A new animal shelter may soon be a top priority for the City of Ames.
Volunteers asked the city to build a new facility at a public budget hearing Tuesday night, noting poor working conditions and a lack of space.
Five recommended future projects were brought to the Ames City Council in January, including an indoor rec center, a new fire station, moving the Welsch Avenue fire station to State Avenue and a new park along Ontario Road.
The city’s 2024-25 fiscal year budget has $100,000 in funds set aside for a new shelter.
The council met Tuesday to approve the $301.6 million city budget and its five-year Capital Improvement Plan, though neither will be officially adopted until April.
The final public hearing for the new property tax levy is April 9, and the budget’s final public hearing and adoption date is April 23.
The public was allowed to speak in a forum before Tuesday’s meeting to share their opinions with the council.
Several volunteers at Ames Animal Shelter & Animal Control stressed the need for a new facility, noting how they’ve run out of adequate space.