[00:00:09]
[CALL TO ORDER]
HELLO? I'M CRAIG NASER COMMISSION SHARE AUSTIN ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION CALLING THE MEETING TO ORDER AT 6:01 PM.UM, ON MARCH 14TH, 2022, VIRTUAL AND TELECONFERENCING.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, I'D LIKE TO, UH, WELCOME KRISTEN HOSSAN WHO MOST OF US KNOW OR SOME OF US KNOW.
ANYWAY, I HAVEN'T SEEN HER IN A WHILE.
UH, I AM GOING TO HAVE A ROLL CALL OF, UH, UH, PEOPLE PRESENT SO THAT CRAIG NASER CHAIR PRESENT.
LOUISE HERRERA, RYAN CLINTON, PRESIDENT LISA MITCHELL HERE.
BEATRICE DOES EIGHTIES THING AND HERE.
IF ANY OF YOU HAVE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST, I GUESS YOU'LL HAVE TO SPEAK UP BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT HERE TO SIGN THIS LIST, UM, UH, FOR RECUSAL ABSTAINING ON ANY OF THESE ISSUES.
SO WE'LL ASSUME THAT NO ONE DOES, UNLESS YOU SPEAK UP.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
BE A CITIZEN COMMUNICATION AND LET'S SEE, WHERE IS THAT LIST? YEAH, YOU GOT, YEAH, HERE WE GO.ELLEN JEFFERSON, DOES SHE HEAR? HMM.
WELL, LET'S GO FIRST WITH PAT, PAT VOWS THREE, AS YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
UM, SO FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD LIKE TO REITERATE, WHAT I SPOKE ABOUT LAST TIME IS THAT I REALLY, REALLY THINK Y'ALL NEED OUR WORK INCLUDES ON THE BUDGET TO LOOK AT NOT ONLY THE, UM, BUDGET AMOUNTS FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT ALSO WHAT TRAVIS COUNTY IS SPENDING AND APPROPRIATING FOR ANIMAL SERVICES AND ALSO THE ANIMAL SERVICES DONATIONS FUNDS.
AND WHEN YOU HAVE A WORKING GROUP, FAD EXAMINES, ALL OF THOSE EXPENDITURES, YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING AT WHETHER OR NOT THE, UM, THE EXPENDITURES HAVE KEPT UP WITH THE GROWTH AND THE, IN PARTICULAR, WHAT IS THE RATIO OF ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICERS TO POPULATION? YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE DOING IN TERMS OF, UM, SPAY NEUTER SERVICES BEING PROVIDED PER YOU KNOW, PER POPULATION AND ALSO ANIMAL CARE? AND WHAT, WHAT IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE RATIO OF ANIMAL CARE WORKERS TO THE NUMBER OF ANIMALS BEING CARED FOR AT THE SHELTER? SO I SAID THAT LAST TIME, I STILL BELIEVE YOU NEED TO BE LOOKING AT THAT.
AND I REALIZED THAT THIS MONTH YOU NEED TO GET SOMETHING INTO THE CITY MANAGER, FOR THE CITY MANAGER TO CONSIDER PUTTING IT IN THE BUDGET.
BUT AS YOU KNOW, CITY COUNCIL DOES NOT MAKE THEIR DECISIONS UNTIL AUGUST AND TRAVIS COUNTY MAKES THEIR DECISIONS IN AUGUST.
SO YOU HAVE UNTIL AUGUST, WELL, JULY, PREFERABLY, POSSIBLY EVEN JUNE TO CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THE BUDGET AND MOTOR THE BUDGET NEEDS FOR A GOOD SHELTER.
UM, LAST TIME I THOUGHT YOU HAD A GOOD DISCUSSION
[00:05:01]
ON MICROCHIPPING AND EARLIER I HEARD A LITTLE BIT OF A BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN, UM, THE LEASE AND JOANNE, I THINK IT WAS ON MICROCHIPPING AND THAT HE'S GOING TO BE DOING A MICROCHIPPING CLINIC IN DISTRICT TWO.I THINK THAT IS NEEDED IN, UM, ALL OF THE EAST AUSTIN DISTRICTS.
AND I HOPE YOU WILL ANNOUNCE IT TODAY.
YOU KNOW, HOW PEOPLE CAN FIND OUT WHEN THOSE ARE GOING TO BE IN HELP SPREAD THE WORD, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S VERY MUCH NEEDED.
AND LAST TIME YOU DID DISCUSS HOW MUCH WOULD BE NEEDED TO PROVIDE MANY, MANY MORE MICROCHIPS.
AND I THINK THAT SHOULD BE A BUDGET ISSUE THAT YOU SHOULD DISCUSS AT BOTH THIS MEETING, AS WELL AS AT FUTURE MEETINGS TO GIVE US GREATER CAPABILITIES IN MICROCHIPPING.
AND OF COURSE, I ALWAYS THINK THAT SPAY-NEUTER IS UNDERFUNDED.
I, AGAIN, WANT TO PUT IN A PLUG FOR INCREASING THE FUNDING, FOOD SPEND NEUTER, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OF OUR GROWTH.
AND I WOULD LIKE YOU TO GO BACK TO, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE 10 YEARS AGO AND SEE WHAT WAS OUR STAYING CAPACITY COMPARED TO AUSTIN'S POPULATION 10 YEARS AGO, AND THEN TRY TO KEEP UP WITH THAT AND APPROPRIATE MORE MONEY FOR SPAY-NEUTER BECAUSE WE ARE, I DON'T THINK WE'RE KEEPING UP WITH THE GROWTH AND THE NUMBER OF PETS MOVING HERE.
ELLEN JEFFERSON, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
UH, YOU GOT TO PRESS THE BUTTON THERE.
UM, I REALLY JUST QUICK, I WANTED TO COME AND, UM, AND MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMISSION AND, UM, DON AND JASON KNOW THAT, UM, THE STATISTIC THAT WAS CALLED OUT AT THE LAST MEETING, UM, THAT WAS SAID ERRONEOUSLY BY MYSELF DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE.
I JUST WANTED TO APOLOGIZE FOR THAT.
THAT'S NOT WHAT THAT'S, WHAT CAME OUT WAS NOT WHAT I INTENDED TO SAY.
AND IT WAS NOT PART OF WHAT I HAD WRITTEN DOWN.
AND, UM, WHAT I INTENDED TO SAY WAS THAT WHEN AUSTIN PETS ALIVE FIRST STARTED THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAD A 15% LIVE RELEASE RATE.
WHEN WE, WHEN I TOOK OVER RESCUE IN 2008, THE CITY WAS CLOSER TO 50% LIVE RELEASE RATE.
AND SO I WAS, UM, FAR OFF AND I DON'T, UM, I DON'T TAKE LIGHTLY.
IT'S ALL THE WORK THAT THE CITY HAS PUT INTO THE LIVE RELEASE RATE THAT THE CITY ENJOYS.
AND, UM, AND I DIDN'T WANT TO DIMINISH THAT IN ANY WAY.
SO WE TRIED TO CORRECT THAT LIKE CONTACTED THE PRESS AND PUT IT OUT, ASK THEM TO CORRECT THEIR STORIES, WHICH THEY DID.
WE'VE CORRECTED, UM, THE VIDEO, WE PUT A BLURB ON THE VIDEO THAT WE PUT ON OUR OWN WEBSITE AND BLOG.
AND SO I, I HOPE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO RETRACE ALL OF OUR TRACKS ON THAT, BUT JUST WANTED TO MAKE AN ANALOGY SINCE IT WAS ORIGINALLY BROUGHT UP HERE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? UH, LET'S SEE.
I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON SOME STATISTICS THAT WERE PROVIDED AT THE LAST MEETING.
UM, IT LOOKS LIKE DURING, FROM OCTOBER TO DECEMBER OF 2021, UM, APA REPORTED THAT 98 ANIMALS DIED ON ASSISTED IN THEIR CARE.
THAT WAS 4.1% OF THEIR OVERALL OUTCOMES.
UM, 10 OF THOSE DOGS AND 34 CATS WERE FROM AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER.
UM, DURING THAT SAME PERIOD, OCTOBER TO DECEMBER, 2021, UM, THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER HAD A DIET AND CARE RATE OF 0.81% OF THEIR TOTAL OUTCOME, A TOTAL OF 27 ANIMALS.
SO I JUST WANTED TO ASK A QUESTION, WHICH IS WHY IS IT POLICY FOR AAC TO TRANSFER MEDICALLY FRAGILE PETS TO AN ORGANIZATION WHERE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE PETS SUFFER AND DIE ON ASSISTED? UM, AS A CITIZEN, I'D MUCH PREFER A SLIGHTLY HIGHER EUTHANASIA RATE AT THE MUNICIPAL SHELTER, IF IT MEANT LESS DELAY AND SUFFERING FOR THOSE MEDICALLY FRAGILE ANIMALS, I BELIEVE STRONGLY THAT LOWER, SORRY, LOW OR NO COST ACCESS TO HUMANE PROFESSIONAL EUTHANASIA IS A SERVICE THAT THE MOST VULNERABLE IN OUR COMMUNITY NEED.
AND I WOULD PREFER THAT IT BE PROVIDED BY THE PUBLIC SHELTER, WHICH I BELIEVE HAS MORE OVERSIGHT AND TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS.
UM, SO I WOULD JUST LIKE THIS BODY TO, UM, TAKE THAT, UM, ON ASSISTED DEATH IN CARE, UH, STATISTIC SERIOUSLY.
AND, UH, THINK ABOUT WHETHER THAT POLICY OF TRANSFERRING MEDICALLY FRAGILE ANIMALS TO AUSTIN PETS ALIVE, UM, IS THE BEST POLICY FOR THE ANIMALS.
[00:10:01]
OF THE GOALS FOR A MUNICIPAL SHELTER IS TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE SUFFERING ANIMAL SUFFERING WHENEVER POSSIBLE.AND I THINK THAT, UM, RETHINKING THAT PARTICULAR CURRENT POLICY WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO, UM, START THAT.
THERE ARE NO MORE, UH, THERE'S NO MORE PUBLIC COMMENT.
[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.UH, UH, BELINDA SENT THOSE OUT ON EMAIL, SO I'M, DO I HEAR A MOTION? THIS IS KATIE.
I'LL MOVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
DO I HEAR A SECOND? JOANNE I'LL SECOND.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? OKAY.
UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
ALL THOSE OPPOSED THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[2a. Austin Animal Center and Animal Services Reports.]
TO BRIEFING STAFF BRIEFINGS, AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER AND ANIMAL SERVICES REPORTS.COMMISSIONERS JASON GARZA, UH, WITH ANIMAL SERVICES.
SO FOR FEBRUARY, THE LIVE OUTCOME RATE WAS 97.3%.
WE HAD A TOTAL OF 726 ANIMALS THAT WERE BROUGHT TO THE SHELTER.
UM, A TOTAL OF 434 ANIMALS WERE ADOPTED, UH, AND WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 123 DOGS, CATS.
AND ONE RABBITS THAT WERE, WERE RETURNED TO THEIR OWNER, UH, ANIMAL PROTECTION WAS ABLE TO RETURN 43 ANIMALS, UH, TO THEIR OWNERS.
WHILE IN THE FIELD VOLUNTEER WISE, WE HAD 216 VOLUNTEERS DONATE OVER 2,600 HOURS OR SERVICE TO US IN FEBRUARY.
WE WERE ABLE TO HOLD FOUR ORIENTATIONS FOR NEW VOLUNTEERS WHERE WE HAD, UH, INTRODUCING 125 MORE PEOPLE TO THE SHELTER PROGRAMS. UH, WE HAD 160 DIFFERENT, UH, FAMILIES FOSTER FOR US.
AND AS OF MARCH 1ST, THERE WERE 156 ANIMALS IN FOSTER, 127 DOGS, CATS AND SMALL ANIMALS.
GUINEA PIGS, RABBITS WERE, UH, TRANSFERRED TO 20 LOCAL AAC PARTNERS.
AND WE HAD 60 DOGS THAT WERE TRANSPORTED, UH, TO FIVE OUT-OF-STATE RESCUE RESCUE PARTNERS.
UM, WE DID HAVE 139 CATS GO THROUGH TNR AND 13 CATS OR SNR WITHIN VET SERVICES.
WE WERE ABLE TO PERFORM 764 VET EXAMS. WE DID SPACE 363 ANIMALS.
UH, WE SAW 49 EMERGENCY CASES.
UH, 37 OF WHICH WERE TRANSFERRED FROM THE EMERGENCY CLINIC.
OUR BILL FOR, UH, WITH THE EMERGENCY CLINIC WAS 30, WAS A LITTLE, UH, $30,590.
UH, THEY WERE ABLE TO PULL 37 ANIMALS FROM US FOR MEDICAL REASONS.
UM, AND THEN WITHIN PET RESOURCE CENTER, WE WERE ABLE TO HAND OUT OVER 2,700 ITEMS OF FOOD CRATES, LEASHES TO TWO INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE NEEDING THOSE ITEMS. UM, WE ALSO HAD 174 FOUND AMA REPORTS REPORTED WITHIN OUR SYSTEM IN 237 37 LOST ANIMAL REPORTS.
UM, WE ALSO HAD 20 DOGS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO TALK WITH OWNERS AND, AND WORK WITH THEM TO, TO SEE WHAT OTHER OPTIONS THEY MAY HAVE FOR THE PETS, RATHER THAN JUST TO RENT A ROOM TO THE SHELTER.
UH, I'M HERE FOR ANY QUESTIONS, BUT CAN KICK IT OVER TO THE DON FOR COVID UPDATES.
LET'S GO WITH QUESTIONS ON THAT REPORT FIRST.
UH, ANY QUESTIONS ON THE ANIMAL SERVICES REPORT? YES, JOANNE, UM, I HAVE ONE FOR THE MEDICALLY FRAGILE DOGS THAT ARE TRANSFERRED EITHER FROM THE EMERGENCY CENTER TO APA, TO AAC OR FROM AAC TO APA.
HOW ARE THOSE, WHAT VEHICLE ARE THOSE TRANSFERRED IN? ARE THEY DONE IN ONE OF THE, IN ONE OF THE APO TRUCKS? USUALLY, YES, HERE WE HAVE IT.
