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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20021028APPROVED 1121!2003 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION 7:00 p.m. October 28, 2002 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met far a Work Session on Monday, October 28, 2002 at 7:00 p.m. in the boardroom of the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Alice M. Gordon and Stephen Halkiotis COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill, Sean Borhanian COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker {All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. Chair Jacobs called the meeting to order. He stated that the Board was here to solicit comments on a proposed wildlife center and the external evaluation of the animal shelter. At the end of the comment period the Board of County Commissioners will discuss the issues, but no decisions will be made tonight. The intent is to put animal welfare issues on the same agenda. 1. Proposed Piedmont Wildlife Center Dr. Bobby Schopler gave a PowerPoint presentation on the proposed Piedmont Wildlife Center. He went to UNC for his undergraduate and N. C. State for vet school and came back to UNC for a graduate degree in Public Health and Epidemiology. He talked about the history of the APS wildlife rehabilitation center, which he helped start and ran far its five years of existence. He also wanted to talk about the merger of interested groups and the new philosophy of wildlife rehabilitation that has developed. The APS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center started in 1989 and a building was finished in 1995. The doors opened in 1997. The center closed in October 2002. The low-cost spay and neuter program was designed to help pay for the wildlife, along with donations. In 1998, they took in 600 wild animals and performed 1,500 spay and neuters. By 2002, they were admitting about 2,000 wild animals and spaying and neutering about 3,000 domestic animals. They were constantly working above their means with one vet and 4.5 assistants. Despite this, the wildlife release rate increased from 35°~ the first year to 50% the last year. This is an excellent rate of rehabilitation and release. They saw aver 100 species of animals, and of those, about 55°1° were birds, 40°lo were mammals, and the other 5% were reptiles and others. The quality of care they gave was good, but with the growing numbers of animals, increased demands on one vet, and having all of the animals in one building, it became too much. He was asked to submit a proposal to the APS on his vision for the wildlife center. The proposal was never considered and he was terminated. There was a large public response in favor of the wildlife plan, and there was a void when the center was closed. One of the goals is to have a nationally recognized wildlife center in the Triangle area. They want to emphasize collaboration with learning institutions and the community. They want this new center to focus on excellence in rehabilitation, excellence in education, and excellence in scientific study. He wants to build a nature trail for non-releasable animals where people can come and see the wildlife in their natural habitat. They would also like to have an outreach to schools and civic groups in the area. He feels strongly that rehabilitation is important and education is also important to teach people haw to live with wildlife and reduce the negative impact we have on wildlife. He would like to teach veterinarians and veterinary students about wildlife medicine. Regarding what they have going for them so far, they have leadership and collaborating experts on board. They also have land possibilities, both public and private. The Triangle Land Conservancy has some land coming in their future that they would like to possibly share with the wildlife center. He would like the Board of County Commissioners to consider County lands that are available such as the Seven Mile Creek land. Also, a private landowner with 500 acres has a couple of buildings on site that may be used for a wildlife center. Other builders have offered to assist with building and helping them at reduced costs. They have a $10,000 pledge, a $50,000 pledge for matching funds, and $1,000 in memberships. There is commitment and dedication to this project and there are about 40 people who are meeting regularly about the new wildlife center. Regarding the Seven Mile Creek land, they would propose setting aside 20 acres for buildings. They would also like the County to consider providing $100,000 of matching funds. He added that the vet school supports their idea and there is a professor at the vet school who is very involved. The vet school would offer clinical services for the wildlife center. They would like to locate the Piedmont Wildlife Center in Orange County. Health Director Rosemary Summers said that she reviewed the proposal and that it is expected to care for about 2,000 plus wild animals in the first year. It includes outreach and educational programs, internships, and research. The total budget for the first year of operation is $275,000. They are still looking for a location and they would be servicing amulti-county area, primarily the Triangle region. She said that the Health Department could always use extra help with animal disease surveillance -such as the West Nile Virus. They do have an effective system set up where they communicate with vets and they would be interested in adding more vets to this surveillance system. They would be interested in an entire County approach and looking at the kinds of diseases in wildlife and their relationship with humans. The APS has operated the wildlife sanctuary for about five years, and this facility is temporarily