Funds allocated, possible sites identified for new GC Animal Outreach shelter

MOSES LAKE — There is certainly funding — and some tentative ideas on design and location — for a new animal shelter to be operated by Grant County Animal Outreach.

Animal Outreach board chair Sara Thompson Tweedy said the project received a $500,000 grant from the Paul Lauzier Foundation earlier this month, which will be paid out over time, to purchase new indoor and outdoor kennels for the facility once constructed. The Moses Lake City Council voted May 14 to grant the project $1 million from the city's American Rescue Plan funding, on the condition that the city would have space at the facility for 20 years. Grant County commissioners are also considering granting $1 million in ARPA funding to the project.

The GCAO board has a tentative design that would provide approximately 3,800 square feet of air-conditioned space for dogs and cats. The dogs would have kennels with access to the outside, with a separate room for the cats.

“One of my favorite features is that our cats will have an outdoor space. It’s called a cattery,” Tweedy said.

There will be a separate area for animals requiring isolation, a nursery for new mothers and their puppies and an area where future owners can meet the animals.

Animal Outreach administrators, county commissioners and Moses Lake officials looked for sites, she said, and found possibilities.

“The county has identified land that we all agree is the best possible scenario,” she said.

Under the current plan, GCAO would continue to supply the Grant County Animal Shelter and Moses Lake on a contract basis, Tweedy said. This is the existing arrangement.

The shelter is located on Randolph Road across from the Grant County International Airport. It dates back to when the airport was Larson Air Force Base and, Commissioner Cindy Carter said, it doesn't meet current needs.

“We just need to upgrade the facilities,” Carter said. “We all depend on it in some way.”

Tweedy said the existing building is overcrowded, requires major utility upgrades and lacks outdoor exercise space. She thanked the staff for working in the existing space.

“We have a lot of wonderful, adoptable dogs,” she said. “Partly because the shelter staff loves them so much. »

The search for a new location and shelter had its share of challenges.

“We’ve been on a winding path,” Tweedy said.

She thanked Carter, fellow commissioners Rob Jones and Danny Stone, and Moses Lake City Manager Kevin Fuhr for their willingness to continue to meet challenges. GCAO also received assistance from Grant County Director of Central Services Tom Gaines, as well as Chris Young and Jim Anderson-Cook, Grant County Director and Deputy Director of Developmental Services.

Tweedy said the number of animals arriving at the shelter appears to have plateaued, at least for now.

“We haven’t seen a decrease, but we haven’t seen an increase,” she said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached by email at [email protected].