Before new Tri-Cities animal shelter opens this winter, Pasco seeks community’s input
After months and months of delays, the Tri-Cities Animal Shelter is finally expected to open by the end of January.
Construction for the shelter started in late 2022 on a spot in Pasco overlooking the Columbia River.
City officials told the Tri-City Herald in November that the cost of construction is on track for the budgeted amount of $5.8 million.
Pasco City Council recently accepted $4.2 million in the work completed by G2 Commercial Construction.
The new 9,600-square-foot building will be on 2.5 acres next to the existing facility off South 18th Avenue in Pasco. It will replace three structures, one of them dating back to the 1950s.
Community engagement
The Tri-Cities Animal Shelter is a joint effort of the cities of Pasco, Kennewick and Richland working together as the Animal Control Authority, the public agency whose primary job is to implement and provide animal control and services at the shelter.
The city of Pasco leads the authority.
One of the biggest sources of delays for the shelter was settling on which indoor dog and cat kennels to use. The city reached a decision in August, but the kennels still need to be installed.
Jesse Rice, Pasco’s director of parks and recreation, told the Tri-City Herald this week that the kennels were delivered this week and will take about three weeks to install in the new shelter.
In the meantime, the city of Pasco is finding new ways to connect with community members to get feedback on the shelter and animal services.
Last week, the city offered a community survey about the shelter and comments are being accepted through Wednesday, Dec. 4.
A passionate group of animal advocates has been asking for a community advisory board for the shelter since April 2023. But an advisory board is not legally allowed under the current structure of the Animal Control Authority.
New trial dates for Neo’s Nation staff
The anticipated opening of the shelter also comes about a year after some former staff members of the shelter’s contractor were charged with animal cruelty.
The nonprofit Neo’s Nation took over management of the shelter in January 2021. It operated the shelter and animal control services for Pasco, Richland and Kennewick for less than a year before volunteers began suspecting something was amiss with the way the nonprofit’s leadership was moving animals out of public view, say investigators.
The former staff members of Neo’s Nation are awaiting trial after being charged with dozens of counts of animal cruelty.
Trials for the former director Rebecca Howard and former office manager Justin Hernandez are set to begin in April 2025 in connection with 48 counts of animal cruelty.
Separately, the nonprofit’s finance officer Julie Chambers is scheduled to go to trial later in December on first-degree theft and money laundering charges.
The next Animal Control Authority meeting is Dec. 12 at 5:30 p.m. at Pasco City Hall.
