* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:03] CHAIR [CALL TO ORDER] CALLING THE MEETING TO ORDER AT 6:02 PM THIS IS THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING ON FEBRUARY TH 13TH, 2023 IN PERSON AND WITH TELECONFERENCING. I'M GONNA CALL AN AUDIBLE ROLE OF THE COMMISSIONERS IF YOU HEAR, UH, SIGNIFY SO BY SAYING AYE. CRAIG NAZER IS HERE. NANCY NEMER. NANCY HERE. SHE SIT HERE. PALMER NEWHOUSE. HERE. JOANNE NORTON? HERE. LOUISE HERRERA. HERE. KRISTEN HASSEN. SHE'S NOT HERE. UH, DR. AMANDA BRUCE PRESENT. RYAN CLINTON? HE'S NOT HERE, BUT I HEAR HE IS GONNA BE LATE. HE SHALL BE HERE, BUT HE'S NOT HERE AT THE MOMENT. LISA MITCHELL? HERE. KATIE JARL. HERE. LOT HERE. BEATRICE DZIK. BEATRICE DIZ. YOUR MIC. BEATRICE. WE CAN'T HEAR HER. SHE'S HERE, BUT SHE'S NOT THAT. OKAY. UH, RYAN CLINTON IS OKAY. UM, DR. PAGE NIELSEN HERE. OKAY. OKAY. UH, REMINDER IS PLEASED. IF ANYONE THINKS THEY HAVE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST WITH ANY AGENDA ITEM, SPEAK UP AND SIGN THE PAPER THAT, UH, STEPHANIE IS PASSING AROUND. UH, OKAY. THE [PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL] FIRST THING IS A SPEAKER'S LIST, WHICH I'M GETTING RIGHT NOW. AND THEN JUST MAKE SURE YOU NOTICE THAT THESE TWO PEOPLE ALSO, THIS PERSON'S EVIDENCE, BOTH GENERAL AND ITEM SEVEN. OKAY. SO, UM, I WOULD CALL THEM IN GENERAL, AND THEN I JUST WANT YOU TO BE AWARE THAT FOR ITEM SEVEN, TWO PEOPLE OKAY, BUT SHOULD WE HAVE HIM SPEAK TWICE? I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOU READ. YEAH. OKAY. YEAH, THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT. I WAS READING THE ME THE NOTES. UH, OKAY. SO YES. CAN YOU HEAR ME? DOES YEAH, WE CAN HEAR YOU NOW. BEATRICE ZITI. WE CAN HEAR. THANK YOU. OKAY, SO, UM, WE HAVE THREE PEOPLE SPEAKING UP IN GENERAL. SO LET'S START WITH ONLINE PEOPLE FIRST. YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES. MOJAVE, SUPERMANIUM, MOJAVE, ARE YOU THERE? OKAY. UH, LET'S GO TO THE SECOND PERSONS. MAYBE THEY'LL, I WILL GO BACK TO THEM. UH, LET'S SEE. UH, PAT VALK. I THINK THE ONLY PERSON I HAVE IS KATIE. OKAY. AND KATIE IS HERE FOR ITEM SEVEN, AND SHE'S GONNA SPEAK BEFORE THAT ITEM. THAT'S OKAY. UH, KIM HUIS HOST. OKAY. YOU'RE NEXT. GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. IT'S FINE. THANKS. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. UM, I'VE BEEN A VOLUNTEER LARGE DOG WALKER AND FOSTER AT AAC FOR OVER THREE YEARS NOW. THIS PAST SUMMER, I TOOK IN A FOSTER DOG NAMED PEABODY OR PEE FOR SHORT. HE WAS IN MY CARE FOR ABOUT FIVE MONTHS. HE CAME INTO THE SHELTER AS A PUPPY AND WAS PRETTY ROUGHED UP AND HAS SOME BEHAVIORAL QUIRKS AS A RESULT OF HIS PAST TRAUMA. HE EXHIBITS SOME RESOURCE GUARDING AND STRANGER DANGER, BUT I PERSONALLY FOUND THESE ISSUES TO BE MANAGEABLE. PETE WOULD ALSO PERIODICALLY STAY WITH OTHER FOSTERS WHEN I HAD TO LEAVE TOWN WITH NO ISSUES. IN GENERAL, HE'S A CUDDLY, SWEET, GOOFY COMPANION THAT LOVES WALKS TO TOYS AND FULL BODY HUGS. AT THE START OF THE YEAR, I BEGAN TRAVELING FREQUENTLY FOR WORK, SO I