closed for renovations. They are expected to reopen in February. While it is closed, the wildlife is being transferred to licensed private rehabilitators in the area or to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. Wildlife that is badly injured is being euthanized now. The APS is looking to hire a wildlife manager in December and is looking to build a halfway home at the sanctuary property for domestic animals in between spaying or neutering and getting adopted. There is one other organized wildlife group in Wake County -American Wildlife Refuge. This is privately funded. Currently, na County funds are being dedicated to wildlife. There is no legal mandate for the Caunty to operate any wildlife services. Commissioner Carey asked if the new wildlife center is opened would there then be two wildlife centers and Rosemary Summers said yes. Public Comment: Joe LoBuglio said that he is involved with the Piedmont Wildlife Center. He said that there will be two organizations that are interested in wildlife, but they will be vastly different. The Piedmont Wildlife Center is emphasizing a new level of research and rehabilitation that has not been the vision of the APS. The APS is still not contracting services out to vets. The Piedmont Wildlife Center will be raising awareness of the needs of wildlife, to have a comprehensive research program, to germinate other wildlife centers by coordinating with the vet schools, and to be a comprehensive center in Orange County. He has been involved with this wildlife center since the beginning, and the volunteers are so involved and enthusiastic and he feels this center will be a great asset. Kris Bergstrand is a vet in Chapel Hill and said that she seconds what Joe LoBuglio said. She said that they are ready to get this center off to a great start. She said that they know that they will not be able to have the full budget in their hands in the spring. They are prepared to be accepting animals in a temporary location. James Glover said that his wife is a member of the APS board. He thinks that the Piedmont Center is great and he hopes it works. He asked where the money is coming from. There is always more vision than money. The APS budget was $100,000 and they never used any taxpayers' money. The State legislature has decided to solve the major budget crisis by pretending they did not raise taxes and sending the burden back to the County. He does support this center. If the effort that has been going on for four months attacking the APS had been spent raising money then maybe they would start to get the center done. He said that Dr. Bergstrand called the Department of Agriculture in October and made complaints about the quality of the APS shelter and brought a federal government official who traveled three hours to do an emergency inspection. He said that she has never been to the shelter. He said that the problem is money and the way to solve the problem is to go to work and not say, "Give me your land and give me your taxes." Dr. Elliot Cramer said that he wanted to reply about the comment about the halfway home. He thinks that the idea of a halfway home is extremely naive and is driven by a collector mentality. He said that, given the large number of animals that have to be euthanized, the halfway house will be filled within two months and the euthanasia rate will be where it was before. He said that he was at the last APS board meeting and it was said that the wildlife center would be reopened in March. His opinion is that the APS wildlife center will never reopen because it cannot compete with the kind of ideas that were put forward for the Piedmont Wildlife Center. He said that he is not an Orange County resident, but he will become a member of the wildlife center. He urged the Board of County Commissioners to give a modest amount of support far this wildlife center. Judith Reitman, an APS member, said that she does support Bobby Schopler. She said that the issue of vision and money is true. It is an issue of money. The County has been supplying nearly $500,000 to APS and there will be testimony tonight that this money has been used in questionable ways. She said that this money could be better used to support an organization that has ethical and competent management and vision. She supports the Piedmont Wildlife Center. Amanda Stipe, the Animal Control Officer for Carrboro and a certified Wildlife Damage Control Agent, said that with the closing of the wildlife center, there has been an increased burden on the wildlife and herself as an animal control officer. She said that Dr. Schopler has a well thought out vision, and she especially likes the educational aspect of the proposal. She agrees that there is a need, but she is not sure if there are funds for it. She thinks the County should diversify the resources and separate wildlife from the animal shelter. Susie Schopler is a veterinarian and has done volunteer work far APS and the wildlife sanctuary. She thinks that the two groups work quite well together overall, but there is a conflict of interest for domestic animals and wildlife. She supports the Piedmont Wildlife Center. Bonnie Norwood said that she is putting herself on the line for Dr. Bobby Schopler. She made reference to his comment that there was 1,500 wildlife brought in and said that there is nothing in place now far wildlife until a center is opened. She asked for the County to work together with these people to save wildlife. Pamela Bay, an APS board member and Chairperson of the APS Wildlife Committee, spoke on behalf of the APS Wildlife Committee members. She said that the primary focus of APS has traditionally been its dedication to the wildlife and care of domestic animals. In October, the APS Wildlife Committee presented the APS Board of Directors