The Innsbrook Board of Trustees will meet Tuesday evening in the Village Hall at 5:00 p.m. to discuss the Wags and Whiskers Animal Shelter's Lagoon, among other measures.
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Tuesday evening's Innsbrook Board of Trustees meeting will represent another chapter in the Wags and Whiskers Animal Shelter's construction and anticipated opening.
The shelter, located near the intersection of Highways M and F, received vocal support from proponents at a recent Innsbrook Planning and Zoning Commission meeting held Wednesday, April 3. They also received pushback from commission members and some community members.
The recent debate has largely surrounded the shelter's construction of a septic lagoon which, according to village officials, differed from the original site plan that was submitted to the commission.
"None of us here are against Wags and Whiskers. This board, every single person is very much for an animal shelter," Commission Chairman Allen Huddleston said, "We're very much for an animal shelter that does it in the proper manner that is in the best interest of the village."
The focus of the commission meeting that took place last week was whether the commission would send a positive or negative recommendation to the Board of Trustees on an amended site plan submitted by the shelter that includes the lagoon.
The commission meeting was attended by a capacity crowd and took well over two hours of discussion between both community and commission members before a decision was made.
The commission speculated on what the lagoon's effect on the surrounding area would be. They were also concerned with the lagoon's proximity to the site for Innsbrook's new village hall and were worried that it may impact their ability to construct the new building.
Proponents of the shelter contended that they had hired an engineering firm and had received a letter from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources exempting them from the regulations that were of concern to the commission.
"The lagoon system on the site plan is not permanent, and should be approved as it is the best system for our special use as an animal shelter with a contingency added that we hook up to sewer once it reaches us," Wags and Whiskers President Tracy Sator said.
After public comments were completed and the commission had held their discussion they voted to submit a positive recommendation to the Board of Trustees with two conditions.
One, public sewers reach the shelter it must connect within 12 months of the infrastrucure's construction, and two, they must obtain a variance from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to alleviate any concerns about the construction of the new village hall.
The Board of Trustees will receive that recommendation at their next meeting and will make the final decision on the amended site plan.
The Innsbrook Board of Trustees will meet at the Village Hall on Tuesday, April 9 at 5 p.m.
