STL co exec wants $17.8M in NFL funds for animal shelter

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo.—County Executive Sam Page is asking County Council members for roughly $18 million more from the county’s NFL settlement to address concerns with its troubled animal shelter, which remains without a state license. 

In a letter to council members ahead of Tuesday night’s meeting, Page said the funds would be in addition to a $3 million request for the shelter earlier this month. The money would be used to get into state inspection compliance by adding more space for veterinarian offices and exam rooms, more space for larger dog breed kennels, designing a new HVAC system for the facility and moving the county’s Vector Control facilities for mosquito control to a new location.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture, which oversees shelter inspections, confirmed to Spectrum News that the Animal Care and Control facility at 10521 Baur Blvd. in Olivette had its license denied after three failed inspections. The county had to apply for a new license after it assumed operations from the Animal Protection Association in February. 

Inspections reports cited violations including dogs in cages that were too small, play yards with feces and insects in a food storage area, among other issues.

St. Louis County resumed operations at the facility in February. The Animal Protection Association (APA) ran the shelter between Dec. 2022 and Feb. 21, 2025 following a 2019 audit showing euthanasia numbers at the shelter were manipulated to appear artificially low. There were also concerns about the facilities’ condition and management.

A Feb. 13 inspection, which was when the APA was still running the facility, found seven violations. The county was given 90 days and two more inspections to be in total compliance.

Inspectors returned March 17 and found that those corrections were made, but found two more violations; feces or residual waste that was not removed from outdoor play yards and drains that were backed up, causing standing water.

During a May 14 inspection, the drains were fixed and the play yard was clean, but the report noted it was not in use. However, the inspectors found seven new violations, including dogs in crates that were too small, the return of insects, expired medicine found in facility, puddles of water in animal enclosures, among other issues.

Between the second and third inspections, the facility saw a parvovirus outbreak that led to 19 dogs being euthanized. 

“Caring for these animals is necessary and the right thing to do. Proper kennel spacing creates additional room to allow for humane housing and quarantine space, a critical need for the shelter. This spacing, among other identified improvements, will keep the county on track to obtain and maintain our state license,” Page said in the letter ahead of Tuesday’s meeting.

Approving funding now and getting the development phase done this year would mean construction could start in 2026, Page said.

The council has not acted on the first funding request. 

Councilman Dennis Hancock, a Republican from Fenton and a candidate to run for County Executive in 2026, told Spectrum News Monday afternoon that the county’s Department of Public Health “needs to prove they can get licensed before we give them any additional funds.”