Rebidding to delay Carson City animal shelter project

City government is pushing back an anticipated Carson City animal shelter ground breaking because project bids came in over a design team’s forecast, according to City Manager Nick Marano.

“We did the bid opening on the animal shelter,” said Marano. “All the bids came in above what our design team had forecast, so we rejected all bids. We will meet back with the design firm to work options so that we can be certain that the next time we put the project out to bid, we’ll receive offers in the range we want.”

Marano in making that report public, including copies for Mayor Robert Crowell and others, noted the impact was to delay the ground breaking and start of construction. Originally the hope was to begin early in the spring, but this would delay it because of the rebid process and the Board of Supervisors having to act on the bids eventually.

Preliminary estimates are city government intends to spend $3.9 million to build the new shelter, with most of the financing from city coffers. The Carson Animal Services Initiative is raising $200,000 in private sector donations or grants as part of that price tag. The shelter is planned to go on Airport Road at city government’s corporate yard on the east side of town.

Animal services are handled for city government in a contractual arrangement by the Reno-based Nevada Humane Society. Marano’s report included a copy for Kevin Ryan, the society’s CEO.