Ouachita Parish animal shelter on hold, Police Jury searching for new location
Plans for the new Ouachita Parish animal shelter are in limbo as the parish looks for somewhere else to put it.
SOS (Save Our Shelter) Pets of Ouachita Parish broke ground on a new shelter on privately donated land on Frost Commercial Drive in West Monroe in 2021, but nothing has been done at the site since the ceremony.
Ouachita Parish Police Jury President Shane Smiley said the location is unsuitable, and the search for a new one is underway.
"I'm not speaking for them but I think they've seen accessibility on the site, namely the entrance," Smiley said. "It's going to be a little more problematic. I think it's got to cross someone's right-of-way. I just don't know if it's going to be what they want to do."
Previously Coverage: Private group seeks $2.7M in state funds to create regional animal shelter
June, 2021: New Ouachita Parish animal shelter breaks ground
Smiley said the jury is currently looking for a new location. Smiley said if the parish finds a location they would partner with SOS to build the shelter in a location agreeable to both entities.
The new shelter is intended to replace the existing Ouachita Parish Animal Shelter, which evolved from an animal control facility that was built in the 1950s. The current shelter is located behind the Ouachita Parish Public Works office on Well Road in West Monroe.
SOS oversaw fundraising efforts for the new animal shelter. The organization launched in 2017 with an initial goal to raise $800,000 in two years.
Repeated attempts to reach to SOS Director Joan Hampton for comment have been unsuccessful.
In 2017, the OPPJ pledged $70,000 from funds left to the parish for a new shelter, and the City of West Monroe committed $30,000 over a two-year period.
By June 2021, the nonprofit raised $1.2 million from private donations.
March, 2021: OPPJ, SOS Pets of Ouachita reach agreement on animal shelter construction
Smiley said the parish has looked at several locations in Ouachita Parish.
"One on each side of the river," Smiley said. "I think everybody wants a new shelter but nobody wants it next to them. Ultimately, in the best interest of what the parish is going to pay for, we need to look for a site that's got more visibility, that's more readily accessible, that's on a bigger piece of land, that's got a little more green space and make it something that's very user-friendly. Something that the people will be proud of, as well."
Wherever the compound is built, the Ouachita Parish Police Jury is set to take over the operations at the new shelter, Smiley said.
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This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Ouachita Parish animal shelter on hold, searching for new location
