Officials break ground for new Foothills Animal Center
Lakewood Mayor Bob Murphy and other elected officials break ground for new animal center.
JEFFERSON COUNTY – Elected officials wielded pooper-scoopers Tuesday to break ground for the new Foothills Animal Center at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.
The new animal-care center will replace the aging Table Mountain Animal Center, which was built 33 years ago as dog pound. When it opens by the end of next year, the center will provide improved living quarters for the stray and abandoned animals as well as more comfortable and animal-friendly viewing and adoption areas as well as improved areas for volunteer training programs and public education.
“The foothills community is about to see a modern new animal shelter taking shape,” said Jill McFadden, Executive Director of the center. “When completed, the new 30,000 square-foot facility will be able to better handle the growing animal care issues faced by west metro Denver and the region.”
TMAC handles about 10,000 animals a year and is the second largest center in the metro area.
After a couple of years of examining the current shelter’s needs and short-comings of the current shelter as well as the cost of replacing it, Jefferson County Commissioners earlier this year announced a plan to pay for the $9.7 million project.
The county is providing $3 million for the project and will lease the Fairgrounds site to the shelter for $1 a year. The county’s cities and towns have decided to forego any revenue from dog license fees, allowing that revenue to be used to retire $5.2 million in Certificates of Participation that will be issued and marketed by the county.
The dog licensing fees are expected to bring in $625,000 this year and, by 2011, are expected to rise to $732,000, according to Carla Zananti, Jefferson County’s Animal Control manager.
A dog license can prevent the worry and heartaches families endure when their pets are missing, said County Commissioner Kevin McCasky.
“It’s more than just a license. We term it a ‘ticket home,’” McCasky said.
As part of the financing the Table Mountain Animal Center Foundation hopes to raise another $1.7 million for the project and an endowment fund for operation of the center. About $730,000 has been pledged to the foundation so far.
To contribute, see the center’s Web site.
The money raised will help build a center with a more flexible design that separates dogs from cats and is airy, more and spacious. The center is designed to lessen the stress that lost animals experience.
The new facility also will include a 2,000 square-foot surgery center with a spay and neuter clinic.
