Loading...
DASAB Minutes 12/18/2024 Draft 1 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF COLLIER COUNTY DOMESTIC ANIMAL SERVICES ADVISORY BOARD Naples, Florida December 18, 2024 LET IT BE REMEMBERED that the Collier County Domestic Animal Services Advisory Board, in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 6:00 p.m. for a MEETING at the Growth Management Community Development Department Room 609/610 2800 N. Horseshoe DR. Naples, Florida, with the following members present: CHAIRMAN: Laurie Harris Michele Antonia Kelly Hyland Susan Mehas Allen Schantzen Jonathan Foerster Cpl. Sherry Rego (Excused) Also Present: Meredith McLean, Director, Domestic Animal Services Alexandra Casanova, Management Specialist, II, (Division Liaison) Amy Patterson, County Manager Jeff Klatzkow, County Attorney 2 Any persons in need of the verbatim record of the meeting may request a copy of the audio recording from Domestic Animal Services. I. Call to Order Chair Harris called to order at 6:00pm. II. Roll Call – Establish a Quorum A quorum of 6 was established. III. Pledge of Allegiance [The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.] IV. Approval of Agenda Mr. Schantzen moved to approve the Agenda subject to hearing Item 8 before Item 7. Second by Mr. Mehas. Carried unanimously 6 – 0. V. Public comment – items not addressed on this agenda Tom Kepp, the only way we're fixing this problem which affects Domestic Animal Services (DAS) and Humane Society Naples intake is if we all get together and sit outside the building and discuss how we can help fix things in the field. Snipp Collier is willing to have real discussions with top groups involved in these organizations. Ms. Mehas- are you talking about the smaller rescue groups? Mr. Kepp - just with a couple people involved in leadership of the group. Ms. Mehas, just DAS and Humane Society of Naples only? Mr. Kepp, and Snipp Collier to start with and then we can determine activity moving forward. VI. Approval of minutes A. November 20, 2024 Tabled VII. Staff Report No update necessary. VIII. Legal interpretations presentation – County Attorney Jeff Klatzkow Thanked them for their service, it was countless hours and appreciated what they do. Ms. Harris - How bound are we by Sunshine Laws? Mr. Klatzkow - No different then a commissioner Mr. Schantzen - Why did DAS end up with an affirmative vote of four or more to be necessary to take official action if other boards don't have four or more? Mr. Klatzkow - you need to vote a four out of seven. You could meet and only have four but still need the four votes. Mr. Schantzen - Do we make recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners on programs, services, classes, and special events that will further assist Collier County DAS in providing the best service. Mr. Klatzkow - that's the Advisory Board’s core function Mr. Schantzen including to analyze, review construction and improvements to DAS facilities, to make recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners (BCC)? Mr. Klatzkow - only if Staff came forward to the Advisory Board for a recommendation or input. If there is an issue outside your scope, public comment to the board avenue to address it, with input from the County Manager. If the Advisory Board is interested in addressing issues outside the 3 Ordinance governing them, an amendment will be required. The process is Staff presents items to the BCC who determines if the request should be approved. Ms. Antonia noted this process was utilized when the requirements for Trap Neuter and Release (TNR) were considered, which included an analysis of cost savings and efficiency in dealing with feral cats. Mr. Klatzkow noted if changes are under consideration, a meeting with the BCC could be held to review the matter and obtain input. Chair Harris noted amendments to the language could be proposed and forwarded to the County Attorney’s Office for review. Ms. Hyland requested clarification on Ordinance section 14-29 #2 Mr. Klatzkow - it gives the County or a resident the ability to enter public and private property. You can knock on the door, but you can't go into the backyard. Ms. Hyland asked, are you referring to curtilage? Can you define curtilage? Mr. Klatzkow - curtilage, you have a residential home, everything around is the curtilage. Ms. Hyland continued to read a section of the Ordinance. So, the way it is written is you're allowed to go on public or private property but can't go within any building or structure within that property. A discussion occurred on the details of the Section of the Ordinance. Ms. Harris-we can revise the language and submit it to the County Attorney’s Office for review. Ms. Hyland -The probable cause allows someone to go on property. Mr. Klatzkow - if the Sheriffs Officer sees a dog tethered the Sheriff and the ACO can take action. Ms. Hyland - so if you see something in their front yard, they can act but not in the backyard Mr. Klatzkow- they can't go around the back. They can go to the neighbors' house with approval and view the adjacent property. IX. Old Business A. Foster to Adopt Updates Ms. McLean reported: • The current count at shelter is 255 animals, 193 cats, 60 dogs and one rabbit • Intake for November were 415, 248 cats, 158 dogs, 9 others • The month of October adoptions were 87, November was 345 which is a large increase but out foster-to-adopts weren’t considered adoptions until they were altered. • We currently have 290 animals in foster. B. Building Construction Ms. Mclean reported: • The spray foam insulation was applied. • Fire equipment expected to be completed on the 20th. • HVAC controls are expected to be completed on the 27th • Electrical, some light repairs are completed but we have a few things slated for this weekend, which is our emergency exit signs and some outlets • Plumbing, floor drains are cleaned, drain covers are getting installed soon, we're installing new hoses • Wall panels and mirrors were installed, power washing of the interior was completed, and painting is ongoing. • The kennel gates will be installed in the future. 