WE'LL WE'LL PUT IN, UH, WE'LL GET THE TRANSFER READY WITH AN APO.
UM, SOMETIMES WE'LL WORK WITH APA.
IF THEY HAVE INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY BE COMING TO OUR SHELTER, WHO COULD DO TRANSFER OF THE MOST PART IT'S APS THAT WILL TRANSMIT THOSE ANIMALS.
IS THAT KIND OF A BUMPY RIDE IN THIS TRUCK? UM, HOPEFULLY NOT.
I MEAN, THEY SHOULD BE, THEY SHOULD BE, UH, WRITING THE, ARE DRIVING THE VEHICLE PRETTY RESPONSIBLY.
IT'S, IT'S A TRUCK, IT'S JUST THE VEHICLE, SO.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, RYAN? YEAH, I HAVE A QUESTION, JASON.
UM, DO YOU KNOW, UH, FOLLOWING UP ON THE MEDICAL, UM, ISSUE, ONE OF THE REPORTS THAT I WAS GIVEN WAS THAT, UM, SOMETIMES WHEN, UH, AAC INCURS MEDICAL COSTS THAT IT'S REQUIRING, UH, OWNERS TO PAY BACK THOSE COSTS BEFORE THEY CAN RECLAIM THEIR PET.
DO YOU KNOW IF THAT'S TRUE? UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THAT? SO ONLY IF WE ARE DOING THE MEDICAL PROCEDURE OURSELVES, SO IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE DOING, WE, AND THEN WE FOLLOW THE SCHEDULE, THE FEE SCHEDULE IS APPROVED BY A CITY COUNCIL.
[00:15:01]
THERE ARE SOME COSTS THAT WE INCUR WITH THE EMERGENCY, UH, CENTERS.UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL PUT THAT NOTE INTO THE ANIMALS FILE, BUT WE DON'T COLLECT THAT.
WE DON'T COLLECT THOSE FEES FROM, UH, A PET OWNER.
SO IF THAT REPORT WAS PROBABLY WRONG THEN, BECAUSE PEANUT WAS INDICATED TO ME THAT SOMEONE WAS HAVING TO TRY TO RAISE MONEY TO TRY TO GET THEIR PET OUT.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S SOMETHING BETWEEN THEM AND THE EMERGENCY CLINIC, BUT WE DON'T COLLECT THOSE FEES.
I DON'T BELIEVE WE ALWAYS MAKE THEM AWARE OF THE MA THAT THE EMERGENCY CLINIC HAS SPENT AND ASKED THEM IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, CONTRIBUTE.
UH, BUT IF THEY DON'T, THEY GET THEIR ANIMAL BACK WITHOUT ANY PAYMENT.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YEP.
LOTTA WE HAVE A FOLLOWUP TO A QUESTION THAT I ASKED LAST MONTH, UM, THAT I DIDN'T RECEIVE AN ANSWER FOR.
UM, AND IT REFERS TO, UH, YOU GUYS SPOKE ABOUT CLOSING ON SUNDAYS AND THAT YOU EVALUATED DATA BACK FROM FIVE YEARS TO DETERMINE THAT SUNDAY WAS THE LEAST POPULOUS DAY FOR ADOPTIONS.
AND I ASKED IF WE COULD SEE THAT DATA AND YOU'RE GOING TO SEND IT, NEVER RECEIVED IT.
UH, WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH THAT BECAUSE I'D ASKED FOR THAT TO HIM.
I DIDN'T RECEIVE THAT DATA EITHER, BUT I WAS, WAS TOLD AGAIN THAT THEY DID LOOK AT, UH, THE DAY THAT THE ADOPTION WAS DONE VERSUS THE DAY THAT, YOU KNOW, IT WAS PHYSICALLY ADOPTED VERSUS WHEN IT WAS IN THE SYSTEM AND PICKED UP AND SHOWS ADOPTED.
AND SO I WILL FOLLOW UP WITH THAT.
AND WAIT, WHEN YOU SAY THEY DON, WHO YOU TALKING ABOUT? I THOUGHT IT WAS W WAS YOUR TEAM THAT IT WAS, IT WAS THE TEAM THAT DID IT.
UH, IT WAS, UH, A MANAGER IN A, IN A SUPERVISOR THAT PUT THE DATA TOGETHER.
UH, WHO HAS HAD, IS IT KRISTEN? NOPE.
UM, I, I'M JUST CURIOUS REGARDING THE, UM, PETS ARE MEDICALLY FRAGILE.
THEY'RE A TRANSFER FROM A C TO AUSTIN PETS ALIVE.
THAT'LL INCLUDE POWER THAT THOSE, THOSE, ANY PARVO PUPPIES ARE, ARE SORT OF DICTATED BY OUR LICENSE AGREEMENT.
THE APA HELPS US WITH THOSE AND WE TRANSFER THOSE ANIMALS TO THEM.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, KRISTEN, THANK YOU.
SO I'M, I'M STILL FAMILIARIZING MYSELF WITH SOME OF THESE REPORTS.
SO FORGIVE ME IF SOME OF, UM, ARE NOT IN THE RIGHT PLACE AND FEEL FREE TO PUSH THEM TO ANOTHER AGENDA ITEM.
UM, I HAVE READ THE LAST FEW MONTHS OF REPORTS AND THERE'S A NUMBER OF REPORTS ABOUT GIVING OUT FENCING APPLICATIONS, BUT IT'S UNCLEAR TO ME THE WHY, UH, WHY THE REPORT ISN'T HOW MANY FENCING ASSISTANCE, UM, HOW MANY FOLKS RECEIVED ASSISTANCE WITH FENCING.
AND I'M, I'M WONDERING IF, IF WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION, I FORGET WHAT'S OUR, OUR APO THAT'S EXCLUSIVELY WORKS WITH THE PROGRAM TO SEE HOW MANY THAT WE ACTUALLY ARE ABLE TO PROCESS, DEPENDING ON HOW MANY APPLICATIONS SHE ACTUALLY GETS RETURNED BACK TO HER.
AND THEN WE, WE BUY THE SUPPLIES AND GIVE THEM TO THE, UH, TO THE PET OWNER.
SO WE CAN WORK ON ADDING THAT PIECE INFORMATION JUST TO CLOSE, HAVE A FULL CIRCLE ON IT.
AND, UM, IT WAS, UH, I NOTICED ON ANIMAL PROTECTION.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO COMMEND THE ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICERS.
I KNOW THAT THERE ARE ROUTINELY RETURNING 40% OF, UH, FOUND PETS IN THE FIELD WITHOUT IMPOUNDING THEM, WHICH IS A TRULY AMAZING NUMBER.
UM, AND ALSO THEY'RE PROVIDING LOTS OF SUPPLIES AND RESOURCES.
AND IN THE REPORT, I NOTICED THAT THERE YOU GIVE A NUMBER OF PER HOW MANY ITEMS WERE DISTRIBUTED, BUT IT'S UNCLEAR HOW MANY FAMILIES WERE ACTUALLY HELPED.
AND IS THAT SOMETHING THAT COULD BE REPORTED ON? OH, YES.
I CAN CHECK WITH STAFF TO SEE IF WE CAN, YOU KNOW, JUST TO MAKE SURE IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT'S DUPLICATION, IF SOMEONE IS COMING BACK TO US EVERY TWO WEEKS FOR FOOD OR WHATNOT, UM, AND GET A TRUE BREAKDOWN ON THAT.
AND, UM, I'M ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT THIS.
I KNOW THERE WERE A NUMBER OF SPACE SITUATIONS WHERE THEIR ADOPTION OR FOSTER, UM, SPECIFIC EVENTS, OTHER THAN SIMPLY WAIVING FEES HELD FOR OUTCOMES THIS MONTH.
I DIDN'T SEE THAT IN SOCIAL MEDIA OR NEWS RELEASES OR THE REPORT, BUT I WONDERED IF MAYBE THERE WERE, UM, YES, THERE WERE SEVERAL, UH, THERE WAS ACTUALLY IN THE MEDIA,
[00:20:01]
WE HAD A MAJOR MATCH, UH, WHERE PEOPLE WERE COMING, YOU KNOW, MEET UP WITH A FOSTER AT THAT TIME.UH, SO WE DID HAVE SEVERAL EVENTS.
AND, UH, I, I DON'T KNOW IF THE REPORT INCLUDES, THE LAST QUESTION I HAVE IS, UM, IF IT'S THIS REPORT OR ANOTHER AREA WHERE STOPPING AS DISCUSSED, BUT I, I KNOW THAT, UM, THERE WAS, THERE IS SEVERE UNDER-STAFFING, WHICH IS WHY THE PET RESOURCE CENTER IS CLOSED ON WEEKENDS.
AND I'M WONDERING IF THAT, UM, IF THERE'S, IF THAT'S IN THIS REPORT OR THERE'S ANOTHER PLACE TO DISCUSS THAT, JUST WANTING TO GET AN UPDATE ON THAT.
I WILL BE GIVING STAFFING UPDATE IN MY REPORT NEXT.
SO, RYAN, YEAH, JASON, JASON, I WANTED TO FOLLOW THEM WITH THE QUESTION I ASKED LAST WEEK.
UM, CAUSE WE'RE GETTING, WE'RE STARTING TO GET, UM, REQUESTS FROM, UM, FROM, UH, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ABOUT THE, UH, AVAILABILITY OF THE REPORTS IN A FORM THAT CAN BE DISTRIBUTED RATHER THAN LIKE CLICK THESE 27 ITEMS ON THE WEBSITE.
SO, UH, ANY UPDATE ON WHETHER THE CITY IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO PRODUCE THE REPORTS THAT ARE REQUIRED BY THE, UM, ORDINANCE IN SOME FORMAT THAT IS BEARABLE.
SO THIS MONTH Y'ALL, SHOULD'VE GOTTEN A SORT OF A, A, A REPORT, THE REPORTS, UM, AS A PDF.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO.
UM, THIS YEAR WE, YEAH, WE TOOK WHAT YOUR, YOUR FEEDBACK WAS.
AND, AND WE BASICALLY TOOK THE INFORMATION THAT WAS ON THE, ON THE DASHBOARD AND, AND EXPORT THE DATA TO CREATE THE REPORT SO THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S SEPARATE PAGES AND, AND, AND SO YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO CLICK THROUGH AND, UM, THEY WERE, THEY WERE THERE.
I, I CHECKED, UM, THE, THE BACKUP MATERIALS AND I DIDN'T SEE IT, BUT, UM, I PROBABLY JUST MISSED IT.
WELL, I, I GUESS I, TOMORROW WE CAN SEND YOU A LINK TO THAT PARTICULAR REPORT, SO THAT WAY Y'ALL CAN SEE IT.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR JASON? OKAY,
[2b. COVID Update.]
WELL, LET'S MOVE ON TO THE COVID THEN THE STAFF REPORT FROM DAWN GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS, DON BLAND WITH AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER.UH, AS YOU ARE PROBABLY AWARE, THE CITY MOVED TO STAGE TWO IN OUR COVID RESPONSE, UH, MASKS ARE STILL REQUIRED ON ALL CITY PROPERTIES, AND THEY WILL LOOK AT THE END OF THE SPRING FESTIVAL SEASON TO MAKE A DETERMINATION AFTER THAT, ON WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
BUT CURRENTLY WE STILL HAVE THAT GOING ONGOING.
WE'RE STILL HAVING SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF ABSENTEEISM DUE TO COVID ILLNESS.
AND WE STILL, WE HAVE 21 OPEN POSITIONS, UH, THAT ARE, MOST OF THEM WERE IN THE PROCESS OF BEING FAILED.
YOU KNOW, THEY'VE, THEY'VE CLOSED THE JOB OPENINGS.
WE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF, YOU KNOW, THE INTERVIEWS AND THE HIRING PROCESS, BUT WE'RE STILL HAVE 21 TO FAIL CURRENTLY.
AND, UM, SO STAFFING IS STILL AN ISSUE AND JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE OUT THERE, WE'RE NOT GETTING THE NUMBER OF APPLICANTS WHEN WE DO POST, UH, THAT WE USED TO.
SO WE'RE, UH, TRUDGING THROUGH AND TAKING OFF AND HIRING AS FAST AS WE CAN.
BUT AS YOU KNOW, THAT THAT IS A PROCESS IN THE CITY AND IT TAKES, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL MONTHS TO GET SOMEONE ONBOARDED.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR DON? YES, KRISTEN, THANK YOU.
UM, YEAH, SO I SEE, I KNOW THERE, THERE AREN'T ANY CURRENTLY POSTED FOR FULL-TIME POSITIONS THAT I COULD FIND.
AND I'M WONDERING ABOUT IF THE 21 SOUNDS LIKE A FAIRLY NORMAL VACANCY RATE, IS THAT, DO YOU HAVE AN AVERAGE VACANCY RATE OVER THE PAST THREE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS? LIKE, IS THIS A HUGE VARIATION FROM WHAT'S NORMAL? I KNOW SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE, IT WAS, YOU KNOW, THREE TO FIVE, IT WAS THE NORMAL OF VACANCY RATES.
SO 21 IS ONE OF THE HIGHEST THAT WE'VE HAD.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, RYAN, YES.
JUST WANTING TO KNOW, I, I JUST CHECKED THE BACKUP MATERIALS.
AND I LOOKED THROUGH MY EMAIL, A BEAT BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS EMAIL, AND ALSO DIDN'T SEE THE PDF.
SO YEAH, I WAS LOOKING AT IT TOO.
AND SO, YEAH, IT'S NOT UP THERE.
I TALKED TO BELINDA, I'LL SEND HER, I'LL SEND IT TO HER AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL POST IT UP FOR BACKUP AS LIKE BACKUP, UH, TOMORROW.
I THOUGHT THAT I WAS MISSING IT AND I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT I WAS DOING WRONG.
AND ANY OTHER STAFFING QUESTIONS? I, YES,
[00:25:01]
CRAIG, THIS IS ONE THING LISA MITCHELL IS TRYING TO GET IN.UM, I'M NOT SURE IF SHE HAS MADE IT IN YET, BUT SHE TEXTED ME THAT SHE'S BEEN TRYING FOR THE LAST 25 MINUTES.
