Most of the Collin County commissioners are in favor of expanding the county鈥檚 animal shelter.
Collin County is in the process of approving the propositions for the November bond election, which is expected to be $683.4 million based on the bond planning board鈥檚 recommendations.
One of the recommendations calls for spending $5.7 million to expand the county鈥檚 animal shelter. The 10,000 square foot shelter serves ten cities, including Frisco and McKinney, as well as the unincorporated areas of Collin County. Plano, Allen and Wylie have city animal shelters.
Plano鈥檚 shelter is twice the size of the county shelter according to , an animal advocacy group that鈥檚 trying to get Frisco to build its own city shelter. Frisco鈥檚 bond committee recommended adding money for a city shelter on its May 6 bond election, but the city council decided to not include it.
Animal advocates say the Collin County shelter is desperate for relief. Marla Fields, the administrator of Frisco鈥檚 Pet Project, said the shelter has been overcrowded for at least a decade.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e just scrambling,鈥� Fields said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 cages on top of cages.鈥�
She said the shelter was built in 2006 and was supposed to be a holding facility, not a shelter. The county鈥檚 population was under 700,000 in 2006 according to the U.S. Census. Today, it鈥檚 over 1 million.
Fields said the county鈥檚 population growth is contributing to the increase in animals at the shelter.
鈥淔or every house, there鈥檚 usually an animal to go with it,鈥� she said.
The proposed expansion of the shelter would include a 10,000 square foot addition with four new hallways with 120 kennel runs, a cat quarantine room and a clinic room with two surgery bays. The construction would finish in February 2027 if the bond is passed in November.
Fields said that may not be enough space to solve the shelter鈥檚 overcrowding problem.
鈥淎dding an additional 10,000 square feet to Collin County Animal Services, I'm afraid, is just a Band-Aid,鈥� she said.
Fields said the county needs to increase its spay and neuter program and vaccinate more animals in the meantime.
The commissioners court has placed the bond issue on the agenda for next week鈥檚 meeting and the budget workshop scheduled for that same day.
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