Donors have committed $60,000 toward renovation of the building if the county approves its use as a shelter, Reid reported, detailing ways the proposed facility could generate upwards of $20,000 per year to help support itself.

The committee asked Reid to return with more financial details about the proposed renovation and said a decision about the building’s use may be left to the county’s residents.

“You’re going to have some people all about animals and some people who could care less,” Alpena County Commissioner Don Gilmet told Reid at the meeting. “But we’re talking about a substantial outlay of money. And I’m not saying it’s not for all the right reasons. But we, the commissioners, would have to explain it.”

Animal control employees tested the former jail building’s usefulness as a shelter in January, when it was used to house 46 cats rescued from a local breeder who had died, leaving the cats behind in horrific hoarding conditions.

News Photo by Julie Riddle Alpena County Animal Control Officer Michelle Reid on Thursday explains how an old cell at the former Alpena County Jail building could be turned into a room to house cats, such as one, shown, rescued from a hoarding situation.

The building’s cells, originally intended for humans, made ideal quarters for animals, Reid told the committee, describing her proposal for one wing for dogs and another for cats.

The cells’ layout would allow for play areas for cats and space dedicated to small dogs. The former drunk tank could serve as a puppy room, she said,

The sally port, used by corrections officers to drive arrested people into the jail building, would prevent animal escapes, and the jail’s holding cells would keep new arrivals separate from the general population, Reid suggested.

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A courtyard in the center of the building would provide an outdoor space safe for dangerous dogs or dogs under special protection as “live evidence” in neglect or abuse cases, Reid said.

News Photo by Julie Riddle An emaciated dog rescued from a neglect situation peers from the window of a holding cell at the former Alpena County Jail building on Thursday as Alpena County Animal Control Officer Michelle Reid looks on.

Several businesses have shown interest in renting space in the building for grooming or animal training services, Reid reported.

She outlined donation offers totaling $60,000, including from people interested in sponsoring renovation of a dog or cat room, contingent on county approval of Reid’s proposal.

Those offers include one for $15,000 to pay the startup costs for an animal crematory. Providing that service would save the county money — it currently outsources cremations — and generate income, she told the committee, sharing revenue reports from Cheboygan County, which brings in $20,000 per year from cremations.

Local veterinarians have pledged their support of Reid’s plans to offer low-cost basic veterinary services at the expanded shelter. That service would help prevent animal neglect and provide immediate care for animals seized from neglect situations, and also save the county money on its own veterinary bills, she said.

County police have had to leave cats and dogs in numerous hoarding and neglect situations because there’s no place to put the animals. Whether it uses the old jail building or not, the county will have to expand its current shelter, which can only house a handful of animals at a time and has been overwhelmed with unwanted pets in recent years, she said.

The former jail building passed an inspection by an official from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in January and could be used for some shelter purposes immediately, although Reid would request interior renovations.

The committee will look at Reid’s plan again when she provides them with more details about the cost of those renovations, Gilmet said.

The county does not yet know if anyone is interested in buying the building, or, if it were sold, if it would be used or torn down, Gilmet said. He believes the property zoning would permit use of the former jail building as an animal shelter.

“I’m only assuming that, if you can have a bunch of wild human beings in a building…” Gilmet said.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693 or jriddle@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jriddleX.