funding to build new las cruces animal shelter advanced by council

As part of a move to build a modern new shelter for the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley, the Las Cruces City Council has given its approval to the selling of some $17.6 million in tax-exempt general obligation improvement bonds.

Those bonds were originally passed by city voters in 2018 for a variety of construction and infrastructure projects, including the building of a new fire station, as well as upgrades to the city’s sports fields.

Just under $10 million of the bonds will target the construction of the new shelter facility, which will go up on a portion of a larger site at 3551 Bataan Memorial West Drive.

The current shelter, built in 1982, has been plagued with a number of structural and plumbing issues in recent years, and is also located at that site.

As designed by ASA Architects of Las Cruces, the new shelter will house holding and adoption space, as well as administrative offices.

According to statistics kept by the shelter, the current facility serves up to 10,000 animals on an annual basis, as well as accommodating prospective pet owners. Although the Covid-19 outbreak has decreased their numbers, the center was still visited by around five hundred people in May.
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At the same time that the city council approved selling the general obligation bonds, it also provided just over $500,000 in funding for the Animal Services Center’s operations and administration.

By Garry Boulard

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