the findings that the APS is not in a position to operate a wildlife care facility. This is a specialized field with particular criteria that is not easily met. The committee fully supports any independent organization that has the expertise, dedication, and commitment required for the rehabilitation of wildlife. On a personal note, she would hope that the people that care so much about animals would join together and find the best possible solution and stop attacking each other. Tani Constant said that she has worked closely with APS and she is a wildlife rehabilitation specialist. She said that APS is a good organization. She said that the wildlife sanctuary was always an offshoot and then it grew and grew. You need a wildlife vet for wildlife. The APS has wonderful programs for domestic animals. She hopes that the APS and the Piedmont Wildlife Center can collaborate. She distributed a handout. Victoria Shields, a resident of Carrboro, said that a wildlife center under the leadership of Dr. Bobby Schopler is a no-brainer. Darra Das, Associate Director of APS, said that one of her main jobs is to do the budget. She hopes that the spending that was done at the APS and the reckless spending does not happen at the new Piedmont Wildlife Center. Linda Schmoldt, a former APS employee and a participant in the Emergency Animal Rescue Program, said that very few veterinarians have wildlife expertise. She thinks that the money is less of an issue than the expertise. She hopes that the APS does reopen the sanctuary, but she does not feel confident that it can happen because it is so hard to find the expertise. Pat Sanford said that she shares Dr. Bobby Schopler's vision that we need an educational building. The County needs this and it would be a great loss to the County without this facility. Beverly Rockhill works in the field of prevention in public health. She said that she heard that this area is the third worst in sprawl in the nation. She spoke about prevention of wildlife injuries through roads and loss of habitat. Chair Jacobs said that the Board of County Commissioners is committed to preserving wildlife habitat. Jess Casey said that she was currently helping out at the shelter and they are running a spaytneuter clinic with an aviary and a raptor hold. There are plans to build another building. She does not understand why the two groups cannot work together on this program. Chair Jacobs said that the County could address wildlife centers and haw we fund outside agencies, which starts the first of the year. The Piedmont Wildlife Center could work through this process to get funded. This can be discussed later on. John Link asked Dr. Schopler if there was only one other wildlife non-profit in the Triangle, the one in Raleigh. Rosemary Summers said yes. Jahn Link asked if this is intended to be a triangle or regional refuge, then could other local governments be asked for challenge grants. Dr. Schopler said that he would be receptive to this idea. Commissioner Carey asked if anyone from Dr. Schopler's organization discussed with the existing organization in Wake County the possibility of expanding their activities to include their vision. When resources are scarce, infrastructure does not need to be duplicated. He asked if anyone from the organization approached other counties for support. Dr. Schopler said that his understanding of the Wake County group is that its vision is not the same. Their centerpiece is a step eagle from Russia, and it does not address the ecological issues of the Research Triangle. He believes that this group is not set up for the volume that they need. As far as getting broader support, he agrees. Another issue is where to locate it. He thinks that it will be a nationally respected wildlife center. He thinks that it will be good far Orange County to have the center in Orange County. Commissioner Halkiotis asked for clarification an whether the APS Wildlife Center would be reopened. Pamela Bay said that the Wildlife Committee's opinion is that the APS Wildlife Center will not open again. Commissioner Gordon asked what would happen if the APS does not reopen the center. Pamela Bay said that she knows that APS is looking to support rehabilitatars in the area. Commissioner Gordon said that it does say in the packet that there would be a center. She asked what would happen to the facilities if the center were not reopened. Pamela Bay said that the wildlife building is being renovated for the spaylneuter program. She said that there is not a building that is just wildlife now. The aviaries and raptor cages are out there. She said that she hoped there would be same way the wildlife center could use the cages. Commissioner Gordon asked about the number of acres and it was answered 47 acres. Commissioner Brown said that she is concerned and needs clarification an the answer to Commissioner Halkiotis' question. Commissioner Halkiotis said that maybe later on a board member on the APS could answer this. 2. Proposed External Evaluation of Orange County Animal Shelter Operation Rosemary Summers said that the purpose of this item is to consider entering into a contract for an external evaluation of the Orange County Animal shelter and to provide staff more direction on the scope of the work for this evaluation, to receive public comment on the scope of the work of the external evaluation, and to get some emphasis on areas and suggestions for meaningful public involvement in the external evaluation. During the meeting of October 1St, the County Commissioners discussed the possibility of contracting with an external organization for an evaluation of the animal shelter and staff is looking at two external agencies -American Humane Association and the Humane Society of the U.S. The Board of Health