Animal Welfare Commission Meeting - June 8, 2026: New Facility Update and Public Comment
Animal Welfare Commission Meeting - June 8, 2026
The Animal Welfare Commission met on June 8, 2026, at 5:30 PM (televised on Channel 24 and TGovonline.org). The primary agenda item was a detailed presentation on the new Animal Services Facility, which has been in development for 13 years with $13.8 million in funding. The meeting also included approval of previous minutes, discussion of future meeting logistics, and public comment.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes Approval: The commission unanimously approved the minutes from the May 11, 2026 meeting. Motion passed by roll call (Jamie, yes; Kunzweiler, yes).
Public Comments & Testimony
- GM Lyon (public commenter): Raised concerns about the cat housing design, citing cautions from Cornell and UC Davis shelter medicine programs against the style used. Asked whether the cat housing was the type warned against; the architect confirmed it is not the specific housing (mesh/metal, not the cautioned style) and that funding for the cautioned style was not available. Also questioned why the Sally port (enclosed unloading area) was considered an extra cost, noting it is industry standard. Inquired about the percentage of people space to animal space in the facility. Mentioned unresolved open records requests for monthly reports from Q2 2025 and for readable floor plans. The commission chair noted the open records issue was not on the agenda but acknowledged the request.
Discussion Items
- New Animal Services Facility Presentation: Sherry Carrier (Animal Service Director) and Hope Angley (GH2 architect) presented a slide show comparing renderings to current construction photos. Key features highlighted:
- Lobby and Entry: Welcoming, wide space with a conference room, cat adoption spaces, and a "gotcha wall" for adoption photos. Future mural by Tulsa Arts Commission featuring shelter animals.
- Dog Kennel Pods: Color-coded pods (21 kennels each) with separate isolation areas, acoustic materials, flushable trench drains, and individual cleaning systems. An extra two pods (42 kennels) were funded by a lead gift from the Bernstein Foundation.
- Cat Adoption Space: Includes a catio (enclosed outdoor area) and permanent cages. Second art project planned for the catio exterior.
- Clinic and Intake: Dedicated space for heartworm treatments, vaccines, and foster appointments; three surgery tables (up from two); recovery kennels; and a proper office for the doctor and supervisor.
- Sally Port: Secure, covered unloading area with vehicle wash-down capability and storage racks.
- Volunteer Workroom/Break Room: Computers for staff, tile and acoustic ceilings.
- Open Office Space: Shared workspace with natural light.
- Construction Status: Exterior framing, waterproofing, HVAC, plumbing, drywall, and tile installation underway. Keys expected by end of September 2026, contingent on weather.
- Future Meeting Logistics: The commission discussed asking the city council to change meeting frequency from monthly to every other month (requires ordinance change). Also discussed the possibility of holding future commission meetings at the new facility, though concerns were raised about public access and televising capabilities. The chair agreed to inquire.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes Approved: Unanimous.
- Presentation Received: No formal vote; information item.
- No Old or New Business: Items 4 and 5 had no items.
- Public Comment Acknowledged: No action taken on open records requests or design concerns.
- Next Steps: The commission will explore changing meeting frequency and possibly holding meetings at the new facility. The facility opening is targeted for late September 2026.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. I'd like to welcome you to the June 8th, 5 30 p.m. meeting of the Animal Welfare Commission tonight. You can view this on Channel 24 and on TGovonline.org. We will now call the meeting to order. Christine Kunzweiler here. Teresa Burkett present. Suarez present. And of course, we have Sherry Carrier, our Animal Service Director. And I'd also like to introduce Hope Angley and from she's the GH2 architect that will give our presentation in just a little bit. We're very excited to see that. And members of the public, would you like to introduce yourself? GM Lyon. Alright. And Miss Hall said she's on her way. Alright, thank you. Alright. Has everybody had a chance to look at the minutes? Move to approve the minute from our May 11th. Alright. Can I have a roll call, please? Yes. Jamie, yes. Kingsweiler, yes. The motion has passed for the minutes, is submitted by the staff. Alright, now I think we're on to item number three new Animal Services Facility presentation from the GH2 architects and TAS staff. And I'll just kind of uh start this off to say that this has been in the works for 13 years. So the funding that we got in different years and from different uh places is 13.8 million dollars. We've got some some extra money since then, but this is just we thought it would be neat to just kind of give you an update of where the renderings started and where we are today, and then um just to keep in mind that we're hopeful that we would get the keys by the end of September. Fingers crossed, but it does depend on the weather and other circumstances, and we've had a lot of rain, so um we're hope to get them the end of September, and we'll we'll probably do another update maybe later before we actually get the keys. So we wanted to do this. We were hoping more people would be here from the public so that they could see kind of where we are today. But um we'll have these available if anybody's interested. If you all know people that are interested, just let me know. Yeah, so as Sherry said, um, it's it's been under construction for a little over a year now. Um, and so a lot has happened in that time, and we're excited to kind of share and talk about it. Um this is just kind of a broad overview of what's been happening the last year. Obviously, started out with footings July of last year. Um, September, we had our slab placed and kind of set, you know, obviously set the tone for everything else. Um, our topping out, which I'm sure some of you may have even attended, um, was October of last year. After that, they were doing um exterior framing, uh getting all of that uh the building closed in so you can really see what it looks like. Um there in that lower right uh photograph there, kind of um getting waterproofing on and doing some of those more technical important things to keep water out of the building, um, and then uh really just exterior finishes, um, getting some of these systems in like HVAC and plumbing and everything for our functional building. So uh and Sherry and I will kind of tag team, so she might chime in as we kind of go through this, but uh we just wanted to highlight really quickly. If you haven't seen the plan in a while, here's kind of an overview of what it looks like. Um I don't know if you can see my mouse. You can't, but um, in the lower left there, you've got kind of admin spaces all across the top side. You've got your kennels. Um lower right, you have some of your clinic and surgical spaces. Just to the left of that of that, we have uh cat adoption spaces, straight cat space, um, and then of course, your main entry is there in the very center on the on the south side at the bottom there. So all the spaces in yellow.
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