joe vickery animal shelter expansion project
DESCRIPTION
Animal Shelter Subcommittee . Joe Vickery Animal Shelter Expansion Project. 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 - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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.