committee discussed at length haw to get diverse public input. They are recommending that a public process focus on a future orientation, include input from the entire County, and include different methods of serving the public for opinions. The content of the input should be focused on services that are expected from the shelter, top goals far the shelter to operate with, and what good customer service involves. The Board of Health committee suggests that an outside facilitator be engaged to run a focus group process to narrow down the public input. The primary difference in the two organizations is that the Humane Society of the United States focuses on a comprehensive organizational assessment, while the American Humane Association targets limited objectives identified by agencies that they would like to have answers to. The element of controversy in the assessments is haw people view the job that organizations do when they do the assessments. The timeframe is flexible and takes about four weeks to gather data. The Board of Health and the staff are recommending that the HSUS be the contractor of choice and the APS Board does not have a preference. The APS is willing to participate in this process and open their doors for examination and study. Chair Jacobs encouraged that speakers be kind. Public Comment Bonnie Norwood said that she volunteers at various organizations (Vllomen's Center, ArtsCenter, Senior Center, UNC Hospitals, etc.}. She has been with the animal shelter for mare than 17 years. She has never seen programs dropped until recently. She said that because no wildlife program exists, those animals are dead and they will continue to die until same program is created. There was aloes-cost spay/neuter program, but it was dropped. She would like these two issues addressed because these two programs have been dropped. She distributed an affidavit. There are other issues and all of them are costing animals' lives. Judith Reitman, an APS board member and a journalist, said that she will email details to the County Commissioners, but the theme is financial problems. She said that the question is what HSUS is going to be looking at. She said that there has been inaccurate record keeping and APS has been misrepresenting the numbers of animals in its care. Based on the records kept, hundreds of animals either do not exist, andJor are simply not accounted for. APS reports in its latest newsletter that its adoption rate is 48°~, and it uses that number as a basis on which to raise funds for the adoption center. This number does not reflect the true adoption rate, which is far lower. She said that few statistics of the APS could hold up to scrutiny. There has also been mismanagement of funds, which include expenses not associated with the shelter. Qne large expense was as a result of poor planning. APS continues to misrepresent many of the breeds of its animals under adoption. Also, APS fails to report complaints made by the public about its personnel. She said that the Board of County Commissioners needs to make sure the current leadership is replaced with a qualified, ethical administration. Elliot Cramer, UNC professor emeritus and APS supporter and beneficiary and practicing statistician, said that he was here to express concerns of the APS and its practices. The policies seem to date from the period when the new leadership was assumed at APS this year. He thinks that a more general type of external evaluation is needed. He said that several supporters formed a group to nominate members to the APS board, which is in accordance with the APS bylaws. When the President of APS learned of this, she gave notice to the board of a change to the bylaws to be voted on in executive session without public notice. The intent was to remove voting rights from the membership. He said that when he spoke to her, she said that only minor changes were contemplated. He was assured by the APS attorney that there was no intention to discuss bylaw changes. He has heard that these changes were discussed and would be voted on at a later time. He made a statement to APS, which was met with silence. He said that the APS attorney was also unresponsive and misleading. He said that APS is working like a secret society, despite its public funding. He said that animals are unaccounted for. He said that shelter records should be public records. He asked the County Commissioners to assert the full power of their authority and require the APS to be held accountable for its actions and be responsible and open to its membership, the public, and the animals. Lin Schmoldt, Administrative Manager of APS from September 2001 to May 2002, said that her job was mainly organizing paperwork and supervising front desk and data entry staff. She worked with shelter data on a daily basis. She found a lack of well thought out and clearly stated goals and procedures. She expressed some concerns - 1. Decline in accountability and that the public does not have access to adoption data. 2. Concern that data provided to the County would be late and incomplete. 3. Quick firings, demotions, shifts in titles and duties put staff under excessive pressure. By late spring it was apparent that there were not enough rabies vaccinators. 