AustinAction Sanity Island

In the 2005 to 2006 fiscal year, the City of Austin killed 12,439 (51%) of the 24,390 pets that arrived at the shelter. (source: FixAustin.org) What will moving the shelter to East Airport mean for the kill rate, and what’s driving the move?

I have a friend who spends a lot of time at Town Lake Animal Center (TLAC), and he’s been telling me for a while about the city’s plans to move the shelter East off of Airport Blvd. A group of concerned citizens is questioning whether the proposed new location is really in the best interest of getting animals adopted. Then, the Statesman editorial board got involved, which makes me wonder about what their agenda is. Austinist also wrote a little something about it, too. It’s all sparked my interest, so I’ve spent a little time in the past couple of weeks learning what I can about the issue.

Here’s what I know at this point:

The proposed new location is an out-of-sight, out-of-mind location

I started my research by driving out to the proposed site, looking around, watching traffic, and driving around the area. I came to the conclusion that the surrounding area is, for the most part, industrial in nature. This is probably why I’ve never been out there before - I don’t have a reason to visit a cement plant or a warehouse shipping facility. A large amount of the vehicle traffic in the area is truck traffic. The location can also be confusing because it is where so many roads intersect, including E. 7th St., Airport Blvd., E. 1st St., and Hwy 183. I was out there for over an hour on a Saturday morning in good weather and only saw one pedestrian.

Truck traffic driving by the proposed new shelter location.

You can see a map and satellite view of the area, as well as photos that I took at Google Maps.

The facility is on Levander Loop, so I just drove the complete loop and took photos along the way.

The concern that this location raises in my mind is this: If I woke up on a Saturday morning and thought to myself, “I think I’ll go look at dogs today,” I would definitely be less likely to visit this location than the current one on Town Lake. I would be more likely to consider other options, such as the Humane Society or rescue groups.

The reason should be obvious, but it isn’t to everyone. To be fair, I visited TLAC and the surrounding area exactly one week later. The current location has pleasant surroundings and other things for me to do while I’m down there. Parks, trails, people out enjoying their weekend, and proximity to Lamar where I can get Amy’s Ice Cream, or tons of other things that I normally go downtown for. I can imagine a family being down at the ball park or the lake, and deciding to stop in at the shelter to look for that perfect pet.

People out enjoying the weekend around TLAC.

The Statesman argues that people will be happy to go out of their way to adopt a pet:

People who intend to obtain a dog or cat from the animal shelter won’t be deterred because the facility is no longer on the western edge of downtown. Most of them want to obtain a pet and save an animal’s life at the same time, so location is not an important factor.

This statement assumes that people won’t consider other options for adopting a pet, of which there are plenty. The city’s pound is in competition with pet stores, rescue groups, classifieds, and in some capacity the Humane Society. If your goal is to adopt out as many animals as you can so you don’t have to kill them, why wouldn’t you make it as easy as possible for people to find you?

Austin needs a new shelter

There are certainly problems with the existing shelter. It is 50 years old and inadequate. But, is the East Airport location really the best we can do? Did the city even consider rebuilding the shelter at its current location, or are there other properties available that would be better suited for retail? Essentially, the adoption function of the shelter is no different than retail. Would anyone place a for-profit retail store at this location? Only if they don’t want many customers.

Again, the Statesman:

Austin voters had their say on the shelter location last fall in the city’s bond issue election.

Really? I don’t remember the shelter location being on the ballot. Sure, I knew about bond money going towards a new shelter, but where was the public process to weigh in on the location?

The proponents of the new location continue to say that there were eight public meetings where citizens had the opportunity to voice their concerns regarding the new location. The best I can tell, they are referring to the Bond Advisory Committee meetings.

I’ve downloaded and looked at meeting agendas, minutes, and presentation documents, as well as the public comments from the 2006 Bond Advisory Committee website. Unless I’ve missed something, I can’t find much of a record of support, or even a presentation for that matter, of the new shelter location. There are a few public comments in support of a new shelter in general, but the only comment that I have found that mentions the new location is opposed to it. There are powerpoint presentations for a skate park and library, among other things. But no animal shelter.

Maybe I missed it. However, if it was being thoroughly discussed during eight meetings over a two-year period, I would think it would be easier to find a record of all that public discussion. I certainly don’t remember discussions about the proposed location. I do remember the skaters supporting the skate park, so I wasn’t just away from the planet at the time.

The proponents of the move mention the flooding of the current location as a reason the shelter must be moved. I have a couple of questions about that: 1) It has been explained to me that the flooding is due to the drains not being kept clean and clear. When the city analyzed the cost of rebuilding at the current location, did they consider mitigating the drainage/flooding problem? 2) If it is impossible to rebuild at the current location, what were the top five alternate sites that were considered?

Once again, the Statesman

The new shelter will be larger and safer for the animals.

Actually, the proposed new shelter will have the same amount of cage space that exists for the animals today. There will be more office space, however.

Parkland

This is perhaps the most interesting piece of information that I have found while researching this issue.

The Statesman:

Opponents of the move have tossed around fears of a new condominium complex planned for the current shelter site. But that is a red herring. The property is dedicated parkland and it would take a vote of the people to change that designation. Moving the shelter will add more recreational facilities to an area of town where many young Austinites have played soccer, football and baseball for years.

But, News8Austin says:

City leaders say an alternative site for the courthouse would be the Town Lake Animal Center on West Cesar Chavez after they move in a few years. Thanks to last year’s bond election, the 50-year-old animal shelter will be moved to a new $12 million, 40,000-square-foot facility on the Health and Human Services campus on Airport Boulevard.

Remember when the Intel shell was about to be imploded downtown to make room for the new federal courthouse, and the mayor and other city council members were rushing around, trying to keep the site so it could be sold to developers and increase our tax base? Turns out that the city was offering Town Lake Animal Center to the feds so they could build their new courthouse on parkland.

That raises a few questions, such as:

What about the parkland that requires a city-wide vote?

What about the ball fields?

What about the flooding?

Just what are the city’s plans for this land once the shelter is gone?