Demolition makes way for shelter

January 21, 2009|By DON AINES

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- Kenny Gardens, a long-abandoned military housing complex at Letterkenny Army Depot, has been reduced to 650 tons of debris that is being hauled away this week to make room for the future home of the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter.

A Caterpillar excavator chewed into one pile of rubble Wednesday morning, dropping a mouthful into a waiting dump truck. Other trucks waited their turns before heading off to one of three landfills.

Once home to military personnel stationed at the depot, Kenny Gardens has sat empty on land donated more than a decade ago to the Chambersburg Area School District. Last year, the Chambersburg School Board agreed to give 11.2 acres of that land to the shelter, which plans to move from its existing facility on Country Road by September 2010.

The demolition and debris removal was free, donated by the landfill operators, six contractors and supported by Greene, Guilford and Hamilton townships, said Ken Plummer, honorary chairman of the Campaign for Rapid Relocation.

The donated demolition and removal saved the shelter as much as $100,000 on the project, said Nancy Gardner, president of the shelter's board of directors

The Chambersburg Area Development Corp. donated $63,000 to cover the cost of asbestos removal, Garnder said. Other design and engineering services have been donated for the new shelter, which was designed by Plummer.

When built, the new shelter will be about 13,000 square feet, more than twice the size of the existing shelter, Communications Director Jennifer Vanderau said. The estimated cost is $3.5 million, a figure that could change depending on the amount of donated materials and services, and the construction market when building begins, board member Allen Loessy said.

"The length of the campaign will probably be dictated by the economy," Gardner said of the effort to raise the money. "If the generosity of the community, as evidenced by this, is any indication, we should be successful."

The existing shelter is next to the CSX Intermodal facility that opened in 2007. CSX agreed to give the shelter $300,000 to assist it in relocating to a quieter area, with a promise of another $300,000 when the shelter moves, Gardner said.

"We're also working very hard to secure grants" from government agencies, Gardner said.

Charles E. Brake Co., R&D Contractors, David H. Martin Excavating, Valley Quarries, Fayetteville Contractors and Coldsmith Construction were the contractors hauling the Kenny Garden debris to the Waste Management and IESI landfills in Franklin County and the Cumberland Landfill in Cumberland County.

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