Final Decision for New Animal Shelter Location Expected Thursday

The Lubbock City Council is expected to finally pin down the new location for the animal shelter during Thursday morning's meeting. It's a decision that's been months in the making, and council members say progress needs to start now.

Several locations have been offered up as possible places to build the animal shelter, the only one that's stayed an option throughout the whole thing is Mackenzie Park. However, it's still not exactly what Lubbock residents want. There's still a lot of back and forth concerning the shelter's location. Right now, the two main options are Mackenzie and Burl Huffman park.

Councilman Todd Klein tells us Mackenzie is his choice, saying it's proximity to the current location will be a smooth transition during building and it's cheaper in land preparation terms. But many folks we've spoken to want the shelter to move away from the East side of town.

Councilman Klein says this issue will be on the agenda at tomorrow morning's meeting, and getting it done soon is crucial to the animals as well as the taxpayer.

Councilman Klein: "Animal control issues are a concern, adoption rates are abysmal, and getting a new facility will be an absolute step in the right direction. I hope that we can move forward as quickly as possible, beginning tomorrow, with us being able to say to the public, you know, right now progress is important, we've made a site selection, we will then begin with the subsequent efforts."

Now if you want to voice your opinion, that meeting begins at 7:30 Thursday morning, and there will be time for public discussion before a decision is made.