After years of discussion, a new animal shelter in Maple Ridge passed its first hurdle Monday, when coun­cil agreed, to include $1.5 million in funding in the district's 2007-2011 financial plan.

The district's current animal shelter, on Jackson Road near Albion Park, is more than 35 years old, and though new portables were added to the site a few years ago, a July 28 report to council says they are ap­proaching the end of their usefulness.

The new facility would house the SPCA, which currently operates at the Jackson Road location. An adjacent facility will serve as the new home for Katie's Place Animal Shelter.

Several funding options for the $1.5 million project are outlined in the report, including:

- paying for the project through debt, to be amor­tized over 25 years, requir­ing a $125,000 annual pay­ment

- increasing the dog li­cence fee to $25 from the
current $15, which would raise an additional $80,000 annually

- reducing the debt load to $1.2 million with a one-time payment of $300,000 from general revenue

• seeking funding assis­tance from the SPCA, as well as neighbouring communitics, in exchange for the use of the new facility

• encouraging community fundraising

If the project is funded through debt, Paul Gill, the district's general manager of corporate and financial services, said it would need the community's approval, either through a referen­dum or counter-petition.

But Mayor Gordy Robson suggested Maple Ridge could be on the hook for a lot less than $1.5 million.

During council workshop Monday, Robson said the SPCA could agree to con­tribute all or part of the $625,000 it received from a local benefactor more than a decade ago for a new shel­ter.

"Our goal is to buy a new shelter with little or no funding," he said.

But Gill said the money may no longer be available, as it may have been put to­wards the SPCA's operating costs over the intervening years.

Robson added that by exploring all funding options, the district's $160,000 annual net cost to operate the shelter could also be reduced.

"I think we can not only get the shelter built, but we can decrease the amount of general revenue put to that," he said.