Fundraiser for shelter plodded on during storm
Despite nor'easter, animal shelter fundraiser collects $3,000
BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer

WOODBRIDGE - Even though it was raining cats and dogs due to a nor'easter that flooded most of the tristate area Sunday, April 15, it didn't stop the approximately 300 to 400 people who came out to the spaghetti dinner at the Woodbridge Elks Lodge No. 2116 on Rahway Avenue to raise money for the much-needed township animal shelter.

"Approximately $3,000 was raised, including $501 from a 50/50 raffle," said volunteer Kimberly Pacelli, who is one of many animal advocates who have been coming to the Township Council meetings to ask questions and receive updates on the long-awaited public animal shelter. "The tables were full."

Township residents along with others from Linden, Elizabeth and other parts of Middlesex and Union County came out through the storm in support of the animal shelter for the animals."

In February, Mayor John E. McCormac announced that he would seek a budgetary rider to allow for the private donation of funds to assist in the care and housing of abandoned animals. The budgetary rider allows the township to establish a bank account for the deposit of privately raised funds dedicated to a specific purpose and the account is public and subject to an independent audit.

On March 6, the Township Council approved a resolution for the budgetary rider. Township officials have said they are still waiting for approval, which could take up to eight weeks.

The spaghetti dinner on April 15 kick-started the township's fundraising efforts for the shelter. The mayor was joined by council President Brenda Yori Velasco, Councilwoman Patricia Osborne, Councilmen James Carroll, Gregg Ficarra, and Greg Bedard, township Health Director Dennis Green, Animal Control Supervisor Vincent Ciuffo, Animal Control Officer Mercedes Lopez and two other officers, volunteers from the Woodbridge Animal Group, township employees and other concerned animal advocates for the animal shelter.

Currently, the township has approximately $669,000 allocated toward the animal shelter due to costs incurred during the bidding process in 2006.

For the past five years, residents have been waiting for the much-needed public animal shelter to be built for the homeless animals of Woodbridge Township. In September 2006, bids had gone out to build a state-of-the-art animal shelter behind the township health center; however, the bids had come in too high.

The lowest bid received in September 2006 was $1.046 million. The highest bid was $1.2 million, officials said.

The township in 2004 estimated that constructing a new shelter would cost $350,000, and later, after extensive, in-depth research, decided to allocate approximately $750,000 for the animal shelter, which officials have said would include 18 dog runs, 40 to 50 spaces for cats, temporary cages and storage facilities.

The township had conversations with Dr. Barry Adler, the co-owner of the Iselin Veterinary Hospital and staff veterinarian and director of the Woodbridge Veterinary Group, to lease space from him for a public shelter in the basement of the former Adath Israel Synagogue on Route 35.

However, in February, after an uproar from animal advocates who said the synagogue was not the best place for the animals, township officials announced that they would not pursue the idea to lease space from Adler for the public animal shelter, but said they still believed the decision with Adler was the best idea that they had.

From that point on, township officials were working on awarding a competitive contract of $22,300 for architectural services, which was awarded to Michael V. Testa of Manalapan on April 10 to conduct a feasibility study of various vacant buildings in the township for the shelter.

The current 30-by-40-foot shelter in Sewaren sits near old tank farms and a defunct arsenic-producing chemical plant. It houses cats and dogs in close quarters with one another. The shelter was only supposed to be a temporary fix five years ago, until the township could build a new shelter.

In addition to the Sewaren facility, the township has also paid $38,100 a year to house four dogs and 15 cats in a 10-by-15-foot space in the office of Iselin veterinarian Ira Niedweski for more than four years. The township also spends an additional $12,000 a year on medical treatment for the animals.

McCormac has said he does not want the animals to spend another winter in the Sewaren facility. He said his administration and the Township Council would continue to pursue appropriate options that have been, and remain, under consideration with the single goal of locating and providing an animal shelter that is cost effective, considers the needs of all township taxpayers and financial priorities, while at the same time allowing the humane care and protection of the animals.

The Knights of Columbus in Woodbridge prepared the food for the dinner, and Andy Zajack, a professional singer from Woodbridge, who sang a number of jazz pieces, Italian favorites, and opera, provided entertainment. The manager of the ShopRite in Woodbridge provided dog and cat food donations.

Pacelli said she was excited and amazed by how many people showed up to support the fundraiser for the animals.

"Maybe the steady rain all day were God's tears crying out for help for the animals," said Pacelli.