Two sedated brothers, James, left, and Sirius, lie on a preparation table as clinic manager Suzie Morado readies them to be neutered on Friday, Aug. 12, 2016 at the Lawrence Humane Society, 1805 E. 19th St. Humane Society officials are planning to construct a new facility on the current property.

Plans are in motion for the city to help fund the construction of a new multimillion-dollar animal shelter.

As part of the consent agenda of their last regular meeting, city commissioners approved a first step toward backing the project: a resolution of intent to issue $5 million in bonds to fund a grant and a loan for the project.

There will be several additional steps before any bonds are issued, and city officials say the resolution essentially lets city and Lawrence Humane Society staff move forward as they make plans for the project.

“Informally, it kind of gives staff the go-ahead,” said the city’s finance director, Bryan Kidney. “Like, ‘OK, the commission intends to do this, so let’s work toward coming up with some kind of solution that works.'”

City ordinance requires that stray animals be impounded, and funding the construction of a new animal shelter was first discussed last summer as part of the city’s five-year capital improvement plan.

As currently laid out, the $5 million bond issue would provide a $2.5 million grant and a $2.5 million loan for the project. Those figures, as well as the structure of the financing agreement between the city and the shelter would eventually need to be approved by the commission, Kidney said.

The $7.5 million facility will replace the Humane Society’s current building in eastern Lawrence. Plans call for the approximately 22,000-square-foot facility to have an expanded medical clinic and better isolation rooms for sick animals, which shelter leaders have said will allow them to more effectively treat animals.

As the shelter and its donors will be paying for the majority of the facility, the potential bond issue is also contingent on donations raised by the Humane Society, which is a nonprofit organization. Kidney said that once Humane Society leaders raise $2.5 million, the process will be able to move forward.

“That is the big trigger,” Kidney said. “…My recommendation is that we would have that $2.5 million in the bank before the city would proceed with anything.”

Humane Society Executive Director Kate Meghji said that the shelter has raised about half of the $2.5 million. Meghji said those funds — as well as additional amounts in pledges to contribute funds over a period of time — were gathered in what she called the “quiet phase” of the effort.

“For the last year-plus we’ve been working on soliciting our larger gifts, our really big donors,” Meghji said. “And then starting in March it’ll be a community fundraising event, so we’ll be asking everybody to donate.”

Meghji said the Humane Society plans to launch a fundraising campaign in the spring, likely in March, that will allow members of the public to make donations and pledges. At that time, renderings and other details of the facility will also be provided, she said.

Meghji said the timeline for the project is dependent on those fundraising efforts.

“It all depends on when we hit that $2.5 million cash,” she said. “So, we would like for that to happen as soon as possible, obviously, but it really depends on how the next couple of months of fundraising go.”

Kidney said the next step on the city’s end will be coming up with the structure of the financing agreement. The agreement would eventually be reviewed and voted on by the City Commission.