WAS NO LONGER ABLE TO LONG-TERM FOSTER. I SUBMITTED MY HOME NOTES AND A PREVIOUS FOSTER KEPT HIM FOR ANOTHER FEW DAYS BEFORE RETURNING HIM TO THE SHELTER. LITTLE DID WE KNOW WE WERE RETURNING HIM TO A DEATH SENTENCE. I CAN ONLY ASSUME THAT BASED ON MY STRANGER DANGER HOME NOTES, HE WAS LABELED A BE E THREE AND TAGGED AS A RESCUE INTAKE ONLY HE WAS KEPT IN THE 600 S KENNEL THAT DO NOT ALLOW ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, INCLUDING ME, TO INTERACT WITH HIM. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS A DOG WITH ZERO BITE HISTORY. HE WAS ON APAS LIST TO BE PULLED FOR A BEHAVIOR EVALUATION, BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO TAKE HIM IN AT THAT TIME DUE TO THEIR OWN SPACE ISSUES. INSTEAD OF WAITING UNTIL APA COULD PULL HIM, AAC MADE THE DECISION TO EUTHANIZE HIM WITHIN TWO BUSINESS DAYS. THIS [00:05:01] SEEMED CRAZY TO ME. HOW COULD A DOG WITH NO BITE HISTORY WHO HAD BEEN ALLOWED TO REMAIN IN MY HOME AND THE HOME OF SEVERAL OTHER FOSTERS ALL OF A SUDDEN BE CONSIDERED A THREAT TO THE PUBLIC? I SPOKE WITH DON BLAND ASKING FOR AN EXTENSION OF PS EUTHANASIA DATE, WHILE THE OTHER FOSTERS AND I FIGURED OUT A SOLUTION. I ALSO WANTED MORE INFORMATION ON WHY THIS DECISION WAS MADE, WHY HE WAS LABELED TO BE E THREE TO BEGIN WITH, AND WHY HE WAS CHOSEN TO BE EUTHANIZED WITH NO BITE HISTORY. MR. BLA SAID THEY ALSO LOOK AT A DOG'S POTENTIAL TO BITE, WHICH IS RIDICULOUS BECAUSE I'M PRETTY SURE EVERY DOG HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BITE IF THEY FEEL THREATENED. PEACE NOTES FROM A BEHAVIOR TEAM MEMBER ONCE HE WAS BACK AT THE SHELTER, SAID NOTHING CONCERNING, AND THAT HIS BEHAVIOR WAS FAIRLY STOIC AND HAD NO ANTAGONISTIC BEHAVIORS. MR. BLAND DID NOT GRANT THE EXTENSION, NOR DID HE EXPLAIN THE REASON FOR PES IMMINENT EUTHANASIA. HE DID TELL ME THAT P HAD BEEN IN THE SHELTER SYSTEM FOR QUITE SOME TIME, AND THAT THEY COULDN'T JUST KEEP KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD. P IS NOT A CAN, NOR ARE THE OTHER DOGS AT OUR SHELTER. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AN ANIMAL'S LIFE. AS A VOLUNTEER, I'M NOT ONLY APPALLED AT THESE COMMENTS, BUT THAT THESE KINDS OF DECISIONS ARE BEING MADE WITH NO TRANSPARENCY. VOLUNTEERS AND STAFF SPEND A LOT OF TIME, ENERGY, AND LOVE CARING FOR THESE ANIMALS. AND AT THE VERY LEAST, LEADERSHIP SHOULD SHARE SPECIFIC REASONS ON WHY THE DECISION IS MADE TO EUTHANIZE AN ANIMAL. BECAUSE IT CERTAINLY ISN'T CLEAR FROM THE SHELTER NOTES. THE THING IS, IT'S IRRELEVANT IF AAC IS KEEPING UP WITH A 95% LIVE RELEASE RATE IF YOU'RE KILLING ADOPTABLE DOGS JUST BECAUSE THE ANIMAL HAS A BEHAVIORAL ISSUE THAT IS NOT NO KILL. I'VE LEARNED THAT P ISN'T THE ONLY DOG THAT HAS BEEN IN THIS TYPE OF SITUATION AT AAC AND I'M GUESSING THAT AS LONG AS THE CURRENT LEADERSHIP IS IN PLACE, IT WON'T BE THE LAST. THIS IS NOT OKAY. I FEEL DECEIVED AND DISGUSTED, AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS BEING DECEIVED AND SHOULD BE DISCUSSED WITH THESE PRACTICES TOO. PLEASE HOLD THIS LEADERSHIP