What’s happening?
The Georgetown Animal Shelter is in the process of joining and expanding the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter through the $15 million bond, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
While the project received approval from Williamson County and the shelter’s member cities—Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander and Hutto—it must obtain a green light from the Texas attorney general, said Jack Daly, chief business officer in Georgetown’s electric department.
“Once we get that approval, then we'll be really close to formalizing the partnership with [the WCRAS],” Daly said.
The attorney general’s office received the proposal in September, Georgetown Animal Services Manager April Haughey said. The merger’s timeline for approval is hard to pinpoint, Daly said, as there’s no legal requirement for when the attorney general’s office must respond to the city of Georgetown.
If the regional partnership falls through, funding can be used to expand the city’s shelter instead, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
How we got here
The Georgetown Animal Shelter originally opened in 2005 and took over the city’s water pumps building, Communications Manager Keith Hutchinson said. The shelter has received several renovations over the years, Haughey said.
In May 2022, Georgetown City Council members directed city staff to explore a partnership with the WCRAS, according to city documents. Shortly after, Daly, Haughey and WCRAS Animal Services Director Misty Valenta began working on a study for how the partnership would work, Daly said.
“We came to a plan that would really work to serve both our entities in the future,” he said.
The merger would add 106 dog kennels to the WCRAS, which would serve Georgetown and other partners until 2035, Daly said. The addition would bring the WCRAS’ capacity to 240 dog kennels, per city documents.
According to previous Community Impact reporting, Georgetown would fund Phase 1 of the WCRAS build-out, which could continue past 2035. The city’s plan for the proposed WCRAS expansion also includes:
- Two new buildings with two stories connected to the most recent expansion
- Indoor and outdoor dog kennels
- Consolidating staff members into one building
- Addressing cat capacity concerns and projected needs for dogs
In December 2023, the WCRAS was over 200% capacity. Daly said staff has been questioned about the effectiveness of a merger when both shelters are at or near maximum capacity.
“What we've worked through is this partnership where ... over-building kennel capacity will help address some of our space constraints,” Daly said. “We've been really thoughtful about not making an obvious bad problem worse.”
Daly said the WCRAS also plans to revamp its foster care program to help with overcrowding.
What to expect
The shelter’s 11 employees have different long-term options if the merger is approved, including a severance package for eligible staff, Haughey said.
Williamson County plans to use the Georgetown Animal Shelter’s current location as a satellite adoption center until construction at the WCRAS is completed, Haughey said. The land will eventually be used by Georgetown’s parks administration team, she said.
Did you know?
Chickens, goats, pigs and tortoises have arrived at the shelter, Daly said.
In fiscal year 2023-24, the shelter had 922 adoptions and returned 240 animals to their families, according to a city news release. The shelter also received its 10th consecutive no-kill status.
