The Aurora City Council moved forward Monday with a resolution to create a new animal shelter due to overcapacity at the current facility, according to council documents.

Specifically, it would “allow for the reimbursement of expenditures related to the construction and equipping of a new facility.” A resolution like the one coming forward is required by the IRS, documents said.

On Monday, staff told councilmembers that they wanted to gauge council support in regards to moving the financing of the new facility forward so they could determine next steps.

Some of the money for the new facility would come from a few sources, but ultimately the city will have to move toward a debt issuance of some kind, staff said Monday night.

The project will likely take about two to three years to get designed and built, since they’re starting from scratch, according to staff, and would cost about $25 million to $35 million. 

City spokesperson Michael Brannen said the current facility was built 40 years ago and the city has grown a lot since, requiring more space to accommodate the city’s nearly 400,000 residents.

The city is “exploring new endeavors to mitigate the overflow of animals,” Brannen said, including a recent approval to hire foster coordinators to encourage people taking in more foster pets.

They have also discussed offering food to pet owners who might otherwise surrender pets due to struggling finances, Brannen said.

“The goal is to make sure no animals would be turned away,” Brannen said. “The primary purpose of a new shelter would be expanded shelter space. More room means more services can be offered.”

He said it’s unclear at the current stage how much more staff members or other resources would be needed for the shelter since they are still so early in the process.