ACCOUNTABLE AND AT BARE MINIMUM REQUIRE FULL TRANSPARENCY WITH THE PUBLIC ON AACS POLICIES. THANKS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY, LET'S GO BACK TO MOJAVE SUPERMANIUM. THAT'S SPEAK? YES. OKAY. YOU'RE HERE IN PERSON. OKAY. THIS IS COM YEAH. GENERAL COMMENTS. AND YOU'RE FROM THE AUSTIN AQUARIUM. UH, NOT FROM, BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT THAT. OKAY. YES. HI, MY NAME IS MAVI. I'M A STUDENT AT UT AUSTIN, AND I'VE, UM, LIVED HERE FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS. AND OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS, I'VE BEEN TO THE AUSTIN AQUARIUM A COUPLE OF TIMES. AND I'VE EVENTUALLY REALIZED THAT BECAUSE OF THE ABUSIVE WAYS THAT THIS AQUARIUM TREATS BOTH ITS ANIMALS AND ITS VISITORS, IT SHOULD BE SHUT DOWN AND NOT ALLOWED TO CONTINUE OPERATING IN OUR CITY. NOW, WHEN I FIRST WENT TO THE AUSTIN AQUARIUM, I SORT OF THOUGHT THAT THE REASON WHY THE CONDITIONS WERE SO BAD WAS BECAUSE OF A LACK OF FUNDING. BUT AN UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION THAT CAME OUT JUST LAST YEAR SHOWED THAT THIS AQUARIUM AND COMPANY DOESN'T SUFFER FROM A LACK OF FUNDING. IT SUFFERS FROM A LACK OF CARE. THE INVESTIGATION SHOWED THAT ANIMALS ARE ROUTINELY DENIED AND HAVE BEEN DENIED VETERINARY VET CARE DESPITE POSSIBLE BROKEN BONES. IT SHOWED THAT ANIMALS COME TO THE FACILITY OFTEN SICK BECAUSE OF THE IRRESPONSIBLE WAYS THE COMPANY CHOOSES TO OBTAIN ITS ANIMALS. THE INVESTIGATION SHOWED THAT ANIMALS ARE ROUTINELY SUBJECTED TO INTERACTIONS WHERE ESSENTIALLY VISITORS CAN POKE, PROD, AND PET THESE ANIMALS WITH LITTLE TO NO SUPERVISION. AND IT'S BECAUSE OF THIS LITTLE TO NO SUPERVISION, SUPERVISION THAT IS NOT JUST THE ANIMALS THAT ARE BEING HURT BY THIS AQUARIUM OF THIS COMPANY. IT'S THE PATRONS THEMSELVES WHO ARE OFTEN KIDS. OVER TWO MONTHS, 12 VISITORS WERE BITTEN BY LEMURS AND AKIN KAJU. AND WHEN I WENT THERE MYSELF, I SAW MYSELF THAT THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN ONE AND A HALF HOURS. I SAW THREE SEPARATE KIDS EITHER BITTEN OR SCRATCHED BY THREE SEPARATE ANIMALS. AND WHEN A GIRL WALKED OUTSIDE OF AN ENCLOSURE CRYING BECAUSE SHE WAS SCRATCHED BY A BIRD, NOT A SINGLE EMPLOYEE WAS AROUND TO HELP. SO I'VE REALIZED THAT THIS COMPANY HAS A PRACTICE OF NOT CARING ABOUT BOTH ITS ANIMALS AND ITS VISITORS. AND THIS IS REFLECTED THROUGH THE OWNER'S HISTORY THEMSELVES. THE COVINO FAMILY, WHO'S THE FOUNDER OF THIS COMPANY, HAS FACED HUNDREDS OF ISSUES AT THEIR MANY FACILITIES ACROSS THIS NATION, INCLUDING VISITOR ATTACKS, EXCESSIVE ANIMAL DEATHS, AND FEDERAL CITATIONS. SO WHEN WE ALLOW A COMPANY LIKE THIS TO CONTINUE OPERATING, IT FEELS LIKE WE'RE SIMULTANEOUSLY ENDORSING THE ABUSE THAT THEY IMPOSE ON THEIR ANIMALS AND THEIR VISITORS. AND FOR THAT REASON, THIS COMPANY SHOULD BE SHUT DOWN AND NOT ALLOWED TO OPERATE IN OUR CITY ANY LONGER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, LET'S SEE. ANY OTHER GENERAL PAT VALS, REES, [00:10:07] CHAIR, NAZER AND ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION MEMBERS? THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK AND FOR YOUR SERVICE ON THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION. MY NAME IS PAT BAZ REES, AND I AM A LONG-TERM, LONG-TIME CITY OF AUSTIN RESIDENT, AS WELL AS A FORMER MEMBER OF THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION AND A LONGTIME ADVOCATE FOR SPAY NEUTER, FOR COMPANION ANIMALS, AND FOR ALL ANIMALS. UM, I AM CURRENTLY A MEMBER, THE ONLY PUBLIC MEMBER OF THE SPAY NEUTER WORKING GROUP, WHICH, UM, WILL BE MAKING ITS RECOMMENDATIONS LATER AS ITEM SEVEN. UM, I AM HERE TO URGE YOU TO SUPPORT AND VOTE IN FAVOR OF ALL OF THE, ALL SIX OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE SPAY NEUTER WORKING GROUP. UM, NONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE INTENDED TO SAY THAT AUSTIN IS NOT ALREADY DOING GOOD WORK IN THE AREA OF SPAY NEUTER FOR AUSTIN AND FOR TRAVIS COUNTY RESIDENTS. A LOT OF GOOD IS BEING DONE BY EMANCIPATE AND AUSTIN HUMANE SOCIETY UNDER CONTRACT WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN. AND GOOD IS ALSO BEING DONE SPAYING AND NEUTERING THE ANIMALS IN THE SHELTER. HOWEVER WE CAN AND WE SHOULD DO BETTER. UM, THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE INTENDED TO IMPROVE HOW SPAY NEUTER IS CURRENTLY BEING DELIVERED, BOTH THE AMOUNT OF SPAY NEUTER AND THE THE WAYS THAT IT'S BEING DONE AND, AND, AND, UM, ADJUNCT SERVICES LIKE VACCINATIONS. SO I AM HERE TO JUST ASK YOU TO PLEASE APPROVE ALL SIX RECOMMENDATIONS AND LET'S MAKE AUSTIN EVEN BETTER THAN IT ALREADY IS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SO THAT, THAT IS ALL ON GENERAL. UH, SO LET'S, UH, GREG? YES, UH, UH, KRISTEN IS IN THE ATTENDEES TRYING TO GET IN. OKAY. CAN CAN WE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT KRISTEN HASSEN, UH, BOARD MEMBER? OKAY. OKAY. THEY'LL WORK ON IT. OKAY. UH, SHE'S THERE. WE JUST CAN'T, SHE'S IN. OKAY. I SEE HER. ALL RIGHT. OKAY. UH, LET'S SEE. WE HAVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES, WHICH HAVE BEEN POSTED. UH, DO I HEAR A MOTION CHAIR? I I BELIEVE THAT YOU WANTED TO TAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ALL ITEMS BEFORE YOU OKAY. SO NOT BEFORE THE ITEM. WELL, YEAH, THIS WOULD BE BEFORE ITEM. OKAY. BUT I, WELL, OKAY. AND MAYBE I MISUNDERSTANDING, BUT YOU RIGHT. YEAH. SEE, THAT WASN'T CLEAR TO ME IN THE MINUTES FROM TWO MONTHS AGO. CAUSE I WENT BACK AND READ IT. RIGHT. SO, BUT WE CAN, SO WE'LL TAKE UP ALL THE COMMENTS NOW. SO THAT, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT, BUT I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA DO IT BY ITEM AND I ACTUALLY JUST RE-LISTENED TO THE MEETING AGAIN TODAY TO MAKE SURE. RIGHT. AND THAT IS WHAT THE ITEM, LET'S DISCUSS AND APPROVE. OKAY. SO I, I BELIEVE YOU WANNA TAKE THE ITEMS UP NOW, JUST SAY WHAT ITEM YOU'RE DOING AND DO THEM IN THOSE GROUPINGS. OKAY. I MEAN, YOU ONLY HAVE ONE, BUT, RIGHT. OKAY. SO WE HAVE, UH, ONE, UH, WHO'S SPECIFICALLY SPEAKING ON ITEM SEVEN? THAT'S KATIE FRICK TURNER? YES. I BELIEVE, I BELIEVE SHE'S