Published Wednesday, October 9, 2002
Society board looks elsewhere
Herald Staff Writer
A day after a group of people protested the Humane Society of Mercer County's plans to build a shelter in Farrell, the society was looking at alternative sites, said President Rick Harakal.
"We're still in the thinking-this-out stage," Harakal said Tuesday. "I don't want to ruffle any feathers.
Plenty of feathers were ruffled as a coalition of church members and Farrell residents told city council Monday they don't want the society's building, which would house an office, kennel and retail store, in town.
The Farrell Zoning Hearing Board granted the society a variance to put up the building at Roemer Boulevard and Fruit Avenue on property owned by Harakal.
Protesters said the building was too close to Pentecostal House of Prayer and did not accept the society's promise that no noise or smell emanating from the kennel would be detectable outside the building.
They also said a kennel should not be on the town's main drag.
Some protesters said they want to appeal the zoning board's decision to Mercer County Common Pleas Court.
The Rev. Joseph Davis, president of the Shenango Valley Ministerial Association, said the group still plans to appeal if the society sticks with its plans for Fruit and Roemer.
While he would not specifically say if an attorney has been hired for an appeal, Rev. Davis, pastor of Frienship Baptist Church, Farrell, said, "We're doing everything we can to make sure we don't miss the deadline."
An appeal must be filed within 30 days of the zoning board's decision.
Harakal, who did not attend the meeting, said he talked to Hermitage officials Tuesday about a new site but was given no leads.
"Down in the industrial section, like Swamp Road, they'd probably want an arm and a leg," he said. "I don't think anyone would want to give us a place down there."
He said the society looked at other locations in Farrell but didn't like them because of reasons such as environmental problems or small size of available lots.
If the society decides not to build at Roemer and Fruit, the building likely will not be put up in Farrell, Harakal said.
He called abandoning Roemer and Fruit "a good possibility."
But he also said he would like to meet with church members to talk about their concerns.
"They still haven't contacted me," Harakal said. "I don't think they fully understand what we have planned for there. It was going to be a beautiful building. It would be good for Farrell."