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Lamar police chief, animal control supervisor say shelter is overcrowded and needs new facility; six‑penny tax cited as funding path
Summary
Lamar Police Department officials described an overcrowded animal shelter with an inadequate air‑filtration system and cramped intake spaces, saying approval of a proposed six‑penny tax would fund a new facility designed to meet current standards and reduce stress on animals.
Brian Brown, chief of police at the Lamar Police Department, said the municipal animal shelter is managed by the department and warned that the current building is unsafe for the number of animals it houses. “Currently, the facility that they're using is not safe for the animals,” Brown said, describing problems with the shelter’s air‑filtration system and repurposed spaces.
Terresa Bingham, the animal control supervisor, described daily operational strains and how those affect animals and the public. “I have volunteers coming and going with dogs. I have people at the front lobby needing to surrender pets and I’ve got little kids in and out with their parents,” Bingham said. She said the shelter conducts intake, microchip scans and other processing in a narrow hallway used by the public and argued that a separate intake room would reduce stress and improve safety: “If we had a separate intake space, it would be less stressful for the animals, more efficient, easier to clean.”
Presenters said the shelter serves both the city and parts of the surrounding county — about 16% of animal service calls come from the county — and that the facility typically houses roughly 50 animals at a time. They told listeners that portions of the building were repurposed from other uses and that a garage once used to transfer animals from vehicles can no longer be used for that purpose, limiting safe transfers during inclement weather.
Officials noted the shelter sits on Fourth Street amid a cluster of aging municipal buildings that are now mostly vacant and subject to redevelopment. Brown said that impending redevelopment creates an opportunity to relocate the shelter and build a facility that meets modern standards for ventilation, intake flow and public safety.
To fund a replacement or major renovation, presenters cited a proposed six‑penny tax. Brown said approval of the measure would give the city “the opportunity to expand the facility that's appropriate with the needs of our communities and the animals in the area.” The presenters did not state a construction timeline or a finalized budget in the presentation.
No formal vote or council action was recorded in the presentation; officials framed the discussion as an informational case for a capital project and a revenue measure. Next steps, as described by presenters, include public outreach about the tax proposal and planning to identify a new site and facility specifications.
