The new year will bring with it the start of construction of two much-needed facilities for Slidell, a new animal shelter and a senior citizens center.

Both structures were heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The Slidell Animal Shelter on Terrace Avenue has been limping along for the last three years after taking on 6 feet of water. Though animals have are being housed in the shelter, the office staff has been working out of a trailer.

The Slidell Senior Center was not so lucky. Damage to the roof was so extensive it has been empty since the storm, and local senior citizens have been meeting in various churches around town.

Slidell Mayor Ben Morris and Animal Control Supervisor Damian Anti, show off the architectural plans for the new animal shelter that will begin construction in January. (Submitted Photo)

Mayor Ben Morris and Animal Control supervisor Damian Anti unveiled the architectural plans for the new animal shelter this week. Bids for the construction will be opened Jan. 15. The new facility is expected to be finished by spring 2010. Consulting engineers for the project are Richard C. Lambert Consultants LLC.

The proposed $3 million facility will replace the old shelter on Terrace Avenue and will be placed on the site of the old Mosquito Abatement District office, which was moved to the Slidell Municipal Airport earlier this year. Anti said the old animal shelter will be demolished, and the land will be turned into a park for dogs.

After the storm, a non-profit animal rescue organization, Noah’s Wish from California, helped out Animal Control in the care and feeding of the hundreds of dogs and cats that had been abandoned during the evacuation. Noah’s Wish pledged $1 million to the construction of a new shelter. However, the executive director of Noah’s Wish was accused of making off with donations to the organization. The California Attorney General’s Office struck a bargain with Noah’s Wish, and part of the settlement, $3 million was sent to Slidell Animal Control.

Anti said the new facility will be state-of-the-art.

“It will have a wide open lobby and modern area that’s open and bright,” he said. “The entire facility will be air-conditioned, which will be better for the animals and staff.”

Of course the new shelter will be much bigger than the old building, and Anti said the horseshoe design of the facility will make better use of space.

Space will be a benefit for senior citizens in Slidell. Morris said the city and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials have finally come to an agreement after three years of haggling.

FEMA has agreed to pay $1.2 million to demolish and build a new senior center. The city and FEMA disputed the amount of damage to the center, with Slidell saying the center had to be totally rebuilt and FEMA only wanting to pay for repairs.

FEMA relented, and Morris said he has hired Perez Architects to do the engineering and design for a new senior center. This should take about six months, Morris said, and that is when bids will go out for construction. The mayor said the new center, located next to Possum Hollow Park, will be elevated to mitigate future flood damage.