Sixth-cent fix? City highlights overcrowding, deterioration at Metro shelter

CASPER, Wyo. — There are eight capital projects for the city of Casper that could be funded by an optional sixth-cent sales tax if voters approve any of them by ballot proposition in the Nov. 5 general election. Voters will be asked to vote “yes” or “no” on each proposition. Only the projects approved by the majority would get funded.

Each proposition stands on its own and must be approved or rejected individually. Blank ballot spaces won’t count either way, according to City Attorney Eric Nelson.

Throughout Wyoming, a 4% sales tax is applied to most purchases, with some exceptions. Voters in Natrona County first approved an additional fifth-cent optional sales and use tax in 1974 and have chosen to renew it every four years since. The city keeps track of public sentiment regarding the best use of those funds.

A sixth-cent tax would be expected to raise $35 million over two years, which is also the sum total of all the projects. The tax would expire after two years or when the goal amount for the voter-approved projects is raised, whichever comes first. The funds will remain permanently attached to the projects, and the council will determine how to fund any deficits if the tax does not perform as expected, Nelson said.

See all the proposals in Oil City News’s story about the open houses or on the city’s website.

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Proposition 1: $7,300,000 and interest earned thereon to the City of Casper to reconstruct the aging, failing, and undersized Metro Animal Shelter to better provide for animal health and safety.

The Metro Animal Shelter was built with 1% optional sales tax funds 40 years ago and is consistently overcrowded and plagued by structural and sewer problems, shelter staff said.

One of those problems is “kennel-craziness,” according to Shelter Manager Jodi Decker, who accompanied media personnel on a brief tour of the facility highlighting problem areas on Oct. 2.

Decker said the city is in early talks with Animal Arts architects about what a new or expanded facility would look like based on a needs assessment, but the proposition must pass first.

There are 30 dog kennels, but Metro regularly has as many as 50 dogs, Decker said, saying that one kennel can effectively be divided into two.

A new facility would have kennels that are more spacious and partially outdoors. “It’s pretty standard for most kennels these days. … It would be nice for our animals to have the space to thrive and not just exist here.”

The dogs get some time in the outdoor kennels during the day, and there is a dirt lot out back where they can be taken to run. Decker said that people can sign up to walk dogs, and that many volunteers find it mutually beneficial. She added that adoptions have picked up lately, possibly due to upkeep of the shelter’s social media page.

“The structure itself has been shifting over the years. That’s led to a lot of issues with the roof and the walls themselves,” Decker said.  “We have leaking throughout the building. … In certain rooms, you actually have full waterfalls when it rains. Not great at all.”

The shelter has 1-inch sewer pipe when it really needs 4-inch and it is frequently backing up, Decker said.

The single HVAC unit is hardly enough to keep the air fresh throughout the facility, and animals under quarantine have to be kept in a room with no airflow, Decker said.

“It’s a challenging environment,” City Chief Operating Officer Tom Brauer said on the tour. “The staff up here is amazing, because it’s not the funnest job. They’re up here because they love animals.”

Brauer said those early talks with Animal Arts and his experience with construction costs led to the $7.3 million target in the proposition. He said construction inflation is the steepest kind, and he’s also figured in an additional 20–25% in costs related to Casper’s location and lack of skilled labor compared to other metropolitan areas. He called it the “Casper surcharge.”