SO JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW HER NAME APPEARS ON THE SCREEN AND THEN DISAPPEARS.
I'M FINALLY HERE THAT I WAS ON, BUT I HAD TO CHANGE BECAUSE I WAS LOSING BATTERY POWER ON THIS IPAD, BUT THEN I COULD ONLY GET HIM AS AN ATTENDEE.
MY APOLOGIES, EVERYONE HOPE FROM MY BATTERY.
I'M GOING TO BE OFF VIDEO AS A RESULT.
UH, HAVE YOU HAD ANY, UM, APPLICATIONS FOR THE WILDLIFE OFFICER? THEY ARE IN THE INTERVIEW PROCESS CURRENTLY THE FIRST ROUND ALREADY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM ANYBODY? OKAY.
WELL THEN LET'S MOVE ALONG TO OLD BUSINESS UPDATE, DISCUSSION POSSIBLE ACTION.
[3a. Monthly Reporting of Data.]
SO THE MONTHLY REPORTING OF DATA, WOULD ANYBODY LIKE TO ADDRESS THAT? I WOULD LIKE TO SAY PERSONALLY THAT WHEN IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE EASIER FOR US TO GET A HANDLE ON THE DATA, IT USED TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE PAST THREE MONTHS AND THEN IT WOULD HAVE COMPARED TO, YOU KNOW, THE YEAR BEFORE, UH, THAT WAS ALWAYS A LITTLE EASIER FOR ME ANYWAY, TO KIND OF, UH, FIGURE THE DATA OUT.AND I KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CHANGED THE WAY YOU DID IT, BUT, UH, ALSO I THINK THAT WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE DATA COVID AND PRE COVID.
I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT WHEN WE MAKE SOME OF THE DECISIONS, WHEREVER WE ASKED TO MAKE, WHAT WE SUPPORT.
I WAS TOLD THAT YOU ARE GOING, YOU'RE GOING TO A NEW PROGRAM, HAS THAT HAPPENED? AND THERE WAS LIKE, UH, I T PEOPLE SOMEWHERE THAT WEREN'T IN YOUR DEPARTMENT, CAN ANYBODY TELL ME ABOUT HOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT? UM, SO WE DO NOT HAVE OUR OWN DIRECT IT SUPPORT.
WE STILL GO THROUGH, UH, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH FOR THAT.
UM, THE, THE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE NORMALLY WHERE TRADITIONALLY WAS USED AS A, AS A CRYSTAL REPORT, THE CITY AS AN ORGANIZATION HAS MOVED TOWARDS SOMETHING CALLED POWER BI, WHICH IS WHAT THE DASHBOARD THAT IS CURRENTLY ON OUR, ON THE ANIMAL CENTERS WEBSITE UTILIZES ESSENTIALLY WHAT IT DOES IS THE DATA THAT'S IN CHAMELEON IS WAREHOUSED INTO A SERVER THAT THEN POWER BI PULLS OUT THAT DATA AND THEN FORMULATES IT TO WHERE YOU CAN ACCESS DIFFERENT FISCAL YEAR INFORMATION, UH, SO ON.
UM, THERE'S BECAUSE OF THE BANDWIDTH OF, OF THE, OF THE, UH, OF THE WEBSITE.
UM, WE REALLY JUST SHOW THE HIGH LEVEL INFORMATION FOR MORE IN-DEPTH INFORMATION.
YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S ACTUALLY JUST INTERNAL ON A, UH, ON OUR SERVERS.
UM, BUT THAT'S WHY WE'RE ABLE TO SUPPLEMENT SOME OF THE REPORTS THAT, THAT ARE ON THE WEBSITE WITH, YOU KNOW, AGE OF ANIMALS THAT MAY HAVE DIED OR WHERE EVEN THE EYES ARE ADOPTED.
WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION THROUGH POWER BI, ESSENTIALLY.
IT'S SORT OF A CONCERTED EFFORT BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO MOVE, MOVE TOWARD THAT SYSTEM.
UH, BECAUSE I MEAN, THE, AND WE'VE, THAT'S, I THINK THIS IS WHY WE'VE KEPT IT ON THE AGENDA.
UM, IT'S JUST, IT'S, IT'S JUST BECOMES MORE DIFFICULT FOR US TO GIVE ADVICE, TO GIVE INFORMATION WHEN PEOPLE ASK FOR IT.
YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK TO OUR CITY COUNCIL OFFICE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE FORM, THAT WE NOW GET THE INFORMATION IN COMPARED TO THE FORM, HOW WE USED TO GET THE INFORMATION.
AND I UNDERSTAND THERE'S STAFF, THERE MAY BE STAFF ISSUES HERE, YOU KNOW, WHERE IF YOU'VE GOT 21 PEOPLE THAT YOU NEED TO HIRE, I UNDERSTAND THAT I ALSO UNDERSTAND IF THE CITY CHOOSES TO GO FROM ONE, UH, YOU KNOW, FORMAT TO ANOTHER, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE AT SOME POINT WE COULD SEE LIKE THE END OF THE, THE LINE WHERE WE COULD GET, WE COULD GET THE, WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR HERE.
AND I DON'T MEAN TO BE, YOU KNOW, TO BE OBNOXIOUS.
BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHEN, IF, AND WHEN WE MAY GET THAT KIND OF DATA AGAIN, IN A WAY WHERE WE CAN
[00:30:01]
MAKE SOME COMPARISONS.CAUSE I MEAN, I JUST DON'T REMEMBER THOSE NUMBERS A YEAR AGO.
I DON'T REMEMBER THEM, UH, AND I CAN GO AND LOOK THEM UP AND IT TAKES ME SOME TIME AND EVERYTHING.
BUT WHEN YOU GO AND LOOK UP A REPORT LIKE THAT, IT'S JUST, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF TRICKY TO DO.
I MEAN, I CAN SEE IF THEY CAN BUILD THE RE ASK IF THEY CAN BUILD SIMILAR REPORTS LIKE THAT WITHIN POWER BI.
UM, I THINK WHAT, WHAT, WHAT THEY BUILT FOR US AS A MEANS JUST FOR USERS TO, TO REVIEW ANY SORT OF DATA THEY WANT.
UM, I'D HAVE TO TALK WITH, WITH APH INDIVIDUALS, UM, JUST TO SEE WHAT'S, IF THIS CAN BE PUT ON THEIR PLATE AS WELL, ESSENTIALLY, BECAUSE AGAIN, THEY, THEY, UM, YEAH, THEY'RE NOT OUR EMPLOYEES, SO, BUT WE CAN ASK THEM AND SEE ABOUT THAT SUPPORT IF THERE'S A MEANS TO SORT OF ESPECIALLY INCREASE THAT BANDWIDTH.
SO THAT WAY SOME OF THAT OTHER DATA CAN BE SHOWCASED ONTO THE WEBSITE.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, THEIR FIRST PRIORITY, YOU KNOW, IS, UH, TO GET ALL OF THE REPORTS THAT THE COUNCIL ASKS FOR, YOU KNOW, UH, FIRST AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TALK ABOUT CHANGES AFTER THAT POINT, BUT I KNOW THAT'S WHAT THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON WHEN THEY'VE HAD TIME.
UH, ARE THERE ANY MORE, YEAH, KRISTEN, I I'M WONDERING, I THINK I WAS AT A MEETING A NUMBER OF MONTHS AGO WHERE THIS WAS AN, AN ISSUE AND IT SOUNDS LIKE IT CONTINUES TO BE, AND I AGREE THE REPORTS AS, AS THERE ARE VERY CONFUSING, IT'S VERY HARD TO MAKE SENSE OF THE DATA OUTSIDE OF THE CONTEXT OF OTHER YEARS.
UM, AND I'M JUST WONDERING IF UNTIL THE SOFTWARE ISSUE IS FIXED, IF THIS CAN BE DONE MANUALLY, UM, AND JUST PUT IT INTO A SPREADSHEET OR DRAWN ON A PIECE OF PAPER, BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH MORE MEANINGFUL TO SEE THAT DATA, PARTICULARLY I THINK, AS CRAIG, IT, UH, CRAIG SAID COMPARING IT TO 2019 NUMBERS AS WE SEE NORMALIZATION POST COVID SO, I MEAN, IF IT'S SOMETHING SIMILAR WITH THE OLD SPREADSHEETS THAT WE WERE DOING WHILE IT WORKED ON IT, I MEAN, THAT WAS SOMETHING I WAS PUTTING TOGETHER TO TRY TO GIVE THAT COMPARISON.
UM, YEAH, BECAUSE AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, AS I'VE BEEN TOLD, LIKE WE CAN ASK THE QUESTION AGAIN, KRISTA REPORTING WHERE LIKE I COULD, IT WAS FORMULATING THOSE PROJECTS ARE, OUR DATA IS, IS NOT REALLY SUPPORTED BY OUR T FOLKS.
LIKE, AS, YOU KNOW, AS I'VE BEEN TOLD, THEY'RE NOT REALLY HIRING FOLKS WHO CAN DO CRISPR REPORTING.
UM, SO YEAH, I MEAN, AGAIN, I, WITHIN THE SYSTEM THAT, THAT THE CITY IS SORT OF MY MOVING TOWARD, I'LL ASK THEM IF THEY CAN SORT OF PUT THAT DATA TOGETHER.
AND THEN ONCE YOU ARE ALL Y'ALL ARE ABLE TO SEE THE DATA THAT WAS PUT TOGETHER.
UH Y'ALL WILL SEE IT TOMORROW.
I JUST SEND IT TO BELINDA RIGHT NOW.
UM, IF THAT WILL SHOW YOU SORT OF THE DATA MONTHLY FOR, UM, WHAT IF THAT'LL WORK FOR YOU FOR THE PURPOSES OF THESE MEETINGS, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S GOING TO SHOW YOU THAT SNAPSHOT OF DATA FOR THAT MONTH.
UM, IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A LONGER TERM AGAIN, I'LL HAVE TO ASK THEM WHAT WE CAN UTILIZE WITHIN THIS CURRENT SOFTWARE.
ARE THERE ANY MORE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? YEAH.
SO JAMESON, UM, SO THE CITY'S MOVING FROM WHATEVER'S THE SYSTEM TO THE POWER OF BI, CORRECT? WELL, YES, THE REPORTING STRUCTURE OF IT.
SO THAT WAY IT'S IT'S DATA THAT CAN BE ACCESSED.
UM, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN JUST PULL THE DATA FROM THE WAREHOUSE AND PUT IT ON ONTO A WEBSITE AND USERS CAN MANIPULATE, UH, WHATEVER DATA THEY WANT TO SEE.
I'M FAMILIAR WITH POWER BI IT'S A MICROSOFT PRODUCT.
AND, UM, AND WHAT I'M HEARING ALSO IS THAT THAT'S, I GUESS THE IT DEPARTMENT, YOU ARE ALL CUSTOMERS AT DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY ARE CUSTOMERS UP THE IT DEPARTMENT.
THEY HAVE POWER ARCHIVES, DEPENDING.
OR, UH, YEAH, ESSENTIALLY THAT'S CORRECT.
THERE'S A, THERE IS A CORPORATE COMMUNICATION, THE TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT, AND THEN EACH DEPARTMENT HAS THEIR OWN SORT OF, IT SPOCK'S THAT ARE WITHIN THERE THAT WORK WITH OUR CORPORATE FUNCTION.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE, OUR LIAISON THAT WORKS FOR AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, THEY WORK WITH OUR CORPORATE CTM IN ORDER TO TRY TO GET THINGS TAKEN CARE OF FOR US.
SO I WONDER, I DON'T KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT THAT IT'S GOING TO RESOLVE, BUT I WONDER IF, IF YOU, THE AHC PROVIDE PAMPHLETS OF WHAT, UH, WHAT WE NEED FOR THE REPORTING, PLEASE SHOW THEM EXACTLY.
SO ESSENTIALLY WHAT THEY DID, JUST SO YOU'RE AWARE, THEY, THEY WENT BY THE ORDINANCE AND JUST WENT THROUGH THE 16 BULLETS,
[00:35:01]
UM, THAT WERE WRITTEN, UM, CORPORATE DID.AND THAT'S HOW THEY GENERATE THE RE THE REPORTING.
UM, THAT'S WHY IT'S GOING TO HAVE TO BE A CONVERSATION WITH THEM IN ORDER TO SHOW MULTIPLE YEARS.
LIKE YOU CAN SHOW, SEE MULTIPLE YEARS, BUT IT'S SORT OF A, A COMBINATION.
SO IF I WANTED TO LOOK AT WHAT, HOW MANY ANIMALS WERE EUTHANIZED BETWEEN FISCAL YEAR 16 AND NOW THEN, YOU KNOW, I SET THOSE, THOSE FILTERS AND THEN IT'LL SHOW ME THE, THE EXACT NUMBER, BUT I WON'T SHOW THE BREAKDOWN BETWEEN EACH YEAR.
YOU WOULD HAVE TO DO THAT SEPARATELY.
SO AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S, I'M NOT, I WON'T SPEAK FOR HIM.
WE'LL JUST SEE IF THOSE PARTICULAR OPTIONS WOULD BE AVAILABLE WITH, WITH THE WAY THE SOFTWARE SET UP TO BREAK IT DOWN BY YEAR.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR ALL THAT DATA, I WAS JUST THINKING BECAUSE SOMETIMES, UM, UH, AS YOU KNOW, BECAUSE YOU WORK WITH THAT GROUP IS YOU, YOU HAVE TO SORT OF GET THEM TO RESPECT HOW, WHAT YOU WANTED SPECIFICALLY AND GUIDE THEM, BUT JOANNE, DO YOU HAVE A COMMENT? YEAH.
SO, SO JASON, FOR, FOR, WHAT'S BE GOING TO BE REPORTED, UM, JUST TO MAKE SURE I'M CLEAR, I'M CLEAR, YOU'RE GOING TO REPORT EXACTLY WHAT COUNCIL APPROVED IN THE ORDINANCE.
SO WHATEVER IS THERE AS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO GET.
