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Council debates $2.5 million cap and operations after parks staff proposes dog shelter on city-owned lot
Summary
Parks staff proposed building a dog shelter on a city-owned parking lot off Kirkpatrick, with a capital estimate capped at $2.5 million (including $500,000 for design/engineering) and staff said the project would seek state grants; councilors raised questions about staffing, recurring costs, accountability and a committee meeting was requested.
Parks staff proposed building a dog shelter on a city-owned parking lot off Kirkpatrick, presenting an initial capital envelope and prompting councilors to question long-term staffing, costs and oversight.
Joshua Cox, Parks landscape designer and planner, said the capital improvement program includes $2,000,000 overall for the project in the coming year and a $500,000 allocation this year for design and engineering. Cox said the project would be approached as a parks campus and that the department would cap the total at $2.5 million while pursuing state grants and other funding opportunities. "Right now...we would like to cap it at 2,500,000.0 overall spent, but we will be looking for additional state grants," Cox said.
Councilor Williams and other councilors pressed staff on recurring operational costs, staffing levels and accountability if the shelter fills. Councilor Williams asked whether the city would need to staff the shelter 24 hours a day and noted concerns about adding recurring full-time positions during a budget cycle in which the city already struggles to fill open posts. He also asked what would happen if the shelter reached capacity, saying, "We're talking about 40 to 80 kennels potentially. How long is that gonna take to fill up? And then at that point, we're not taking any more dogs off the streets."
Parks Commissioner Saisha Berg said the department already operates a shelter in Jamesville, is hiring a supervisor and has shelter attendants in place. Berg said the administration intends to pursue partnerships with nonprofits and veterinary providers to share responsibilities and possibly generate revenue through co-located services.
Councilors asked for a committee meeting to examine operations and budgetary impacts. Parks staff agreed to convene a committee meeting and to provide further information before the council returns to the item. No formal vote to authorize construction or bonding was recorded in the transcript excerpt.
