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Home My WebLink About2009-07-16 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE ANIMAL SHELTER ADVISORY BOARD JULY 16, 2009 ITEM 1 — CALL TO ORDER A meeting of the Animal Shelter Advisory Board was called to order by Chairman Leon Hogg at 11:03 A.M. at the City of Euless Animal Control Shelter, 1517 Westpark Way, Euless, Texas 76040. The following members were in attendance: Leon Hogg Gayla Maas, D.V.M. Michelle Watson Clyde Cullum Staff Support: Ron Young, Larry James, J. T. Ackerman & Cynthia Daniel Citizen Attendance: None ITEM 2 - REVIEW AND APPROVE MINUTES FROM MEETING OF APRIL 16, 2009 Chairman Hogg asked if there were any questions regarding the minutes of April 16, 2009. Dr. Maas made a motion to approve the Minutes of April 16, 2009. Clyde seconded the motion. Motion approved. ITEM 3 - STAFF REPORT — SHELTER OPERATIONS, FY10 BUDGET REQUESTS Ron Young said the FY10 Budget includes a request for a full-time Kennel Tech position. Moving towards a full-time position. Jerald from Purchasing Dept. is splitting his time between Purchasing and the Animal Shelter and City Manager is proposing to restore the funds for the part-time Kennel Tech position. Budget hasn't been approved yet. There are no plans for improvements at the shelter in the FY10 Budget. Michelle Watson asked the Board to consider raising the quarantine fee. She thinks that $5 per day is too low. Larry said the fee is $7.50 if owner does not provide food and $5 if owner provides food. Discussed what other cities are charging. Michelle's research of prices charged by shelters and veterinarians ranged from $12.50 to $24/$34 per day. The highest fees were charged by veterinarians. Ron said he would discuss changing the fee with the City Secretary, Susan Crim, the next time she does a Fee Ordinance change. ASAB Meeting Minutes Page 2 July 16, 2009 In regards to improvements to the shelter, Dr. Maas inquired about the Fire Station on Highway 10 that is empty. She asked if it could be remodeled to use as an Animal Shelter. Chairman Hogg said it is currently being used as a storage facility. Ron said the City is working on using the building as a sales tax generating facility. Chairman Hogg also said the City is looking at both the old station on W. Pipeline Road and the one on Highway 10 as income producing facilities. Ron said the Animal Shelter facility is on the Multi-Year Plan. ITEM 4 - SHELTER STATISTICS REPORT Report distributed. Ron asked if there were any significant changes or trends. Larry said no. Adopted animals doubled from same time last year with the help of the Trinity High School GAP girls. Dead animals removed is half the number as same time last year. Euthanasias are down. Calls for service are the same. Citations are up. Dr. Maas noted animals released to owners are up. ITEM 5 - DISCUSS AN AGGRESSIVE DOG ORDINANCE Discussed the City of Fort Worth's proposed Aggressive Dog Ordinance. Dr. Maas shared what she knew about the proposed ordinance based on what she has read and people she has talked to she thinks it will be defeated. She thinks it oversteps the boundaries of having ordinances and that it is crossing the line of taking away freedoms. Could be the first step in eliminating pet ownership in the long run. First step is aimed at eliminating puppy mill problems but ultimately don't want any intack dogs left in the city. Dr. Maas believes the City of Euless has a good ordinance already and is as good as it can be legally in the State of Texas. Ron said his understanding of Fort Worth's proposed ordinance would define an aggressive dog as one that charges or jumps on the the fence when you walk by or charges after you. Dr. Maas and Michelle don't believe that is a good definition of aggressive dog - any dog could charge the fence including a chihuahua. In her experience as an Animal Control Officer, Michelle said she could go up to the fence and pet a dog that someone has complained about. Clyde said the shelter has been receiving a lot of these type of calls from neighbors who live next to dogs that charge the fence and are concerned about their kids getting hurt after reading about the little girl in Fort Worth that went under the neighbor's fence and was killed by the dog. Therefore, the Euless shelter is looking for a solution to the problem. Dr. Maas reiterated that a dog hitting the fence is not an aggressive dog. Discussesed different types of dog warning signs and legal aspect of. Ron said staff will continue to research what Fort Worth is doing on aggressive dog ordinance and will report back. ASAB Meeting Minutes Page 3 July 16, 2009 ITEM 6 - DISCUSS DOG DAZE EVENT Discussed problem with the volunteer groomers not showing up for event and how this can be prevented from happening next year. Clyde said they are not volunteers that they are paid and they get tips. This is first year that groomers did not show up. Clyde suggested seeing what mobile groomers would charge. Dr. Maas mentioned that she received reimbursement by the City for the discrepancies between the incorrect posted price of vaccinations and her real cost, but that there were 5-10 dogs that she vaccinated 7-10 days later because the owners who had been regulars at Dog Daze had asked her at the event if she would vaccinate their dogs later for the posted prices because the dogs were sick that day. She agreed to because they had been previous clients at Dog Daze and felt that it was the right thing to do. She did not request additional reimbursement from the City for these vaccinations. Board and staff members discussed how to avoid problems next year regarding the price of vaccinations and whether to offer other vaccinations along with the rabies. Could publish price of rabies shots and just state that other vaccinations are availble without publishing the prices. Michelle mentioned talking to a vendor who owns an ice cream/snow cone truck. She asked the vendor if she would be interested in setting up & selling at the next Dog Daze. The vendor said she would be interested as this is what they do. They set up at special events. Dr. Maas liked the way this year's event was set up under the pavillion. May want to have 4 lines next year. She mentioned that most of the people who brought their dogs were Euless residents or had ties to Euless residents. She estimated they saw 300+ dogs. Discussed the amount of hot dogs that were left over. Prepared approx. 300 but gave away about 150. Estimate that there were 400-450 people there. ITEM 7 - DISCUSS ANIMALS AT LARGE (CATS) Discussed what to do with cats that are trapped multiple times and released back to owners. Chairman Hogg suggested placing an article in the Euless Today Magazine to inform the citizens about the City's leash law — that it is unlawful for cats to be off leash outdoors. He will talk to Betsy about an article. ASAB Meeting Minutes Page 4 July 16, 2009 There are varying opinions about the leash law among the citizens of Euless. ITEM 8 - BOARD MEMBERS OR CITIZENS REQUESTS OF ITEMS OF INTEREST TO BE ADDRESSED BY STAFF AND/OR PLACED ON FUTURE AGENDAS Ron said the Animal Shelter passed its annual health inspection with no deficiencies. Dr. Maas commented that the shelter is well maintained. Chairman Hogg said he doesn't receive complaints about how the City keeps the shelter. Ron asked the Board members if they want to have one more meeting this year since we have met the required three meetings per year as of this meeting. Board agreed it was not necessary to meet in October unless something came up that needed to be discussed. Ron said staff will check with Board members at beginning of October to see if they want to have a meeting in October. Board's next meeting is tentatively scheduled for January 21, 2010. Ron suggested calling everyone in November to make sure January 21st is still good for everyone. ITEM 9 -ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 12:15 P.M. APPROVED: By: ,A. i Chairman Leon Hogg ATTEST: By: r v6a,f/tx:e_p Cynt is Daniel Administrative Assistant