4. Confusion over adoption guidelines. Beverly Rockhill, faculty member of the Department of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health, said that she began volunteering at the APS in 1994 in graduate school. She recently moved back to the area and has volunteered for the past year. She has current concerns about secrecy of decision making at the APS. The APS exists to bring justice and compassion to homeless animals. Most of the staff cares deeply about the animals. She said that positions of management and the board of directors at the APS should be positions of public service. She said that she has donated over $15,000 over the last decade to the APS. She was challenged by the board this week to prove her membership. She spoke about infectious disease outbreaks and excess euthanization at the shelter. She said that the County must take up this issue. She urges all members to come into the shelter during kitten season and see how many animals are put down. Finally, she is dismayed at the report prepared by the two vets for the County on disease control at the shelter. The two vets hired run animal experimentation labs. She hopes that the external reviewers will add much better advice. Patty Courtwright spoke about an experience that she and her daughter had with APS. She and her daughter met a Cocker Spaniel named Casey. Laura, her 12-year old daughter participated in Kids and Critters camp that APS held in August. At the camp, Laura met Casey and she wanted to adopt the dog. They went back to the animal shelter to meet Casey, and it was clear that he recognized her. While they were there, a woman and her son came by and this woman was also interested in adopting Casey. The next day, her daughter said that she got to bathe Casey. They found out a couple of weeks later through an article in the newspaper that APS had determined that Casey was unsafe to adopt and was euthanized. In a following article, it said that the dog that was euthanized was not the same dog named Casey. She said that there was only one dog named Casey. She is concerned that the APS officials were not up front in explaining to the public why this dog was euthanized. She thinks the taxpayers deserve to have honest answers to questions about APS and its operations. Pat Beyle, President of APS Board of Directors, said that the Board of County Commissioners will hear many APS advocates tonight. She wants to see the APS recognized for the work it does. She would like to see positive support and involvement from the Board of County Commissioners and she invited at least one County Commissioner to attend one of their board meetings. She would like to see the wildlife program backup and running by baby season at no cost to the County. She said that the building in question that has been used for five years has been used for both wildlife and spaylneuter. The building is closed for renovations because the Vet Board wants them to have an examination room in order to get the low-cost spaylneuter program going. The other half of the building has always been wildlife and still will be. APS has foster care and vet services, low-cost spay/neuter program, dog training, emergency response service, problem pet hotline, cruelty investigation, and the halfway home adoption center, which is funded by private contributions. The animals from surgery will be able to recoup in this halfway home. In order to make all of this happen at its present level, the expense column is $1 million dollars. She would like to see a concentration on animal paver and not people power. She would like to see complaints handled through the APS instead of the media. She said that the APS board invites the external evaluation. Erin Furr, a volunteer at APS for many years, said that she has seen dedicated staff. She said that the shelter is nearing a 50°~ adoption rate because of the dedicated staff and volunteers. She spoke about a dog that she fostered named Chance, who had a gunshot wound in between his eyes. He also had an embedded collar. A home was found for Chance, and the couple said, "I can't imagine our life without him." He is treated like royalty and they call him Chancellor. In most shelters, the dog would have been euthanized the day he came in, but the APS staff wants to give every animal a chance to be adopted. Claudia Sheppard, a veterinarian and a volunteer at the shelter for the past five years, said that the shelter has been accused in the past of having poor disease control in the light of a recent outbreak of feline panleukopenia. This is a new disease. As soon as they expected that a death was due to this disease, they put changes into place to try to deal with the outbreak. All kittens were placed in one room and the total number of animals at the shelter was decreased. She said that they did all they could to control this outbreak. This disease was new and infected many shelters. The Board of County Commissioners had sent two vets to inspect the shelter and they found no problems with the shelter {the first vet) and the other vets found problems with the facilities and not with animal management. She invited the people who have made accusations of inadequate disease control to come to the shelter and volunteer and learn about disease control. Kris Bergstrand, a veterinarian, said that she would like to respond to accusations that have been made toward her. She said that she has been to the shelter and she has adopted animals. She is amazed that she is so powerful as to bring in a federal investigator. She said that she made one phone call to Carol Woodleaf and left her a message on her voice mail. Ms. Woodleaf then left a message on her voice mail. She never wrote a letter, but just said that she had some concerns. She said that she never brought anyone in from three hours away. She supports the Board of Health's suggestion to use the Humane Society of the United States. She distributed a copy of her statement. Stacy Hughes, a previous APS employee at the wildlife sanctuary, gave some observations. She provided a written statement for the County Commissioners. She said that during the past few months before the end of her employment, there has been a continued pattern of shifting of blame and responsibility at the APS. She said that staff repeatedly requested a written protocol in