Council members heard preliminary planning for a new animal shelter and a proposed expansion of the city’s common-consumption area during committee reports.

The finance/admin committee said the local veterinary clinic no longer can accommodate the city’s temporary and longer-term needs for strays, prompting discussion about building a new short- and long-term dog kennel or partnering with a humane society. Committee members identified open questions including site selection, land acquisition, construction cost estimates, staffing, insurance and ongoing operational funding. The committee described the talk as introductory; "further planning and analysis is required," the chair said.

Separately, the committee recommended expanding the common-consumption boundaries downtown to include areas used for event parking and festivals and proposed allowing vendors to use stickers on cups rather than costly printed cups. Staff advised an ordinance must be drafted and readopted and noted administrative timing: the council has until May to complete any readoption to match the event calendar. Committee members said they wanted to finalize details in April to prepare for spring and summer events such as the town’s barbecue festival.

Council did not take a final vote on either the animal shelter concept or the consumption-area expansion; both were placed on the council’s radar for further review and eventual ordinance drafting. Councilmembers discussed possible cost-sharing with Marshall County and other animal-welfare organizations and asked staff to produce cost estimates and site options for future meetings.

Next steps: staff will pursue further analysis, estimate costs for a shelter, evaluate sites and draft an ordinance if council wishes to proceed with the common-consumption-area expansion.