Council approves midyear funding to add staff and upgrade animal shelter facilities; debate over kennel, AC and service‑yard costs

The City Council approved a midyear budget adjustment on June 10 that includes a substantial package of funding for Animal Care and Adoption Services: three new staff positions to support operations and outreach, replacement of the crematorium, and multiple facility upgrades including a rebuild of the shelter’s outdoor service yard and a climate‑control upgrade for a kennel/administration building.

Assistant City Manager Heather Halberds and interim Public Health Director Dante Gonzalez presented the item and explained components of the package. Staff said the package was funded with identified budget savings and one‑time funds. The project list includes: construction and sanitary/drainage work on a service yard and vehicle wash area (engineered concrete, drainage, oily water separator), kennel and administrative building AC and insulation upgrades, and replacement of a cremation unit. Staff said the service yard work responds to repeated operational problems: vehicle washing on porous surfaces that creates cross‑contamination risk and a failing pavement surface that impedes animal control vehicle operations.

Council discussion focused on the scale and cost of the service‑yard project. Council members asked whether a lower‑cost, phased approach or in‑house public works work could reduce the $821,000 estimate and whether asphalt alternatives or staged work would be cheaper. City project manager Ram Muñoz said the budget includes drainage, sanitary connections, an oily‑water separator and concrete pavements sized for heavy vehicle turning radii; staff argued a single, engineered construct is a longer‑term value compared with repeated patching. Halberds and Munoz said design and procurement steps and inspection/administration add to the total project cost and that smaller interim repairs would likely repeat later.

Council also questioned the ordering of upgrades and whether the AC upgrades inside the kennel should be prioritized over exterior service‑yard work; staff said some work must be sequenced, and the recommended approach includes an initial kennel/building climate control pilot followed by further upgrades.

The council voted to approve the midyear adjustment. Staff said the procurement schedule would seek competitively bid pricing and would attempt to preserve any savings; they also said the crematorium vendor had completed repairs and that a new replacement unit procurement would follow. City staff agreed to provide the council a breakdown of the concrete yard estimate in square footage and unit prices and to confirm whether in‑house alternatives had been assessed.

The vote to approve the adjustments included support for adding staff positions and facility work; Councilman Gil Hernandez voted no on the package’s total cost and requested additional in‑house cost analysis for the pavement and drainage work. The council directed staff to return savings details and design breakdowns.