Marla Fields has advocated for an animal shelter in Frisco since 2016, but some, including the police department, are opposed to having one in town.
“I actually do rescues for the Frisco Humane Society,” Fields said. “I lived in downtown Frisco, and I rescued over, at one time, 16 kittens that were abandoned, and I realized there was nobody to turn to at the time. There wasn’t a shelter in our city.”
She then started contacting city officials who said it would only “be approved it if ever went before a bond.”
All stray animals are currently taken to Collin County Animal Services in McKinney for care and housing, which some residents, including Fields, said is overwhelming the shelter.
“I think everyone is overwhelmed,” Kelly Marsh said. “Shelters, they’re all overcrowded. It’s a huge problem here.”
Fields said she and other residents expressed their thoughts at a Citizen Bond Committee meeting on November 14.
During the same meeting, Police Chief David Shilson gave a presentation on Frisco animal services and shared the estimated burden to the taxpayer of building an animal shelter in the city.
The chief said it would cost an estimated $15 million to build a city animal shelter in Frisco, and during the fiscal year 2025, operations would cost around $3 million.
“I personally don’t think we need all of that,” said resident Paul Riddle. “I think if we went with something smaller, that has the potential to grow, maybe about a third of what they’re looking at, could really get it done.”
The Frisco Police Department said in a statement, “We believe the data and costs of building a shelter do not support moving forward with a proposed Frisco Animal Shelter.”
The statement reads, “Frisco can continue to identify alternative solutions and be more effective in returning lost pets to their owners rather than take on the well-documented challenges of operating a shelter that other cities are experiencing.”
“We have presented this data to the Citizen Bond Committee, which will ultimately decide whether it wants to recommend a bond proposal for an Animal Shelter to our City Council,” the department said. “The Frisco City Council will have the final say on whether the measure is put before the voters as part of a bond package” Shilson’s full presentation can be found here.
Fields said she believes it is “really important that the citizens of Frisco choose whether or not they want a Frisco shelter.”
“Put it on the bond and let them choose,” she said.
If the bond committee recommends a bond proposal, the Frisco City Council will have the final say on whether the measure is put before voters as part of a bond package.