how to deal with disease control issues, and were repeatedly told that it was someone else's responsibility. There is also the issue of legalities involving the proper way to run a wildlife center. She has concerns about the AP5 reopening the wildlife center because they have already demonstrated a serious lack of regard for U. S. Fish and Wildlife regulations. Jerome Schiro, a resident of Hillsborough, said that he is an oncology nurse at UNC with Department Safety and Infection Control responsibilities. In May of 1997 he chose to reevaluate his profession as an RN and accepted a position as a kennel technician with the Orange County APS. For almost one year, he cleaned and disinfected dog kennels and cat cages. He rescued injured deer on roads in the middle of the night. He chased down and captured raccoons and bats suspected of rabies, and he transported injured dogs and cats for euthanasia that were left on the roadside to die. He said that his comments were from experience and not from perception or emotion. He said that the APS is required by contract to accept every cat or dog that is brought in through its doors. He said that the presence of the parvo virus will always have the potential to occur when sheltering dogs and it does not happen by management. He said that these diseases would never be eliminated by cleaning house with the administration. He said that in 1997, animals were chosen for euthanasia based upon a number of factors. As a member of the APS Board of Directors for only two months, he has tried to sift through the false claims. He volunteers his time at the APS because he believes that the humane treatment of animals is an extension of haw we treat each other as individuals and as a community. Cynthia Wise, the oldest APS Board member, said that she has been on the board for over 20 years. She said that she has never seen the Orange County APS in better shape than it is currently. The shelter staff is shard-working group that delivers skilled care to all of the animals. She said that the executive director deals with the staff, the public, and with local governments very well. She said that she was proud to be a member of this outstanding board of directors. Allison Procopio said that she has volunteered with the Orange County APS for over a year. She commended the staff at APS and said that they face hard situations every day. She spoke about her foster dog "Curtis" and she read an excerpt from a letter from the family that adopted the dog. The family is very happy with the dog. She said that she was at a meeting last week when a lady came in with a dog with severe mange. She was crying because she had been to nine vet offices to treat the dog and no one would help her because she could not afford to pay for it upfront. She said that Laura Walters stayed and talked with the woman and assured her that APS would help her. She said that you never hear about the goad things that APS does and the incredible people at the shelter. Melissa Wallen spoke about her experience with APS. Her family looked for a dog for three months on different websites and rescue places. They went by the APS all the time and the staff was very helpful. They found a dog and put a deposit on it. The dog was a puppy and did not have a tag yet. She walked one of the employees back there to put the tag on the dog. Every day, she brought her daughters into visit with the dog. On the day they went to pick up the dog, it was a really rainy day and all the puppies were out in kennels and they were all cold and dirty. She could not find the puppy with the puppies that she was with originally. When she asked the staff about it, they took her back and they had scratched out the number and put the number on another card and were trying to tell her that a male dog was hers. She talked with the director and asked far the paperwork, and the director could not tell her what happened. The director told her to find another puppy, which she did. This dog gave her other dog the kennel cough virus. She had to spend about $300 trying to find out what was wrong with the dog. Suzy Cooke is a resident of Orange County far nine years and she has been a volunteer with APS for five years. She instructs puppy kindergarten and she then moved into adoption counseling. She said that at APS there are a lot of wonderful programs offered to Orange County. She is most proud of becoming a member of the Board of Directors of the APS of Orange County. She said that on an hourly basis the staff, volunteers, and everyone else associated with APS does everything they canto serve the mission of APS. It is an organization that is willing to be evaluated. James Glover said that he does not want to get into the business of right and wrong. He said that you probably understand now why the two groups cannot get together. He asked the Board to go out and get outside evaluation with some structure, get a recommendation, have the accusations examined, and then let's quit. Jonathan Klein, Chair of the Orange County Board of Health, spoke about what the Board of Health discussed at their meeting of October 24t". He said that they received a report from the Animal Control and Environmental Health Committee and they received input from the Animal Control staff. After discussion, the Board voted to recommend to the Board of County Commissioners to approach the Humane Society of the United States to conduct an evaluation of the Orange County Animal Shelter. The Board of Health felt that the need far broad public input was crucial to the success of the process. Another issue that was brought up was a concern that the expansion of services outside of those required by State law or local ordinance should not be included in the Health Department budget. Darra Das, Associate