New Tri-Cities animal shelter may house fewer pets. Some worry euthanasia may return

Volunteers and Tri-City officials agree the Tri-Cities Animal Shelter needs replacing, but they don’t see eye-to-eye on a new building.

Poor lighting and generations of animal urine have made the more than 70-year-old main building an uncomfortable place for people to work and animals to live.

While plans to replace the building date back more than 10 years, the project has yet to come together.

Now Pasco city leaders say they have a plan for a new 10,000-square-foot building that will offer more space to safely handle incoming animals, added places to quarantine sick animals and additional room for people to meet their potential pets.

“We expect this building to last multiple decades with the potential to add on and expand,” said Zach Ratkai, Pasco’s administrative and community services director.

The problem for volunteers is the new building will have less space for dogs and cats.

The current shelter can hold 61 dogs and 84 cats. The new design brings that number down to 42 dogs and 66 cats.

While the shelter is housed in Pasco, it is the center of animal control for Kennewick and Richland as well.

Volunteer Julie Webb is helping lead the charge for getting a new and bigger shelter.

If the current plans go ahead, she is concerned the shelter would need to start euthanizing animals, she told the Herald.

“It is up to us to get this shelter design right the first time with hopes that it will stand proudly for generations to come,” she said in a letter to the three city councils. “You are the council members that can make this happen.”

Her message is going out as the three city councils plan to review the current plans for the new shelter during workshops in the next two weeks.

They plan to show up in mass at Richland at 6:45 p.m. on Feb. 4, then in Pasco at 7 p.m. on Feb. 10 and in Kennewick at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 11.

The shelter is considered a no-kill facility, though some ill or severely injured animals are euthanized. But there has been no discussions of changing the no-kill policy.

New shelter designs

Calls for a new shelter date back to at least 2011 and the three cities agreed to work on a replacement after a 2016 study agreed it was needed.

The current A street location includes three buildings. The main metal building is about 7,000 square feet and dates to the 1950s.

Two outbuildings were added in the 1970s. It operated as a Human Society shelter until Animal Control took over in 2001.

While the estimated $6.2 million building would be larger, much of the added space is going toward services — visiting rooms, administrative offices, areas for veterinarians to work and quarantine space to stop the spread of diseases, such as ringworm, Ratkai said.

Also, the dog kennels will connect to outdoor runs, which can be used as additional kennels if needed. This can decrease animal stress.

“The current shelter was designed purely for the impounding of animals with little consideration for staff, efficiency of operations or modern trends in sheltering,” Ratkai said.

For her part, Webb has been drumming up support for a new shelter by inviting council members to tour the building.

It was especially important for her to bring the newly-elected members to the shelter. Some of them didn’t even know the shelter was in Pasco.

“It can’t even go another five years,” she said. “We’re trying to get them to realize that this needs to be a top priority.”

Space concerns

Webb wants to make sure the cities get the right shelter the first time. She points to a 2017 design that she says would open up additional space to house dogs and cats.

She also wants to make sure the building is situated on the property where it can be expanded.

Concerned volunteers formed the Facebook group #NothingFancyJustFunctional to share their worries and ideas.

When the plans for the new shelter were talked about 10 years ago, they discussed a 15,000-square-foot building, according to group leaders.

Plans call for moving the shelter from its current spot on A Street to a smaller lot nearby, the volunteers said. The location is hemmed in by the baseball fields and won’t allow the city to expand.

On top of that, the project has a long history of stops and starts. They are worried that if it’s delayed again it may take years to restart.

For their part, Pasco leaders say they are willing to work with the volunteers on a plan that works for everyone.

“We have heard from a number of people in the community that they are not happy with the shelter design,” Ratkai said. “The cities are committed to a dialog about alternatives and options to ensure this vital community need is served. The cities are working with various stakeholders involved directly with the shelter, as well as listening to volunteers and concerns of the community.”

But they have some limitations.

Already, the proposed $6.2 million building is more expensive than what the cities initially planned to spend when they started developing the plans in 2016, Ratkai said.

It’s unknown if they would be willing to increase the cost to make more space.

While #NothingFancyJustFunctional is critical of the current shelter size, the volunteers acknowledge Pasco officials have been willing to listen and work with them.

Looming deadlines

As the cities talk about the new animal shelter, West Richland-based Pet Overpopulation Prevention is looking to open a new low-cost spay and neuter clinic.

But that project, helped by a $300,000 state grant, is linked to the plans for the animal shelter.

The organization has been handling spaying and neutering the animals that come to the shelter, and they would like to remain close by, said Cindi Anderson, the organization’s vice president.

“The city of Pasco does believe that this is a necessary service in our community,” she said. “They’re trying to help us find something.”

They are facing a July 2020 deadline turn in a readiness plan to the state.

This story was originally published February 3, 2020 at 5:00 AM.