machines and an EMS equipment cleaning room and insufficient storage restricted the efficiency of full-time operations at this facility. To address these issues and provide a facility meeting best practices for full-time operations, the City determined Fire Station No. 4 needed to be rebuilt near the same location within the Pearland Public Safety Complex. Shari D. Coleman Animal Shelter & Adoption Center The Shari D. Coleman Animal Shelter & Adoption Center is projected to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony in May. The new 21,000 square-foot animal shelter and adoption center is located on FreedomDrive and is one of the latest additions to the Pearland Public Safety Complex. The building will be used by up to 16 animal services staff members. It will feature dog runs to house up to 106 canines and cat kennels for up to 98 felines, including isolation and quarantine kennels and a dedicated medical suite. This space drastically increases capacity when compared with the current animal shelter. The new facility meets all state laws and mandated codes for animal services and improves the quality of life for the animal residents and enhances the working environment for animal services staff. “Our first obligation is to public safety,” said Animal Services Manager John Fischer. “Having a more centrally located, modern facility will allow us to more efficiently
“Having a more centrally located, modern facility will allow us to more efficiently respond to calls for service from our residents while also making the shelter more accessible to all of Pearland.” – John Fischer, Animal Services Manager
housing and state health standards that required the City to bring the facility up to the standards of a modern animal shelter and adoption facility. In May 2019, voters approved the proposition for a new animal shelter in a bond referendum. Later in the year, City Council members unanimously approved naming the new shelter in honor of former Animal Services Manager Shari D. Coleman, who passed away earlier that same year. “The Shari D. Coleman Animal Shelter & Adoption Center is designed to meet the needs of the City now and far into the future,” Fischer said. “We know Pearland cares about the pets in our community and this shelter reflects that.”
respond to calls for service from our residents while also making the shelter more accessible to all of Pearland.” In addition, the shelter includes an adoption center with dedicated spaces for visitors to interact with potentially adoptable animals in indoor and outdoor settings. Other interior spaces consist of food prep and grooming rooms, a laundry room, dry food storage, a spay/ neuter clinic and a drive-through sally port. The existing facility, located on Old Alvin Road, was built in 1995 and has undergone multiple expansions, culminating in the building’s final 10,100 square-foot size. In 2018, a needs assessment was performed on the facility when it became clear that the shelter had exceeded its capacity, in part due to the significant growth the City had experienced in the previous 20 years. The assessment revealed deficiencies with animal
Shari D. Coleman Animal Shelter & Adoption Center
Pearland in Motion / Summer 2022 / 9
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