The Elizabethton/Carter County Animal Shelter will soon see more room for the feline population.
With a steady drizzle hitting the area on Friday, Jan. 13, work on shelter expansion started to come to fruition.
“The crews arrived on scene today,” Carter County Mayor Leon Humphrey said. “Weather has been a little bit of a problem. We were hoping to have the project started on January 9 but the crews are here now to prepare for the expansion project.”
Trademark, based out of Bristol, Va., is handling the project. Over the months, workers will put in over 1,000 square feet under roof, the mayor said, with there being around 1,000 square feet of concrete that will be used to install three to four patios for cats – called “catios”. The expansion will also help with any potential for felines. Until recently, a portion of cats were having to be held inside the lobby shelter due to overpopulation.
Humphrey added that pending any weather delays, the project is expected to take roughly four to five months.
City and county officials, along with shelter employees and other individuals, joined together at the shelter on Tuesday, Jan. 3, to officially break ground for the expansion project. The expansion was made possible following a generous estate donation by the late Glenda Taylor DeLawder in the amount of $1.2 million to benefit animals within the region.
Humphrey announced during the Christmas weekend that administrators of the estate bestowed $540,000 to the animal shelter to be used for expansion and other items to help benefit the facility.
“If it wasn’t for the DeLawder gift, we wouldn’t be able to do this,” Humphrey told the STAR during the groundbreaking. “We’re going to be able to provide things for the animals that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.”
The announcement of the donation reached a global level with multiple outlets catching wind of the generosity by the late county resident.
And other phases of expansion are on the horizon, Humphrey said Friday. Once designs are finalized, the second phase of expansion will include expansion for the dogs at the facility. If everything goes according to plan without any delays, the mayor hopes to have the projects set for this year.
Another portion of the $540,000 will go toward a van to be outfitted and used for spay/neuter travel for animals and access for animals to make it to events.
The mayor added the van is scheduled to arrive by March 1.