Animal Shelter Won't Go in at Fairgrounds
PROSSER - The first animal shelter for Benton county is now going to take longer to get off the ground. The new shelter will not be at the fairgrounds.
They've got the building design, but nowhere to build it.
Benton County's shelter was supposed to go up on the fairgrounds. But then
the city of Kennewick's permit conditions forced the county to move the
building's footprint into the same spot where the kid zone sits. That would
have impeded on fair activities, so in the end it just wasn't fair to the
fair.
The Benton-Franklin Fair Board asked commissioners to go somewhere else.
One location the county is looking at is in Kennewick on Canal Drive and
Quinault Avenue across from the Juvenile Justice Center. Sheriff Larry
Taylor thinks that's the best fit.
Other spots being considered include county land by the Justice Center on
Okanagan and out in Finley by Piert Road and the inter-tie.
County commissioners also discussed putting it out along the Badger Road by
the interstate, but there's no septic system out there.
The sheriff says that option could delay things even further.
"We're moving forward we're not stopping," said Sheriff Taylor. "This might
set us back a couple of months. Every day we delay is potential for more
strays out in the county."
It's a problem Action News has covered time and again. Cats and dogs dumped in the county, local animal rescue leagues picking up the slack and all
because of no county animal control.
Sheriff Taylor promises that stops this year. The ordinance is on the books,
a design is done and the worker applications are on his desk. But he can't
hire until construction starts. The question now ... Where to build?
They've got the building design, but nowhere to build it.
Benton County's shelter was supposed to go up on the fairgrounds. But then
the city of Kennewick's permit conditions forced the county to move the
building's footprint into the same spot where the kid zone sits. That would
have impeded on fair activities, so in the end it just wasn't fair to the
fair.
The Benton-Franklin Fair Board asked commissioners to go somewhere else.
One location the county is looking at is in Kennewick on Canal Drive and
Quinault Avenue across from the Juvenile Justice Center. Sheriff Larry
Taylor thinks that's the best fit.
Other spots being considered include county land by the Justice Center on
Okanagan and out in Finley by Piert Road and the inter-tie.
County commissioners also discussed putting it out along the Badger Road by
the interstate, but there's no septic system out there.
The sheriff says that option could delay things even further.
"We're moving forward we're not stopping," said Sheriff Taylor. "This might
set us back a couple of months. Every day we delay is potential for more
strays out in the county."
It's a problem Action News has covered time and again. Cats and dogs dumped in the county, local animal rescue leagues picking up the slack and all
because of no county animal control.
Sheriff Taylor promises that stops this year. The ordinance is on the books,
a design is done and the worker applications are on his desk. But he can't
hire until construction starts. The question now ... Where to build?
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