PINE BLUFF - Bids are to be let next month on construction of a Pine Bluff animal shelter expansion as part of the city’s economic improvement sales-tax plan passed by voters in 2011.
The five-eighths percent tax included several bond initiatives, including about $1 million for a new animal shelter.
Pine Bluff architect Fred Reed, who drafted plans for the shelter, said he and some city officials toured other shelters in the state to put the best features into the plans.
Reed said plans call for adding on to the existing shelter, which will double the size of the building in Oakland Park.
The current shelter has about 4,200 square feet, while the expanded facility will feature more than 9,600 square feet.
“Right now, the shelter can hold 46 dogs, and plans call for expanding the kennels to allow for 113,” Reed said. “There will also be vet exam and surgery rooms, something that just isn’t feasible with the current building.”
Larry Matthews, the director of the city’s community development office who is overseeing the project, said it’s been needed for many years.
“Things out there are really outdated, and it just can’t service the needs we currently have,” Matthews said. “I know many people are excited to see this project begin,and they will be even more excited when it’s completed next year.”
Messages left for Michael Sims, director of Pine Bluff Animal Control, which operates the shelter, were not returned last week.
Pine Bluff Mayor Debe Hollingsworth has said that the animal shelter expansion, along with the other projects funded by the sales tax, are all part of an effort to move Pine Bluff forward.
“It’s great to look around our city and see so much progress,” the mayor has said. “We are working hard to make this city a better place, and it’s really going to pay off for us in the future.”
Other improvement projects include the renovation of the Pine Bluff police station and City Hall, which are underway, and a recently completed fire station off Olive Street. A multipurpose center and aquatics park are also included and will be built in the coming months and years.
Arkansas, Pages 7 on 04/14/2014