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HomeMy WebLinkAboutASAB Meeting Summary 101619Orange 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, October 16, 2019 Meeting Summary MEMBERS PRESENT: Molly Mullin (Vice-Chair), Evelyn Daniel, Casey Ferrell, Beth Grooms, Diane Obeid, Lee Pickett, Amanda Schwoerke (Secretary), Bryan Stuart, Edmund Tiryakian, Lucia Welborne MEMBERS ABSENT: Maureane Hoffman (Chair), Lisa Wells STAFF PRESENT: Bob Marotto (Animal Services Director), Andi Morgan (Animal Services Assistant Director), Rachel Plast (Administrative Assistant) Call to order: 6:34 p.m. Review and adoption of the Agenda: approved, after adding an additional agenda item (Rabies and Lyme Disease in Orange County) Summary of September 2019 meeting: approved Review of public participation guidelines: Not reviewed General Public Comments on items not on agenda: None Eno Emu Memoriam  Bob Marotto described how Animal Services handled the Eno Emu situation from beginning to end; discussed some of the lessons learned in handling capture situations like this; and shared the emotional connection that Animal Services staff formed with Eno after feeding her and building trust with her every day for weeks.  ASAB members asked questions  The ASAB approved a motion officially thanking the Animal Services staff and others who worked with such dedication to help Eno Emu and the public. Animal Services Advisory Board Updates: 2020 Elections  The ASAB was reminded that the Board’s President, Vice-President, and Secretary will be ending their second terms in July 2020.  The ASAB appointed a nominating committee—Molly Mullin, Diane Obeid, Lucia Welborne, and Amanda Schwoerke—for the positions.  The nominating committee will present nominations for the positions at the next ASAB meeting. Outreach for Veterinary Vacancy  Lee Pickett was appointed by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to serve out Susan Elmore’s term as the ASAB representative to the Orange County Board of Health  However, that vacates Lee’s position on the ASAB as a community veterinarian  Although the Clerk for the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) usually coordinates outreach, ASAB members discussed how the Board could help in recruiting candidates for the positions.  Animal Services agreed to distribute the vacancy notice to ASAB members so that members can reach out to veterinarians they know; pass it on to their veterinarians for distribution to their practices; and so forth. Succession Planning for ASAB representative to the Animal Services Hearing Panel Pool  Rachel Plast will organize a meeting between the current Hearing Panel Chairs—Edmund Tiryakian, Beth Grooms, and Amanda Schwoerke—and the two interested ASAB members—Casey Ferrell and Diane Obeid—to discuss more about the work of the Panels and the Chairs. Diversity  The ASAB discussed the need for increased diversity on the Board.  In the next eight months, the following vacancies will exist on the Board: 2 animal advocates; 1 certified animal handler/trainer; 1 veterinarian.  Members proposed various means to recruit candidates from underrepresented groups, such as: holding meetings at different locations, like Cedar Grove and Rogers Rd.; posting flyers in underrepresented areas; going outside of members’ immediate networks to identify candidates; and so forth.  Bob reminded the ASAB that it can recommend candidates to the BOCC, but that the BOCC is the entity that selects the candidates. Old Business  Pat Sanford Award o The deadline for the award has passed, and there were two applications filed. o The Task Force will convene shortly to discuss the applications, and recommend a winner to the ASAB.  Rabies & Lyme Disease in Orange County o Ed Tiryakian briefly reiterated his view that public health authorities should be moving their focus away from Rabies to diseases transmitted from mosquito, tick, and flea bites, such as Lyme disease. o Ed distributed documents to members that were absent from last month’s meeting. o Ed requested that the following items be included in the agenda for next month:  Discuss whether the ASAB should advocate that Orange County begin reporting both positive and negative Rabies test results;  Discuss whether the ASAB should seek related data from Animal Services and from the NC State Laboratory with respect to Orange County. o ASAB members briefly discussed Ed’s comments New Business  Socially-Conscious Animal Community o Bob Marotto discussed this concept, and the history of the concept. o He asked that ASAB recommend that Orange County be designated a Socially- Conscious Animal Community. o ASAB members asked questions, and made statements in favor of the designation. o The ASAB passed a motion recommending that Orange County be designated a Socially-Conscious Animal Community.  2020 ASAB Progress Report and Work Plan o Bob Marotto explained what the progress report and work plan is. o The ASAB agreed upon the following procedure for drafting the plan:  Animal Services will distribute a draft of the work plan to the ASAB for discussion at next month’s meeting.  ASAB members will then discuss the draft, and recommend changes thereto.  Animal Services will revise the draft accordingly.  Maureane Hoffman and/or Molly Mullin will give final approval to the draft plan after review (and any necessary changes). Animal Services Updates  French Bulldogs o The ASAB was updated on the case of the French Bulldogs who were seized, and are now in AS’s custody Adjournment and next meeting:  The meeting was adjourned at 8:23 p.m. The next meeting is November 20, 2019, at 6:30 p.m., Orange County Animal Services Center.