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DASAC Minutes 12/18/2012 IIPEOTC1W311: December 18,2012 APR 03LU13 BY: MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COLLIER COUNTY DOMESTIC ANIMAL SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE Naples, Florida, December 18, 2012 LET IT BE REMEMBERED, that the Collier County Domestic Animal Services Advisory Committee in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 6:30 PM in REGULAR SESSION at Domestic Animal Services Training Room, Davis Blvd., East Naples, Florida with the following members present: CHAIRMAN: Marcia Breithaupt VICE CHAIRMAN: Marjorie Bloom Sergeant David Estes Cindy Harrold District I Y Tom Kepp, Jr. District 2_^� __ Dan Martin District 3 , — District 4 District 5 ALSO PRESENT: Amanda Townsend, Director- DAS Kathlene Drew, Volunteer Coordinator, DAS Daniel Christenbury, Public Relations Coordinator, DAS Steve Carnell, Public Services Administrator Ekna Guevara, Administrative Assistant, DAS Misc.Correa: Date: 1 Item t: Copies to: December 18,2012 I. Call to Order Chairman Marcia Breithaupt called the meeting to order at 6:33 PM. II. Attendance A quorum was established. Six members of the public were also in attendance. III. Approval of Agenda Marjorie Bloom moved to approve the Agenda as given. Second by Sgt David Estes. Carriedunanimously, 6-0. IV. Approval of Minutes—November 20,2012 Marjorie Bloom moved to approve the minutes of November 20, 2012, as presented Second by Marcia Breithaupt Carried unanimously, 6-0. V. Old Business: A. Director's Report Amanda Townsend announced: A new ACO supervisor officer and new Vet Tech were in the process of hiring negotiations. DAS was pleased to be moving toward full staffing. It was anticipated that Melissa Shyan-Norwalt will start December 28th as Shelter Operations Manager. Fundraiser letter efforts by Marjorie Bloom and Patty Teulet were producing results and money had been coming into the Donation Trust Fund. All Hearts-No Worms project,whereby negotiations with local vets to underwrite Heart Worm positive dogs for adopted animals,was well into the planning stage. The adopter makes a commitment to treat and provide care and DAS pays for the medications. Fort Myers News Press picked up the story and the press release was beneficial to the project. Amanda reported the shade structures project was awaiting the Fire Permit. Daniel Christenbury reported on his efforts to get media coverage through his contacts with many media personnel. However,non- controversial news was often trumped by the more sensational stories. Naples Daily News was very good at providing exposure for DAS programs and pet activities. (The 3-legged cat was adopted because of their media coverage.) He noted DAS also makes good use of Facebook and Twitter. Yappy Hour was a big hit. Upcoming events will be Home for the Holidays on Saturday. Light up the Estates,promoting the All Hearts No-Worms project was expecting a good turnout. Kathlene Drew reported several recent events on 5th avenue. Strut your Pet and Light up 5` Ave. were successful events. She reported an increase in sponsorship for adoptions. 2 December 18,2012 B. FY 12 Annual Statistics Amanda Townsend reviewed the handout of the FY 12 Statistics, which were also projected on the overhead screen for all to see. She stated the goal of an under 6,000 animal intake was just about reached, at 6, 109;trending downward from the 8,498 in 2006. She stated all the statistical figures in the report were heading in the right direction. Headway in the cat population was very impressive due to the partnership with the Collier Cat Coalition. Cat adoptions were up with the aid of Families for Felines underwriting assistance. However, dog adoptions were down. Strays and owner surrenders were down. Amanda noted the reduction in In-House surgeries for spay and neuter were because DAS had no Veterinary Technician. Volunteer hours were 15,667,a huge increase. Comments and questions followed on License Revenue, Euthanasia breakdown through the Asilomar reporting system, rabies exposure mitigation and the ongoing educational efforts. C. Advisory Board recommended version of Animal Control Ordinance(Dan Martin) Dan Martin,as Chairman of the Ordinance Revision Sub-committee spoke about the changes that had been made to the Ordinance Revision proposed and voted upon by the DASAB. He referred to the version last actively worked on and put forth to the DASAB by the subcommittee as Version 5. The version sent back to DASAB from the County Attorney's office(Version 6)had some changes that were not amenable to the DASAB. Dan revised and submitted changes which were incorporated into the version received by Amanda on 12/12/12 and presented in the packet for consideration at this meeting: • Sections 14-30 b; 14-32; 14-34 c, 14-36 and14-39 c-changed may to shall. • Additionally, 14-36 a--delete,as warnings were not discussed in the subcommittee. Dan noted a violation was a violation;and,there were other ways to mitigate penalties(notice to comply or education seminar) provided for in the Ordinance. At a second offense, penalties should kick in to prevent repeat offenders from just getting warnings. Thus, 14-36 b would become the new 14-36 a. Dan Martin moved to recommend sending this version to the BCC with the noted changes. Second by Marcia Breithaupt Discussion followed regarding the various versions and their confusing differences. Amanda explained the accepted minor changes from the October 4th meeting and the October 30th recommendations from the County Manager; as well as the updating of commercial and non-commercial breeder definitions were to be considered. Comments were made regarding DASAB's overstepping its authority by trying to impose its will rather than follow its purpose of recommending programs to benefit animals and the shelter. The vote was tied 3 to 3 and did not pass. 3 December 18,2012 Chairman Marcia Breithaupt asked Dan Martin if he would amend his Motion to include the minor changes and the County Attorney's recomm- endations. Dan declined to do so because there were too many changes