AND SINCE THERE HAVE BEEN, SINCE IT'S SOMETHING CONSOLE ASKED US TO LOOK AT, UM, SINCE THERE ARE ISSUES, UM, ARE THEY AWARE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO LOOK AT OR HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO LOOK AT BECAUSE WE'RE WORKING THROUGH IT AND THEY'RE AWARE THAT THIS SITUATION EXISTS? YES.
AND I THINK KRISTEN WAS RAISING HER HAND A MINUTE AGO TOO, BUT I JUST STEPPED IN FRONT OF HER.
UM, JUST A QUICK QUESTION TO KIND OF FOLLOW UP ON WHAT JOANNE SAID SINCE THERE IS AWARENESS OF THIS ISSUE.
IS THIS THE KIND OF THING JASON, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT YOU HAD TO CONTEND WITH THIS ISSUE FOR MONTHS AND MONTHS AND MONTHS, WE'VE BEEN ASKING ABOUT IT.
IS IT WORTHWHILE TO ACTUALLY FIND THE RIGHT VERSE THAT IT TO COMES TO THE COMMISSION? CAN I ASK SOME QUESTIONS? I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S THE EASIER ANSWER, BUT YOU'VE HAD TO BE THE GO BETWEEN FREQUENTLY.
AND I'M WONDERING IF THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO PUT IT AS AN AGENDA ITEM AND INVITE SOMEONE FROM IT SO THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE LIMITATIONS OF, OF WHAT THEY CAN PROVIDE WITH RESPECT TO WHAT COUNCIL IS LOOKING FOR SEVERAL MONTHS AGO.
UH, CHRIS AND PHIL WERE BOTH HERE TO DO A PRESENTATION AND ANSWER QUESTIONS WITH Y'ALL.
SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THEM BACK, WE CAN ASK THEM BACK AGAIN.
I JUST, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE STILL NOT QUITE WHERE WE NEED TO BE AND I, I REMEMBER THEM COMING AND I APPRECIATE THAT, BUT I'M WONDERING, YEAH, THEY ARE SOMEONE WITH THEM IS MAYBE THE RIGHT PERSON TO INVITE BACK.
WE, I GUESS I CAN LEAVE IT OUT THERE AS JUST AN IDEA.
AND WHEN WE GET TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, MAYBE WE, WE SET SOMETHING LIKE THAT UP, BUT I JUST FEEL LIKE WE'RE NOT QUITE MAKING THE PROGRESS WE WANT AND THAT MIGHT BE WHAT WE NEED TO GET IT OVER THE GOAL LINE.
IF, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS FOR COUNSEL THAT THEY'VE COME OUT WITH A STATEMENT THAT SAYS, I KNOW WE'RE ALL WORRIED ABOUT IT, THAT IT'S OKAY.
WE KNOW THIS IS COMING AND WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT SO MUCH.
I GUESS THAT MAYBE A DON QUESTION.
YEAH, I DIDN'T GET THAT QUESTION.
SO, UH, SO I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, UM, WE, AS A COMMISSION ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HAVING THIS DATA BECAUSE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE LOOKING AT THIS DATA, BUT IF COUNCIL KNOWS, WE CAN'T LOOK AT THE DATA AND THEY PROVIDE A WAIVER OR SOMETHING THAT SAYS IT'S IT'S OKAY, RIGHT NOW WE UNDERSTAND THIS IS AN IT THING.
SO DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW.
UH, AT THERE WERE, THERE WAS, THERE WAS A MEMO SENT TO COUNCIL AT THE, AT, YOU KNOW, A WHILE BACK STATING THAT WE DID NOT MAKE THE DUE DATE BECAUSE, AND HERE'S THE REASONS, UH, SO THEY'RE AWARE OF IT.
AND NO ONE FROM COUNCIL IS ASKING ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT.
I, I, I THINK IN THAT CASE, YOU SHOULD REFER TO YOUR OWN COUNCIL OFFICE AND ASK THEM PERSONALLY, YOU KNOW, UH, WHAT THEIR OPINION IS ON THAT MIGHT VARY FROM OFFICE TO OFFICE.
UM, I, I KNOW THAT THIS DATA IS AT LEAST 75% OF THE DATA POINTS HAVE BEEN RECORDED PUBLICLY OVER MANY YEARS.
UM, AND SO THERE'S NO WHILE TECHNOLOGY'S WONDERFUL.
UM, IT'S ABSOLUTELY UNNECESSARY
[00:40:01]
TO GET MOST OF THIS DATA.AND I WAS ASKING A SPECIFIC QUESTION THAT I DON'T THINK I REALLY GOT AN ANSWER TO, WHICH IS THAT GIVEN THAT THIS IS LOOKING TO BE A VERY DIFFICULT SPRING AND SUMMER FOR ANIMAL INTAKE, IT DOES SEEM IMPERATIVE AND CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
WE CAN LOOK NOW AT COMPARATIVE DATA TO LOOK AT WHAT'S BEEN ENTERING THE SHELTER IN 2019, UM, TO WHAT IS ENTERING NOW AND WHAT'S LEAVING AND HOW FAST.
AND SO I CAN GO THROUGH THOSE OLD REPORTS AND PUT THE COMPARATIVE DATA TOGETHER NOW WITH NO TECHNOLOGY, BUT IT TAKES ME A CITIZEN A LONG TIME BECAUSE WE CAN'T SEE ANYTHING ON THE BACKEND.
AND SO WHAT I'M WONDERING IS FOR NEXT MONTH, GIVEN THAT THIS IS SO CRITICAL, CAN YOU GIVE US A SIDE-BY-SIDE REPORT SO THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THAT INTAKE AND OUTCOME DATA IN PARTICULAR? UM, BECAUSE TIME IS GETTING SHORT AND, UH, IN SPACE IS ONLY GOING TO GET HARDER.
AND SO IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE SOMETHING THAT CAN WAIT.
I MEAN, IF IT'S SOMETHING SIMILAR TO WHAT, WHAT WAS BEING PRESENTED THAT HAD LIKE THREE-YEAR FISCAL DOUBT OR THREE-YEAR MONTHLY DATA, FOR INSTANCE, IF I THINK THE LAST ONE WE DID WAS IN OCTOBER.
AND SO IT HAD OCTOBER 21, OCTOBER 20, 20 AND OCTOBER, 2019.
I MEAN, WE, WE HAD THAT, UM, WE, WE CAN PUT THAT BASED OFF THE DATA THAT'S, THAT'S ON THE WEBSITE.
UM, AND THEN THAT'LL GIVE THAT COMPARISON, UH, THE SHOW.
UM, BUT AGAIN, UH, I'LL HAVE THAT CONVERSATION ON HOW WE CAN MAKE THIS MORE AUTOMATED AT LEAST.
CAUSE I'M, I'M LOOKING AT THE, THE, THE, UM, DATA NOW, WHAT WE CAN DO IN ORDER TO EVEN .
BUT AGAIN, I'M NOT THE IT, SO I'LL HAVE TO CONCEDE TO WHAT, WHAT THEY CAN AND YEAH.
WHAT, WHAT THEY CAN ACCOMPLISH AT LEAST ON, ON WEBPAGE.
UH, ARE WE MISSING AN IT PERSON IN AMONG THOSE 21? WE, WE DON'T HAVE HAVE YOU, SO, AND WE NEVER DID, AND WE STILL DON'T KNOW.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AS COVID, UH, RESPONSE HAS LESSENED, THERE WERE, HOPEFULLY THERE'LL BE ABLE TO HELP US MORE NOW.
A LOT OF, I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION ARE, ARE ALIBI FROM SOME OF THE STUFF THAT WAS REPORTED LAST MONTH WHEN AN ANIMAL IS SENT TO APA FOR EVALUATION.
WHEN IS IT OUTCOMES AS A LIVE OUTCOME FROM THE SHELTER? WE, IF APA PULLS IT, IT'S STILL, UH, AND UNTIL THEY ACTUALLY OFFICIALLY PULL IT, IT'S STILL IN OUR INVENTORY.
SO IF APA ACCEPTS THE ANIMAL, IT SAYS LIVE OUTCOME TO APA.
IF THEY DECLINE IT, IT COMES BACK TO THE SHELTER, BUT IT WAS ALWAYS THE SHELTERS PROPERTY.
ARE THERE ANY MORE QUESTIONS ON A MONTHLY REPORTING OF DATA? OKAY.
[3b. Working Group on Off-Leash Dogs.]
WORKING GROUP ON OFF-LEASH DOGS.SO ON MARCH 1ST, WE FINALLY HAD ENOUGH CITIZENS, UM, TO HAVE A SMALL FOCUS GROUP ON THE OFF-LEASH TO REVIEW THE OFF-LEASH DOG GUIDELINES THAT PARKS AND RECREATION HAD DEVELOPED FOR, UM, UH, HAVING NEW OFF-LEASH DOG AREAS.
UH, THIS ISN'T, UM, THE REASON I DID IT ON JUST FOR VIA, UM, AND KRISTIN.
SO, UM, WE HAD AN AWFULLY STOCK WORKING GROUP, SO DOES THE PARKS BOARD AND, UM, OUR COMMISSION VOTED THAT WE COULD WORK TOGETHER.
UM, SINCE WE WERE LOOKING AT POLICE DOGS, BOTH IN, UH, PARK AREAS AND THE STREETS AND, UM, THE PARKS GROUP FOCUSED ON PARKS.
SO THAT'S WHY I DID IT, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS A PARKS TASK.
WE HAD, UM, UH, WONDERFUL CITIZENS, THREE KIND OF FROM ONE AREA AND ONE FROM A DIFFERENT AREA WHO ARE SEEING THE SAME THINGS, MOSTLY IN THE PARKS, BUT ALSO ON THE STREETS AND CONCERN THAT FAMILIES CAN'T USE ALL THE PARKS AND THAT CITIZENS CAN'T SAFELY WALK DOWN OUR STREETS WITHOUT LOOSE OFF-LEASE DOGS COMING AT THEM SO THAT, UM, UH, I DOCUMENTED, UM, OUR CONVERSATION AND SENT THAT TO OUR WORKING GROUP.
UM, AT THIS POINT, UM, I SPOKE WITH, UM, UH, DON FROM, UH, THE PARKS FORWARD AND WE THINK WE'LL BE ABLE TO, UM, KIND OF WRAP UP IN APRIL, UM, GIVE A SUMMARY OF WHERE WE ARE AND WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED, WHAT WE'VE TRIED TO DO AND YOU KNOW, WHAT STILL NEEDS TO BE DONE.
BUT AT SOME POINT, OUR HANDS ARE TIED BY, UM, BUDGET CONSTRAINTS AND, AND, UH, WHAT'S AVAILABLE.
SO, UM, IT WAS, UH, IT WAS A GOOD GROUP.
IT WAS NICE TO ENGAGE CITIZENS IN HERE ON THEIR POINT.
[00:45:01]
UM, AND, UH, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE STANDING ONE, HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS OR ABOUT THE WORKING GROUPS OR SOME OF THE ISSUES WITH OFF-LEASE DOGS? I'M HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT THEM.UM, ALL OF THE FOLKS ON THAT WORKING GROUP ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE TWO MUSICIANS.
WE HAVE ENGAGED TO CREATE MUSICAL JINGLES.
WE'RE ABOUT 90% DONE WITH ANDREA MCGEE'S VIDEO MESSAGE.
WE'VE HAD A LITTLE WRINKLE IN THE ROAD WITH KEVIN RUSSELL'S.
APPARENTLY SOME OF HIS LYRICS DID NOT MEET WITH CITY STANDARDS.
SO WE'RE HOPING WE HAD HOPED, UH, JOANNE TO GET THE, THE, BOTH OF THOSE MUSICAL JINGLES OUT AT THE SAME TIME THAT YOU WRAPPED UP YOUR OFF-LEASH WORKING GROUP.
BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE HAVING TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD WITH KEVIN TO SEE IF HE'S WILLING TO CHANGE THOSE LYRICS OR WHAT.
SO WE WERE REALLY, WE HAD HIM SCHEDULED TO GO TO ROCK ISLAND TO VIEW IT, TO FILM IT AND EVERYTHING.
UM, BUT THERE WERE A FEW, FEW WORDS IN HIS LYRICS THAT MET WITH, UM, CONCERN.
JUST WANTED TO LET Y'ALL KNOW THERE, GREAT LYRICS IF YOU'VE, IF YOU'VE HEARD ANY OF THEM AND VERY, VERY FUNKY AND KEVIN RUSSELL LEE, BUT THAT'S APPARENTLY OUTSIDE THE CITIES, RIGHT.
SO I WAS HOPING TO, I WAS HOPING YOU'D BE ABLE TO SHOW THOSE AT THE NEXT MEETING, AND THEY'RE STILL NOT OUTSIDE CHANCE, BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF, WE HAVE A LOT OF HOPE THAT THIS WILL HIT SOME REALLY TARGETED AUDIENCES.
AND WELL, CRAIG TALKING ABOUT ME, UH, PEERS, PEER PRESSURE, YOU LISTEN TO THESE THINGS, CRAIG AND THE PEER PRESSURE IS THERE.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS UNFORTUNATE ABOUT THE R THE OFF-LEASH DOG PROBLEM IS BIGGER THAN PARD AND IT'S BIGGER THAN, THAN ANIMAL SHELTER, BUT WE GET PART AND WE GOT THE ANIMAL SHELTER WITH THE LIMITED RESOURCES AND COVID AND EVERYTHING.
SO I JUST WANT TO LET EVERYBODY KNOW, THIS IS A REALLY TOUGH PROBLEM, AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO CONTINUE TO DEAL WITH IT.
MY ONLY FEAR IS THAT IF WE CAN KEEP AHEAD OF SOME MAJOR CATASTROPHE, THAT MAKES THE NEWSPAPER THAT WHO KNOWS, YOU KNOW, SO ANYWAY, BUT THANK YOU, JOANNE.
AND I WANT TO MENTION, AND I'M HAPPY TO SEND YOU THE LINKS IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE THEM.
UM, WE'VE BEEN GETTING INFORMATION FROM OTHER LINKS FROM OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE SIMILAR ISSUES TO US.
