Delmont officials will consider changing their animal control provider next month.
Councilman Chris Bigley invited representatives of Indiana County no-kill shelter Whiskey Acres Rescue and Sanctuary to council’s meeting Wednesday night to give a presentation on their services.
Both Latrobe and Leechburg in recent weeks have opted to change from Salem-based Hoffman Kennels for animal control, with both citing the shelter’s no-kill policy as a primary reason.
Whiskey Acres has no monthly fee but will charge $250 per call and a dog boarding fee of $15 per day for up to two weeks. Afterward, the nonprofit will assume all costs for sheltering the dog.
Hoffman has been a dominant animal control contractor in the area — providing the service for multiple municipalities including Greensburg, Murrysville and Hempfield.
Bigley was ready to make the switch on Wednesday, but it was not officially listed on the agenda, and a vote would have to wait until council’s February meeting.
Whiskey Acres co-owner Mindy Maryai advised council not to wait too long.
“We are probably going to take on two more towns,” Maryai said. “Whiskey Acres began as a horse sanctuary in December 2018 but we’ve started branching out to take in other animals including dogs, cats and goats.”
Solicitor Tim Witt said the borough will also need to look into the terms of its current contract with Hoffman Kennels before making the move.
In late December, Latrobe Council rescinded its contract renewal with Hoffman in favor of one with Whiskey Acres.
Shields Farm trails
Former council member Andy Shissler updated the borough on plans to continue expanding trails in the woods at the Shields Farm.
“We’ve finished one trail, and we’re about halfway toward completing a second section with Boy Scout Troop 211,” Shissler said. “We also do regular maintenance, which is just keeping the trails clean, clearing debris or cutting away fallen trees and keeping the trails marked with blazes.”
Council voted unanimously to support the continuation of trail development at the property.
State consent order
Borough engineer Dalton Mack said data from flow meters installed in the borough’s sewage system shows that an equalization tank to hold and slowly release wastewater will need to be larger than anticipated.
The flow monitors were installed in December 2024 and remained in place through August 2025. Based on the data, Mack recommended a 375,000-gallon tank, a full 50,000 gallons larger than engineers’ original estimate. The borough’s initial hope was that measures in recent years to limit inflow and infiltration of stormwater into the sewage system would result in the need in the need for a smaller tank.
That did not turn out to be the case.
“Based on the flow data, that seems to be the borough’s best bet to comply with the state’s consent order,” Mack said.
Council will need to update its Act 537 plan, which lays out its sewage logistics, to reflect the up-sized equalization tank. Because the project crosses over into Salem, township supervisors there will also need to adopt a resolution approving the Act 537 update.
Newhouse concession stand
The Delmont Recreation Board would like to do some renovations to the concession stand at Newhouse Park.
“We’d like to rehab the kitchen a little,” board member Stan Cheyne said. “We’d like to put an electric stove in there, just to help keep food warm whenever people are renting the pavilion area. Also the cabinets that are in there were pretty old when they were installed. Really, the greater need is more for some counter tops with shelf storage underneath.”
Cheyne said the board would welcome the donation of a used electric stove or cabinetry.
“Ideally, we’d like to get the renovation work done before the summer when pavilion rentals pick up,” he said.