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Home My WebLink AboutASAB Meeting Summary 03.18.26 Meeting Minutes Approved ORANGE COUNTY—ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES Animal Services Advisory Board—March 18,2026 ORANGE COUNTY ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES ANIMAL SERVICES ADVISORY BOARD—WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2026 Meeting Information Board Name: Animal Services Advisory Board Meeting Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2026 Meeting Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Location: Orange County Animal Services, Community Room 1601 Eubanks Road, Chapel Hill,NC 27516 Chair: Allan Polak, Chair Staff Liaison: Christina Allen, Business Officer, Animal Services Minutes Recorded By: Cathy Munnier Next Meeting: Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 6:30 p.m. –8 p.m. Attendance Board Members Board Member Name Special Representation Role Present/Absent Dr. Lee Pickett Veterinarian from Health Board Present Dr. Ashley Robertson Veterinarian Present Debby Hill Town of Carrboro Vice Chair Present Michael Delafield Town of Chapel Hill Resigned Mary Lucas Town of Hillsborough Secretary Absent Annie Goldberg Non-Municipality Present Rhonda Patterson At-Large Present Dawn Roberts Non-Municipality Present Michael Dempsey Animal Welfare/Animal Advocacy Absent Judy Miller Animal Welfare/Animal Advocacy Present Cathy Munnier Animal Welfare/Animal Advocacy Present Certified Animal Allan Polak Handler/Trainer/Technician Chair Present Kimberly Rider Owner/Manager Retail Pet Services Resigned Animal Services Advisory Board I Page 1 of 5 ORANGE COUNTY—ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES Animal Services Advisory Board—March 18,2026 Staff& Guests Present Name ' Organization Elizabeth Overcash Director,Animal Services Derek Woodlief Senior Animal Control Officer, Animal Services Ellen Pearsall Member of Public Dr. Ann Brady Member of Public Patrick Mann Member of Public Angel Barnes Member of Public Michelle Handy Member of Public Quorum & Call to Order Quorum established: Yes–Members present: 9 of 13 (7 required for quorum) Meeting called to order at 6:31 p.m. by Allan Polak, Chair. Monthly meeting attendance record–completed. Review and Adoption of Meeting Agenda Review and adoption of the meeting agenda; moving order around of the agenda to do the information item with ACO Derek Woodlief first. Motion to approve: Allan Polak, Chair I Second: Debby Hill, Vice Chair Vote: Unanimous Approval of Previous Minutes Minutes from the February 18, 2026, meeting were: Approved Motion to approve: Allan Polak, Chair I Second: Debby Hill, Vice Chair Vote: Unanimous Public Comment (Non-Agenda Items) No public comments were received. Agenda Items—Discussion & Action Summary Agenda Item / Summary of Discussion Topic New Business: 1. Senior ACO Derek Woodlief spoke about his duties and challenges as an ACO for Orange County. He also spoke about the changes he has experienced during his time with OCAS and how his position has moved Animal Services Advisory Board I Page 2 of 5 ORANGE COUNTY—ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES Animal Services Advisory Board—March 18,2026 Agendaof Discussion Topic ACO Derek more toward community outreach programs to help create relationships Woodlief between the shelter and the pet owners of the county. Introduction 2. He spoke about partnering with another nonprofit organization— Paws4ever, out of Mebane, in order to provide low-income families with fencing alternatives for their animals, as tethering dogs on a property is no longer allowed and is against county ordinance. Rather than citing individuals for offenses regarding tethering, OCAS is now able to offer an alternative with fencing (or repairs of fencing)provided by Paws4ever(a not-for-profit shelter). Currently, they are building approximately one fence and repairing about three per month. Fencing is routed and funded through the non-profit shelter, as they do not want to use county money for this project. 3. The shelter is now accepting partial bags of pet food and is building a relationship with Chewy.com to donate food to the shelter to stock the pet food bank for the public. 4. He also spoke about building relationships with the local schools providing opportunity for the schools to visit the shelter for educational purposes, such as teaching children how to correctly interact safely with dogs. In addition, he enjoys bringing dogs to schools, including the colleges (UNC) for certain events, and getting the adoptable dogs out into the community with the hope that they will get adopted. 5. ACOs are CRV (certified rabies vaccinator) trained to administer vaccines either for a$10.00 fee or free depending on an individual's finances. 