Marshfield Area Pet Shelter to Break Ground for New Facility in 2019

Marshfield Area Pet Shelter could potentially break ground for its long-awaited permanent facility late this spring or early summer.

The shelter is in the design process for a new facility that would be completed in its entirety in 2019. “This [design process] encompasses the project scope, schedule and budget for our new facility. Once we establish our ‘vision’ for what the shelter should be, the budget will be developed, financials will be explored and a schedule will be determined,” said volunteer Executive Director, Karen Rau.

MAPS is developing schematic drawings with the help of a local licensed architect, which will help determine the project cost. In March, this drawing will be refined in greater detail to establish when construction can begin and then submitted to the state.

Rau meets weekly with the building team and shelter staff to go over design details. “We discuss floors, acoustics, lighting, plumbing, wall materials, isolation needs, kennel requirements, to name a few things,” she said. They are consulting with the UW-Madison Shelter Medicine Program to review the design.

Since an animal shelter is a specialty building and the first of its kind for the Marshfield community, state laws and other requirements need to be met. Groundbreaking will be determined once a timeline is established.

The design process will give the organization a better idea of the costs for a new facility. Concept drawings donated by Design Unlimited several years ago estimated this cost at $1.1 million, but more information is needed about present day costs of construction to update this figure.

Eight years after its founding in 2011, MAPS operates much as if it already had a building of its own, running an Adoption Center inside the Marshfield Mall and a temporary intake facility in the old airport terminal building since 2015.

The City is still committed to paying its promised contribution toward the project and there’s no question of it going forward, said City Administrator Steve Barg. The City’s contribution of $200,000 will likely be part of the 2020 budget, but the shelter has raised close to the estimated project cost to move forward with construction this year.

Donations to the capital campaign are still needed and can be gifted through Marshfield Area Community Foundation, PO Box 456, Marshfield, WI 54449. Contact MACF with questions at 715-384-9029.

The next fundraiser for MAPS will occur Feb. 24, 8-11:30 a.m. at Holiday Inn. The annual breakfast buffet includes scrambled eggs, pancakes, ham, biscuits & gravy, breakfast potatoes, cinnamon rolls, juice, milk and coffee. Tickets are $8.00 for adults, $4.50 for 4-11 yr old, and free under 4 years.

For more information, visit marshfieldpetshelter.org/

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