JOE VICKERY ANIMAL SHELTER EXPANSION PROJECT

Animal Shelter Subcommittee

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Formation and Purpose of Animal Shelter

Subcommittee Shelter Subcommittee formed at the request of the

Galveston County Animal Services Advisory Committee

Purpose To review and report on options for shelter expansion

through the Animal Advisory Committee to the United Board of Health

Use this presentation to reach out to elected officials, Animal Services City Partners and to gain support from the community

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project

The Need for Expansion:

Animal Overcrowding Disease Transmission Structural and Infrastructure Issues Customer Services Issues

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project

Animal Overcrowding Joe Vickery, Animal Shelter Expansion Project

committee member, stated original shelter designed to house about 4500 animals.

In 2007 - 8984 housed at the shelterShelter currently has only 38 total kennelsOvercrowding forces the housing of multiple

animals per kennel or cage ( Disease Transmission)

Overcrowding stresses Health District staff.

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Shelter Overcrowding PicturesTech’s Office with cages

Overcrowded Kennel

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Overcrowding ContinuedFeral Cats in Hallway Animals in

Offices

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Disease Transmission

Recently, Animal Shelter experienced a deadly illness outbreak

56 animals prematurely euthanized in an attempt to halt the outbreak

Current shelter overcrowding and shelter design lend to illness outbreak

Illness outbreaks occur – new shelter designs help to reduce the likelihood.

Adoptions are impaired when public’s confidence in animal’s health is in question

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Structural and Infrastructure Issues

Construction of kennels Allows potentially contaminated fluids to travel from kennel to kennel Chain link fence on top of kennel allows nose to nose contact which

spreads disease Hard to completely sanitize, resulting in disease and the production of

foul odors

Plumbing Issues – undersized (frequent stoppages occur)

Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Not part of original design Limits fresh air intake, which is essential for disease control Condensation forms on drip pans and drips below, may also be a

source of disease transmission

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Structural and Infrastructure Issues

Continued – Kennel Rows and HVAC Unit

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Structural and Infrastructure Issues

Con’tQuarantine area limited to 7 kennels which

are used to hold rabies suspects, bite cases, police holds and aggressive dogs

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Structural and Infrastructure Issues

Continued – Lobby Area Undersized

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Customer Service Issues

Lobby area not very accommodating to our customersCustomers required to complete adoption/redemption

paperwork in lobby areaRadio dispatching to field staff occurs in lobby area,

resulting in the public hearing sensitive animal control officer information

Intake of animals from the public occurs in the lobby area. Difficult to segregate incoming animals who may be ill from the adoptable animals on the way out of the lobby.

No room for surrender counseling or adoption counseling

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Customer Services Issues Continued

Customers forced to view adoptable animals that are housed with strays, quarantined animals, and police holds.

During operating hours, movement of animals to the euthanasia room occurs

Kennel has no natural light, lighting in kennel is dim

Odor control is a daily challengeNo adoption rooms/socialization areas

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Shelter Subcommittee Investigated Four

Options

Option One - Remodel current shelter to be used as the primary or working shelter and possibly utilize current buildings at 1205 or 1207 Oak Street in La Marque as an adoption center

Option Two - Remodel current shelter into an adoption center and construct new, multiple buildings to house dogs on adjacent property

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project

Option Three - Construct new shelter at a new location (not on county owned property)

Option Four – Construct new shelter and adoption center store front (on county owned property)

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Option One: Remodel Current Shelter

Advantages:Potentially lower costs due to the utilization of

existing structuresEnd up with an offsite adoption center with

great public accessDisadvantages:

The age of the existing structuresInfrastructure issues identified at the current

shelter will need to be repaired and infrastructure changes at the Oak street locations is a must

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Option Two: Remodel and add onto current

shelterAdvantages

Citizens familiar with current locationPotentially lower construction costs by using existing

structure (current shelter)Shelter “add-ons” would be state-of-the-artWould increase the number of available kennelsAnimals potentially housed in individual kennels (lower

risk of disease transmission)Increased size of lobby areaImproved HVACNew construction materials – easier to sanitize

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Option Two: Remodel and add onto

current shelterDisadvantages

Existing structure (shelter) is old and deficient

Infrastructure issues (HVAC, plumbing, etc.)

Backfilling of property to current flood plain level (Even though City of Texas City inspectors approved)

Wetland issuesLand Availability - adjacent to current

shelter

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Option Three – New Construction on purchased

property Advantages

End up with a State-of-the-art shelterNew shelter would meet our increased capacity demandsKennels constructed of ceramic coated builders brick –

easier to maintain, no fluid transfer, potentially less disease transmission

Indoor/outdoor runs – allows for better ventilation by leaving guillotine doors open, dogs would be sent to outdoor runs during cleaning – reduce amount of time to clean and sanitize and possibly reduce disease transmission(currently tying dogs to runs in shelter during cleaning process)

HVAC improvements to help reduce illness outbreaks, disease transmission and odor control

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Option Three Advantages Continued

Larger lobby areaAdoption Center – to include adoption

roomsImproved plumbingBetter lightingPossibility of adding education and

training roomsImproved storage and capacity for

disaster preparedness supplies

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Option Three Continued

DisadvantagesIs affordable land available for purchase?Land costs will add to the overall build out

costs of a new shelterNew location, customer not familiarHigher costs for new shelter construction

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Option Four: New construction on county-

owned propertyAdvantages

County already owns the propertyConstruct an off-site, store front, adoption

centerGood access for the publicAdvantages of new construction similar to

Option three (state of the art, increase shelter size, kennel construction improvements, more customer friendly adoption center resulting in increased adoptions, etc.)

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Option Four: Disadvantages

Public will have to get used to a new location

Funding new construction costs

Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project Where do we go from here……..

Inform the Galveston County United Board of Health of these options

Present this information to the Galveston County Commissioner’s Court

Will need to take tours of the state-of-the-art shelters in our area

Engage local officials and our Animal Services Partner cities

Seek community support – Animal Summit could be one vehicle to gain public support

Review funding options Seek shelter experts, architects and engineers to assist

in the design.