Northampton resident Dawn Perl presented her case for re-opening a former animal shelter.

The Northampton Borough Council admitted the borough has a problem with stray cats, but expressed reservations about the re-opening of the shelter at its March 6 meeting.

Perl previously submitted a plan to operate the shelter on a private basis to the borough earlier.

She said she would provide the insurance, volunteers, professional help and financing to operate the shelter, located east of the borough's waste water treatment plant.

The borough did not outright deny Perl's project, but instead left the final decision for council to make at its March 20 meeting.

"I think this is a noble project, but I'm against it," Council President John Yurish said. "I just don't see how you can raise the money. I do not know how you can do that."

Perl's plan states the annual cost to run the facility is estimated at $25,000. Council was informed fundraisers, donations, businesses cooperating and other projects would fund the shelter.

"If opened tomorrow, I have $15,000 in liquid funds, $10,000 my own money," Perl told Council Vice President Robert McHale, who asked how the shelter would be funded.

"My biggest fear is liability. We'll keep looking at it and get back to you ASAP," Yurish said.

Borough Manager Gene Zarayko said the borough had 49 feral cats which they captured and "had them fixed," last year.

Council indicated Northampton County considered a no-kill shelter, but no new developments on the issue have come about.

"Northampton is so full of stray cats, it's bad," Perl said.

Perl mentioned that the no-kill shelter would house both dogs and cats, she also said some of the cats at the shelter would be adoptable.

Yurish asked what would happen if the money and volunteers dried up.

"The worse case scenario is we'll close it down, not leave the animals there," Yurish said.

Joan Marinkovits addressed council on the issue, saying there is an elderly woman in the Newport area who feeds stray cats and adds to the problem, but residents don't want to compound the problem.

The shelter has not been in operation since it closed seven years ago.