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HomeMy WebLinkAboutASAB minutes 041509 Animal Services Advisory Board (ASAB) Approved Minutes for April 15, 2009 Meeting Present ASAB Members: Daniel Textoris, Kris Bergstrand, Suzanne Roy, Susan Elmore, Rob Gray and Dewana Anderson. Absent ASAB Members: Bonnie Norwood, Rachel Beckham, Tracy Carroll, Jean Austin and Ross Oglesbee. Others in Attendance: Animal Services Director Bob Marotto, Shelter Manager Jess Allison, Administrative Assistants Andi Morgan and Paula Ragan and Animal Control Manager, Irene Phipps. Public Members Present: Amber Alsobrooks, Kelly Ronnow and Melissa Marsh Welcome and Opening Comments—ASAB Chair, Susan Elmore, called the meeting to order. Motion was made by Daniel Textoris and seconded by Kris Bergstrand to approve the Agenda dated April 15, 2009. VOTE: Unanimous. Motion was made by Daniel Textoris and seconded by Kris Bergstrand to approve the minutes dated March 18, 2009 with a few changes to typographical changes. VOTE: Unanimous General Public Comment—Melissa Marsh from Efland attended a previous board meeting and expressed her concerns regarding the number of stray animals that are dropped off in the county area surrounding her home. Although her and her husband have helped to save several of the animals, they are not in a position nor do they have the experience to continue doing this. Recently an unknown animal attacked her dog and after the veterinarian examined the dog and learned that Ms. Marsh and her husband had handled the dog it was recommended that they receive the series of 5 rabies vaccinations at a full cost which insurance does not cover. Ms Marsh feels that this is a public health concern and something needs to be done to help assist people that may be exposed but can not afford to get the vaccines. Ms. Marsh also discussed an issue that occurred with an injured hunting dog that showed up on their property with a tracking collar system on. They took the animal home for a couple of hours to see if the owner would show up and they did not. They took the dog to the veterinarian and had it vaccinated and it tested positive for heartworms. Ms Marsh called Animal Control to pick up the animal and she said that the officer on call told her that because it was a holiday he could not pick up the dog and her options were to take it to the shelter or to let the dog go. Ms. Marsh and her spouse decided to take the dog to the shelter. The owner of the dog showed up at their home approximately four hours after the dog had been dropped off at the shelter. The owner was very upset and when he went to the shelter to pick up the dog the staff gave him a receipt Animal Services Advisory Board April 15, 2009 Meeting—Approved Minutes Page 2 that had all of Ms. Marsh’s personal information on it. Ms. Marsh suggested that such actions are deterring people from helping and she feels that personal information should be redacted before giving it out to the public. She indicated that she would like to see more resources and is concerned that the laws are not being enforced. She also felt that her concerns were not addressed until she went to the management level. Mr. Marotto explained that after hour calls are limited in order to provide after hour services. Overtime is a critical budget issue and they are not able to provide the service with comp time. We would like to do more than what we are able to do and we are aware of the dilemmas that it creates. Mr. Marotto thought it would be worthwhile to look at disclaimers regarding disclosures for the forms that are used at the shelter. Partnering Organizations—Amber Alsobrooks and Kelly Ronnow with Bayou Rescue gave a presentation and overview of the program. They are a non-profit organization initially formed in response to the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. They promote disaster preparedness and provide emergency aid for pets and their caretakers in times of disaster. Bayou rescue is a partner with the Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross. Volunteers provide support to Red Cross clients who lose their homes in disasters such as fires. Their focus is to help families keep their pets, despite financial and other hardships that occur after losing a home. Services include providing assistance for emergency vet care, searching for missing animals after a disaster, coordinating temporary foster care or boarding and replacing pet items destroyed in disasters, such as food, medicine, etc. Old Business— Pet ASAB Committee Status Reports— Over Population Committee—Board members were ask to review the working document for the “Strategic Plan for Community Spay Neuter” prior to tonight’s meeting. Motion was made by Daniel Textoris and seconded by Kris Bergstrand to make a few additional edits as discussed regarding the role of veterinarians in the process and to put an emphasis on the budget. The document will come back to the board for one more review. VOTE: Unanimous FY09/10 Budget Update—Bob Marotto provided members with a matrix handout of services currently provided by the Animal Services department with a net county cost for each service. At this time there has been no additional direction from the County Manager’s office regarding the 09/10 budgets other than an additional 1.7 million dollar shortfall. They are looking at ways to save money, which included an employee survey in the realm of compensation. There will be some structured budget meetings in May. Animal Services Advisory Board April 14th, 2009 Meeting— Approved Minutes Page 3 New Business— 2008 Statistics in Review—Jess Allison gave an overview of the March 2009 Statistical Summary and the April 2009 Placement Plan. Animal Services has a new location where they will be targeting outreach. Adoptable animals can be seen at the Farmers Market location in Whitecross starting this summer. Animal Services Transition—Andi Morgan provided a handout announcing the June 1, 2009 opening of the new Animal Services Center. Bob Marotto announced that the May 20, 2009 ASAB meeting will be held in the Multipurpose Conference Room and the goal is to have a short agenda and to take time to do a walk through of the facility. Volunteer Appreciation week will also be held in the Community Room of the new facility. Mr. Marotto reported that signage would be placed at the old shelter and animal control locations directing citizens to the new Animal Services Center. The grand opening will be held around September or October. There will be some tours held for elected officials in the month of June. Motion was made by Kris Berstrand and seconded by Daniel Textoris to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m.. VOTE: Unanimous Next ASAB Meeting: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Conference Room of the new Animal Services Center located at 1601 Eubanks Road, Chapel Hill.