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CASPER, Wyo. — On Tuesday, the Casper City Council asked city staff to get started on forming a task force to find a long-term solution to inadequacies at the Metro Animal Shelter.

Whether the solution is a renovation of the existing facility or a new building, a major question is where money can be found for the project. While the city hasn’t identified a viable funding source for the project, Councilmember Amber Pollock said during the work session that if planning for a solution doesn’t happen, the money question will continue to linger.

There is $150,000 allocated to the Metro Animal Shelter for improvements that would come out of optional one-cent sales tax dollars during the next four-year cycle of the tax should voters approve the renewal of one-cent this November. On Tuesday, Casper Police Chief Keith McPheeters walked the City Council through a proposal of how that funding could be used to address some of the pressing issues at the shelter.

With the facility lacking the ability to quarantine sick animals, McPheeters said a room could be renovated to offer quarantine space. That would involve renovating a room that was originally intended as overflow space with dog kennels when the building was constructed in the 1980s. The police chief said the space is not being used as overflow dog kennel space because it doesn’t provide easy access to get animals in and out of the room on a routine basis. A major aspect of converting the room into quarantine space would involve adding HVAC separate from the rest of the facility to avoid spreading illness to other animals.

The quarantine room project would cost about $65,000. Another priority would be to add new cat kennels, which would cost an estimated $30,000.

The shelter began replacing aging cat kennels about two years ago, McPheeters said. The need to replace cat kennels stems from cat urine being caustic and leading to damage of the metal, he added. The replacement is needed to avoid animal or employee injuries from the rusting surfaces.

The third way staff is recommending the $150,000 one-cent allocation be used is to invest in some improvements to an outdoor area for dogs. Metro has a walking path, but other improvements could include the addition of turf, irrigation, shading and proper fencing for an enclosed play and exercise area. The next steps in improvements would cost about $65,000.

McPheeters said the improvements would allow for space for potential adopters to meet with dogs outside rather than in the crowded indoor kennel space.

The $150,000 from one-cent wouldn’t be enough to address other pressing needs at Metro. McPheeters said the number-one priority at the shelter is the need for a back-up generator to ensure the facility’s HVAC system doesn’t shut off during outages and leave animals in the heat in summer or in the cold in winter.

The shelter has been dealing with a range of HVAC issues, including seeing a major fan go out in the past week, McPheeters told the City Council.

When Casper saw a stretch of bitter cold last winter, power at the shelter went out, resulting in the facility’s new boilers freezing. McPheeters said this led to the need to replace the boilers, calling it a “huge economic loss.”

McPheeters said the shelter has power issues and seems “particularly susceptible to surging.”

Adding a backup generator and building-wide surge protection could cost around $275,000. Another more immediate need at the shelter is space for a medical room where a veterinarian can provide emergency medical care. McPheeters said he doesn’t think it is viable to add that room onto the existing facility. Instead, a short-term solution may be to find a portable building.

Eventually, he said it would also be advantageous to have a veterinarian on the city’s payroll rather than working with an outside clinic.

Other needs at the facility are more modern lighting and locker rooms for employees. In addition, the dog kennels are too small to provide adequate sleeping area away from where dogs eat, defecate and urinate. The space is particularly inadequate for larger dogs, McPheeters said.

There will likely be some money available for the HVAC issues the shelter is dealing with out of one-cent money allocated toward dealing with inadequacies found at facilities around the city. Councilmember Bruce Knell also offered to reach out to people he knows who may be able to donate a backup generator for the shelter.

However, the consensus between councilmembers, McPheeters and City Manager Carter Napier appeared to be that something eventually needs to get done to replace the existing facility.

“We all know that Metro is one of those facilities that is in desperate need, has not had much investments since the 80s, when it was built,” Napier said Tuesday. “We’ve got to have larger conversations at some point.”

Building a new shelter was among ideas city staff considered when coming up with possible priorities for use of one-cent optional sales tax dollars during the next four-year cycle of the tax. However, city leaders identified about $128.8 million worth of projects in need of attention while the city expects its share of one-cent revenues over the next four years will total $64.5 million should voters choose to renew the tax this fall. The $5 million needed to build a new Metro Animal Shelter did not make the cut in the one-cent plan for use of the $64.5 million approved by the City Council on Aug. 2.

Councilmember Kyle Gamroth suggested a task force be formed that could look into not only a solution for a new shelter but also the possibility that a nonprofit organization might take over operation of the facility. Gamroth said he’d like to see something done sooner rather than later so the city could get away from the reactive band-aid approach to dealing with problems at the shelter.

Councilmember Steve Cathey said he’d like to see it explored whether a regional facility serving not only the City of Casper but also the City of Mills, the Town of Evansville and Natrona County might be an option. That way, the City of Casper might not be solely responsible for funding a new building.

Cathey also asked about the power surge issues at Metro and whether the city has any legal recourse with Rocky Mountain Power. City Attorney John Henley said the city has an agreement with RMP after some recent litigation that required the company to make upgrades at the shelter and to provide a reliability report every six months. Henley said that report can be reviewed to see if RMP needs to conduct any maintenance at the facility.

Councilmember Bruce Knell expressed some hesitation about forming a committee to look into solutions for a new shelter because he thinks it would tell the city what it already knows: Metro has a range of problems and money is needed to address those. Knell said the bottom line is that the city doesn’t have money for a new shelter if it is to take care of all the other priorities across the community.

Mayor Ray Pacheco said that the formation of a task force eventually led to a solution for a new police headquarters. Pollock said that the experience with the police HQ task force is evidence that forming a task force for a new animal shelter may be a sound approach.

“We’ve proven that model,” she said. “Maybe it makes sense to apply it here.”

Councilmember Jai-Ayla Southerland said that she agrees with the task force idea, but she also wants to see the city move forward on interim improvements to the animal shelter.

“None of us want to be fielding calls when we can’t keep animals alive,” she said.

A memo from McPheeters and Casper Police Lt. Jeremy Tremel explaining plans for use of the $150,000 in potential one-cent funds is available below: