PAWS buys lot in Washington business park

WASHINGTON — The city of Washington announced the sale of lot seven from its business park to the PAWS & More Animal Shelter in a meeting last week.

Shelter Director Amber Talbot said staying in Washington was a high priority as the organization searched for a new location. Its current site faces foundation damage and water retention issues that would be more expensive to repair than rebuild.

“We’ve always felt that we wanted to remain in the community and be very accessible,” she said. “The proximity to the community was really at the heart of what our priorities were … this property really met all of our needs, and it also offered us substantially more space than we thought that we would end up getting.”

Talbot said the five-acre lot a stone’s throw from the high school, the city pound and Halcyon House. It’s not only close to partner entities, it will be roughly twice the size of Washington’s current shelter, projected to take up around 8,000 square feet.

The director said that was a big win, providing proper isolation and treatment areas for the animals, as well as space to run around. Tentative designs for the shelter would allow dogs indoor-outdoor access from their living areas.

“The current building that we’re in was never designed to be a shelter, and we have just made the best out of it (that) we could,” Talbot said. “We are excited to be able to rebuild a park atmosphere out there as well. Leaving Sunset Park is probably the saddest part of this for all of us … so a lot of that five acres, we do plan to develop into walking paths, trees, that sort of thing.”

Washington city officials said they reduced the lot’s price by $20,000 for the nonprofit as a functional donation to its project, but did adjust the final ask to account for lost tax revenue for the industrially-zoned area.

Talbot said the weight of that decision was not lost on her.

“Their loss in tax revenue on those lots is such a greater donation and gift to us, in addition to their pledge,” Talbot said. “It was very impactful and very generous.”

Washington Mayor Pro Tem Millie Youngquist said the council unanimously agreed to the offer on the land.

While she acknowledged the implication for tax rolls, Youngquist said PAWS was worth the investment.

“We’ve been partnering with PAWS & More a long time, they provide a valuable service,” she said. “Just like we support WEDG and Main Street and the Chamber of Commerce and these other entities, we really consider them to be important in the community and an important part of Washington.”

In its soon-to-be signed agreement, the city gave PAWS extra time to develop the land. Youngquist said the shelter had five years to construct a building, rather than the typically-faster requirement for business park lot sales.

She said the extra time accommodated for fundraising timelines and especially high health and safety standards for animal shelters, with PAWS representatives expecting construction to run $300-$400 per square foot in their most recent estimates.

“We realize that it’s kind of extenuating circumstances, so we did give them additional time,” Youngquist said.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com