Kelsey Landis | Post-Dispatch
CLAYTON — The St. Louis County animal shelter needs $3 million in NFL Rams settlement money to improve the facility and its operations, according to County Executive Sam Page.
The money would be used to improve drainage, heating and cooling systems, and animal housing at the shelter, Page said in a letter dated Friday to the County Council asking it to approve the spending.
“Much of the shelter infrastructure is outdated, inefficient or at risk of failure,” Page wrote in his letter. He added the money would also help with shelter community programs and “various operational costs.”
The request comes as the shelter faces problems including a recent outbreak of parvovirus at the shelter, a failure to obtain a state license due to overcapacity and other issues, and the recent departure of the Animal Protective Association, which ran the shelter for two years.
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The council has sought answers to how problems at the shelter multiplied so quickly after the APA left. But members weren’t satisfied with the responses they received at a hearing last month.
The council voted to subpoena 11 people, including county health department staffers, plus state and APA officials.
The funding request also comes after a state audit dinged the council for using the Rams settlement money “without a formal process.” The council should develop a formal plan for how to use the remainder of the funds, the state auditor’s office recommended in its report.
The county received $169.3 million from the $790 million settlement in 2021 of a lawsuit over the Rams’ departure for Los Angeles.
The council decided to spend $40 million on repairing subdivision streets; $9.9 million on cybersecurity; $5.2 million for a building maintenance contract; $765,000 for a climate action plan; and $340,000 for a study of potential development in the Spanish Lake area. And the council approved using an additional $520,000 to cover election costs for a ballot initiative earlier this year.
The council meets again Tuesday evening.
St. Louis County regained operation of the animal shelter and adoption center, and during an open house talked of plans to offer fostering and improve the volunteer experience on Feb. 24, 2025. Video by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
St. Louis County said there was no euthanasia plan at shelter. But there was.
A health department staffer did write such a transition plan, according to records obtained by the Post-Dispatch. The plan calls for "shelter wide" euthanasia.
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Councilman Mike Archer, a Republican from South County, said council members need more information about a recent outbreak of parvovirus and the shelter's failure to obtain a state license.
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