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By DANIELLE LYNCH dlynch@delcotimes.com

MEDIA Plans to construct a new animal control facility for the countys stray animals have been put on hold indefinitely due to costs related to construction, officials said.

Delaware County Animal Protection Board Chairman Tom Judge Jr. explained that the board was unable to obtain funding for the construction of a new facility. As a result, the board had to find alternatives.

We had no other option, he said.

Judge said the Chester County SPCA agreed to a six-month extension of its current agreement to accept Delaware County strays. In addition, the board is hoping to work out a long-term agreement with the Chester County SPCA through Dec. 31, 2017.

Chester County SPCA spokesman Rich Britton confirmed an extension of the current contract is in place through the end of the year. We are also in negotiations to see if an agreement can be extended past that, he said.

The Chester County SPCA has been accepting animals from Delaware County since the beginning of the year at a monthly fee of $30,000. The Animal Protection Board has been recouping the money from the municipalities where the strays were located to repay the county.

The need for a new shelter began back in 2010 when the Delaware County SPCA changed its mission, stating its intentions to discontinue accepting stray animals and to become a no-kill shelter as of July 2012.

Delaware County Council stepped in last summer and formed the Animal Protection Board to oversee the construction of a new animal control facility located off Calcon Hook Road in Darby Township. A groundbreaking ceremony took place in October.

Council Vice Chairman Mario Civera recently confirmed that plans to build the new shelter are on hold due to the unanticipated increase in construction costs.

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Animal control plans on hold indefinitely