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DASAC Minutess 03/18/2026MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF COLLIER COUNTY DOMESTIC ANIMAL SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE Naples, Florida March 18th, 2026 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 p.m. for a MEETING at Growth Management Community Development Department Room 609/610 2800 N. Horseshoe Dr. Naples, Florida, with the following members present: CHAIRMAN: Allen Schantzen Susan Mehas- Vice Chair Michele Antonia Kelly Hyland Meredith McLean Jessica Orlando Rebecca Morris Victoria Redstall County Staff in Attendance: Diane Lynch, Growth Management, Management Analyst II 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 II. Roll Call- Establish a Quorum A quorum of 3 was confirmed. III.Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of Allegiance was recited. IV.Approval of agenda Allen Schantzen- Moving 10A New members up to 2A. Move Facilities up to 7A Motion to approve- Kelly Hyland Motion seconded- Michele Antonia Motion passed unanimously March 18, 2026 Page 1 of 5 V.Agenda and Minutes a. Meeting minutes February 18, 2026 Kelly Hyland- Need to update minutes to absent for meeting. Motion to approve- Susan Mehas Motion seconded- Michele Antonia Motion passed unanimously VI.Public comment- Items not addressed on this agenda None VII.Public comment- Agenda Items in Sequence a. Welcome New Committee Members- Introductions made at the beginning of the meeting VIII.Staff Updates a. Facilities Brian Delony- Director of Facilities Update on Capital projects. 9.4 Acres with 6 buildings started in 2024 1. Generator replacement. Campus Wide 500KW Natural Gas. Will begin April 2026 2. Building 6- Change from stables to administrative space 3. Building 1- Relocate vet staff out of Building 1 and into Building 2. Replace AC. 4. Building 2- Increase usability of space. Will house the cat colony and have isolation rooms for illness. 5. Projects completed- Buildings 5, 4 and 3. Allen Schantzen- Will you be lining the walls of Building 1 with x-ray Brian Delony- Xray room will have the appropriate lining once it’s built Rebecca Morris- Will isolation rooms have separate AC ducts Brian Delony- They will have a stand-alone AC system Allen Schantzen- What is the timeline for the remaining projects Brian Delony- Completion estimate is 2028 Allen Schantzen- Where is the money coming from. Which line item in the budget. Brian Delony- Surtax approved in 2019, money from the General Fund in 301. None of the capital projects come out of the DAS operations budget. b. Leadership report- Meredith McLean Intake 327- Strays 303 Owner surrenders 24 Outcomes- 168 adoptions. Reclaimed- 41. Transferred out- 92 Returned to field- 49 March 18, 2026 Page 2 of 5 Volunteer Hours- Total 1,897. Retention rate after orientation up to 63% National Average 40%. Foster- Animals out to Foster- Cats 24, Dogs 15, Rabbits 3. Social media- Engagement up to 71%. Total followers up 1%. Goals is 25,000 by July. 85% increase since 1/2026. Transfer out- 25.2% decrease. 92 animals. Dogs-11 Cats-77 Other- 4 Overall Intake- Decreased by 15.8%. 8.2% decrease in cats 27.7% decrease dogs. Adoptions- 1.8% decrease in adoptions Live Release rate- 96% Save Rate- 95% Open Positions- 4 Customer Service Representative open. Administration Support Position-Open. Behavior and enrichment- Offer extended. Customer Service Specialist- Scheduling interviews. Animal Care Specialist- Selection made sent to HR. Updates from last meeting- Adoption Contract- Working on legal verbiage. Ordinance- Confirmed this is not in the purview of the committee. Could be done outside of the organization on an individual basis. Slaughterhouses- True Slaughterhouse would go through USDA and the Florida Department of Agriculture. Kelly Hyland Seat- Kelly has been reappointed. Will go before the BOCC at the next meeting. Kelly Hyland- What is the approval process for an organization to accept transfers from our shelter Meredith McLean- I can bring the details with me to the next meeting IX.Old Business a. Phases of Adoption Kelly Hyland- Update on the Xray machine Meredith McLean- Working on procuring. Money is there to purchase. Kelly Hyland- Are repeat RTO animals coming into the shelter reported to Code Enforcement Meredith McLean- Fines are increased each time. Very small percentage of intake. If an animal comes in multiple times we work with Code Enforcement to resolve any issues at home. There is no requirement for me to report to Code. Kelly Hyland- Adoption agreement. Can we start requiring written approval from landlords for adoptions to avoid animals being returned to the shelter Meredith McLean- We can take it into consideration. It could create barrier for adoptions. I am not comfortable holding an animal longer than we need to. The adopter could go somewhere else to adopt a pet instead. March 18, 2026 Page 3 of 5 Susan Mehas- If an applicant is flagged on the do not adopt list, at what point does that come up Meredith McLean- Staff has a requirement, per the new FL statute, to look at the new database at the initial application step. Kelly Hyland- People are concerned that we are transferring to the Humane Society and they have been euthanizing long term animals. Meredith McLean- I would encourage the community to do their research to see why those decisions were made. They are a trusted partner, and we will continue to work with them in the future. X.New Business a. Methods for Increased Volunteer Participation Allen Schantzen- Nighttime volunteers are needed. No communication goes out if there are not enough volunteers onsite for the night routine. We have ample coverage for the daytime. To get every dog out for one last bathroom break with only 4 volunteers is challenging. Suan Mehas- How did the volunteer event at FGCU do Meredith McLean- We have trained 3 students so far. We have increased the available seats available to our orientations. We have improved the training for our volunteers. We need to work on creative ways to increase our volunteers Allen Schantzen- I suggest we only recruit for the nightshift Meredith McLean- We can do that. There are organizations that advertise for specific hours and shifts only. Kelly Hyland- Have you looked into or had any luck with the High Schools. Meredith McLean- Our current volunteer age is 18. We are looking for ways to integrate younger volunteers into the shelter Susan Mehas- We can add a ribbon to our social media posts “Volunteers needed” Kelly Hyland- We can add it to the vaccination and licensing reminders that go out. XI.Advisory Committee Member comments Jessica Orlando- I would like to come tour the facility it has been a long time since I visited. Allen Schantzen- For Michele, she has been a long-term committee member and she is retiring. I would just like to say Thank you. Susan Mehas- Vaccination requirements for TNR program. We need to set our own standards to raise the bar. Need to add blood test for Leukemia. Meredith McLean- It is the best practice to not do testing. It has been signed off by our veterinarian. Allen Schantzen- Shared positive feedback on the new veterinarian Meredith McLean- She has definitely elevated the standard of care in our facility. Allen Schantzen- General Manager at Fidelity Investments in interested in doing a get to know DAS event with all their employees. March 18, 2026 Page 4 of 5 XII. Next Meeting Wednesday April 15th, 2026 Future Meeting dates May 20,2026 June 17, 2026 July 15, 2026 August 19, 2026 September 15, 2026 October 21, 2026 November 18, 2026 December 16, 2026 XIII.Adjourn March 18, 2026 ******** There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was concluded at 7:47PM. Collier County Domestic Animal Services I <fJl/l. ). t.. These minutes were approved by the Committee/ Chainnan on __ V __ ( check one) as presented , or as amended ------ Page 5 of 5