Hollister
–
”
Finally
”
may be the word on many people’s tongues at Monday’s Hollister
Redevelopment Agency meeting as board members consider a plan to
relocate the city’s overcrowded and outdated animal shelter.
Hollister – “Finally” may be the word on many people’s tongues at Monday’s Hollister Redevelopment Agency meeting as board members consider a plan to relocate the city’s overcrowded and outdated animal shelter.
The task of housing San Benito County’s strays has outgrown the existing 1,400-square-foot shelter’s capacity, said Julie Carreiro, an employee since 1989 who has wrangled stray dogs, cats, weasels, roosters and even a caiman lizard (two feet long, looks like a crocodile).
“I don’t care where we go, as long as we get a shelter,” she said. “This place isn’t good for us.”
The RDA is considering the adjacent Hollister Public Works Operations and Maintenance Yard as a location for a new building. It will start from the ground up and will be the second attempt by the agency to secure a location. It previously bought a building next to the Hollister Police Department for $500,000 and soon after halted plans due to rising expenses.
“We had been tying to narrow down a location for a few years,” said Development Services Director Bill Avera. “But the costs just started getting too high.”
Money will not be a concern Monday night, though, as the resolution only permits agency staff to explore possible projects. But once they’ve finished, cost will be a factor, said Mayor and RDA chairman Robert Scattini.
“We definitely need a different location,” he said. “Even a grand jury told us that. And cost is one thing I will be concerned with.”
The shelter houses nearly 100 animals daily, has a staff of four and runs on a $400,000 annual budget. The animals are caught throughout the county, which contracts with the city for the shelter service. Larger livestock, such as cows and horses, are housed on a ranch in Aromas.
Expanding the current shelter isn’t a possibility, Carreiro said.
“If we go forward, we hit the pond,” she said. “If we go backward, there’s a mountain and we’ve already expanded east and west as far as we can go. We need a new place for the staff and the animals.”
Banks Albach covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335.
