Officials from East Lyme, Montville and Waterford will restart efforts to look at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center in Montville as the possible future site of an animal shelter for those three towns.

The three towns, in addition to New London and Ledyard, have discussed consolidating their animal control facilities in one building for years.

Those efforts fizzled after an ad-hoc committee composed of Waterford and East Lyme residents recommended building a regional shelter at the prison last year.  

Now, a three-member committee of town staff members from East Lyme, Montville and Waterford will begin working to bring that idea back to life, working with state and prison officials to discuss logistics.

The committee will decide “what the state’s role is going to be ... the lease, and what is going to be the responsibility of the prison population,” Montville Mayor Ronald McDaniel said Wednesday.

Proposals for a regional animal shelter at the prison include an option to allow prisoners to maintain the facility and care for animals.

The plan drew criticism last year from local residents and volunteers at various towns’ shelters who said that a central location in Montville would be inconvenient, and that they didn’t feel comfortable volunteering at a shelter near the prison.

But the prison plan is the cheapest and most efficient for the three towns involved, Waterford First Selectman Daniel Steward said.

“As long as the state’s willing to participate, the building itself can be built for a much lower cost,” he said.

Plus, he said, the animals would get more consistent care from prisoners at the correctional center, who already train and care for animals as part of other programs at the facility.

“That gives you better care for the animals,” he said. “They’re much more attentive than we can be — volunteers are nice to have, but they’re not always available.”

Ledyard officials opted not to participate in the renewed discussions, Steward said. 

Instead of participating in a regional effort, New London officials used FEMA funding to upgrade the city's shelter after it was damaged in Superstorm Sandy.

More than $200,000 raised by donors in favor of replacing the aging Waterford shelter is being held in a town account and will be spent once a final decision is made on a new facility, Steward said.

Some of the donors have asked for their money back since it became clear that most local leaders support a regional facility and not renovations to the Waterford building, but the legal process for returning donations is unclear, he added.

Steward said Police Chief Brett Mahoney likely will be Waterford's representative to the new committee.

East Lyme First Selectman Mark Nickerson said Deputy First Selectman Kevin Seery will represent East Lyme, while McDaniel said he has not chosen Montville's representative.

After the three towns’ leaders sign a memorandum of understanding creating the committee, its members will be expected to deliver a report to their towns’ leaders by Sept. 1.

Officials have said that facilities in each of the towns are adequate, but they predate state building codes for animal control facilities.

m.shanahan@theday.com

Twitter: @martha_shan