REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
April 21, 2026
FROM
MOE YOUSIF, Interim Director, Project and Facilities Management Department
JANKI PATEL, Acting Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT
Title
Continuation of Emergency Related to the Devore Animal Shelter Expansion Project
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Continue the finding, first made by the Board of Supervisors on September 23, 2025, that there is substantial evidence that immediate action is needed to prevent or mitigate the threat to animal life, animal health, property and essential public services posed by the cessation of contracted animal shelter services in the High Desert region effective September 1, 2025, after the Town of Apple Valley voted to cancel the existing animal services contract, which resulted in a reduction of essential shelter and animal care resources, and that this emergency will not permit the delay resulting from a formal competitive solicitation of bids to procure materials and construction services, and delegating authority originally by Resolution on September 23, 2025, to the Chief Executive Officer to direct the Purchasing Agent to issue purchase orders and/or contracts, in a total amount not to exceed $4,436,154, for any construction, remediation, and modifications of internal and external structures related to the sudden and unexpected loss of use of the Apple Valley Animal Shelter, and find that the issuance of these purchase orders and/or contracts are necessary to respond to this emergency pursuant to Public Contract Code sections 22035 and 22050 (Four votes required).
(Presenter: Moe Yousif, Interim Director, 387-5000)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost), as the Devore Animal Shelter Expansion Project (Project) (WBSE 10.10.1959), in the amount of $4,436,154, is fully funded through the reallocation of existing Discretionary General Funding from the Real Estate Acquisitions Project (WBSE 94.10.0002). The Project and Facilities Management Department (PFMD) will closely monitor and evaluate remediation and construction costs associated with the Project.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Department of Public Health (DPH) provides animal care and control services to residents throughout the unincorporated areas of the county and utilizes contracted shelters in outlying areas where San Bernardino County (County) does not own or operate an animal shelter. Previously, DPH contracted with the Town of Apple Valley to provide animal shelter services in the High Desert region, which allowed residents of unincorporated areas to adopt or be reunited with animals within their community, provided additional spaces for animals to receive care, and served as an additional resource for animal control officers to drop off animals retrieved from the service area.
To further expand County resources in the High Desert region, DPH negotiated with the Town of Apple Valley to purchase the Apple Valley Animal Shelter, moving daily control and operations of the shelter to the County. However, the Town of Apple Valley terminated sale negotiations as well as provided notice to end the existing service contract by August 31, 2025. Due to this cancellation, DPH is housing animals from the High Desert at the Devore Animal Shelter, effective September 1, 2025, further impacting already crowded conditions at that facility.
To ensure a continuity of services for the safety and wellbeing of County animals, effective September 1, 2025, DPH Animal Care personnel began transporting stray and injured animals to the Devore Animal Shelter, ensuring services in the high desert unincorporated region continue. The current shelter requires this expansion Project to handle the overflow of animals and additional operations transferred to this facility.
On September 23, 2025 (Item No. 73), the Board of Supervisors (Board) found there is an emergency, pursuant to Public Contract Code sections 22035 and 22050, to authorize the Purchasing Agent to issue purchase orders necessary to the Project, thus mitigating the loss of health, property, and essential services.
Further, the Board adopted Resolution No. 2025-206 authorizing the Purchasing Agent, as directed by the Chief Executive Officer, to issue purchase orders and/or contracts, in the total not-to-exceed amount of $4,436,154, for any emergency remediation, construction and modifications of internal and external structures related to the Project.
The PFMD is actively assessing the emergency needs and defining the scope of work required to advance the Project. This initiative focuses on installing modular buildings to increase the number of permanent kennels, thereby enhancing the shelter’s capacity to safely and humanely house animals in need. A continuation of the emergency is recommended as immediate action is required to ensure the County is able to provide safe shelter accommodations.
Emergencies related to Public Contract Code sections 22035 and 22050, once ordered, must be affirmed at each subsequent meeting until terminated. The recommended action will meet this requirement.
PROCUREMENT
On September 29, 2025, Purchase Order (PO) No. 4100435788 was issued in the amount of $6,000 to Horizon Structures, LLC (Horizons Structures) to initiate the design of modular kennel buildings. On the same day, a Request for Proposals (RFP) was also distributed to on-call architectural firms to obtain pricing for expedited design services covering the remaining scope of the Project. The deadline to submit proposals was October 13, 2025. STK Architects was determined to be the preferred architectural design services vendor. The PO request was initiated on October 21, 2025, and PO No. 4100440118 was subsequently issued on October 27, 2025, in the amount of $242,233.
On December 2, 2025, the modular kennel manufacturer, Horizon Structures, submitted partially engineered drawings for initial review by PFMD, DPH, and STK Architects. On December 4, 2025, the same team conducted a site visit to observe a completed Horizon Structures building and evaluate construction quality and design applicability. Consolidated comments from both the drawing review and the site visit were provided to Horizon Structures on December 5, 2025.
On April 2, 2026, the Purchasing Agent, through delegated authority from the Chief Executive Officer, issued a purchase order to Horizon Structures in the amount of $1,014,693.00 for the purchase and installation of three modular buildings. Each modular building is designed to include 24 interior kennels with doors providing access to 24 exterior kennel runs.
During the County’s internal review of the partially engineered drawings, it was determined that the grading design required revisions to accommodate the site’s water quality requirements. As a result, STK Architects has revised the grading design and incorporated these updates into the final construction documents. On January 30, 2026, PO No. 4100440118 with STK Architects was increased by $24,474 to cover these additional services, bringing the total PO amount to $266,707. On March 12, 2026, the PO was further increased by $8,344 to provide generator design services, as the existing generator is insufficient to support the expanded site, bringing the total PO amount to $275,051.
In parallel, Horizon Structures prepared a final revision to its separate design package. STK Architects incorporated these revisions into the final construction drawing set to ensure full coordination across disciplines.
PFMD has received the complete drawing package from STK Architects and routed it for internal plan review. Once consolidated comments are incorporated into the final construction documents, PFMD anticipates initiating a construction contract through the delegated authority process in April 2026 as well.
As a result of the Town of Apple Valley contract cancellation, Angeles Contractor, Inc. has been delivering emergency tent services on site since September 2025 in support of overflow animal capacity at the Shelter under PO No. 4100433521, which is funded by the Devore Animal Shelter Maintenance Project (WBSE 10.10.0603) with expenditures totaling $152,912.72 of the $160,960.76 PO. As this PO has since been fully expended, a new PO No. 4100464788 was issued to Angeles Contractor, Inc. in the amount of $160,721.57 on March 26, 2026, to continue providing emergency tent services, ensuring uninterrupted shelter operations and maintaining adequate overflow capacity, which was funded by the Project (WBSE 10.10.1959).
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Kaleigh Ragon, County Counsel, 387-5455) on March 19, 2026; Public Health (Shannon Bailey, Acting Assistant Director and Jennifer Mulhall-Daudel, Strategy and Business Development Officer, 387-9146) on March 21, 2026; Purchasing (Jessica Barajas, Supervising Buyer, 387-2065) on March 20, 2026; Project and Facilities Management (Sarah Riley, Chief of Project Management, 387-5115) on April 1, 2026; and County Finance and Administration (Yael Verduzco, Principal Administrative Analyst, 387-5285 and Iliana Rodriguez, Administrative Analyst, 386-8392) on April 6, 2026.