By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews
Lincoln County has purchased two acres of land in the Waldport Industrial Park for the location of a new animal shelter it hopes to open in the fall of 2024.
The county has access to up to $6 million to pay for the land, architects, engineers, prepare the site, construction with the hope to break ground on a 4,000- to 5,000-square-foot facility within four to six months, officials said during a news conference Wednesday.
The county has struggled to find a place to locate a new shelter after its longtime facility in Newport was forced to close in 2019 because of toxic levels of mold. It has been operating out of a small manufactured home and converted storage containers since.
A year ago the county backed off locating the shelter at the Newport Airport after animal advocacy groups argued the site was too noisy and potentially dangerous. So it formed a team of county staff, shelter volunteers and representatives of two animal groups to search for and evaluate potential sites.
Sheriff Curtis Landers said Wednesday they looked at more than 20 properties in Lincoln City, Newport, Toledo, South Beach and Waldport, ran 18 through its evaluation process and agreed the site in Waldport’s largely undeveloped industrial park off Crestline Drive was the best choice.
“We’re really excited about the Waldport location,” he said.
One of the criteria was that the shelter be located out of the tsunami zone – which limited choices finding suitable land and willing sellers.
“Our team, stakeholders, and members of the local veterinary community agreed it was the best option out of the sites reviewed,” Landers said. “This two-acre plot offers plenty of space to build a facility to meet our current needs, with the option to expand if needed in the future.”
The county is buying two acres of an eight-acre property from the owners of Dahl Disposal Co. for $175,000. The acreage if part of the company’s Ideal Storage property on Southwest Dahl Avenue.
South county worries?
During a one-hour news conference Wednesday to officially announce the purchase and plans, county officials went to great lengths to tap down potential complaints that the south county site won’t be as accessible to residents in Lincoln City, Toledo or even Newport.
Long-term plans for the county Commons and fairgrounds property in the middle of Newport prevent locating the shelter there, said commission chair Kaety Jacobson.
County officials said a modern, spacious facility with room to grow would strengthen the sheriff’s animal control program, attract more volunteers and allow outreach programs to expand to all corners of the 1,000-square-mile county.
“Newport has always been that hub where we provided services,” Landers said. “Frankly, I’m glad we’re expanding into south county.”
Animal shelter manager Sara Wynveen said a new facility “regardless of location” would allow staff to expand basic services, create innovative programs, and energize staff and volunteers to provide outreach to all areas of the county. She said the temporary shelter in use the past three years was inadequate to deal with a burgeoning animal population fueled by the pandemic and made worse by the Labor Day 2020 wildfires.
“At this point in time we’re not worried about the loss of volunteers,” Wynveen said. “Right now we‘re in a tiny manufactured home … We know our volunteers will come back when we have a facility that’s designed as an animal shelter.”
Emily DeHuff, president of nonprofit Friends of Lincoln County Animals, attended Wednesday’s announcement and said the group visited the Waldport site last fall and were in contact with county staff during the selection process.
“We have been hearing concerns, of course, about the location, but it seems those have been addressed,” she told YachatsNews.
On Thursday the group followed up by issuing a statement saying it was “relieved” the county had been able to find an “appropriate site.”
“While a more central location for this essential public service would have been more convenient for many, we recognize that success in any venture requires tailoring one’s desires to the dimensions of the possible,” the statement said. “We accept the county’s assurance that this site was the best available option, and we intend to help the vulnerable animals of our community and the people who care for them get a shelter that meets their needs and the needs of the public without further delay.”
Onno Husing, the county’s planning director, joined the selection group after Landers and commissioners backed away from the airport property in April 2022. He described the process “robust and vigorous.”
“We put boots on the ground,” he said, and if a site did not meet all of the criteria “it was a deal killer.”
“This is a catalystic investment in that whole property up there,” Husing said.
The shelter’s location in Waldport would also benefit from an infrastructure bill moving through the 2023 Oregon Legislature. House Bill 3416, co-sonsored by Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis, would allocate $2.2 million in state economic development funds to run a sewer main from the intersection of Range and Crestline drives nearly a mile south to the Waldport Industrial Park.
The sewer line would open the 161-acre industrial park to development – and provide water and sewer service to the new animal shelter.
The city of Waldport issued a statement Wednesday that it was “extremely grateful” for the selection of the Waldport site.
“Commissioners and county staff have been incredibly gracious in working with and including the city in this process, and have made a wonderful choice for animal lovers everywhere,” said city manager Dann Cutter.
- Quinton Smith is the editor of YachatsNews.com and can be reached at YachatsNews@gmail.com