The Animal Shelter of the Schoharie Valley is getting a little break from the Town of Cobleskill on fees for its new facility.
In December, the Shelter unveiled plans for a $350,000 building that would replace its 20-year-old structure at the same Howes Cave site.
The proposed Finger Lakes Construction would be more efficient—both in terms of energy efficiency and workable space.
It would feature a spay and neuter clinic, a surgery room, birthing kennel, recovery room, isolation areas, conference room and more.
Both dogs and cats would have indoor and outdoor areas.
Because the Howe Caverns site is zoned for industrial use, the proposal needed to be approved in concept by the town before being forwarded to the Planning Board.
Supervisor Tom Murray and councilmen took that move Monday at their reorganizational meeting and agreed to waive some of the building inspection fees.
Normally, a building of this size would be billed $2,700 a year for each of the three years Shelter officials estimate the work could require to complete.
Treasurer Alan Rubin and Vice President Connie Spaulding asked the town to consider waiving that fee entirely, but accepted a compromise fee of $1,038—what the project would be charged under the commercial billing category—instead.
Though FLC is willing to build and bill the project over a three-year timeframe, both Mr. Rubin and Ms. Spaulding said their real wish is to get it up and running in a year.
If construction does extend into years two and three, the town could look at adjusting the inspection fee again.
Code Enforcement Officer Peter Irwin has already said he won’t bill for his mileage related to the work as a way to keep expenses down.