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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2020-09-15 minutesMinutes Animal Shelter Advisory Committee Meeting Tuesday, September 15, 2020 Members Present: Dr. Greg Boyer, Chair Lt. Chad Stieferman Dr. Melissa Bolden, Vice Chair Captain Derek Heislen Chief Roger Schroeder Lori Blatter, Shelter Manager The Animal Shelter Committee met for a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday September 15, 2020 in the Conference Room, Jefferson City Animal Shelter, 2308 Hyde Park Road, Jefferson City Missouri. The meeting was called to order by Dr. Boyer, Chair. Approval of Minutes Dr. Bolden moved to approve the minutes from the previous meeting. Staff Reports Shelter Veterinarian was not present but reported through the shelter manager that no large outbreaks of disease or infections have occurred since the last committee meeting. The amount of sick animals has actually seen a decrease from years past through kitten season. Shelter manager Lori Blatter submitted length of stay and intake statistics for the committee to review which is attached. Discussion ensued regarding cat intakes which have increased while at the same time cat length of stay has been reduced. Length of stay formula includes time spent in foster homes and the Puppies for Parole Program as well as stray hold which can vary between 5 and 10 business days. Manager Blatter suggests that fast tracking and better usage of social media is one of the driving factors behind the decreased length of stay. Dr. Boyer suggested it may be COVID related, however we are not seeing the same reduction for dogs. The shelter has only had to run one cat sale which is highly unusual to get to this time of year with only one sale. Even that sale was only half price and not reduced to $10.00. Discussion ensued regarding Puppies for Parole stays skewing the average length of stay for dogs. Chief Schroeder suggested we remove the days the dogs are at JCCC enrolled in the Puppies for Parole Program and Dr. Boyer agreed. Manager Blatter stated that she will look into the possibility and attempt to remove the days the dogs are in the PFP program. Manager Blatter advised the committee that the two vacant Animal Control Officer positions have been filled and the new ACO’s are already out in the field and doing well. Chief Schroeder asked to have them present at the next meeting for introductions. Minutes Animal Shelter Advisory Committee Meeting Tuesday, September 15, 2020 Lt. Stieferman reported that the County has hired a new ACO, however that ACO will need to complete the Field Training Officer Program before he/she will be on duty. Lt. Stieferman reported that leadership is working together and the new County ACO will train with Senior ACO Reeves so a cohesive foundation is built and the City and County can work together in a more cohesive and integrated manner. Dr. Boyer asked how the relationship between the City and County as it relates to animal control, is evolving. Lt. Stieferman reported that we have developed streamlined processes and forms and good communication at all levels is creating a cooperative and cohesive system. The shelter has worked with leadership to develop forms and processes to utilize when owners have been incarcerated and it is working extremely well. Dr. Boyer asked how the court system is responding to animal control cases. Manager Blatter reports that the relationship and cooperation and communication between the shelter and the court system is very good. Written Correspondence There has been no written correspondence to report. There was discussion regarding the need to keep it on the agenda. Chief Schroeder explained the history and purpose to the committee, and the consensus was to leave it on the agenda. Old Business Stainless Steel Cat Kennels- the kennels are installed and we are awaiting the final trim. The company that came in first to finish did not complete the job in an acceptable way. The kennel representative is scheduled to visit the shelter to see the project and get it completed properly. The kennels are working well. The feline residents are much less stressed in cages where they can move about. Dog Kennel flaps have been ordered and are in production. Mold Remediation- Still waiting for the dog kennel flaps. Once installed there will be a test and balance done on the system. Moving the washer and dryer out to the garage has been beneficial. We are seeing condensation on the ceiling vents. There is talk about installing dehumidifiers in the non- animal side of the shelter to deal with the ongoing humidity issue. COVID- No staff at the shelter have been directly affected by COVID. The staff is operating on normal hours and limiting visitors to 15 in the building at one time. The shelter has only reached that maximum a few times. The shelter has a protocol in place to utilize should any shutdowns occur in the future. HVAC- replaced more coils, circuit board and other items. There are ongoing issues being addressed. Some repairs were covered under warranty. Dr. Boyer talked about new technology that will kill viruses as they move through the HVAC systems. Michigan Street Cats- There is no longer a colony on Michigan Street. All of the colony cats were trapped and rehomed into barn homes outside of the city. Communicated with the local TNR group during the process and the issue was resolved without incident. Minutes Animal Shelter Advisory Committee Meeting Tuesday, September 15, 2020 New Business Dr. Stacey Beddoe of Southwest Animal Clinic was not able to be present due to an emergency surgery. She is the newest member of the advisory committee. Physical access to the adoptable pets is limited to only those who have an interest in adopting an animal when they visit the shelter. Visitors are greeted and signed in by staff when they arrive and all visitors are allowed to go back to adoption areas. It is explained to visitors when they arrive, that if they are interested in getting to interact with a pet or pets, for consideration of adoption, they may return for a key or staff will assist them in getting the animal out and into either the designated visiting room or outside area (if dogs). This is working very well. The pets are much calmer and more appealing to potential adopters. This has also reduced the number of incidents of loose animals in adoption areas. Discussion ensued on how this will also reduce the potential spread of disease within the adoption areas. The crematorium was inspected and is aging appropriately for the amount of use. ACO Barry reported to manager that we are seeing a higher number of cremations. He reported to the manager that in the past it was not running every day. Now, it is running daily and at times even that is not enough. This may account for some of the shelters higher utility costs. During the inspection, the company put forth an estimate for repairs. After discussion it was determined that more research needed to be done. Dr. Boyer wondered if the use of the fire brick was causing issues. Manager Blatter will follow up on these items. Manager Blatter and ACO Barry are going to try and attend training at the manufacturer in an effort to ensure we are utilizing our crematorium at the highest level of efficiency possible. Meeting Adjourned at 1:28pm Next meeting March 17 , 2019 12:30 PM Conference Room, Jefferson City Animal Shelter Respectfully submitted Lori A Blatter