not vetted through DASAB and the public. Further discussion followed. Cindy Harrold moved to recommend BCC approval of Dan Martin's Version of the Animal Control Ordinance Revision,along with its suggested changes to 14-30,14-32,14-34, 14-36 and 14-39. In addition,to include in the recommendation, the approval of • re-instating the regulation of rodeos • a change in the definition of hobby breeders to non-commercial breeders • a change in the number of litters:limited to 3litters for commercial and 2 litters for non-conunercial • 14-43 General Standards of Care,to be included with a notation it was not complete Second by Tom Kepp. Motion carried 5 to L Sgt. Estes voted against Dan Martin offered to create the Ordinance document with the revised voted upon changes and send it to Amanda Townsend. It will be presented to BCC for final approval. Dan Martin will make the presentation to the BCC Jan. 8 or Jan. 22. VI. New Business A. Review of cases(Tom Kepp) Amanda Townsend asked about what kind of information could be provided to the DASAB and the public consistent with the Ordinance regarding cases reported and case experiences. And,what else regarding enforcement that is consistent,transparent and accessible could be provided. Dan Martin suggested a DAS Policy and Procedures Handbook. Amanda responded she had been working on it; but, any Ordinance Revisions affecting it would have to be incorporated into it. Steve Cornell noted the Ordinance approval was the first order. Following that he asked for ideas on what to incorporate into enforcement operations in terms of transparency and what the DASAB wants Staff to follow through on and they will try to sequence that to get things accomplished. Tom Kepp brought up a problem with conflicting reports. The case in point was a chained animal that was determined by the ACO to be a stray;which was actually not a stray. Amanda Townsend explained the ACO reported instructing the owner on responsible pet ownership. The owner had responded he couldn't afford the proper care. She noted the anti-chaining law was passed in conjunction with 4 December 18,2012 the assurance from a non-profit who would assist owners to come into compliance with the law. That group was no longer available. She noted DAS was open to other non-profits to take up the task; but,it was not a DAS function to do so. Both Cindy Harrold and Marcia Breithaupt agreed to add their names to the list of caring people who go out to owners and help them comply with the ordinance. Tom Kepp stated Animal Compassion groups would help if the owner wanted to keep the animal. He also noted owners could not surrender animals just to avoid fines or they will give one pet up and just get another. They should be fined;then the records would show their history of ownership. Discussion followed regarding citations/penalties clarifications;along with ride-a longs, school education programs and volunteer management. VII. Public Comments A. Topic(open discussion)-None chosen B. Individual Comments Stephen Wright offered compliments on the statistical reports and on everyone's spay and neuter efforts to lower overpopulation. He asked about the anonymous caller complaints policy. Steve Cornell responded Commissioners had sent a directive to the County Manager against DAS and Code Compliance accepting complaints from anonymous callers, stating they were destructive and would lead to using the system to file complaints by neighbors to get back at one another. Colleen MacAlister inquired about what categories and how many citations are paid and how many Ms Townsend,representing DAS,advanced to court. She also had comments about the anonymous caller policy. Amanda Townsend responded the citation figures,policies and their follow- up procedures were publicly available. Amanda commented DAS usually prefers to follow up on complaints to record customer satisfaction; the anonymous caller directive may interfere with that. Concerns will be directed to the County Manager's Office. Heidi Liebwein commented on complaints by anonymous callers, stating retribution upon the caller was a concern and the main reasons for an anonymous call. She also noted the organization, the Gray Muzzle, had programs that would help to lower the euthanasia stats for older dogs. She inquired about the Standards of Care;when that would be re-visited. Amanda responded the BCC will address it after the Ordinance is adopted It was decided to put the anonymous caller complaints issue on next month's agenda for further discussion. VIII. Advisory Board Member Comments Dan Martin recalled a DASAB recommendation to the BCC to lobby to the State 5 December 18,2012 Legislature for having animal cruelty designated a criminal offense. He asked about the progress on that topic. Sgt.David Estes commented it was already a law, citing Chapter 828. Amanda responded it was a law; but, DASAB had determined it was not strong enough. She will prepare the paperwork for DASAB in January. Also on the next agenda will be the rescue policy Tom Kepp commented on the Ordinance and Policy procedures;stating DASAB was asked to do the Ordinance Revision.Now it was up to the BCC; but,their attorneys made their own changes. The Sub-Committee did what they thought was right for the animals and for the public.. Sergeant David Estes was not in support of the lack of discretion by DASAB in considering public relations. He thought it imprudent to vote to ratify the current Ordinance changes if the County Attorneys disapproved of it. Cindy Harrold stated the Sub-Committee was asked to do it. They worked long and hard on it and they were satisfied it was a good document. Marcia Breithaupt commented she never saw so much irresponsible pet ownership and she hoped the BCC passed the revisions. Next meeting is scheduled for January 15,2013 at 6:30 PM. There being no further business for the good of the County,meeting was adjourned,by order of the Chair at 8:48 PM. COLLIER COUNTY DOMESTIC ANIMAL SERVICES �� -k /14/Ltxpl • Chairman Marcia Breithaupt These minut• • .►roved by the Board/Committee on 1 /15 1/7) as presented ATM or as amended 6