The Austin City Council is moving ahead with plans to build a new $220,000 city animal shelter.

Council members approved plans for a cast-concrete foundation animal shelter during a work session Monday. The shelter will be 32 feet by 72 feet, and construction could start as early as September, according to Craig Hoium, community development coordinator. If all goes well, the shelter could be finished by December.

The council set aside money for a new shelter in 2011, but the project was delayed as the city worked to partner with the Mower County Humane Society to build separate shelters near each other. The plan would allow for better communication and cut down on expenses transporting animals between the two facilities.

Though the new humane society shelter is practically complete according to MCHS volunteers, the recent spate of summer storms has slowed the city’s street construction plans, including 22nd Avenue Southwest, where the new humane society and city shelter will be.

In other news, the council approved a committee to act on behalf of the city to work with the Minnesota Department of Transportation on the Interstate 90 corridor in Austin as part of Vision 2020’s Gateway to Austin committee efforts.

Committee chairman John Gray came before council members asking for permission to form the group, which would include Public Works Director Steven Lang and Parks and Recreation Director Kim Underwood, as well as Jon Erichson, former city engineer and current executive director of Austin’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

The council also approved a $10,000 grant to the Development Corporation of Austin, to be used for expenses related to the DCA’s financial planning over Vision 2020 efforts.