Combes city commissioners voted Monday, Oct. 26, to pursue another inspection of a previously unused building as the city works toward opening an animal holding facility.
City Administrator Aida Gutierrez confirmed the commission's decision in a written response to Harlingen Post. She said the city must obtain an independent inspection by a Texas-licensed veterinarian, consult with the Texas Department of State Health Services' Zoonosis Control program and present a written inspection report to commissioners before opening the facility.
No inspection date or projected opening date has been established.
A facility that has never opened
The $117,000 structure was completed in April 2023 and originally intended to serve as an animal shelter, but it was not certified as constructed, according to city officials quoted in an Oct. 28 KRGV report.
The building has remained unused.
City officials told KRGV that construction was followed by a legal dispute with the contractor lasting nearly three years. After the dispute was settled, the building was reclassified as an animal holding facility.
KRGV did not identify the contractor or disclose the settlement terms.
Mayor Silvestre Garcia described the city's goal as providing humane temporary care for stray animals while working to find adoptive homes.
"We want to hold them there while we try and get them adopted," Garcia told KRGV.
What must happen before opening
Gutierrez said the commission directed a second inspection before the city proceeds.
The city must first request an independent evaluation by a Texas-licensed veterinarian.
Officials must also contact the Texas Department of State Health Services' Zoonosis Control program to confirm which facility standards apply to the proposed animal holding operation.
The veterinarian's written report must identify any deficiencies found during the inspection.
That report will then go to the City Commission for review before the facility can open.
Gutierrez said an opening date remains to be announced after the inspection is completed and commissioners approve moving forward.
Commission reviews facility issues
The Oct. 26 meeting agenda included executive session items involving the Combes Animal Shelter Bond Project 2021 and a separate matter concerning Silva Management Solutions, identified as the project's consultant.
The city has not yet published the approved minutes from that meeting.
Gutierrez said the minutes will be provided when available and posted on the city's website.
For now, the commission's decision moves the long-unused building toward another evaluation, but an inspection report and further commission approval are still required before the city can begin holding animals there.
