Lawton to change location of new animal shelter

Lawton Animal Shelter has a new location for its expanded facility.

City Council members agreed this week with a recommendation from city staff and GH2 architects to move what had been planned as an expansion of the existing facility in south Lawton to a former fire station at Southwest 17th Street and West Lee Boulevard.

Jamie Preshaw, GH2 associate principal and senior architect, said the initial plan — presented to the council earlier this year — was to build a new adoption center adjacent to the existing shelter complex that is on the south side of the Public Works Yard on Southwest 6th Street, near Bishop Road. The existing facility houses all functions of the shelter, from administrative offices, to kennels and adoption area, to veterinarian’s area.

Preshaw said this week that additional analysis identified significant issues with the existing complex, with the upgrades needed for the existing holding area and impoundments area driving up costs significantly. The council had directed city staff to get the cost of that project to about $5 million, the amount of funding available for the project in the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) Extension approved by voters in August. That project is to expand the shelter so it can have two separate areas for animals: an impoundment area for new arrivals and an adoption center for those ready for new homes.

Preshaw said her firm accepted a recommendation from city staff to consider other locations for the shelter, and found one they liked: a former fire station at Southwest 17th Street and West Lee Boulevard. That building now is empty, but still owned by the City of Lawton, Preshaw said, of the advantages it brings to the table. The building also is highly visible to the public while also presenting a better “perception,” she said.

The site also is large enough to house the intake and impoundment areas, she said, adding the site also the animal shelter project within budget, giving Lawton “a bigger bang for your buck.”

Mayor Stan Booker said the idea has merit, noting it may help increase adoptions from the shelter because the facility would be in a more visible area.

Ward 4 Councilman George Gill, who is involved in the construction industry, said he believes the facility could be converted for less cost than building a new one.

“It sounds better,” Gill said of the new location.

Preshaw agreed the building has “better bones” while also having a larger footprint, meaning there is potential for expansion in the future, if needed.

The council’s decision authorized city administrators to amend their design contract with GH2, meaning design work now will be centered around the building on West Lee Boulevard. Completion of designs would allow the project to be bid, and city officials have said the shelter is one of the priorities for projects in the CIP Extension.

Preshaw, whose firm specializes in animal shelters, has said the facility would be better for the animals kept there. The new facility would feature an adoption area for animals ready to meet and go home with their new owners and a separate area for new arrivals, where they could be checked for vaccinations and disease, then held until they could be introduced into the general animal population. That would help control the spread of disease, Preshaw said.

The facility would continue to have administrative offices for staff and storage functions, as well as a clinical area for the shelter’s full-time veterinarian and an outdoor play area.