Point of View: Make animal shelter a part of MAPS 4

Miraculously, in just 25 years MAPS has improved Oklahoma City in ways we can’t possibly measure, elevating the city’s reputation and improving quality of life. This reinvention (galvanized by the collective trauma of the 1995 bombing) now connects all Oklahoma City people, and has made “1OKC” a credible digital mantra. The ballpark, arena, library, streetcar and so much more — alongside a resilient economy — were validated by the arrival of the NBA. Not just an airport code for pilots, “OKC” now signifies a certain cool.

But in our ambition to become a great city through transformative infrastructure, we left important neighbors behind — the four-legged and winged ones.

As our city council and community reviews 16 proposed MAPS 4 projects, consider that no previous MAPS project has addressed animals. We have lots to be proud of as a city, but the way we treat homeless animals leaves much to be desired. The proposed new animal shelter — 5% of the overall projected MAPS budget — would go far in solving this problem and solidifying the city's reputation.

Our existing shelter on SE 29 Street is a relic from a different era, architecturally devoid of humane standards. What we have is a total outlier to the city’s renaissance, a sad place where far too many healthy animals are euthanized. This June alone, 476 dogs and cats were euthanized for space. That is not the standard of a great city.

This prison-like shelter wasn’t designed to be a life-saving place. It was conceived and built to hold animals for three days, then euthanize them if they weren’t adopted or reclaimed. And it was built for a smaller city: our population is approximately 30 percent larger than when the shelter was built.

In MAPS 4, we have a generational chance to improve life for people and animals in Oklahoma City. A transformational animal resource center will reduce disease and euthanasia; create a safer and better environment for animals, employees, and animal-cruelty investigators; and become a destination that Oklahoma residents will want to visit, increasing adoption.

Some say renovation is a solution. That is not true. Everything is obsolete and inadequate with the existing facility. There are no windows, the layout is wrong and it's too small. The drainage and ventilation are problematic on a daily basis. The building, not the compassionate and dedicated staff, is the problem. Shortchanging the shelter with yet another patch job won’t improve matters.

The Oklahoma City Animal Shelter doesn’t meet the needs of our city and it doesn’t speak to who we are as people. It’s time to build a new modern shelter. Let’s do it in MAPS 4.

Keesee is chairman of Kirkpatrick Bank.