HOME | ABOUT US | AGILITY | OBEDIENCE | EVENTS | OUTREACH | LINKS | NEWS | MEMBERS
|
|
Humane society sells land to obedience club - Bradenton Herald By TIFFANY ST. MARTIN Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - MYAKKA CITY -- The Humane Society of Manatee County is selling five acres it owns near the intersection of State Road 70 and County Road 675 to the Sarasota Obedience Training Club. The club, a nonprofit organization that trains pets and competitive dogs in agility and obedience, operates out of a facility on North Cattlemen Road in Sarasota. Sarasota County is exercising eminent domain, however, to take that property to expand Cattlemen Road to four lanes. The existing building will make way for a retention pond before long, said John Pfohler, president of the club's board. "We would have been happy to stay there forever. We've been there more than 20 years," said Nancy Murphy, the club's public information officer and chair of its building remodeling committee. The club has to be out of its current facility by October and closes on the East Manatee property in early August. As soon as it completes Manatee County's permitting process, it plans to hire an architect and get moving, Murphy said. Club members pitched in to make the Cattlemen Road facility what it is - laying bricks, roofing the building, installing lights on the agility field - but they can't afford to be so hands-on after relocating, she said. "People who are used to coming to us for training will expect that training to continue." The humane society had several offers on the property, which includes a 5,000-square-foot building, said Jill Clulow, president of the humane society's board. It "absolutely" was pleased to be able to help another animal group, Clulow said. "They're a great club with a great mission," she said. "They do great work." Murphy was on the building relocation committee that looked at 32 properties before deciding on the humane society's. The majority of the club's members voted to buy the property after the two parties agreed on a purchase price of $400,000, she said. "It's the best we could find with the money that we had because (Sarasota County) only gave us so much money," Pfohler said. Half of the building is under air, Murphy said, and the club plans to enclose and air-condition the other half. The building is bigger than the facility the club operates now, but finishing it and building an agility field from scratch will be expensive, Pfohler said. Land-wise, the club is going from 2 1/2 to 5 acres. The club's new location will be about 20 miles northeast of its current location, Murphy said, which will work out well because it has members from Parrish to Venice. Last year the humane society tested the facility as an adoption center, but after 15 adoptions in three months, ruled it too far east. Clulow said it would like to try having another adoption facility in East Manatee in the future. At dog school, staying is forbidden - Sarasota Herald Tribune By Patrina A. Bostic Sunday, June 22, 2008 - SARASOTA COUNTY - The members of the Sarasota Obedience Training Club thought they had the perfect location on North Cattlemen Road. For the past two decades, the nonprofit organization has been right off Interstate 75 and Fruitville Road, an accessible location for residents who wanted to have their dogs trained. But Sarasota County recently took the club's land through eminent domain in order to widen Cattlemen Road and put in a retention pond. The club has until October to be out of the building. It plans to move to a new location miles away in rural Manatee County. "We wouldn't be moving, except we have no choice," said Nancy Murphy, a spokeswoman and trainer at SOTC. "I think it's going to be a hardship on a number of our members living south." The club has about 150 members and trains more than 16,000 dogs a year, including search-and-rescue dogs. SOTC trains dogs from a beginning level to simply be better behaved as well as to compete in world-class competitions. The majority of its clients are from the Sarasota area, causing SOTC officials to worry about leaving the spot it has held for 20 years. The club is bracing itself as it anticipates losing some members. High gas prices and the 30-minute drive to the new location are surely to deter some. That worries SOTC officials, but they are hoping a new clientele will emerge out of the subdivisions in the area. "We are counting on Lakewood Ranch," said Jeanine Brawn, an SOTC trainer. "When one door closes, God always opens another. It might not have been what we were hoping for." The club has purchased land and a building owned by the Humane Society of Manatee County for about $400,000, Murphy said. As the club looks to remodel the building in the 7500 block of County Road 675 in East Manatee, it is also suing Sarasota County. The county has offered SOTC $600,000 in compensation for taking its land through eminent domain. SOTC says that is not enough, considering the extensive remodeling costs and other expenses. Lin Kurant, Sarasota County's real property manager, said the county used an independent appraiser to determine the value of the property. Kurant also said the county needs SOTC's property to widen Cattlemen Road. Plans call for a three-mile stretch of highway between Richardson Road and DeSoto Road to help relieve traffic on I-75 and to help with overall traffic flow throughout the county. A retention pond will be put in to catch runoff from the road. The road extension also would accommodate the University Town Center, a large commercial development at University Parkway and I-75, Murphy said. Sarasota City Attorney Mike Connolly, who is representing SOTC, said he does not know what an appropriate settlement amount would be. He said SOTC will incur moving and other expenses as it sets up at the new location, but just what those expenses will be is not yet known. What is known is that $600,000 is not an adequate price for the land, Connolly said. "The Florida Constitution protects property rights and only allows the government to take private property for a public purpose with full compensation, so that private property owners don't pay for the good of the entire public," he said. Obedience club seeks new home WWSB ABC Channel 7 Coverage of the General Membership Meeting, August 8 Click HERE to read the story. At the bottom of the page, there is a link to a video of their on-air coverage.
Sarasota Obedience Training Club is in a time of crisis. I know I didn't fully realize it until recently. It has made me reflect on what our club means to me. I remember the first agility class I took with Amelia. I thought what a fun way for us to bond and spend time together. A year later I decided to join the club. I discovered that the classes were great but so were the people I met. I found a place to learn from experienced, knowledgeable and kind teachers. All I have to say is "It's a school night" for Amelia and Emerson to run to the door. They have learned to become good citizens and have fun "working" with their Mom. It's a club with members that love their dogs just like I do. We cheer when one of the dogs finally goes over the A frame. Spontaneous clapping occurs when a dog does a beautiful heeling pattern. Titles are proud accomplishments for our dogs and owners but also for the rest of the club. Likewise we share the sadness at our friend's misfortunes and cry with them when they lose their dog. It is a good time to think about what SOTC means to you. It is also a time to think about what you can do to help save our club. Whatever you can do will help. Do you know where there is land or a building? Can you help in the search? Do you know a good commercial realtor, a sympathetic politician or a potential benefactor? Perhaps one day we will need for you to come to a meeting, write a letter, make phone calls or organize a fund raiser. The future is uncertain but the one thing we do know is that we will need money. The Board has given approval to start a building fund. When you pay the annual dues this year, perhaps you can give just a little more. We can all help make sure the Sarasota Obedience Training Club is around for another 45 years. In fact wouldn't it be great to celebrate our 50th anniversary in a wonderful new building that we all helped to build. Sincerely, Building Fund Donations: At the July Board Meeting, the Board agreed unanimously to establish a Building Fund. With the definite move coming about by Eminent Domain with Sarasota County, SOTC needs to establish funds that will go directly for our new location. Although we do not know where that location will be or the cost involved, we want to begin NOW reserving as much as possible for our facilities. We are asking the SOTC membership to feel free to give to the building fund any amount you wish to give. We will have a Special Collection Device at all of our meetings and will keep it available at the building. We are also wanting to form Fund Raising Committees to help raise awareness of the plight of SOTC so if you are creative or want to help with any type of Fund Raising for our Building Fund please contact any Board Member! EAST COUNTY OBSERVER, 7/19/07: "Benderson Development fronting $38 million for roads" Club members and voters in Sarasota County should make Commissioner Mercier aware that this is definitely NOT a positive for "everyone" involved. (submitted by Nancy Murphy).
|