HomeMy WebLinkAboutASAB minutes 031716Orange County Animal Services
1601 Eubanks Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27516
919 - 942 -PETS (7387)
ANIMAL SERVICES ADVISORY BOARD (ASAB)
6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 17, 2016
Meeting Summary
MEMBERS PRESENT: Warren Porter (Chair), Judy Miller, Caroline Green, Maureane Hoffman (Vice- Chair), Michael
Stewart, Beth Grooms, Dewana Anderson
MEMBERS ABSENT: Susan Elmore, Aviva Scully, Michelle Walker, Molly Mullins
STAFF PRESENT: Bob Marotto (Animal Services Director), Drew Brinkley, Jasmine Johnson
Agenda: Warren calls the meeting to order at 6:33pm. Beth moves to accept the agenda as is; Caroline seconds. All
vote in favor.
Summary of February 17, 2015 meeting: Judy moves to accept the minutes as is; Mike seconds. All vote in favor.
General Public Comments on items not on the agenda: None.
ASAB Affairs
(A) Follow -up with Bonnie Hammersley, County Manager
Bonnie wants to make sure the ASAB has a good relationship with the BOCC, and will work to
accomplish that. Mike asks whether the BOCC had any reaction to our letter; Bonnie said they were
concerned and she'll be attending ASAB meetings regularly as a result. Judy asks whether there's a way
to measure the effectiveness of the new Potentially Dangerous Dog Appeal process versus the old.
Bonnie says that should be based on how such data was collected previously, and should be decided by
the ASD director. There's discussion about how the new process will work, and ultimately we concluded
that this will be a learning process, but ASD staff will be in charge of selecting the three officers of the
hearing panel. Warren thanks Bonnie for her concern and participation.
(B) Potentially Dangerous Dog Appeal progress
• Bob gives an update; four applications have been received from the public, and the three members of
the ASAB that have volunteered have also had their appointments requested. For the time being, ASAB
will handle any incoming PDDA requests.
Old Business
(A) Animal Welfare Grants Program Honoring Pat Sanford
• A donation of $5000 will be made by the Friend of Orange County Animal Shelter, assuming that it will be
used to fund animal welfare grants honoring the work of Pat Sanford, Founder and Inaugural ED of the APS
of Orange County. Bob would like to form a task force to determine how to proceed; Judy volunteers, and
Warren will talk with Susan, Michelle, Aviva and Molly to see whether they are interested.
(B) Free - Roaming Cat Initiative
• Bob and Maureane give an update on the free - roaming cat initiative. Conversations are ongoing with the
relevant parties, including IAR. There's an effort to seek fostering homes for the offspring of feral cats. They
are also trying to cultivate a relationship with the Agricultural Preservation Board to work with people who
own land on which feral colonies reside.
New Business
(A) 2015 Statistical Overview
• Drew Brinkley gives a statistical overview of 2015. There were 5400 field call activities. The majority were
nuisance calls, including tethering. In terms of location, the majority were in the unincorporated region of
OC. Drew said the 2015's number of calls (5400) was the lowest of the last five years; the cause of this
reduction is unknown. Adoptions went up last year, including four months with 150 animal adopted. The
fall was a particularly busy time, which may be due to the adoption promotion specials implemented.
There's discussion about the tradeoffs of reduced adoption fee specials. The live release rate was 84%
overall. 2967 animals were taken into the shelter, including 52 baby chickens, which is the lowest year in
the last five; 1600 animals were directly adopted from us, which is the highest since 2005. 842 were
euthanized, including the baby chickens, which is in line with the decreasing trend of the last several years
(only nine were euthanized for space, which is 0.03% of the total intake).
(B) Veterinary Healthcare Changes
• Jasmine gives an update on the shelter's veterinary healthcare team. The abscesses in cats that the team
saw last year have been resolved, and are looking to reduce the number of cats euthanized for URIs.
Medical education on diagnosis and treatment of common illnesses is being provided to staff, and
acupuncture is now available to animals where medically appropriate. A heartworm treatment plan for
some adoptable dogs is being developed, with the help of a donation. Bob talks about the unique
ventilation system at the shelter, which could contribute to the reduction of disease.
(C) Animal Services Update
• Bob gives the Animal Services update. 80 fighting birds were impounded last week and transferred to the
Carolina Waterfowl Rescue. It's budget season, and the ASD is making recommendations to the manager;
we're asking for a generator for the building, among other things. We're also asking for money to
compensate for the loss of iCare funds, as well as another staff member. The UAO has a different schedule
of fees and fines than previous fees and funds, which we'll follow until the new schedule is approved.
Bonnie explains the budget decision making process for the county.
Ongoing and Upcoming Events
(A) Low -Cost Rabies Clinics
Meeting adjourned at: 8:21 PM
Name of Minute Taker: Caroline Green
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