SEVIERVILLE — Sevier County Commission moved ahead Monday with plans for a new home for the Sevier Animal Care Center, approving a bond issue of $2.3 million to pay for the facility to be built on Old Knoxville Highway.
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Sevier County joined the cities of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg in creating the animal care center in 2018, after ending agreements with nonprofits to provide animal control services.
It’s been located since then in a leased property, a former service garage for a car dealership on Dolly Parton Parkway.
That was always intended as a temporary solution, and the county’s vote this week is another milestone on their march toward a new home.
“It’s exciting,” SACC Director Ashley Thomas said. “I’m glad that has been officially approved.”
The current facility has been crowded in recent weeks, with personnel setting up temporary kennels in offices and other rooms after seeing a spike in surrendered animals and strays as well as two hoarding cases in the past few weeks.
That problem has eased some since they shared it on social media and with news outlets around East Tennessee.
“We did more than 100 adoptions over the weekend,” Thomas said. “It was unprecedented.
“We’re now in a more stable situation and we can work through our waiting list and the hoarding cases.”
That should be less of an issue with the new center. Designs call for it to be 12,000 square feet where their current home is 3,900 square feet.
The new building will be designed from the start to be an animal care facility, with rooms for vet exams, areas for visiting animals, dog kennels with access to an outdoor area, and other specialized features.
“Building a shelter from scratch, it’s going to be built in a logical way that’s more conducive to disease control and stress reduction,” Thomas said.
The new facility is expected to cost about $4.6 million, with the county paying half of the expenses and the three cities splitting the other half.
Pigeon Forge and Sevierville have already set aside funds for their portion of that cost, County Mayor Larry Waters said.
Gatlinburg will include its portion in a bond issue that’s set for consideration in September.
The governing bodies will appoint members to a board of directors, with membership proportionate to the amount they provided for construction.
The county has already acquired the land that will be used for the animal care center on Old Knoxville Highway.
Construction on the new center is expected to start this year, and they’re hoping to have it ready to open late next year, Thomas said.