6. ACO Derek Woodlief expressed that what he likes the most and feels is the most successful shift in shelter operations is the community outreach, i.e. shifting the focus from citing for violations to offering alternatives to help pet owners provide the proper and safe environment for their pets. 7. Allan asked ACO Woodlief about his most interesting call. ACO Woodlief responded that the one that stands out to him was a call regarding a loose and wandering emu. Although he had received training on how to handle an emu, he stated that they are extremely difficult and stubborn to handle. 8. Annie Goldberg asked about the deer population explosion and was told that the ones to handle any issues with the deer was the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. The only time deer can be shot by a property owner is if they are destroying property or crops and even after that you are not allowed to touch or consume them. 9. Judy Miller asked what if anything could we do to help, and ACO Woodlief responded saying that any veterinarian can volunteer to help with the clinic work as well as other individuals who are needed to fill out the necessary paperwork at rabies clinics. New Business: 1. Allan spoke about that ASAB, stating that it is not a required board and can be disbanded at any time. The BOCC appoints us and has the authority to Update on Board remove us. If there is conflict between the BOCC and ASAB policies, then Policies and the ASAB Policies and Procedures will override. Allan reiterated that we Procedures are an Advisory Board we do NOT make laws or decisions for the county. Animal Services Advisory Board I Page 3 of 5 ORANGE COUNTY—ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES Animal Services Advisory Board—March 18,2026 Agendaof Discussion Topic' In order for our votes to carry, it requires half the members plus one for a vote to pass. 2. Three members of the ASAB must serve on the hearing panel; only one serves at a time and is the chair of the Hearing. (This will be further clarified.) 3. New members to the board must attend an orientation either with an officer and the director or on-line. (This will need further clarification.) 4. Absences—We are bound to the county by-laws and ATTENDANCE is mandatory, not optional. Animal Services 1. Dr. Ann Brady is slated to fill Dr. Lee Pickett's position in June,pending Advisory Board: her appointment to the Board of Health. 2. Two of our current Board members have resigned—Michael Delafield and Kim Rider, which leaves two positions open currently. We do have four current applicants: Ellen Pearsall, Patrick Mann, Michelle Handy, and Angel Barnes. 3. In addition, Dawn Robert's term is ending in June,which will leave us with another spot to fill. 4. Allan clarified for the new applicants that this is strictly an advisory board and that we do not really have any hands-on work with the animals. 5. Debby clarified that the applicants need to be able to commit to the monthly meetings, which take place 10 months out of the year, every third Wednesday of the month, with the exception of July and December. The two current open spots are as follows—one is for the Town of Chapel Hill and the other is for an Owner or Manager of a Retail Store. Old Business: 1. Allan spoke briefly about the complaint we received earlier this year and the discussions of that complaint in previous meetings with regard to Complaint Letter Elizabeth Overcash and Tara May. Apparently, although we tried to tread Update lightly and handle it professionally, it was not handled properly. In cases such as these, the only action should be to forward the complaint to the County Manager. 2. Attendance at Board meetings is mandatory,NOT optional! 3. Lee spoke about her time as Chair, stating that after speaking to board members after two absences, she was scolded for"strong arming"members (even though there was leeway as per BOCC). There have since been changes to that. Old Business: 1. Youth Delegate: Debby spoke about the proposal to add a youth delegate to the board. She believes that the proposal was never sent out. She has Follow Up reached out to other boards regarding those positions and how they actually Discussion on work and what are the responsibilities/functions of those particular board 2026 Goals members. There will be further discussion about this at the next meeting. 2. Staff Appreciation Days: a. Cathy brought four dozen goodies, assorted donuts and munchkins, into the shelter for all to enjoy on Wednesday, February 25. As per Elizabeth, the staff received it well. Animal Services Advisory Board I Page 4 of 5 ORANGE COUNTY—ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES Animal Services Advisory Board—March 18,2026 Agendaof Discussion Topic' b. The next Ice Cream Social is currently scheduled for Wednesday, July 15. Allan will reach out to the vendor as the time draws closer. Announcements & Next Meeting Next Meeting: Wednesday,April 15, 2026, 6:30 p.m.—8:00 p.m. Adjournment Motion to adjourn: Debby Hill I Second: Dawn Roberts I Vote: Unanimous Meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m. by Allan Polak. Animal Services Advisory Board I Page 5 of 5