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DASAC Minutes 02/19/2013 2013 Domestic Animal Services Advisory Committee Minutes February 19 , 2013 . ` February 19, 2013 R0 Magnin APR 1 9 13 20 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF COLLIER COUNT DOMESTIC ANIMAL SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE Naples, Florida, February 19, 2013 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 (excused) District 1 r4e VICE CHAIRMAN: Marjorie Bloom District 2 _— Sergeant David Estes District 3 n Cindy Harrold (excused) District 4 ^ .' Dan Martin Districts Michael Simonik ALSO PRESENT: Amanda Townsend, Director, DAS Melissa Shyan-Norwalt– Shelter Operations Manager Dan Christenbury, Public Relations Coordinator Misc.Cares: Date: Item N: 1 Copies to: February 19, 2013 Call to Order Vice Chairman Marjorie Bloom called the meeting to order at 6:34 P.M. II. Attendance—Establish a Quorum Roll call was taken and a quorum established. III. Approval of Agenda Sgt. David Estes moved to approve the Agenda. Second by Michael Simon& Carried unanimously,4-0. Sgt. David Estes amended his motion to include changing the date on the Agenda from January 15 to February 19; with and amended second by Michael Simonik. Amended motion carried 4-0. IV.Approval of Minutes: January 15,2013 It was noted that those present had not received the minutes prior to the meeting and were reluctant to voice approval until they could be read and reviewed, it was decided to table this item until the next meeting, giving the whole DASAB time to review the minutes. V. Old Business A. Director's Report Amanda Townsend reported: • The BCC had appointed Michael Simonik as the Humane Society representative position on the DASAB, replacing Tom Kepp. • The BCC had approved a 3-year renewal of the agreement with the Collier Community Cat Coalition(now known as the Naples Cat Alliance) • The BCC had requested the County Manager to schedule a workshop at 1:00 PM on March 5, 2013 to discuss the Animal Control Ordinance proposed revisions. Both proposed versions will be presented and Public Comment will be taken. • Darcy Andrade,the Animal Control Supervisor had joined the staff on February 11. Amanda noted she had been very involved, as Treasurer and Chairman of the Committee in charge of the 2013 Animal Control Association Conference in Orlando on the 22nd and 23`d of February, lining up speakers and handling the many responsibilities of getting materials ready for the event. Dr. Shyan- Norwalt will be one of the presenters. Dr. Melissa Shyan-Norwlt noted: • The partial privacy panels had resulted in changes in dog behavior. After monitoring for several weeks, a big difference was noted,with less barking and a calmer atmosphere. • Resting boxes in the cat adoption area of the lobby are constructed for better viewing as well as the ability to accommodate different sizes of cats. 2 February 19, 2013 • Repair and painting of doors in the barn and double Dutch doors in stalls as well as in the stray cat area made a difference in cleanliness and safety. Amanda Townsend commended the Facilities Department for how well they take care of DAS, mentioning the installation of the panels and door repairs among the many things they do for DAS. Dan Christenbury reported he had been working on the re-design of the web-site and his target date for completion was the end of March. He also mentioned the upcoming lecture series; information would be on the Community Calendar with Naples Daily News as well as all the media outlets. Marjorie Bloom asked if there could be a notice or e-mail blast sent out. Amanda responded Dan would be working on an E-mail newsletter subscription after the completion of the web-site project. The next item discussed was the Immokalee Shelter sub-committee meeting. Dan Martin, Marjorie Bloom and Marcia Breithaupt are the members of that committee. Amanda explained the aims and progress of that sub-committee to new member, Michael Simonik, and invited his participation, should he have an interest. The sub-committee was working on the needs and possibilities and Amanda was working with the budgeting aspect and strategy for raising community awareness to support the project, which was to build a new shelter. Michael Simonik agreed to be on the sub-committee and suggested inviting the Commissioners out to see the Immokalee Shelter. Dan Martin stated there had been some discussion about having a questionnaire to gather the residents' thoughts, ideas and input. Amanda noted there had been a change in personnel in Immokalee and her contact,who would know how to best approach the community, had been replaced. Marjorie Bloom suggested they have an informal sub-committee meeting to bring Michael up to speed. It was decided to meet on a Thursday, the exact date to be determined by everyone's schedules. An e-mail will be sent to all DASAB members, and it will be duly advertised. VI. New Business A.Adoption Contract(Dan Martin) Dan Martin had received an e-mail regarding a person not being able to remove a dog prior to being sterilized when the law said differently. Dan stated the person wanted clarification of the inconsistency. Amanda Townsend responded Florida law says you can; but, the policy of 3 February 19, 2013 DAS, which was more stringent, says you cannot release an unsterilized animal unless a good medical reason to do so exists. The dog in question was ill and was sent home to recuperate and will be returned to be sterilized when it recovers, at the owner's expense. VII. Public Comment-None A. Topic TBA(open discussion) No topics submitted B. Individual Comments Stephen Wright spoke about Sunday openings, which had been suggested at one time, but it was a financial issue at that time. He suggested it be promoted as a value added service to have Sunday hours from 11 am to 5pm. It would be of help to the public and encourage more adoptions. He stated it would require an extra person and need the support of DASAB and DAS. He offered to