Rainey wants prime land on Airline for animal facility

By CALEB FREY

Staff Reporter

RESERVE – The location of the St. John Animal Shelter has been the subject of much controversy amongst residents and council members alike, which has prompted the district’s Councilman Lester Rainey to explore exactly how feasible relocating the shelter would be.

The shelter is currently located in LaPlace just off of West 2nd Street in a residential neighborhood, an area that also houses the parish’s sewage treatment plant. Residents from the area have voiced their concerns to council members in recent months about keeping the shelter in its current location, many citing the smell supposedly emanating from the shelter as a problem. Rainey is proposing the shelter move to a plot the parish already owns located just off of Airline Highway.

The new shelter would be built just past the airport in Reserve near Regala Park. The council has stated that the land the parish owns on Airline Highway is too valuable to be used for an animal shelter, but Rainey feels the spot he has earmarked would suit the parish residents needs, something that should be a priority when taken into consideration by

the council, regardless of the land’s monetary value.

&#8220When the parish’s land becomes too valuable for us to even use for basic services, we have a big problem,” Rainey said. If approved by the council, the animal control board would be given roughly four acres on Airline to construct a new facility, leaving plenty of room for expansion, Rainey said.

He also noted that the value of the land being considered for the animal shelter is adversely affected by the fact it has drainage ditches running through the land on all sides, something he feels would prevent a business from wanting to purchase or build on the property, making it an ideal choice to use for the needs of St. John Parish.

The cost of building the shelter has been a prime concern for the council, which wants to be sure they can afford the move before approving it. The council currently has approximately $240,000 in their budget for a new shelter.

Hound Quarters, a Phoenix based company which provides turnkey kennel and shelter construction, is one that Rainey is considering.

&#8220The great thing about Hound Quarters is they can do the project in a number of ways, but they can have it completed in about 120 days,” Rainey said. &#8220But we do want to get the best bang for our buck.”

Rainey plans to meet with the animal control board at its monthly meeting in the beginning of October to go over his plan, but said that they are in full support of the shelter relocating on Airline where it would be much more visible to the public.

&#8220We need to be progressive about this,” Rainey said. &#8220Everything in this parish is expanding west. It only makes sense for us to do the same.”

Rainey intends to bring his plan before the Parish Council, who must vote on the issue before any construction can start, sometime in October