SO IT'S NOT AN AUSTIN THING, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE MOVING AUSTIN, WHO JUST MAY NOT REALIZE WE HAVE SPECIFIC OFF-LEASH DOG AREAS AND NON-OPERATIVE DOG AREAS.
AND WHEN YOU'RE IN AND OFF, WHEN YOU'RE IN ONE THAT REQUIRES A LEASH, KEEP YOUR DOG PLEASE.
YEAH, THERE'S A LOT OF CLUELESSNESS OUT THERE ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
AND I'LL SAY THAT, BUT, WELL, THANK YOU.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS ABOUT THAT? LET'S MOVE ALONG THEN
[3c. Working Group on How to Increase Microchipping in the City of Austin.]
A WORKING GROUP ON HOW TO INCREASE MICROCHIPPING IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHO IS THE DAWN? WE HAVE NOT HAD ANOTHER MEETING SINCE OUR LAST COMMISSION MEETING, SO WE HAVE NOTHING TO REPORT, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO TURN IT OVER TO COMMISSIONER HERRERA, TO GIVE HIS REPORT ON OUR LAST EVENT THAT WE HAD LESS WEEK, WEEK BEFORE.UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. BLAND FOR GIVE ME THE WORD.
LET ME JUST PULL SOME NUMBERS HERE FROM MY PHONE WAS A FANTASTIC EVENT.
THE, WHEN THE BUS PLANET COULD BE FROM 9:00 AM TO NOON, UH, 10 30, I ASKED TO JOIN TO HELP ME TO, TO GIVE ME THIS CARD BECAUSE WE WAS OUT OF CAPACITY IN THAT MOMENT.
UH, THE FIRST AIDS ESCAPE, THE PUBLIC SAFE, AND THE SECOND ONE DID NOT AGREE WITH RESPONSE, BUT IN ONE MOMENT, LEAVE ANOTHER LOOP WAS BLOCKED, BUT BY BOTH SIDES AND I DON'T LIKE ACCIDENTS, WE BEGIN TO MOVE INSIDE THE SHELTER.
WE MOVE ONE LINE TO THE OTHER ONE.
AND LET ME JUST GIVE YOU THESE, THESE FREAK NUMBERS.
WHAT'S A FANTASTIC EVENT BY THE WAY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE PEOPLE WHO SHARED THIS INFORMATION, PEOPLE THIS TIME, UH, GIVE US A VERY GOOD, UH, SURPRISE SHOWING UP.
WAS PEOPLE SHOWING UP SINCE 6:00 AM? UH, WHAT EXACTLY WE GIVE ONE CURRENT 65 PREVIOUS DESTINATION AND 61 OF THESE DOGS ARE REALLY POST MICROCHIP.
WE INSERT ONE COLOR AND 35 MICROCHIPS IN THAT EVENT, DOGS AND CATS, AND WE EAT 76 VOUCHERS FOR A SPARE NOODLE, I THINK,
[00:50:01]
UH, BY THE WAY, UH, MR. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER RENTERIA CAMPOS, AND THESE THREE, THREE, UM, THE NEXT EVENT, I WANT TO DO IT ON THESE THREE, TWO WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBER.UH, BUT IT'S A POINTLESS AND PRISM SIZE.
I JUST STOPPED BEFORE THE MEETING AND I HAVE ALREADY FEW GROUPS IN, IN DOVER SPRINGS WHO WANTS TO US, I THINK IF WE KEEP DOING THESE MICROCHIP AND DESTINATION CLINIC, WE ARE GOING TO BE MORE SUCCESSFUL IN.
LET'S GO TO REMEMBER THAT THE PRICE, WE HAVE A REST PRICE AT THE BED AT THE SHELTER.
IT'S ONLY LIKE 50 BOX, UH, A SIMPLE MICROCHIP AND A GOOD DATABASE CAN HELP US TO REUNITE THAT PETS WITH THE OWNERS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE PEOPLE WHO CARE.
WE HAVE AMAZING, AMAZING VOLUNTEERS, AMAZING STAFF, AND LET'S GO TO KEEP WORKING.
UH, THE SOLUTION IS NOT ONLY WITH THE GOVERNMENT.
THE SOLUTION IS GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY.
CHRISTINE, CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION? THANK YOU SO MUCH.
UM, I I'M WONDERING DO YOU, ARE WE CURRENTLY PUTTING COLLARS AND TAGS ON DOGS WHO ARE LEAVING, UM, WHO ARE ADOPTED AND LEAVING THAT? THAT'S, IT'S A TWO-PART QUESTION.
AND HAVE YOU ALL DONE, UH, HAVE YOU ALL EXPLORED TECHNOLOGY IN THIS SPACE IS INNOVATING SO RAPIDLY.
AND SO AT THE LAST MEETING, WHEN I HEARD A DISCUSSION ABOUT MICROCHIPS, IT FEELS LIKE A LOT'S BEING LEFT OUT OF THAT.
THERE'S, UM, QR CODE TAGS NOW THAT ARE ACTUALLY LESS EXPENSIVE THAN PRINTED TAGS.
I, I BELIEVE, UM, THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT WAYS OF IDENTIFYING PETS AND THERE'S A LOT OF INNOVATION.
AND I WONDER IF YOU HAVE EXPLORED DIFFERENT OPTIONS AND HOW THOSE MIGHT WORK TOGETHER TO HELP INCREASE, UH, GETTING PETS HOME.
WE WERE STRICTLY LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, COLLARS CAN COME OFF.
AND SO WE WERE LOOKING AT THE MORE PERMANENT ASPECT OF MICROCHIP INSERTION.
SO THAT'S ALL WE'VE DONE AT THIS POINT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES, JOANNE, THANKS, GREG.
UM, I JUST WANT TO THANK, UM, LOUIS FOR, UM, THE ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF WORK HE DID FOR THIS CLINIC.
UM, IT WAS MIND BOGGLING, THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THERE WHO CAME IN WITH THREE DOGS AND A CAT, UM, IN THEIR, UH, IN THEIR VEHICLE, UM, WHO REALLY WANTED THE SERVICE, UH, WHO, UH, WERE THRILLED TO KNOW WE WERE GIVING SPAY NEUTER VOUCHERS, UM, IF THEY NEEDED THEM.
A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO CAME FOR SHOTS ALREADY HAD THEIR DOGS MICROCHIPPED, SOME CAME JUST FOR MICROCHIPS.
UH, SO IT WAS REALLY NICE TO BE OUT AND ENGAGED WITH THE CITIZENS AND THE STAFF AND, AND A NICE GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS FROM AAC.
UH, WORKED REALLY HARD TO GET EVERYBODY THROUGH.
IT WAS TOUGH WHEN YOU SHOW UP AND HAVE TO WAIT TWO HOURS TO GET A SERVICE, BUT, UM, IT WAS MUCH BETTER ATTENDED.
AND I REALLY THINK, UH, DISTRICT THREE FOR COMING OUT TO THE SHELTER, LOOKING AROUND, UM, WITH US AND, UH, PROMOTING, UH, THE MICROCHIP EVENT BECAUSE, UH, THE PEOPLE THEY WERE LEAVING AND WAVING AT US AND JUST SO EXCITED TO HAVE THEIR ANIMALS TAKEN CARE OF.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, OKAY, WELL, WE'LL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO TALKING ABOUT THIS MORE AFTER YOU MEET AGAIN.
UH, MAYBE SOME, SOME PROSAL PROPOSALS FOR MOVING FORWARD.
[3d. Austin Pets Alive!’s Future at the Town Lake Animal Center and the Maintenance of No Kill in Austin.]
ON TO OLD BUSINESS, D AUSTIN PETS ALIVE, FUTURE THE TOWN LIKE ANIMAL CENTER MAINTENANCE OF NO KILLING AUSTIN.AND I GUESS THAT, THAT IS, UM, UH, MAYBE IN GENERAL, UH, I KNOW THAT THERE'S, YOU KNOW, NEGOTIATIONS GOING ON.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CAN BE SAID ABOUT THAT AT THIS POINT IN TIME, WE HAVE SIGNED A ONE-YEAR EXTENSION TO CONTINUE TO NEGOTIATE.
SO THE ONE-YEAR EXTENSION AND NEGOTIATIONS FOR A LONGER CONTRACTOR CONTINUING? YES.
UH, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, JOANNE? UM, WHAT'S THE REQUIRED NUMBER OF ANIMALS THAT APA HAS TO PULL FROM THE SHELTER AND THE EXTENSION? 12% OF THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S TOTAL.
IT, THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR, OR LIKE JANUARY DOT DECEMBER, WE GO BY FISCAL YEARS.
AND DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY, LIKE THAT IS OFF HAND? LIKE THE NUMBER LIKE 1200 OR SO? IT'S A LITTLE OVER 1200, I THINK.
[00:55:01]
A[3e. Transferring Austin Animal Center Animals to Other Communities.]
THREE E TRANSFERRING AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER, ANIMALS TO OTHER COMMUNITIES.ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ISSUE, RYAN? OKAY.
YEAH, I GUESS, UM, LAST TIME WE, UH, ALL PASSED A RESOLUTION, ASKING FOR THE DATA ON THE, UH, ANIMALS WHO ARE BEING SENT TO OTHER COMMUNITIES.
I WAS WONDERING IF WE WERE GOING TO GET THAT DATA, THAT REPORT IS IN A QUEUE FOR THE IT FOLKS TO WORK ON FOR US.
ANY IDEA HOW LONG THAT MIGHT BE? I HAVE NO IDEA.
WE, WE, WE WE'VE WAITED ON THESE COUNCIL REPORTS SINCE, UH, OCTOBER OF 2019.
WE, WE DO HAVE A MEETING WITH HIM TOMORROW, SO WE'LL TRY TO GET A UP.
CAUSE YEAH, I, I JUST, YOU KNOW, UM, IT'S, IT'S VERY HARD FOR US TO DO OUR JOBS WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO GET THE INFORMATION.
UM, IT'S A, IT'S A VERY MUCH A HOT TOPIC IN THE COMMUNITY AND, UM, WE CAN'T, WE REALLY CAN'T DO OUR JOBS, UH, WITHOUT THE INFORMATION BEING PROVIDED.
SO, UM, I'LL JUST KEEP IT, I WOULD SAY KEEP IT ON THE AGENDA AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE THE INFORMATION BY NEXT MONTH.
SO HOW DO YOU TRACK, UM, ON HOW DO YOU TRACK W WHAT ANIMALS ARE, HOW MANY ANIMALS ARE YOU MOVING EACH MONTH OR EACH WEEK? OUR CURRENT REPORTING DOES THAT, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN SHARE WITHOUT HAVING THE BI POWER BI? IT WOULD BE A MANUAL PROCESS.
SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TO SIT DOWN AND GO THROUGH EVERY RECORD ON EVERY ANIMAL TO MANUALLY PUT THAT TOGETHER, BUT DON'T YOU USE AT HIGH LEVEL YOURSELF? HOW MANY ANIMALS ARE BEING MOVED? I THINK THAT WAS IN YOUR PACKET THAT YOU DIDN'T GET WELL, I, AND TRIPPY CALLED THE, THE, IN THE PACKET THAT YOU'LL SEE TOMORROW, IT HAS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ANIMALS TRANSFERRED.
IT HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO FIGURE OUT YET IS HOW TO AT LEAST HAVE A, A BUTTON ON THE DASHBOARD THAT WE'LL CLICK OFF JUST OUT OF STATE AND, AND LOCAL TRANSFERS.
SO THEY'RE WORKING ON THAT NOW, TOO.
SO THAT WAY WE CAN FILTER BETWEEN WHAT'S WHAT'S DONE AND WHAT ISN'T.
SO AT LEAST GO AHEAD, BUT YOU KNOW, HOW MANY ARE NOT CORRECT? YES.
I CAN SEE THAT AT LEAST, UM, WHEN I PUT THE FILTERS ON.
UM, CAUSE AGAIN, THIS IS, THIS IS GOING BACK TO SORT OF THE, THE BANDWIDTH ON OUR PUBLIC PAGE IS, IS DIFFERENT FROM SORT OF THE DATABASES THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO, BUT ESSENTIALLY I CAN LIFT UP THE NUMBERS AND WE CAN SHARE THAT WITH Y'ALL.
UM, BUT IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, AT LEAST FOR THE START OF THIS FISCAL YEAR TO OUR OUT-OF-STATE PARTNERS, UH, 270 ANIMALS I'VE BEEN TRAPPER.
SO THAT STARTED SINCE OCTOBER 1ST.
I THINK ONE OF THE QUESTION WAS FRANK TO UNDERSTAND OF THOSE PARTNERS WHERE THOSE ANIMALS WERE GOING TO, WHAT TYPE OF SHELTERS ARE OUT.
THIS ARE NO KILLS OR, OR, OR I, WE JUST LOOK, IT'S, IT'S JUST A SECOND CHANCE, REGARDLESS OF IF THE NO KILL OR VERY LOW KILL.
SO THE FACILITIES THAT WE'RE LUCKY THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH OUR, OUR, OUR NO KILL FACILITIES.
I THINK SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT WERE BROUGHT UP PREVIOUSLY WAS WHETHER THE COMMUNITIES THEMSELVES WERE NO KILLED, BUT THE FACILITIES THEMSELVES, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY ARE, ARE NO-KILL STATUS.
UM, AND I THINK THAT WAS SORT OF THE, IF I REMEMBER THAT WAS SORT OF THE QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS, LIKE, IS THERE A WAY THAT WE CAN SHOW, UM, AND THIS IS ONE THING THAT WE'LL HAVE TO DISCUSS WITH IT IS SORT OF THE, THE FACILITIES THEMSELVES AND WHAT'S THEIR ONGOING, UM, PERCENTAGE RATE, WHICH WILL REQUIRE A STAFF PERSON TO START TO MAKE SURE WE UP OR HOW THAT REPORTING IS GOING TO BE DONE.
I BELIEVE YOUR QUESTION, RYAN.