IN. HI. CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? YES, GO AHEAD. HI, MY NAME IS KATIE TURNER, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. AND I WANTED TO SPECIFICALLY TALK ABOUT ITEM SEVEN, AS WELL AS TWO ITEMS UNDER GENERAL COMMENTS. IN REGARDS TO ITEM SEVEN, I WANTED TO ENCOURAGE THE ANNUAL ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION MEMBERS TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF ALL SIX RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE WORKING GROUPS IN REGARDS TO, UM, SAY, NEUTER RESOURCES IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. AND AS I WAS LISTENING TO THE PRIOR SPEAKER TALK ABOUT THE AUSTIN AQUARIUM, IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT, THAT THE, THIS COMMISSION IS, IS HEAVILY FOCUSED ON THE, ON WHAT GOES ON AT AUSTIN PE ALIVE AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AUSTIN PET ALIVE AND AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER. SO THUS, WE SPEND A LOT OF OUR TIME FOCUSING ON CATS, DOGS, RABBITS, AND CHICKENS. BUT WE REALLY DON'T HAVE A WORKING GROUP THAT'S TAKING A LOOK AT ISSUES AROUND THE AUSTIN AQUARIUM. AND I ALSO WANTED TO SEE IF THE COMMISSION COULD GIVE SOME CONSIDERATION TO THE OFTEN, UM, UH, WILDLIFE RESCUE. I SAW IN A MONTHLY REPORT THAT A GOOD NUMBER OF ANIMALS WERE IMPACTED BY THEM FROM APOS OR ACOS. AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT PERHAPS THE, THE CITY GIVING SOME FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR THE AUSTIN WILDLIFE RESCUE MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT A WORKING GROUP OF THIS COMMISSION COULD CONSENT CONSIDERATION TO. THANK YOU. OKAY. [00:15:01] THANK YOU. UH, I WILL SAY THAT THE, THE COMMISSION HAS JURISDICTION OVER SOME THINGS, AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY JURISDICTION OVER OTHER THINGS. AND, UH, IT, WE HAVE JURISDICTION OVER COUNTY, UM, UH, NONPROFIT RESCUE GROUPS AND SHELTERS. AS, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THE AUSTIN AQUARIUM IS A FOR-PROFIT PRIVATE BUSINESS. BUT JUST SO PEOPLE KNOW, I THINK THAT THOSE BUSINESSES GET, I I THINK THEY'RE, THEY, THEY HAVE TO GET, UH, A VETERINARY INSPECTION ONCE A YEAR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. LIKE THE, I KNOW THE AUSTIN ZOO OUT IN WEST AUSTIN DOES THAT. SO THAT IS ONE OPTION HERE. YES. I WOULD JUST, UM, MENTION THAT THIS IS NOT ON THE AGENDA. RIGHT. SO WE SHOULD PROBABLY PUT IT ON THE AGENDA. RIGHT. I'M JUST SAYING WE CAN HANDLE IT SAYING WHY IT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA. IT IT, BECAUSE IT'S NOT WITHIN OUR ACTUAL JURISDICTION, BUT WE'LL LOOK AT IT. THAT'S A GOOD IDEA. WE CAN, WE CAN PUT AN ITEM ON THE AGENDA ABOUT THIS AND, AND DISCUSS IT MORE. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, OKAY. [APPROVAL OF MINUTES] SO THAT NEXT IS APPROVAL, THE MINUTES. DO I HAVE A MOTION APPROVE, UH, MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY 20. OKAY. COMMISSIONER SAG MOVE. SO I HEAR A SECOND. SECOND, UH, LOUISE HERRERA. COMMISSIONER HERRERA, DO ANY DISCUSSION? OKAY. WELL, IF THERE'S NO DISCUSSION, DOES ANY, UH, HOW MANY DO NOT APPROVE OF THE MINUTES THEN, THEN IT PASS, PASS BY UNANIMOUSLY. THERE WE GO. OKAY. CHAIR, A RE REQUEST TO, UM, MAKE A MOTION. UM, I'M REQ MAKE A MOTION REQUESTING THAT WE MOVE THE WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATION ITEM UP BEFORE STAFF BRIEFINGS. UM, AS THERE MAY OR MAY MAY BE SOME DISCUSSION ON THESE THINGS. AND WE'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO FULLY ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT OTHER COMMISSION MEMBERS HAVE. OKAY. THERE'S BEEN A MOTION TO MOVE ITEM SEVEN. UM, UH, UH, YOU WANNA DO THAT BEF YOU WANNA MOVE IT BEFORE ITEM THREE? BEFORE ITEM TWO? BEF UH, OKAY. BEFORE ITEM TWO. DO I HEAR A SECOND? I SECOND. COMMISSIONER HERRA. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS? OKAY. UH, THEN HOW MANY, UH, FAVOR MOVING THE ITEM FIVE PEOPLE FAVOR MOVING THE ITEM. HOW MANY OPPOSED? OKAY, SO IT DOESN'T PASS. DO THEY ALL RAISE THEIR HAND OR ARE THEY I DON'T, I THINK THEY ALL, THEY ALL, UH, ARE ABSTAINING. YEAH, ABSTAINING. I'M ASSUMING YOU GUYS ALL ON VIDEO ARE ABSTAINING. THAT'S WHAT I ASSUMED. JUST CALL FOR THE ABSTENTIONS AND SEE IF THEY'RE OKAY. UH, HOW MANY ARE, OKAY. THAT'S A GOOD IDEA. HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ABSTAINING? YEP. THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED. OKAY. SO WE'LL KEEP THE, UH, WE'LL KEEP IT AS IT IS. OKAY. SO, UM, [2. Overview of monthly report provided by the Animal Service Center.] STAFF BRIEFINGS. LET'S HEAR THE STA BRIEFING FROM THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONER. IT'S JASON. SORRY, MY CAMERA'S NOT WORKING, SO I JUST HAVE TO DO THIS THEUS SOUND OF MY VOICE. UM, SO THE LIVE OUTCOME PERCENTAGE FOR JANUARY WAS 98 POINT 98%. A TOTAL OF 868 ANIMALS WERE BROUGHT INTO THE SHELTER. UM, WERE ABLE TO ADOPT 538 ANIMALS AND A TOTAL OF 83, UH, ANIMALS WERE RETURNED TO THE OWNERS EITHER THROUGH RTOS OR RTO ADOPT. UM, ANIMAL ANIMAL PROTECTION. WERE ABLE TO DO 47 RTOS OUT IN THE FIELD. UM, THEY DID IMPOUND 126 INJURED ANIMALS AND ENTERED 187 MAYBE EXPOSURE CASES. UM, WE HAD A TOTAL OF A 421 VOLUNTEERS DONATE, UH, OVER 5,100 HOURS OF SERVICE TO US IN JANUARY. UM, WE WERE ABLE TO CONDUCT, OUR COORDINATORS WERE ABLE TO CONDUCT FIVE, UH, ORIENTATIONS FOR NEW VOLUNTEERS. AND WE HAD 151 NEW VOLUNTEERS ATTEND THEIR FIRST TRAINING OR MENTORSHIP. UM, WE HAD A HUNDRED, WE WERE ABLE TO PROCESS 162 NEW FOSTER APPLICATIONS. CURRENTLY THERE'S 771 APPROVED FOSTERS AND GIVE PULSE. UM, AS OF FEBRUARY 3RD, THERE WERE 229 ANIMALS IN FOSTER CARE. DURING JANUARY, THOUGH, WE WERE ABLE TO ADOPT THE HUNDRED 41 OF THOSE ANIMALS [00:20:01] FROM FOSTER CARE. UM, MM-HMM. , UH, OUR VET PERFORMED 806 VET EXAMS AND, UH, SPAYED AND NEUTERED FOUR 50 ANIMALS. I JUST GOT THIS INFORMATION. 349 SURGERIES WERE CONDUCTED BY ADVANCE PET DURING JANUARY. OH, OH, SORRY. UM, WE HAD 18 EMERGENCIES THAT WERE TRANSFERRED FROM THE EMERGENCY CLINIC. UH, THE BILL FOR JANUARY WAS A LITTLE OVER $14,000. UM, WE WERE ABLE TO HAND OUT OVER 1800 BASIC CARE ITEMS, UM, FROM PRC. AND, UM, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO DON. HE'S GONNA TALK ABOUT VACANCIES AND OTHER ITEMS. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. UH, FAR WE, WE CURRENTLY HAVE, UH, FOR PERMANENT STAFFING, WE HAVE 19 OPEN POSITIONS. UH, ONE OF THOSE IS CURRENTLY OPEN POSTING, THREE, PREPARING TO POST. AND ALL THE REST ARE EITHER OFFERS HAVE BEEN EXTENDED OR, UH, WE'RE WAITING FOR, UH, INTERVIEWS OR BACKGROUND CHECKS, UH, ON OUR TEMPORARY POSITIONS. WE HAVE 14 POSITIONS CURRENTLY OPEN AND ALL ARE IN THE EITHER HIRING OR INTERVIEW PROCESS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TWO THAT ARE PENDING POSTING. AND THAT IS, UH, OUR CURRENT POSITIONS. AND WE ARE THRILLED THAT WE'RE GETTING APPLICANTS AND SOME REALLY GREAT APPLICANTS AS WELL. AND SO WE'RE HOPING THAT ALL OF OUR OUTSTANDING ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICER POSITIONS, UH, WILL BE FILLED, UH, AS SOON AS WE CAN GET THESE INTERVIEWS WORK THROUGH. IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL HAVE OF US ON THIS NARRATIVE? DO ANY OF THE COMMISSION STAFF'S QUESTION? UH, COMMISSIONER MAGULA. UH, GOOD EVENING. UM, SO A A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AND, UM, I, I MAY HAVE ASKED THIS LAST MONTH, I APOLOGIZE, I DON'T REMEMBER THE ANSWER. OF THE FENCING ASSISTANCE APPLICATIONS THAT ARE HANDED OUT, IS THERE ANY WAY TO TRACK HOW MANY APPLICATIONS ARE ACTUALLY SUBMITTED FROM THOSE THAT ARE HANDED OUT? YES. THEY, THERE ARE, UH, THEY, THEY DO TRACK HOW MANY, UH, WERE RETURNED AND ACTUALLY PROVIDED DOCUMENTATION FOR. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ASK ABOUT. OKAY. UM, AND THEN THE OTHER QUESTION THAT I HAD IS, ON YOUR JOB VACANCY REPORT, UM, YOU HAVE THREE POSITIONS AWAITING RECLASSIFICATION APPROVAL. ARE THOSE, ARE YOU COMBINING THOSE POSITIONS TO MAKE A SEPARATE POSITION OR ARE YOU RECLASSIFYING EACH ONE OF THOSE POSITIONS? THO THERE'S THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION CHANGES, UH, SUCH AS THE ANIMAL CARE CARE TECHNICIAN. THERE'S DUTIES THAT, UH, WERE IN THAT JOB DESCRIPTION THAT ACTUALLY FALL TO THE ADOPTION COUNSELORS AND ARE NOT DONE BY THE ANIMAL CARE TECHNICIAN. SO THEY'RE RECLASSIFYING THAT POSITION IN TERMS OF THAT JOB DESCRIPTION, UH, BEFORE THE POSTING TO MAKE IT, UH, ACTUALLY WHAT THE JOB IS ENTAILING NOW VERSUS OLD JOB DESCRIPTION. AND, UH, I KNOW THAT ONE OF THE CUSTOMER SERVICE CARE REPRESENTATIVE POSITIONS WAS, UH, BEING LOOKED AT TO INCREASE IT TO, UH, A SENIOR POSITION. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU MR. CHAIRMAN. NA SIR WANTS TO ASK THAT QUESTION ALSO. COMMISSIONER DESES, GO AHEAD. OKAY. THANK YOU. SO FOR ZA AND MR. BLAND, UM, I DIDN'T SEE THE STATISTICAL REPORT, UH, POSTED. I DID SEE THAT KRISTEN HANSEN POSTED, UH, SHE DID AN ANALYSIS PER YEAR. SO ARE YOU PLANNING TO SHARE THAT STATISTICAL REPORT THAT YOU DO EVERY MONTH? UH, YES. I THOUGHT WE TURNED IT IN. WHO'S THERE'S THERE? SORRY, IT GOT POSTED. WE