Smith County Plans Open House for Animal Control Facility

TYLER — The Smith County Commissioners Court invites you to tour the new Smith County Animal Control facility in downtown Tyler Monday, December 5. Following a media tour, a ribbon cutting and open house will be held from 10-11 a.m. According to a news release, the facility was selected for the county’s new animal shelter because downtown Tyler is centrally located within Smith County. The new facility will quadruple the capability of Smith County Animal Control Services, making room for up to 169 dogs.

Since the county began working about two years ago to renovate the former laundry building on East Ferguson into the animal shelter, $998,354 has been spent. About 8,792 square feet of the 10,000-square-foot Crescent laundry building has undergone major renovations, including a new exterior, roof, windows, plumbing and HVAC system. Some of the historic elements of the building were left to keep its downtown feel. The total cost also includes the newly purchased kennels. Smith County was able to save money on the project by doing much of the renovations in-house, as well as having county employees assemble and install the kennels.

The Animal Shelter property was purchased, along with three other buildings, by Smith County on July 31, 2008. The building was part of the former Crescent Laundry properties, which now also house Facility Services, Constable Precinct 1, the Elections Administration Office, and the R.B. Hubbard Center, “The Hub.” The county bought the properties for a total of $455,421. In 2008, Smith County Commissioners Court adopted the PAYGO plan for improving facilities, allowing the county to make improvements by paying for them, one-at-a-time, in cash.

The 10,000-square-foot animal shelter is the last of the four historic Crescent buildings to be rehabilitated by the county. About 8,800 square feet has been renovated already and the remainder will be done in Phase 2, scheduled to be done in Fiscal Year 2017. The current animal shelter, in Winona, is about 2,500 square feet and has space for up to 40 dogs.