I MEAN, I WANT TO FOLLOW UP WITH WHAT BETH SAID, BECAUSE, UM, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT ALTHOUGH MANUAL, UH, ANSWERING THE QUESTION, HOW MANY ANIMALS WENT TO WHICH OUT-OF-STATE SHELTERS AND WHAT CITIES THEY'RE IN AND WHAT'S THEIR NAME IS, IS NOT A BIG TASK.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE THAT WOULD BE PERFECTLY DOABLE WITHIN THE TENANT 10 TO 15 MINUTE BLOCK OF TIME, UM, WITHOUT REQUIRING IT PEOPLE WELL, AND THAT'S WHY EVEN
[01:00:01]
IN THE NARRATIVE THAT WE PUT ON WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO PUT THAT IN THERE NOW.SO LIKE WITH THIS LAST MONTH, WE, WE COMMUNICATED 60, 60 ANIMALS WERE TRANSFERRED TO OUT OF STATE PARTNERS.
AND SO, BUT WITH THE ADDITIONAL ASSET THAT WAS REQUESTED LAST MONTH, THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO START WORKING ON BECAUSE YES, I, YOU KNOW, OTHER THAN JUST SAYING WHAT THE OVERALL NUMBER IS, IF THERE WERE A SPECIFIC, YOU KNOW, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, LIKE WHAT SPECIFIC RESCUES AND WHAT WAS THEIR, THEIR PERCENTAGE RATE.
AND I THINK EVEN THEIR COMMUNITY RATE, I WAS NOT MISTAKEN.
AND SO THAT'S GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE DEER DB, DEEP DIVE, SORRY.
WE ASKED FOR TOO MUCH INFORMATION, BUT IN THE, IN THAT, IN THAT SHORT TERM, IF YOU CAN'T GET IT FROM, UH, THE COMPLICATED INFORMATION, I, I DO THINK JUST AT LEAST KNOWING THE NAME OF THE SHELTER, WHAT CITY THEY'RE IN AND HOW MANY ANIMALS THEY TOOK EACH MONTH WOULD BE PRETTY SIMPLE INFORMATION THAT WOULDN'T REQUIRE AN IT PERSON.
AND WHEN YOU GET THE, WHEN YOU GET THAT BREAKDOWN, AT LEAST ONCE WE SEND THAT TO Y'ALL TOMORROW AS THE BACKUP IT'LL SHOW THE, ALL OUR RESCUES THAT WE TRANSFERRED TO.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE A MIDWEST ANIMALS RESCUE MARS, THAT IS ONE OF OUR OUT-OF-STATE PARTNERS.
AND SO, UM, THE ONLY OTHER THING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT TRYING TO DO IS HOW TO DECIPHER IT BETWEEN OUT OF STATE VERSUS CAUSE RIGHT NOW IT'S JUST A LIST OF OUR PARTNERS THAT WE'RE TRANSFERRING TO.
AND SO THAT'S SORT OF THE OTHER THING WE GOT TO WORK WITH IT ON, UM, ON THAT.
SO THEY'RE LISTED, IT'S JUST NOT GOING TO HIGHLIGHT WHO'S OUT OF STATE VERSUS WHO'S LOCAL.
I'M ON THE TREE ON THE SUBJECT OF TRANSPORT.
HOW MANY ANIMALS ARE CURRENTLY BEING HELD AT, ON AAC CAMPUS, AWAITING TRANSPORT? UM, CURRENTLY, I DON'T KNOW.
WE HAD A COUPLE THAT WE COULDN'T FIND FOSTER FOR IT.
CAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.
ANY ANIMALS THAT WE, THAT WE DEFINITELY GET A DEFINITIVE HOLD, LIKE, YES, WE WANT TO TAKE THIS ANIMAL.
WE'RE TRYING TO GET THEM IMMEDIATELY INTO FOSTER.
UM, REALLY, BECAUSE THAT HELPS THE ANIMAL DECOMPRESS, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, TO ENSURE THE ANIMAL IS HEALTHY AND, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY IN THAT TIME BETWEEN ONCE THEY TIED IT AND THEN IT, AND THEN IT GOES ON TRANSPORT THAT IT DOESN'T GET SICK OR ANYTHING BECAUSE, I MEAN, WE DON'T, WE TRY NOT TO SEND ANY, YEAH.
WE DON'T SEND ANY SICK ANIMALS, SO THEY HAVE TO DO A FINAL HEALTH CHECK AND IF THEY HAVE SHOW ANY SYMPTOMS AND SORRY, THEY CAN'T GO.
AND WHEN DO YOU, DO YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON WHEN THE NEXT TRANSPORT IS? UH, I DO NOT DO THE NEXT ONE.
WE SENT A LARGE ONE OUT TODAY AND OUT OF THAT 20, THAT WAS GOING, IT WAS FOUR, SIX THAT, UH, THEY ACTUALLY HAD TO, UH, PICK UP AT THE SHELTER.
THE MAJORITY OF THEM WERE ALREADY IN FOSTER, BUT I THINK IT'S IN TWO WEEKS, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THE NEXT LARGE ONE IS IN TWO WEEKS.
UM, JUST TO FOLLOW UP ON KATIE'S FIRST QUESTION, CAUSE MAYBE I DIDN'T HEAR IT, JASON.
SO IS THERE AN ANSWER AS TO HOW MANY ANIMALS ARE CURRENTLY AWAITING TRANSPORT OR IS IT JUST, YOU THINK THERE MIGHT BE A CONFLICT WITH YOU'RE WAITING TO SEE IF THEY GO INTO FOSTER? YOU WILL, AS OF WHAT I KNOW RIGHT NOW, I DON'T KNOW OF ANY ANIMALS THAT HAVE BEEN TAGGED FOR FOSTER FOR THIS NEXT GO ROUND.
I ONLY KNOW OF THE ANIMALS THAT WERE, THAT WE HAD JUST WENT TO A FOSTER TO DEATH OR WENT TO TRANSPORT TODAY.
SO I'D HAVE TO CHECK THE RECORDS IN FOR TOMORROW AND SEE IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT'S TAGGED AND IF, HOW WE'RE TRYING TO GET THEM OUT TO GET INTO FOSTER.
UM, SO, UM, I JUST WANT TO THANK THE STAFF FOR HOW MUCH WORK THEY DO WITH, UM, TRANSPORT AND KEEPING THE DOGS ALIVE AND SENDING THEM TO GOOD PLACES.
UM, I'VE FOUGHT SHORT-TERM FOSTER THREE DOGS AND I HAVE NOT GOTTEN THE EMAIL YET FOR ANOTHER GROUP.
UM, I WAS, UH, MY FOSTER, I BROUGHT THIS MORNING WAS AWESOME.
AND IT'S NICE BECAUSE WHAT WE DO IS, UM, WE KIND OF COMMUNICATE THROUGH THE TRANSPORT PERSON ABOUT THE ANIMALS.
SO THE FAMILY KNOWS ABOUT THEM.
WE SEND PICTURES, WE TELL THEM IF I HAVE CATS AND DOGS, ARE THEY CAT AND DOG FRIENDLY.
AND, UM, THE LAST TWO OF MINE WERE ALREADY PRE ADOPTED AND JUST GOING HOME.
AND I HEARD THAT MOST OF THE ONES ON THE TRANSPORT TODAY WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING HOME.
SO IT'S, UM, A MUCH, UH, IT'S A GOOD SITUATION.
AND, UH, THE TRANSPORT TEAM IS VERY GOOD TELLING THE, UH, FOSTERS, UM, ABOUT THE DOGS.
AND IT'S NICE TO BE THERE IN THE MORNING AND SEE DOGS.
WHO'VE BEEN IN KENNELS FOR A LONG TIME WHO ARE GOING TO BE IN A HOME THE NEXT DAY.
I KNOW THERE'S SOME CONCERNS ABOUT IT, BUT THERE'S ALSO, UM, A LOT OF POSITIVE ABOUT IT.
[01:05:01]
I AM, THAT'S SO COOL THAT YOU'RE FOSTERING, UM, TRANSPORT DOGS.AND OFTENTIMES WHEN WE SEE DOGS GETTING ON TRANSPORT, THEY ARE THE EASIER DOGS.
UM, AND IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE AACS PRIMARY CHALLENGE, MEANING THE NON PIT BULL TYPE DOGS.
SO THE DOGS THAT ARE MORE SOCIAL WITH PEOPLE OR ANIMALS, UM, AND IT SEEMS LIKE AACS CHALLENGE IS, UH, IS BIG BLOCKY HEADED DOGS.
AND I AM WONDERING I, IS THERE A BREAKDOWN OF SPECIES, UM, AND TYPE OF DOG THAT IS GOING ON TRANSPORT.
UM, AND, AND DOES IT INCLUDE THOSE BIG BLOCKY HEADED DOGS THAT TEND TO HAVE THE LONGEST LENGTH OF STAY? UH, JASON CAN ANSWER THE REPORT THING, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT CANADIAN, UH, ORGANIZATION THAT WE USE, YOU KNOW, IS, IS FOSTER BASED AND THEY ACTUALLY ALLOW US TO PICK THE DOGS.
AND SO THAT'S WHY WE'VE MOVED A LOT OF LONGEST DAYS.
ONE OF THE FIRST ONES THEY TOOK WAS THEIR A HUNDRED 1,002 DAYS.
AND SO THEY DO, UH, PICK THE BLOCKY, HEADED LONG, STAYS THAT WE'RE SENDING TO THEM.
UH, THEY WILL LEAVE ACTUALLY TAKE A LITTLE, A FEW DOGS THAT HAVE SOME MINOR BEHAVIOR ISSUES BECAUSE THEY HAVE RESOURCES TO HELP WORK ON THOSE ALSO.
SO IT IS A VERY FORTUNATE THAT WE WERE ABLE TO WORK AND PARTNER WITH THEM BECAUSE IT, YOU KNOW, AS, YOU KNOW, RESCUES, NORMALLY CHERRY PICK, BUT WE GET TO PICK.
SO THAT'S THE NICE THING ABOUT THIS.
SO, UM, ALSO TAKE, UM, CHRISTINE, THERE ARE NOT ALL THE EASY DOG ON THE SHORT TERM.
IT COMES OUT AND SAYS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A BIG DOG.
WE'RE NOT SURE HOW THIS ONE IS WITH OTHER ANIMALS.
THAT'S WHY I SAID, THEY GIVE US REALLY GOOD INFORMATION.
ONE OF THE DOGS TODAY WAS A DOG THAT THE VOLUNTEERS REALLY LIKED TO, UM, HAD A REALLY WONKY LEG.
IT WAS STRAIGHT AND IT FROM AN OLD INJURY AND THAT DOG WENT.
UM, AND AS FAR AS WHO WE TAKE, WHAT FOSTERS IT IS CHALLENGING.
MY FIRST TWO TIMES AGO WAS VERY, VERY SICK.
UM, WE HAD A HUGE MEDICAL, UM, CHART WE HAD TO DO WITH HER AND TO MAKE SURE SHE COULD TRANSPORT AND WORK HER THROUGH THAT.
UM, THE LAST ONE WAS THE 35 POUND, A PUPPY WHO TURNS OUT TO BE VERY TALL AND UNDERWEIGHT, UM, WAS NOT HOW STRAINED.
UM, SO THAT WAS A LOT OF WORK, UM, ON OUR PART TO GET THEM, UH, TO GET HER HOUSE TRAINED.
AND THEY ALSO LET US, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE FOSTERING KNOW, UM, WHAT TYPE OF HOME THEY WANT.
I MEAN, A COUPLE OF, ONE OF THE DOGS WEIGHED 120 POUNDS.
SO THEY TAKE SOME SMALL DOGS, BUT THEY OFFSET IT WITH THE BIGGER DOG.
UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS HAS THAT BIA? YEAH, THAT'S ME.
SO, UH, FIRST OF ALL, I, I COMMAND THAT AHC AND I BELIEVE APA.
THEY, UM, THEY LOOK AT GIVING A SECOND CHANCE TO THOSE ANIMALS, WHETHER THEY GO TO ANOTHER PLACE, UM, I'M MYSELF GREW UP IN PUERTO RICO AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE, YOU DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES IN A LOCAL SHELTER OR GET IT THAT IT'S THE KILL RATE.
AND THERE'S AN ORGANIZATION THERE THAT IT'S NOT PART OF THE GOVERNMENT OR ANYTHING, BUT THEY HAVE TAKEN TO, UH, TRANSPORT, BOTH DOCS WHO DOES NORTHEAST AND, OR IN CATS.
SO IT'S GREAT TO HEAR THAT AUSTIN, THE ANIMAL SHOW CENTER IS DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT AND ALSO APA.
UM, AND, UM, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT STATEMENT.
THAT CRITERIA, WHAT IS NOT VERY CLEAR TO ME, IT'S ABOUT THE CRITERIA, HOW PETS ARE SELECTED TO BE TRANSFERRED, TRANSPORTED TO SOMEWHERE ELSE, IS IT BECAUSE THEIR LONG STAY IS IT BECAUSE, UM, IT'S, UH, THEY HAVE A GREAT PERSONALITY.
UH, I'M JUST VERY CURIOUS OR MAYBE IT'S THE NOT CASE BY CASE BASIS.
TO ME, IT'S NOT CLEAR THE MAJORITY OF THE RESCUE ORGANIZATIONS DICTATE TO YOU WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO PULL.
THEY LOOK AT YOUR CURRENT INVENTORY AND MAKE SELECTIONS.
UH, SO HAVING US BE ABLE TO SELECT AND SEND TO THEM AND IT'D BE OUR CHOICE IS SOMETHING THAT'S VERY UNUSUAL.
AND SO, BUT THE MAJORITY OF THE RESCUES, THEY, THEY PICK FROM YOUR OWN TORI.
THANK YOU FOR LIVING REPLICATION.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY, WELL, LET'S, UH, MOVE ALONG THEN TO NEW BUSINESS, UH, DISCUSSION
[4a. Austin Animal Center Satellite Adoption Centers]
POSSIBLE ACTION.[01:10:01]
THE FIRST ITEM IS AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER, SATELLITE ADOPTION CENTERS, AND THERE IS BACKUP ON, UH, THERE WAS POSTED, UH, ALONG WITH THE AGENDA.UM, SO, UM, UH, HOW DO I MOVE THESE ALONG? DO I JUST SAY NEXT SLIDE? CORRECT.
