifically credited siblings Richard and Grace Blanchet, who upon their death gifted their wealth across the Flathead Valley, including donating their 320-acre farm in Creston to the Montana Land Reliance. Bennett said the Blanchet estate "left us more than enough money" to complete the project.

"Thank God for people who donate to the shelter," Commissioner Pam Holmquist said Tuesday, "because these things are happening because of those generous people out there that love their animals and love the shelter and just love our community."

Reporter Chad Sokol can be reached at 758-4434 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com