Pending the outcome of a grant application process, Tecumseh officials are hoping to stop out-of-town payments to an animal shelter by building their own.
Tecumseh City Council members have approved the application process for a REAP (Rural Economic Action Plan) grant to the Central Oklahoma Economic Development District (COEDD) for the purpose of funding the construction of a new animal shelter. City clerk Joanne Medley said the proposed shelter would be built by the city’s public works facility.
Medley said for more than two decades Tecumseh has been paying Shawnee for animal shelter needs. Recently these payments averaged about $800 per month, but have gone up to $1,200 to $1,300 per month.
Medley said the most recent check she wrote to the Shawnee animal shelter was for $1,600.
The grant application must be passed on to COEDD by Sept. 29, said Tecumseh Mayor John Collier. City manager Jim Thompson requested the council submit two applications; one in the amount of $35,000 for the proposed animal shelter, and one for the re-carpeting of the Tecumseh Public Library.
Council members approved submitting both. Medley said the second application, for the re-carpeting of the library, is there in the event the city is not approved for the animal shelter grant.
“It’s a slim chance. You never know,” Thompson said of the application process. “But, you might as well put the documents in and hope for the best.”
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Jason Smith may be reached at 214-3932.
