INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — At least once a week, Independence City Council Member Heather Wiley can be found volunteering to walk dogs at the Jackson County Regional Animal Shelter.
“I have a soft spot for shelter animals,” she said. “Coming here, walking dogs that don't have a home, sometimes it's the best part of my week.”
Independence took over operations at the Jackson County Regional Animal Shelter in mid-July 2019.
“Great Plains (SCPA) had decided to leave, so they handed over keys on July 15, 2019, at 6 p.m.,” Independence Health and Animal Services Director Christina Heinen said. “It is seared in my brain. It was an overwhelming moment. ... Suddenly, all of the dogs that were here were our responsibility, all the cats that were here were our responsibility, and it was going to be a big push to be operational by the next day.”
Nearly six years later, Independence continues to run the facility, but with one ongoing oddity — they don’t actually own the building.
Jackson County still owns the 27,000-square-foot shelter, which the city said makes it challenging to keep up with maintenance at the 13-year-old facility.
“There's been some times where we've needed repairs done and there's been a delay because of this arrangement,” Wiley said.
“But this is a building where we do surgeries, so it's important that we have hot water, it's important that the HVAC system works.”
The city can fix minor things and bill the county, but it’s a different process for big-ticket items.
The Regional Animal Shelter has experienced issues with a leaky roof, the fire-suppression system, a broken and inadequate HVAC system, a broken hot-water heater, malfunctioning water spigots, and maintenance issues with the turf exercise and play yards among the most-significant needs.
“It's important for us to own the building so that we can make decisions about repairs and when they need to get done,” Wiley said. “We really want to own our own destiny in this place that's so important to the community.”
That’s why Independence has included $3 million to buy the shelter among the $197 million in general obligation bonds across three ballot issues, which go before voters April 8.
The money is included in Question 1, which is the priciest of Independence’s three bond questions. It asks voters to approve $130-million in GO bonds — including $123 million for a new justice center and $4 million to demolish the old Independence Police Headquarters adjacent to the Independence Square.
“It is a public safety issue when it comes right down to it,” Heinen said.
Independence animal-service officers handle dog-bite cases and help manage communicable-disease risk among other duties. Last year, they handled 5,000 cases and the shelter cared for nearly 2,000 animals.
“The heart of our mission is the safety of all of our citizens, whether they are four-legged or two-legged — or for some of our animals, three-legged — we are there ready to ensure their safety,” Heinen said.
Independence resident Bonnie Lockyer relies on the shelter to care for her animals.
“These are rescue dogs actually,” said Lockyer, who brought Milla and Olivia to the Pet Resource Center of Kansas City’s monthly drive-thru vaccination clinic Friday at the Jackson County Regional Animal Shelter. “They're very efficient here and it's very much needed in the neighborhood. The staff is wonderful here. I bring lots of donations here, and I know lots of people come here and volunteer.”
Lockyer said she’d love to see Independence have more control over the building.
“More so than what's going on right now,” she said. “There’s too many loopholes, where you have to find and get an approval.”
Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca said he didn't foresee any issues with transferring the property from the legislature if voters passed the GO bond in April.
MORE COVERAGE
Tod Palmer will cover various topics related to the IndeGO Bonds ballot questions through Election Day on April 8.
QUESTION 1 | 'Untenable’: Aging Independence PD headquarters rife with infrastructure issues
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