HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/28/2014 ACAB
Animal Control
Advisory Board Meeting
May 28, 2014
Called to order: 6:03 p.m.
Members in attendance: Patricia Barrington, David Terre, Chris Plemons, Wendy Gunderson, Greg Darbro
Members absent: None
Others present: None
Approval of minutes of January 14, 2014 meeting.
Minutes were reviewed by the board. Terre motioned to approve the minutes as presented. Gunderson seconded the
motion. The board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the January meeting as presented.
Citizen input
None.
Discuss, review and make recommendations in regards to exemption rules for foster and rescue operations in the city.
Plemons explained that a situation involving a self-labeled animal rescue being reported for an ordinance violation
revealed the organization was in violation of city ordinance related to pet limits. He polled the board as to whether or
not they would support amending / modifying the ordinance to allow an exemption to the pet limit for rescues.
Barrington said her feeling was the current limit was more than appropriate for The Colony based on the average lot size
for a residential home in The Colony and the proximity of the average home to neighboring homes. Darbro stated that
in his professional capacity, he deals with residents/fosters who are reluctant to be truthful about the number of
animals they have as they fear being reported and he felt providing these people the opportunity to do the good they do
within the parameters of the law would be the right thing to do. Gunderson said she agreed and that she would apply
for an exemption if the City provided that option. Terre agreed that giving a law abiding person the opportunity to have
a reasonable number of pets over the limit was entertainable provided there were guidelines in place to properly
manage the exemptions. Plemons followed up with some suggested guidelines and a suggested process for the
application, approval, denial and revocation of a permit for such an exemption. One of the stipulations of the
application process was a hearing in front of the board. Terre suggested the hearing be eliminated based on the
infrequency of the board meetings and suggested the animal services manager approve or deny application(s), leaving
the board to only hear appeals. All members agreed. Changes were made to the suggested guidelines and a motion was
made by Gunderson to take the amended guidelines to council for further direction. Darbro seconded the motion. All
members voted unanimously to take the amended suggested guidelines to council for further direction.
Update on quarantine building project.
Plemons stated there was nothing new to report on this project and he would have information on this at the next
meeting.
Provide information to board about transition to use of landfill for carcass disposal.
Barrington stated that the crematorium was not operating in the manner it was intended and the city had purchased a
walk-in freezer trailer which would be used to store carcasses until at capacity at which time the trailer would be hauled
to the landfill in Lewisville, Texas and the carcasses disposed of there. Terre stated he felt this would improve the
shelter’s image as he felt the crematorium wasn’t well received by the general public.
Provide information and seek direction from board related to utilizing the indoor/outdoor runs as a holding area for
sick/injured/aggressive animals.
Barrington explained that the shelter often faces the dilemma of the general public rallying to save an animal that isn’t
adoptable due to aggression or significant behavioral issue(s) or being afflicted with a communicable disease that puts
the entire kennel population at risk. She stated that once a person puts an animal such as this on social media, the
negative comments and feedback the shelter is subjected to potentially jeopardizes the shelter’s relationship with the
citizens and some rescues. Barrington stated that most shelters avoid this because they have a place that is not
accessible to the public or the volunteer base where these animals are housed. She said that she and Plemons had
discussed using the room that holds the 3 indoor/outdoor runs for the purpose. She stated the idea was to keep the
focus of the public and rescues focused on saving the animals that were not an obvious threat to public health and
safety, as well as be able to seclude sick animals from the general population and keep injured animals from being
subjected to visitors and disturbances. The board agreed. Gunderson made a motion to transition to using the
indoor/outdoor run area as a holding area, not authorized for public viewing for aggressive/sick/injured/unadoptable
animals. Barrington seconded the motion. Members voted unanimously to make this transition.
Discuss outdoor kennel replacement.
Barrington provided the board a quote for the replacement of the 10 small outdoor kennel runs. The replacement
included adding a shade cover to each run. The cost of replacement totaled $4859. Terre asked about using donated
funds. Plemons explained he was reluctant to fully fund kennel replacement with donations unless the donations were
specific to that cause. Gunderson suggested the city funding half the cost and a fundraiser being done by The Advocates
for the other half. Staff agreed to further explore ways of funding this project and bring back to the board at the next
meeting.
Review year to date shelter statistics and reports.
Barrington presented the board with year to date activity reports. All members were pleased with the decline in
euthanasia rates. Barrington stated the Facebook page and The Colony Animal Advocates have both helped in the
networking of shelter pets, resulting in increased adoptions and rescues.
Receive report of expenditures from donation accounts.
Plemons presented the board with a ledger from the shelter’s donation accounts. Terre asked if some of the medical
funds could be moved to the general donation account to help with items like outdoor kennel replacement. Plemons
said they could not as the donations were made for a specific purpose.
Discuss recent events: vaccination clinic and special adoption programs.
The number of animals seen at the recent vaccination clinic had not yet been reported. Barrington reported that special
adoption events during the week at parks were yielding very few adoptions, but the events held on Sunday afternoons
at the shelter were very successful and moved a good number of animals. The board suggested the shelter host more
weekend events. Barrington stated this would be done as staffing permitted.
Board to provide direction for shelter goals/future agenda items.
Terre stated he would like a report on the possible ordinance change to allow an exemption for rescues to the pet limit
ordinance once the item was reviewed by council.
None.
Adjourned: 7:22 p.m.
Prepared by: Patricia Barrington; Animal Services Division Manager/Board Chair
Patricia Barrington
The Colony Police Department
Animal Services Division Manager/Animal Services Advisory Board Chair