UM, SO AS WE ALL KNOW, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'VE LIVED HERE A WHILE, LIKE I HAVE, UM, AUSTIN'S GROWING LIKE CRAZY.
UM, OUR, OUR COUNTY, OUR AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER IS THE ONLY MUNICIPAL SHELTER SERVING ALL OF TRAVIS COUNTY, WHICH IS 900 SQUARE MILES, UM, WITH A POPULATION OF 1.3 MILLION PEOPLE.
AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO GROW THE METRO AREAS BIGGER, BUT I DIDN'T INCLUDE THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE ANIMAL SHELTERS IN THE METRO AREA, LIKE WILLIAMSON COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER.
UM, THE GROWTH IN AUSTIN, AND AGAIN, THIS HAPPENED WITH LITTLE CHANGE TO INFRASTRUCTURE AND AACS OUT OF THE WAY LOCATION IN THE VERY FAR EAST SIDE OF AUSTIN MAKES IT VERY CHALLENGING FOR POTENTIAL ADOPTERS.
UM, GOING AT TIMES THAT SHOULD BE GOOD ADOPTION TIMES LIKE WEEK NIGHTS IS, UH, DIFFICULT WITH TRAFFIC AND WE HAVE SOME OF THE WORST TRAFFIC IN THE COUNTRY.
AND, UM, AT TIMES THAT I'VE BEEN AT AAC, ESPECIALLY IN THE EVENING, THE BACKUP ON, UH, ON AIRPORT TO GET ONTO 180 3 IS JUST HUGE.
AND SO EVEN FOR VOLUNTEERS TO GET TO THE SHELTER, IT'S VERY CHALLENGING NEXT.
UM, SO THE LIVE ANDREW LOOP CAMPUS WAS BUILT IN 2011.
UM, AND, UH, UH, AFTER YEARS OF NOT PASSING OR BARELY PASSING STATE INSPECTIONS AT THE TOWN LAKE FACILITY, UM, IT WAS REALLY DESIGNED WITHOUT NO KILL AS A MAJOR FACTOR.
UM, EVEN THOUGH IT DIDN'T HAPPEN RIGHT AROUND THERE.
SO A LOT OF THE ANIMALS ARE STAYING IN THE KENNELS LONGER.
SO THEY'RE OFTEN FULL AND SOME OF THE BUILDINGS HAVE REALLY, REALLY NARROW KENNELS.
SO WE REALLY WANT TO WORK HARD.
I WAS PART OF THE SPACE WORK GROUP THAT MADE RECOMMENDATIONS TO GET THE ANIMALS, UM, OUT OF, UM, THE SHELTER NEXT SLIDE.
SO I THINK ONE SOLUTION WE CAN CONSIDER OUR SATELLITE LOCATIONS THAT WE TAKE ADOPTABLE PETS TO THE CITIZENS AND DO IT LIKE OTHER MUNICIPALITIES WHO HAVE BIGGER CITIES WHO HAVE TRAFFIC PROBLEMS. UM, I LOOKED AT THREE OF THEM, UH, NEXT SLIDE, UM, SAN ANTONIO, WHICH HAS SIMILAR POPULATION, UM, AS, UM, SATELLITE LOCATIONS THAT ARE MANAGED BY LOCAL PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS AND RESIDE ON CITY LAND.
AND, UM, ON MY SIDE, THERE'S A FEW OF THEM THAT ARE HERE.
UM, NEXT SLIDES, UM, ALBUQUERQUE, UM, HALF OF OUR POPULATION AS A FEW LOCATIONS THAT ARE MANAGED BY PARTNERS WHO SUPPORT THE ANIMAL CENTER FROM WHAT I'VE BEEN ABLE TO RESEARCH, THEY'RE THERE TO SUPPORT, UM, THEIR LOCAL ANIMAL CENTER AND THERE'S AN EAST SIDE AND A WEST SIDE.
SO AGAIN, GETTING THE ANIMALS OUT TO THE PEOPLE MORE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, DALLAS, WHICH HAS MILLION 1.3, 5 MILLION PEOPLE IN DALLAS.
UM, HE HAS A PETSMART LOCATION THAT HOUSES 50 ANIMALS, SO NOT HUGE AMOUNT, BUT JUST ENOUGH THAT THEY'RE THERE WITH, UM, OTHER PEOPLE.
SO I THINK TO HAPPEN, MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
AAC NEEDS TO EXPAND ITS EVENT STAFF WHILE LOOKING FOR EXPANSION LOCATIONS, UM, WHICH WOULD PROBABLY BE IN ANOTHER BUDGET, BUT I'M NOT SURE.
UM, AAC HAS A MOBILE ADOPTION BUS, UM, SO WE CAN TAKE ANIMALS TO DIFFERENT AREAS.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY WHEN IT WAS PURCHASED, THERE'S ONLY TWO LARGE DOG KENNELS, SO IT WILL REQUIRE SOME VOLUNTEERS OR OTHER STAFF TO BRING MORE MEDIUM AND LARGE DOGS AND CATS.
UM, BUT, UM, IT IS DOABLE AND THERE MANY VOLUNTEERS WHO WILL GLADLY HELP AND FOSTERS WHO WOULD GRADUALLY HELP, UM, MEET SOMEWHERE AND BRING AN ANIMAL ALONG NEXT SLIDE.
SO AGAIN, WE'RE THAT COUNTY SHELTER.
UM, YOU COULD SEE ALL THE PLACES IN HERE THAT WE, THAT THE COUNTY SUPPORTS AND THAT US, UH, ANIMAL PROTECTION SUPPORTS.
SO IT WOULD BE NICE IF WE COULD, UM, TARGET SOME OF THE ADOPTIONS AND RECOMMEND THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU GO UP TO A PLACE LIKE LAKEWAY THAT HAS A LOT OF FAMILY HOMES, MAYBE DO FAMILY DOGS, THAT WOULD BE GREAT IN A YARD VERSUS, UM, WE CAN PARK SOMEPLACE DOWNTOWN AND HAVE SMALLER DOGS OR DOGS THAT WE KNOW ARE, UM, DOG FRIENDLY THAT, UM, WOULD BE GOOD IN AN APARTMENT OR A CONDO AND, UM, MOVE AROUND AND GET THE ANIMALS OUT
[01:15:01]
TO THE PEOPLE.UM, WE ALSO, UM, THE EVENT STAFF WE HAVE NOW, WHICH IS ONE OR TWO, UM, UH, DOES A LOT TO HELP THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF OUR PETS, UM, AND TAKING SERVICES INTO THOSE COMMUNITIES.
AND I TALKED ABOUT OUR RABIES, UM, UH, CLINIC THAT WAS HERE.
THAT'S RUN BY THE EVENT STAFF AND THESE ARE BIG UNDERTAKINGS.
AND SO TO CONTINUE TO DO MICROCHIPS AND GET OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, IT'S HARD TO HAVE THE TIME TO JUST TAKE THE BUS AND KEEP OUR ANIMALS LOCAL.
AND SINCE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, VERY CONCERNED ABOUT TRANSPORT OR ACTUALLY SENDING ANIMALS TO ANY TYPE OF FACILITY THAT'S BELOW THE 95% REQUIRED, UM, BY COUNCIL, WHETHER IT'S, UM, HERE IN AUSTIN OR IN THE STATE OR A, WE WANT TO TRY TO GET THEM INTO HOMES.
SO I THINK THIS WOULD BE A GOOD WAY TO DO THAT.
OH, SO I THINK ADDING AT LEAST TWO MEMBERS TO THE EVENTS TEAM WILL ALLOW AEC TO USE THE MOBILE ADOPTION AT EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND TO DO IT FREQUENTLY.
AND IN THE MEANTIME, THE ASU STAFF CAN DETERMINE THE BEST, UM, PERMANENT SATELLITE ADOPTION CENTERS.
SO AT THIS POINT I THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT WE COULD RECOMMEND, BUT AFTER I HAD RECOMMENDED THIS TOPIC, UM, UH, MR. GULLO TALKED ABOUT DOING A BUDGET WORKING GROUP AND WE TALKED A BIT AND THIS REALLY SHOULD BE PART OF THE OVERALL BUDGET WORKING GROUP.
SO I AM GOING TO NOT ASK FOR ANY ACTION ON IT AND PASS IT OVER TO, UM, MR. MEDULA TO INCLUDE WITH WHAT SHE'S GOING TO DISCUSS WITH HER, UM, BUDGET WORKING GROUP, SINCE THIS IS PART OF BUDGET.
UM, IF ANYONE DISAGREES WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT IT, BUT I THINK IT SHOULD BE JUST PART OF THE OVERALL OVERALL BUDGET RECOMMENDATION IF WE MAKE ONE, ANY QUESTIONS.
I DON'T SEE ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT.
ALL RIGHT, GREG, CAN I JUST ASK REALLY QUICKLY ONE JOANNE, UM, ONE OF THE EXAMPLES THAT YOU USED IS SAN ANTONIO, AND YOU TALKED ABOUT THE PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS THAT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO IS PARTNERING WITH.
THE MODEL THAT SAN ANTONIO USES IS THAT THE CITY LEASES THE LAND TO THOSE THIRD PARTY ORGANIZATIONS, AND THEN ACTUALLY PAYS THEM PER ANIMAL THAT THEY PULL, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD IN THE PAST, THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS UNABLE TO DO IN TERMS OF A PAY FOR PAY PER ANIMAL FEE.
DO YOU KNOW, DID YOU DO ANY RESEARCH? IS IT, HAS THAT POLICY CHANGED? UM, I HAVEN'T, AND I HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THAT, BUT I THINK, UM, ISN'T THAT THE REASON THAT LIKE AUSTIN PETS ALIVE GETS THEIR LAND FOR FREE, UM, IT'S AN EXCHANGE FOR TAKING ANIMALS.
SO IT'S, WE DON'T W APA DOESN'T GET PAID PER ANIMAL THE WAY THAT SAN ANTONIO DOES WITH THAT, BUT THEY GET LAND FOR FREE TO RESIDE ON.
SO DO THE SH SO DO THE PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO THEY RESIDE ON CITY LAND AND GET FREE, LIKE, OKAY, I DIDN'T SEE THAT.
SO I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THAT UP.
SO MAYBE WE'LL TAKE THAT OUT AS AN EXAMPLE, SINCE IT'S DIFFERENT, BUT, UM, I DID NOT SEE THAT IN WHAT I LOOKED AT ON THE SITE OF THE PARTNER ORGANIZATION THAT WAS TAKING THE ANIMALS.
KRISTEN WELLS, WHERE THEY CAN RAISE BEFORE ME, CHRIS, ANY CHANCE, UH, WE CAN HONOR SHEEP THE SAME PROJECT.
WE, THE RESCUE GROUPS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON ALREADY, FOR EXAMPLE, DO EVENTS AT TOWN LATE WITH, WITH OTHER RESCUE PARTNERS OR THEY, THEY, THEY ARE HELPING US AS, AS BLUE RESCUE, UH, BOXER RESCUE PLAY, PLAY A LITTLE BIT MORE, MORE AS, AS A COMMUNITY EVENT.
YEAH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA.
AND IF WE HAD THE EVENT STAFF, THAT'S ABSOLUTELY THE KIND OF THING THAT YOU GUYS COULD LOOK AT IS HAVING, HAVING AN EVENT LIKE THAT.
'CAUSE I CAN SAY MY, MY, MY TWO POINTS ON, ON THE SIDE, I WAS AN ADOPTION COUNSELOR WITH APA 12 YEARS AGO IN SOUTH CONGRESS AND WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE PRACTICALLY IT WAS THE ONLY PLACE TO MAKE DISTRIBUTION OF DOGS.
TELL ME WAS A LITTLE BIT, LOOK, LOOK AS, AS A KILL SHELTER AND WAS NOT A VERY, VERY GOOD, UH, FEEDBACK, BUT NOW I, I DO SOME ADOPTION EVENTS.
WE'VE ALL SEEN ANYONE CENTER SOMEONE'S HAVE A GOOD RESULTS.
OTHER ONES WAS A VERY GOOD PLACE TO RECRUIT NEW VOLUNTEERS.
[01:20:01]
CAN SEE THAT IF WE PLAY AS COMMUNITY AND WIN BY THE RESCUE GROUPS AND WE BUY, AND WE SHARE SOME LOCATIONS, FOR EXAMPLE, EVERY TOWN, THE APA LOCAL LOCATION, I THINK IT'S FANTASTIC.I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S, IF IT'S A CHANCE WE CAN TAKE SOME DOGS FROM AAC TO THAT LOCATION AND MAYBE CAN BE A GOOD INTERCHANGE.
I THINK THAT THERE'S A LOT OF, THERE'S A LOT OF POSSIBILITIES.
IF WE CAN GET SOME EVENTS STAFF TO DO IT AND, AND HELP OUR RESCUE PARTNERS TOO, WHO HAVE A LOT OF DOGS AND WHO SOMETIMES CAN'T TAKE DOGS, I THINK THE BOXER RESCUE, OR AT LEAST ONE OF THEM'S IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, AND I'VE HEARD THEY'VE BEEN PRETTY FULL LATELY.
SO ANYWAY, WE CAN PARTNER TOGETHER, I THINK WOULD BE AWESOME.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION AND I COULDN'T AGREE MORE.
THERE ABSOLUTELY NEEDS TO BE MORE, MORE PLACES WHERE FOLKS CAN ADOPT ANIMALS AND ON, UH, I THINK IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF THE DISCUSSION OF THE FUTURE OF, UH, AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER.
I BUDGET PROCESSES TAKE A LONG TIME AND THIS, YOU KNOW, THINGS CAN GET HELD UP IN, IN BUDGET CONVERSATIONS FOR QUITE A WHILE.
AND I'M WONDERING, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE STARTED THESE WITH JUST VOLUNTEERS, UM, REALLY, REALLY SUCCESSFULLY, UH, DOING OFFSITE ADOPTION LOCATIONS, SIMPLY USING, UM, VOLUNTEER GROUPS.
