Superior to break ground on animal shelter

A celebration years in the making will take place today at Superior’s Bear Creek Park, as the city hosts an 11 a.m. groundbreaking event for its new animal shelter.
About 25 fifth-graders from Lake Superior Elementary School will help with the groundbreaking, and the city will serve chips, hot dogs and soda as part of the celebration, Mayor Bruce Hagen said. People can bring their dogs, he said.
The City Council approved a bid by Four Star Construction to build the almost 6,300-square-foot animal shelter and adoption center near Bear Creek Park off Moccasin Mike Road, on the city’s far southeast side, for just under $2 million. Hagen said the price tag eliminated the need to raise donations for the project.
Construction of the new facility is expected to be complete by July 2015. It will fully replace the city’s 1970s-era dog pound and the Humane Society of Douglas County shelter off County Highway Z.
The Humane Society is expected to operate the shelter. The nonprofit organization took over care of stray and unwanted animals in Superior earlier this year.
Hagen said he fully expects the city will enter a new, longer-term agreement with the organization when the current agreement expires at the end of the year.
“I think they’re the right team; I think they’re the right organization,” Hagen said. “They operate very efficiently, and they provide
extremely good service.”