Letter: Considering how Anchorage could be better

Two issues recently addressed in the Anchorage Daily News may at first not appear related, but they have triggered the same reaction for me. The first is Project Anchorage, a proposal to dedicate funding to projects that will enhance the quality of life in Anchorage. Project Anchorage is an initiative put forward by a coalition of Anchorage businesses and business leaders to make Anchorage a better place to live, work, play and visit. More than 300 projects were submitted from the community. The proposed list of projects tend to be recreation and education oriented, such as facilities at Westchester Lagoon, Goose Lake and Kincaid Park, an indoor sports park, an aquatic center, Ship Creek riverwalk, a children’s museum and other park renovations.

The second issue reported by ADN was the incident of dogs dying in a truck fire. The incident spurred the Anchorage Assembly to call for a review and overhaul of the city’s animal cruelty laws and the municipality’s Animal Care and Control system. Anchorage Animal Care and Control, or AACC, is an open admission animal shelter for domestic animals and is the enforcement agency for the municipality. AACC serves the entire municipality from Girdwood to Eklutna. The Anchorage Health Department oversees AACC through a contract with Denali Universal Services.

Many Anchorage citizens may never come in contact with AACC or be familiar with the services they provide. But I contend that AACC plays an important role in the quality of life in the Anchorage community. AACC takes in surrendered animals and strays, provides for the adoption of animals, enforces the city’s animal cruelty laws and responds to nuisance animal complaints. Animal control officers respond to requests for assistance regarding animals in need and to concerns about animals that might be a threat to public safety. In addition, AACC administers the dog license program, runs vaccine clinics, maintains a pet food bank and provides education and community outreach programs. In the past year AACC responded to over 4,000 calls from the community, reunited 880 lost animals with their families, placed 2,280 animals in new homes and assisted an average of 320 households every month through the Pet Food Bank.

The structure housing AACC at 4711 Elmore Road is sadly in great need of repair or better yet, replacement. It has had few updates and is literally falling apart. In the lifetime of the structure, so much more has been learned about optimum facility design for animals. In the past 40 years, Anchorage has grown and the need for animal care and control has grown, but the facility has not. There often is not adequate capacity. Sometimes surrenders have to be turned away because there is no room for them at the time. I applaud the Anchorage Assembly’s resolution that calls for a review that should at a minimum “modernize the staffing and capital plant of Anchorage’s Animal Care and Control System.” When I use the new municipal waste facility, I am impressed with the design and structure. It’s a substantial and functional building. I wish we could have a building that houses our animals that is as functional as the one that provides for our trash.

So how are Project Anchorage and the Assembly resolution regarding animal cruelty similar? They both ask the community to consider how Anchorage can be a better community. It is a dialogue well worth having. Let the talk begin. I thank the Anchorage Assembly for working on Project Anchorage and for passing the resolution calling for changes and improvements to Anchorage Animal Care and Control.

— Mimi Hogan, Anchorage

Have something on your mind? Send to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Letters under 200 words have the best chance of being published. Writers should disclose any personal or professional connections with the subjects of their letters. Letters are edited for accuracy, clarity and length.