County, city councils both approve purchase of Bandaged Paws building

Jun 2, 2023 | 12:00 PM

Councils in both the City and County of Grande Prairie have now approved a deal for the two to buy the building that houses the Bandaged Paws Animal Rescue facility.

County council gave its approval at a meeting Wednesday after city council did the same at its meeting on Monday.

The two have agreed to pay $750,000 to the Edmonton Humane Society for the building located in the industrial area close to the airport. The city will pay 60 per cent of the cost, the county 40 per cent.

City land officer Gordon Halliday says the purchase will mean a continuation of services.

“Purchasing the building allows the city and the county to ensure the continuation of the re-homing services and the adoption services provided currently to the regional pound.”

Those services are provided by Bandaged Paws.

Halliday says the purchase price was arrived at, in part, because of a third-party inspection that placed the value at $1 million but also found some deferred maintenance.

“Further investigation was undertaken by two separate, independent engineering companies and their condition report identified some deferred maintenance in the region of $428,000. So, with that in mind, a purchase agreement was agreed up with the Edmonton Humane Society at $750,000.”

Halliday says one of the conditions of the sale is the new owners negotiating a new agreement with Bandaged Paws. He adds those talks are underway and the hope is they will be done by June 30.

by Curtis Galbraith