Director of the APS of Orange County, said that she believes that Board President Pat Beyle and other APS supporters have said how she feels. She has been a part of APS for over two years, and she has seen many changes during this time, all for the good. It breaks her heart to see a few vindictive people try to diffuse APS. She has seen employee morale come to an all time high under the current Executive Director and APS Board. She said that the Orange County Animal Shelter is government funded, but APS is a private non-profit and it is subsidizing what is not covered under Orange County expenses. They welcome an independent audit or study. Carrie Clifford is a former employee of APS. This is her second time speaking before the Board in regards to the practices of APS. She said that their complaints have been brushed aside as merely grumblings of disgruntled farmer employees. She said that their complaints are legitimate and she has tapes of conversations and documentation between Darra Das and Laura Walters illustrating the lack of effort in communication and lack of respect in dealing with employees. She gave the tape to the Manager. Allen Rimer, Co-Chair of the Animal Control and Environmental Health Committee on the Board of Health, said that in listening to the dialogue tonight, he thinks that the solution that the Board of Health has proposed, to first get a facilitator to determine the issues and then get a higher organization look at the APS is the right plan. He hears a lot of acrimony and data that he does not understand. He gave an example of how comments taken out of context can make a lot of difference. He was at the last meeting where a lot of people got up to speak about the APS. There were four people from the APS that spoke about how bad the APS was. He said that they left the impression that they worked at the shelter and that they were talking about the shelter. He found out later that they worked at the wildlife center and they had no association with the shelter. He thinks it is going to take a neutral force to try and understand what the facts really are. He urged the Board to think carefully about what was recommended by the Board of Health. Toni Constant has worked both at the shelter and the wildlife center. She said that it is true that the APS has incredible programs and it is always high paced and understaffed. She hopes there can be collaboration between the two agencies. She spoke about two instances. On July 5t" a baby possum came into the shelter dehydrated, weak, and had maggots. It missed the shuttle to the wildlife sanctuary for two days. It lay in a box unable to eat or drink and with no treatment until it arrived at the sanctuary on the 7t". Had it been a kitten, it would have been taken care of, but since they did not know what to do with the wildlife it sat there until it got to the sanctuary. She said that this scenario had happened before. She recommends that when the APS accepts wildlife, the staff should have basic triage skills for wildlife. Secondly, APS has an agreement with several pet stares to adopt out pets. PetSmart has vet services on- site. A friend of hers adopted a cat from PetSmart. When she first saw it, it was sneezing, and when she picked it up it was visibly ill. She asked PetSmart why this cat was not treated, and the vet said it was because it belonged to the APS. PetSmart was afraid to tell the APS that the cat was sick because they thought that AP5 would euthanize it. She recommended that the APS, in their contract with the pet stores, build in a veterinary allowance far these cats. She said that the APS has some good people, but we all have things that need work. Tina Bennett is a new staff member at APS. She said that she has heard stories she can believe and some that she cannot believe. The bottom line is that there are two sides to every story. She said that the only way to resolve these things is with outside evaluation. Victoria Shields said that her family adopted a cat from the APS. She said that, despite what seemed like a chaotic situation at APS, they were able to adapt this cat. She said that she attended Casey's appeal hearing at the request of an acquaintance, and she found defensiveness and hostility and an "us against them" mentality. She said that the truth is that we need to look at a problem and figure out haw to resolve the problem and not take the issues personally. Anne Marie Meyer said that the two sides need to compromise and each group should give a little. She is trying to understand each side of the story. She hopes that the APS Board and the People for a Change can also compromise. 3. Board Discussion and Direction to Staff on the Proposed Piedmont Wildlife Center and Proposed External Evaluation of the (7range County Animal Shelter Chair Jacobs asked John Link or Rosemary Summers to walk the Board through the recommended course of action. John Link said that they are proposing a public process that includes a contract with the Humane Society of the United States. There is a general timeline with the elements that the Board of County Commissioners wants to be examined. The recommended elements that the Humane Society will examine are as follows: -program and management improvements -public interaction and customer service and satisfaction -consider what is necessary for the design, maintenance, and programming of any new facility -disease control -adoption policies -look at present provisions and make recommendations for improvements for effective law cost spay/neuter operations -look at animal shelter's operational policies, procedures, and protocols (including budgeting process) -haw they keep records -rules of the animal shelter and haw they are reviewed and adjusted -look at the governing structure of the animal