bring the idea forward to the Commissioners with a cost effective way to help the citizens and the County. He will send a proposal for DASAB to discuss at the next meeting. Since that item was on the Top Ten Priority List,Amanda offered to make it a consideration in the upcoming budget process, once DAS receives final budgetary guidelines from the BCC. At the March meeting, she will bring to the Advisory Board a priority wish list for their feedback. She will also provide Michael Simonik with the DASAB Priority list,the Ordinance,budget information and other materials pertinent to the Advisory Board functions. Michele Antonia spoke about the Immokalee Shelter drop off boxes having nothing to contain the animals if they get out of the box. She suggested four chain-link panels wired together, with one on the top would be a safety feature for both the animals and the shelter personnel. She also announced she could drum up plenty of community support in a period of 2 or 3 weeks for a new shelter. She stated spay and neuter was getting more accepted and the community was becoming more involved. Barbara Rudd,representing the volunteer at DAS, asked: • for more volunteer help in the morning as more than one person was needed as the same five or six volunteers were getting burned out • for the kind of follow up that was being done • for a point person to follow up with DAS and the volunteers • for a meeting with all the volunteers Amanda Townsend responded there will be a meeting to address the issues of concern to the volunteers. Patty Teulet added to Barbara's comments: • Thanked Dan Christenbury for the e-mail and Kathy Drew for the Presidents Day event 4 February 19, 2013 • Noted many volunteers coming in the morning bypass the dogs and go straight to the cats • Panels were a great addition and working well • Short on Martindale collars(DAS has ordered more) • What was the time for walking dogs?Getting something done before the people come? • Kennel seems to smell - fan was full of hair; needs to run more often • Whistles -- instructions on when to use. (only to call attention if problems) • Walkie-talkies—instructions and where are they kept? • E--mail flyer--who does it go out to? • Maintenance schedule for spraying small flea-type bugs in the yard • The tree—trimmed so people can see the sign Amanda Townsend responded to some of the issues and the others will be cleared up at the volunteer meeting to be scheduled. Colleen MacAlister spoke about the positive results with pilot programs around the country concerning the pairing of dogs with homeless people. She noted a book written on 75 studies in several communities tells about the successes and changes in homeless people, in that they will care for the dogs before themselves;and, has caused them to lift themselves out of their situation if only to benefit their dog. Studies have shown the benefit to the community as well. Colleen suggested looking into implementing the same thing for Collier County,partnering with various agencies(veterans groups St. Matthews House,etc.) Discussion followed regarding the various agencies involved, animal control laws, donations, access to pet care, safety net for the pets,public relations, pro and con issues and ideas. Dan Martin stated the idea had merit and suggested Colleen contact the agencies involved for more information on how the programs were run and report back to the DASAB. Amanda Townsend suggested contacting Sheriffs office where all pertinent agencies are registered. Her concerns were on the safety net for the pet. Michael Simonik was concerned with the safety net issue,citing an occasion that had transpired several years ago with a homeless person. He noted the Women's Shelter has that program of temporary shelter for pets and it works for them. Sgt. David Estes questioned how get around tethering laws and saw many hurdles. But,the program had merit and would need a lot of community support. He noted the Cell Bars program and inmate help at DAS had already brought alternative programs to the attention of the public. VIII. Advisory Board Member Comments Michael Simonik commented about 700 animals had been transferred from DAS 5 February 19, 2013 to the Humane Society last year. In first six weeks of this year, 101 animals had been transferred. Projections were for many more in 2013. He noted more adult cats were being adopted. He noted Dan Martin questioned the condition of the DAS web-site- -outdated postings and non-working hyperlinks. Daniel Christenbury responded the page was down for a time while it was being re- designed. He was in the process of working on all updates and revisions. Marjorie Bloom noted how impressed she was with the Humane Society newsletter. Also, with all that goes on behind the scenes at DAS and all they do to help the animals, citing several instances. She suggested: • 10:30 am opening for the volunteers would be better; in order to clean up prior to the public coming in • food to go home with the adopted dogs;or, a written notice on how to feed and transition them. • addressing the tree issue: her solution–trim it or cut it down—it was hurting the adoptions. • Tracking system for Volunteer hours: • Follow-up e-mails from those who adopt. Share their stories about their pet. (Some volunteers keep in touch with adopters and exchange pictures. People like to talk about their pets more than their kids.) Amanda Townsend suggested stories and pictures could be forwarded to Daniel, with permission from owner. Michael Simonik noted the Science Diet was back on the market with a new contract, different criteria and smaller bags. The Humane Society was contracted with them. The next meeting of the DAS Advisory Board is scheduled for March 19,2013 There being no further business for the good of the County,the meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 7:50 P.M. Collier County Dom is Animal Se y)ces Vice Chairma Marjorie Bloohi These minutes approved by the Board/Committee on presented or amended 6