AND I'M WONDERING IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU'VE LOOKED AT AT ALL, OR YOU THINK COULD BE CONSIDERED WITH YOU LEADING OR SOMEONE ANOTHER VOLUNTEER? UM, I DIDN'T, BECAUSE I WAS LOOKING AT, UM, KIND OF HOW IT PLAYED INTO A BUDGET.
UM, YOU KNOW, AAC HAS HAD A LOT OF ADOPTION EVENTS, UM, OUT IN THE FRONT LAWN, UM, EARLY MORNING, SO THAT TRAFFIC'S NOT BAD, I'VE PARTICIPATED IN A LOT OF THOSE.
AND, UM, THEY'VE, UM, FOR THE MOST PART BEEN PRETTY SUCCESSFUL, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WEATHER AFFECTS THINGS.
UM, UH, BUT I THINK, UH, ABSOLUTELY IF WE, IF VOLUNTEERS WANTED TO DO THAT AND COULD DO IT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
UM, WHETHER I COULD LEAD IT NOW OR NOT POSSIBLY, I THINK IF THERE'S AN EVENT PERSON I CAN WORK WITH, UM, WE COULD DEFINITELY DO IT AND GET PEOPLE OUT AND ABOUT, AND, AND WORK WITH PARKS AND SEE IF WE CAN USE SOME PARKLAND TO DO AN EVENT.
SO I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA AND I APPRECIATE IT.
AND I'LL TALK TO THE AAC STAFF ABOUT IT.
MAKE A NOTE, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?
[4b. Animal Services Budget]
OKAY.WELL, LET'S MOVE TO A NEW BUSINESS.
B ANIMAL SERVICES BUDGET WHO, YEAH.
SO I BROUGHT THIS UP AND, UM, FROM THE CITIZEN INPUT THAT WE RECEIVED FROM CITIZEN COMMUNICATION LAST MONTH, UM, AND FROM VOLUNTEERS REACHING OUT TO ME, UM, AT THE SHELTER AS WELL ABOUT THE ANIMAL SERVICES BUDGET I ASKED LAST MONTH, IF I COULD MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO BEGIN A WORKING GROUP TO DISCUSS AAC BUDGET AND WAS TOLD AT THAT TIME, NO, BECAUSE IT WASN'T ON THE AGENDA, UM, THAT IT WOULD HAVE TO BE FOLLOWING UP AT THIS MONTH.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT WE STARTED WORKING GROUP TO LOOK AT THE AAC AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER BUDGET, TO DETERMINE IF RECOMMENDATIONS CAN BE MADE BY THIS COMMISSION, TO THE COUNCIL TO POSSIBLY INCREASE IN SPECIFIC AREAS, THE BUDGET TO HELP GET ANIMALS OUT OF THE SHELTER AND INTO HOMES.
UH, SO WE NEED A SECOND ON THAT.
SO NOW WAS DISCUSSION, UM, ABOUT A WORKING GROUP TO LOOK MORE SPECIFICALLY AT HADASSAH ANIMAL CENTERS BUDGET.
I WILL, I DO WANT TO SAY THIS IS THAT I HAD A, A CONVERSATION WITH MY CITY COUNCIL OFFICE ABOUT THIS, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD ASK AND YOU COULD ASK, AND IT'S KIND OF NICE TO KNOW WHETHER THERE'S SOMETHING TO GIVE.
AND WHAT I'VE HEARD IN GENERAL IS THAT THE CITY IS VERY UNSURE OF THE REVENUES THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE GETTING THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC AND OTHER ISSUES.
AND THAT THE GENERAL WORD HAS GONE OUT THAT, AND I CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, CAUSE YOU WOULD HEAR THIS BEFORE, BUT THAT, UH, THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS HAVE BEEN ASKED NOT TO ASK FOR INCREASED BUDGET, UH, WHICH MEANS THAT, UM, WE COULD DO A WORKING GROUP AND WE COULD ASK FOR MORE, BUT THE ONLY WAY WE WOULD GET THIS IS IF THERE BECOMES AN UNUSUAL EXCESS OF MONEY.
AND THEN YOU'RE IN COMPETITION BETWEEN
[01:25:01]
ALL THE EMERGENCIES FROM ALL THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS.SO, UM, THAT, THAT DID NOT MAKE ME FEEL GOOD ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE POTENTIAL FOR BEING SUCCESSFUL.
HOWEVER, I DO THINK IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO LOOK AT THE BUDGET AND LOOK FOR PLACES WHERE WE CAN DO MORE.
UH, IT'S ALSO A LITTLE HARD TO TELL HOW WELL WE'RE DOING WHO WE HAVE 21 POSITIONS OPEN, YOU KNOW, THAT'S JUST THAT, THAT THROWS MORE DIFFICULTY.
AND I'M NOT SAYING NO, I'M JUST THROWING THIS OUT THERE.
CAUSE I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS TOO, YOU KNOW, BUT ANYWAY, ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS? THAT'S MY COMMENT, KRISTIN, I WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN A BUDGET WORKING GROUP.
I TRULY THINK IT'S GOING TO BE HARD TO DO IF WE DON'T HAVE SOME BASIC DATA.
AND SO I WOULD GO BACK, I WOULD SAY THAT THAT PART IS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT COMPARATIVE, BECAUSE WE NEED TO LOOK AT THINGS LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, WHAT IS THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT ON VARIOUS OUTCOME POSITIONS? JOANNE MENTIONED, UM, OFF-SITE ADOPTIONS, UH, EVENTS STOP AND IT WOULD, WE WOULD NEED TO START TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHAT THE HIGHER RETURN ON INVESTMENT MIGHT BE AND HOW WE CAN EXPLAIN THAT.
AND IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE WE HAVE THAT DATA YET.
SO I THINK THAT THAT DATA WOULD BE A CRITICAL PART OF MOVING FORWARD IN ANY PRODUCTIVE BUDGET, WORKING GROUP CONVERSATIONS.
BUT, UM, I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE IDEA.
WELL, IF THERE ARE NO OTHER COMMENTS AND WE HAVE A, A MOTION AND A SECOND TO FORM A WORKING GROUP TO SPECIFICALLY LOOK AT THE BUDGET.
SO I THINK, I GUESS, UH, WE SHOULD CALL A VOTE ON THAT SINCE THAT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED.
SO ON FAVOR OF FORMING A WORKING GROUP TO LOOK AT THE BUDGET AND ALSO, UH, THEN WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO COURSE GET MEMBERS TO PARTICIPATE, UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF A WORKING GROUP TO LOOK AT THE BUDGET.
SO THAT'S CRAIG WHEEZE, LISA JOANNE AND BAYER.
THAT'S FIVE, ALL THOSE OPPOSED.
SO I THINK EVERYTHING ELSE HAS AN ABSTENTION.
SO DOES THAT PASS OR NOT THAT DOESN'T PASS BECAUSE WE HAVE 13.
UH, SO I GUESS THAT'S IT THEN? NO, I THINK CAUSE RYAN IS GONE.
SO I THINK THAT'S EVERYBODY NOW BECAUSE OTHERS WERE SAYING, ARE YOU CHRISTIAN AT THE SAME? YES, EVERYBODY ELSE ABSTAINED.
[5. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
GO ON TO, UM, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, SO, UH, UNDER OLD BUSINESS, DO WE WANT TO KEEP MONTHLY REPORT OF DATA? YEAH, WE PRETTY, WE SHOULD KEEP THAT THERE BECAUSE THEY'LL HOPEFULLY HAVE MORE TO REPORT.AND THEN WORKING GROUP ON OFF-LEASH DOGS, WE NEED TO KEEP THAT BECAUSE WE'RE GOING HAVE AN UPDATE ON THE MUSIC AT LEAST.
AND SOME OF THE, THE, UH, FOCUS GROUP, UH, C WORKING GROUP BEHIND INCREASE MY YES, BECAUSE DON IS GOING TO GIVE US AN UPDATE WHEN THEY GET TO MEET AGAIN D AUSTIN PETS ALIVE FUTURE.
CAUSE WE CAN JUST GET AN UPDATE THAT WAY BECAUSE, UM, IS EVERYBODY AGREE TO THAT? LOOKS LIKE IT.
CAUSE WE'RE GOING TO GET MORE INFORMATION ON THAT.
UH, WE'VE ASKED MORE FOR RACIAL, GET MORE FIRST ABOUT TRANSFERRING, UH, AND THEN NEW BUSINESS, THE OSS ANIMAL CENTER, SATELLITE ADOPTION CENTERS.
DO WE WANT TO MOVE THAT FORWARD TO OLD BUSINESS? JOANNE, DO YOU WANT TO CONTINUE TO LOOK INTO THAT? UM, NO, I THINK WE'RE GOOD.
I WAS GOING TO PUT IT IN THE, IN WITH THE BUDGET.
I WOULD BE UP TO STAFF TO LOOK AT IT.
[01:30:01]
ANIMAL SERVICES BUDGET, WHICH THAT MOTION FAILED.IS THERE, DO WE WANT TO, UM, DO, DO SOME OF YOU WANT TO TRY AND COME UP WITH ANOTHER MOTION THAT YOU THINK MIGHT PASS OR OKAY.
SO A THREE, 103 B THREE C THREE D THREE E.
AND THAT IS GOING TO BE UNDER OLD BUSINESS.
IS THERE ANY NEW BUSINESS? YES, I AM SOMETHING, UM, BACK IN, I BELIEVE IT WAS IN FEBRUARY.
I MET WITH THE ACTING CHIEF OF STAFF FOR MY COUNCIL MEMBER, NATASHA HARPER MEDICINE.
UM, THEY HAD RECEIVED EMAILS FROM CITIZENS OF DISTRICT ONE WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ASTA ANIMAL CENTER AND THINGS THAT WERE HAPPENING THAT WERE, EVERYTHING WAS OUT IN THE MEDIA ABOUT, UH, SO THE ASSISTANT OR THE ACTING CHIEF OF STAFF, MR. LARRY WALLACE SET UP A ZOOM MEETING AND INVITED ME.
SO AS THE REPRESENTATIVE OF DISTRICT ONE ON THIS COMMISSION TO MEET WITH THOSE CITIZENS TO TRY AND GET WHAT THEIR QUESTIONS ARE, WHAT THEIR ISSUES WERE WITH THE ANIMAL CENTER.
WE HAVE THE ZOOM MEETING AND THEN WE GOT A FOLLOW UP FOR THAT.
UM, UM, IT BASICALLY IS BOILED DOWN TO ABOUT 20 QUESTIONS THAT THEY HAVE FOR THE, UM, THE STAFF AT AAC.
I HAVE THAT IN A WORD DOCUMENT.
UM, A COUPLE OF THE THINGS I WENT TO THE DASHBOARD MYSELF TO LOOK TO SEE IF I CAN FIND THE ANSWERS THERE, SOME OF IT I COULD, SOME OF IT I COULD NOT.
UM, AND SO IT THERE'S, LIKE I SAID, THERE'S 20 QUESTIONS.
SOME OF THEM ARE PRETTY DETAILED.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO SUBMIT THESE.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEND THESE TO THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER TEAM TO HAVE FIND OUT IF THEY CAN ANSWER THEM.
IF THEY'RE ANSWERABLE, THEY HAVE THOSE ANSWERS AND CAN GET IT BACK TO US.
SO THEN I CAN RELAY BACK TO THESE, UM, CITIZENS AND TO MY COUNCIL MEMBER THAT I FOLLOWED UP THROUGH THE COMMISSION ON THIS ITEMS. UH, AS, AS, UH, AS A COMMISSIONER, YOU CAN ASK US ANY QUESTIONS WITHOUT HAVING TO GO THROUGH THE WHOLE COMMITTEE THING.
SO YOU COULD SEND US THE QUESTIONS AND WE CAN ANSWER THE ONES THAT WE CAN AND THE ONES WE CAN'T, WE CAN ADVISE YOU WHAT YOU WOULD NEED TO DO TO GET THOSE ANSWERS.
IF IT IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE A PR.
LIKE I SAID, SOME OF IT, I KNOW I WAS ABLE TO SEE ON THE DASHBOARD, UM, AND MAYBE I DIDN'T FILTER RIGHT.
CAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN FIND THOSE ANSWERS MYSELF WITHOUT HAVING TO SEND THEM THERE, THEN I'LL THROW, I'LL DO, AND WE'LL GO FROM THERE, BUT I'LL FORWARD THAT AND I'LL SEND THAT TO YOU, I GUESS, BELINDA.
AND IF ANYTHING COMES OUT OF THAT, WE CAN PUT THAT ON AND DURING THE MONTH, IF SOMETHING COMES UP, YOU CAN CONTACT ME.
AND WE CAN THINK ABOUT PUTTING THAT AS A NEW ITEM IF WE NEED TO.
ANY OTHER NEW ITEMS THAT WE HAVE? OH, OKAY.
UM, IF WE DO, WE HAVE TO HAVE ELECTIONS IN APRIL IS THOSE THAT HAVE TO BE ON THE AGENDA.
ELECTIONS ARE OCTOBER, NOVEMBER.
OH, IS THAT WHEN THEY ARE? NO, LIKE, LIKE COMMISSION ELECTIONS, LIKE WE HAD LAST YEAR.
DO WE HAVE TO HAVE THOSE? ARE THOSE IN APRIL? NO.
SO, UH, YEAH, WE GOT THE BYLAWS HERE.
I'LL LOOK THAT UP AND LET YOU KNOW, BUT OKAY.
BUT I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF IT HAD TO BE ON THE AGENDA FOR NEXT MONTH.
CAUSE I THOUGHT, I THOUGHT APRIL WAS THE MONTH WE HAVE TO.
WE HAVE TO TELL THEM MONDAY AND MAYBE IT'S A DIFFERENT MONTH.
YEAH, WE CAN, WE CAN LOOK THAT UP AND ADD THAT IF WE NEED TO.
WE'LL LOOK THAT UP BECAUSE THAT'S IN THE BYLAWS.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER NEW ITEMS? OKAY.
WILL THE AUSTIN ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING FOR MONDAY, MARCH 14TH, 2022 ADJOURNS AT 7:34 PM.