shelter -recommend methods to insure continuous public feedback in the process The Board of County Commissioners can add any additional elements. The cost of this study will come out of the Board of County Commissioners' contingency account ar other account and not the Health Department's budget. Rosemary Summers made reference to page 23, which is a list of the items that HSUS would include in the evaluation. Chair Jacobs said that they appreciate the concern that the public has expressed about these issues. These matters were first brought to the Board in August and now they are ready to go forward with a consultation service. This is very fast by government standards. A motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis that all the materials from the first agenda item, the Piedmont Wildlife Center, go to the staff with a recommendation back from the Manager on the next steps. John Link said that some of the steps would be to pursue more information from Dr. Schopler and his associates. Commissioner Carey said that we should get the Manager's recommendation on this wildlife center. He thinks that if we are going to consider a new funding scheme for the County that we look at this in the grand scheme of all of our funding. Dr. Schopler should be encouraged to go through the regular process to get funding and to compete with all other funding requests for next year. He cannot see the Board making a decision outside the budget process far this issue. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he is trying to be real positive about this and he has received a lot of mail with all kinds of anonymous accusations. He finds all of this troublesome. He hopes that all of us as adults can sit down and put aside personalities and behaviors and do what is best for the animals. Earlier tonight somebody mentioned that we measure our society by the way we treat our animals. He said that we get a monthly report from our Sheriff on whether or not our prisoners receive sufficient things to eat, whether or not they get a fresh razor every morning, etc. He thinks that it is sad that we are lasing the focus in this. He is perplexed and he hopes that same kind of preliminary conversation could take place with the Manager and a couple of representatives from the two sides of the issue. He said that having two wildlife centers in the same County does not make sense. If one can do it better than the other, then the other should let the better one do it. He said that this Board of County Commissioners has funded and breathed life into the Dispute Settlement Center and Andy Saks has helped many people to work through issues. He said that if the Board did not care about animals, they would not have made the contributions that they have made over the years. He still needs to know whether or not the APS Board is committed to having a wildlife center. This needs to come back through the Manager to the Board. He added this to the motion. Commissioner Gordon thanked all the people for coming. She is struck by the passion that was shown for the animals. She thinks that the County Commissioners will do the best they can for the animals. Chair Jacobs asked John Link to bring something back before the winter break about the wildlife center. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Regarding the independent study, Commissioner Brown would like to take the time to look at all of the information. She does not want to make a decision tonight on this bigger issue. Commissioner Halkiotis thanked Rosemary Summers far the initial presentation. He said that, based on her recommendation, he would be supportive of moving forward with the contract with the HSUS. Commissioner Carey said that it is sad for him to hear the acrimony. He said that people of goad will should be able to compromise when they care about the same thing and no study is going to do that. The Manager can help begin the process, but it will be dependent on those who are actually involved and the two groups need to come together. It is the County's responsibility to have this study to help provide this mandated service. The study will not solve the acrimony problems, but it will give the County some guidance. He also said that his interpretation of the comments by the Chair of the Board of Health was that he was referring to any new funding that the County was not required by the mandated services and he was not referring to the study. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the Manager's recommendation and read it. She said that part of it is a scope of work and projected timeline and then there is the question of conduct with the external evaluation. She asked which would be first. John Link said that his intent was to provide a framework in which to act and they can work on refining the public process. They need direction from the Board. Chair Jacobs suggested that, without making a decision, the Board could ask staff to develop a scope of work, a projected timetable, and to solicit prices. This does not imply any decision. Within the timetable, the public input component could be built in. This decision could be scheduled for November 19t", the second meeting in November. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Carey to ask the staff to come back with the scope of work, the projected timeline, some cost estimates, and how the public input would be built into the external evaluation of the Orange County animal shelter. Chair Jacobs would like to knave what the wildlife component is at other animal shelters. This was added to the motion. VOTE: UNANIMOUS A motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to adjourn the meeting. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Barry Jacobs, Chair Donna S. Baker Clerk to the Board