4 Ms. McLean - building 5 will be done by the end of the year. Ms. Harris - “Can we get an update on building 3 and 4? Ms. McLean -the plan is we're going to move on directly to one of the next buildings, we have a lot of pieces lined up. We know the process now with this first building, it should take 90 days for a building to be done. Ms. Mehas - Why do dogs get so much freedom, and cats are in cages? Ms. McLean -We’re working with the constraints that we're currently with, we've made some improvements to the cat kennels. Mr. Schantzen - The plan is to take either 3 or 4 out of commission for up to 90 days, plus or minus? Ms. McLean - Right, 3 and 5 will have to be the new building with more animals in 5. 5 has a split in the middle and we can use the back for isolation. 3 and 4 are adoption buildings and 5 is that stray hole and disease control building. Mr. Schantzen -The determination is 4 is coming out of commission next? In the process is when we do the door swap Ms. McLean - Yes that's correct. C. Veterinarian Search • We have a manager position • One possible candidate for veterinarian • Customer service position • Animal care supervisor • One program/foster coordinator i. External Veterinary Cost • The cost of spending for veterinary care outside is in the meeting packet. • The data is from August to now, subtract the first line which is the emergency pet hospital. ii. Spay/Neuter third party fees No update necessary. D. Surtax Fund (Shelter Improvements/Replacements) – County Manager Ms. Patterson provided an update noting there was $6 million allocated for a new facility for DAS back in 2017/2018. Some of the items on the list were ideas versus actual projects, now the money is not adequate for the 2024 standards. The $6 million needs to be more like $20 to $25 million. At that point in time the idea was to use surtax for some major renovations to current property. We’re working on accommodating the air conditioning to make the building air conditioning ready. We've added $2.5 million in capital dollars, this is green money not, surtax money that will help supplement DAS. There is also a $1M in the budget to start planning a facility in the eastern part of the County. We have a couple of ideas for Immokalee and off Oil Well Road. Ms. Hyland - Approximately how much is left of the $6 million? Ms. Patterson - I don't really know, I need to go through and see what the expenditure is. Ms. Mehas - Removing the Animal Control Officers salary and benefits from DAS, how much did it put back for DAS. Ms. Patterson - We can get back to you on that. Mr. Foerster - Is there a possibility the County could work with the David Lawrence Center or nonprofit organizations to raise money for animal welfare, building capital? 5 Ms. Patterson- That’s a possibility’. Ms. Harris - Can you give us examples of what is and what is not surtax eligible? Ms. Patterson- It can be used for sitework, land acquisition and purchase of buildings and not furniture, fixtures, desks, computers, etc. Mr. Schantzen - Is there any document on the long-term plan? Ms. Patterson - No but we have an Annual Update and Inventory Report which is our five-year capital plan. Ms. Hyland – what is the protocol for the community reporting a complaint? Ms. Patterson - That's something Meredith, Jaime and I need to discuss how to better deal with the call volume coming in. Ms. Hyland - where does the call transfer to, Code Enforcement or DAS? Ms. McLean - it depends on the situation. X. New Business A. Capital Project – Short term, mid term, long term This was addressed earlier. B. Ordinance revision update We have been trying to reschedule the date. C. Social media discussion Mr. Foerster noted he received a post from a group, Domestic Animal Services Advisory Group on Facebook that was negative and incorrect regarding Humane Society and its operations. They were criticizing one of the biggest partners of that organization. I spoke to Sarah at the Humane Society and briefly with Ms. Mclean about it. There's very little the County can do to stop it. Ms. McLean -We can't do much to control the name of a group. Ms. Harris - I did not start that group I joined it to make sure I knew what was being said. Mr. Foerster - I brought this up if anyone is associated with people posting those things it would be helpful to ask them not to do it or explain why it's not a great idea for the benefit of the animal welfare in the county. Ms. McLean - The County shelters don't thrive without the relationship with the nonprofit agencies, and I want to maintain a good relationship with them. XI. Public Comment Tom Kepp submitted a copy of a case for the Board’s review. The information included copies of photographs, Citations and other information. He expressed concern on the process required to enforce chaining and proper shelter of dogs and recommended the Ordinance be reviewed including the requirements for enforcement officers entering private property and taking control of animals in need when necessary. Patty Tulley expressed concern on safety standards for building 3, dogs have broken out and volunteers have had accidents. She queried if the kennel doors in building 3 are being replaced as the dogs have damaged them. Discussion on the status of the doors noting the Board and Staff is aware of the issues and are investigating a long-term solution to the issues. XII. Advisory Board Member Comments The following was noted during Member comments: • It would be beneficial to review cases to determine the solution to the treatment of animal 6 issues including any changes required to the Ordinance. • A review of the parameters for adoption including the “first come” policy should be undertaken to determine if any changes are necessary. • An initiative should be undertaken to consider rebranding Domestic Animals Services including the name of the Department, logo, etc. to ensure it properly represents the services provided by the County. • It would be advantageous for the Advisory Board to be represented at functions which are held by various businesses promoting activities in line with the Department’s goals and services. XIII. Adjourn There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was concluded at 8:45pm. Collier County Domestic Animal Services ___________________________________ Laurie Harris, Chairman These minutes were approved by the Committee/Chairman on ________________, (check one) as presented _______, or as amended ________.