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A sign indicates the plot of land on State Road 19 in Palatka will be the site of the new Putnam County Animal Control facility. -
Pictured is the Bruce D. Amalfitano, A.I.A. drawing of the new Putnam County Animal Control facility, which will be located on State Road 19 in Palatka near the sheriff’s office.
Putnam County’s new animal control facility is moving a step closer to fruition next week.
The facility evaluation committee will hear Tuesday from four construction firms that aim to design and build the new facility. The public is also invited to the meeting that starts at 9 a.m. at the Putnam County Government Complex, 2509 Crill Ave. in Palatka. The meeting is slated to last until 2:30 because each firm gets 55 minutes to present their information, according to county agenda documents.
“This project has been moving on slowly for a number of years but … we’re to the point where it is moving forward,” Commission Bill Pickens said.
The evaluation committee will rank the bidders and recommend to the Board of County Commissioners which construction firm they believe would be best for the project, Deputy County Administrator Julianne Holmes Young said. While the public is invited to attend Tuesday’s meeting, no public comment will be taken, she added.
However, the final decision to choose a company is scheduled to be made by county commissioners at a Dec. 13 meeting, according to county documents, and people can weigh in during public comment at that meeting.
The four companies that bid on the project are Gainesville companies Blackwater Construction Services and Scorpio, Alachua County company Oelrich Construction and St. Augustine firm C & R Technical, county documents show.
“If the (Board of County Commissioners) approves the recommendation (in December) of the evaluation committee, staff will begin negotiating with that top-ranked firm to determine if we can, in fact, reach a mutually-agreeable contract,” Young said.
The new animal control facility will be located on land between 120 and 130 Orie Griffin Blvd. in Palatka near the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and county school district transportation building.
Conceptual animal control floor plans show the facility designed with a central building where employee offices and cat adoption and holding rooms would be. The design also illustrates two wings where dog kennels would be established.
The board originally put a $750,000 price tag on the project when it came up in conversations in 2020, but commissioners have since said they are not sure the facility can be completed for that cost. The facility was originally set to be built from Better Place Plan funds. As of Nov. 22, county documents did not show proposed costs from the contractors that put out a bid.
“I think we’re moving forward about as fast as we can,” Pickens said.