HAD, IT JUST GOT POSTED LATER THIS AFTERNOON. IT GOT POSTED LIKE THREE THIS AFTERNOON. WELL, I, BUT IT'S THERE NOW. IT'S THERE NOW. UH, AND THAT'S REALLY UNFORTUNATE. UM, IF, I MEAN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE USED TO ANALYZE AND, AND WE, A LOT OF US HAVE JOBS, UH, OUTSIDE OF THE COMMISSION. THE SECOND THING IS THAT LAST, LAST MEETING I DID ASK FOR, UM, THE BEGINNING COUNT EACH MONTH THAT THE STON ANIMAL CENTER HAS OF ANIMALS AND THE END COUNT OF THE END OF THE MONTH. HOW MANY ANIMALS, BECAUSE [00:25:01] YOU GIVE OFF ALL OF THIS AS STATISTICS, BUT IT'S, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WITH THE NUMBER OF ANIMALS, YOU START THE MONTH AND YOU END THE MONTH. THAT'S BALANCE SHEET. AND IT WOULD PUT A LOT OF THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE. AND I, I, I DON'T SEE ANYWHERE WHERE THIS MY, MY REQUEST WAS ADDRESSED. COMMISSIONER, YOU HAD LAST MONTH ASK ABOUT THE ANIMALS IN FOSTER CARE, THE NUMBERS, THE BEGINNING AND THE ENDING. AND IN THE NARRATIVE, WE DID PUT IN THERE THE JANUARY, THE BEGINNING OF JANUARY, THE NUMBER OF ANIMALS THAT WERE IN FOSTER CARE. AND THEN AGAIN, UH, 1ST OF FEBRUARY, THE, IN THE AMOUNT OF FOSTER CARE. AND, UH, WE ALSO PUT IN AN EXPLANATION. AND THERE, THERE WAS HOW MANY ANIMALS WERE ACTUALLY SENT TO FOSTER CARE. AND, UH, THEN DURING THE COURSE OF THE MONTHLY, PUT AN EXPLANATION IN THERE THAT, UH, TALKS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ANIMALS CAN GO INTO FOSTER AND COME OUT OF FOSTER WITHIN THAT MONTH. AND IT'S NOT SHOWING AT THE BEGINNING OF THE ENDING INVENTORIES. SO ASK, UH, MR. BLANK. THAT'S GREAT. UH, I WOULD ALSO REQUEST TO GET ORAL PICTURE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH, HOW MANY ANIMALS YOU HAVE AT, AT THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER AT THE END OF THE MONTH, HOW MANY ANIMALS YOU HAVE, THE, AT THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER. SO BESIDES FOSTERS, YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE REGULAR ALL OVERALL. YES, YES. AND, AND SORRY, WITH FOR THE COMMUNICATION. AND THAT'S GREAT. WHAT THE INFORMATION YOU GOT. THAT'S ALL WHAT I HAVE. THANK YOU. UH, DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. WELL, IF THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS, UM, UH, LET'S GO ONTO [3. Presentation of the Monthly Report by Austin Pets Alive!] DISCUSSION ITEMS. PRESENTATION, LET'S SEE. PRESENTATION OF THE MONTHLY REPORT BY AUSTIN PETS ALIVE. GOOD EVENING. UM, NEIL HAY, I'M STEPHANIE BILBOROUGH FROM AUSTIN PETS LIVE. UM, JUST PRESENTING THE REPORT, UM, OUR RELATIVELY, UM, NORMAL REPORT IN LINE WITH OUR LICENSE AGREEMENT. UM, CONDITIONS, UM, JUST PICK OUT SOME HIGHLIGHTS TOUCHING ON OUR NORMAL AREAS. SO WE PULLED SEVEN BEHAVIOR DOGS, UM, LAST MONTH, SIX LARGE AND ONE SMALL. ONE OF THOSE LARGE WAS PEABODY, WHO WAS SPOKEN ABOUT EARLIER AT THE START. UM, WE PULLED 42 MEDICAL URGENT, UM, CATS AND DOGS IN JANUARY. UM, UM, HIGHLIGHT, JUST BECAUSE IT'S UN UNUSUALLY A LARGE NUMBER. UM, OUR AVERAGE IS JUST BELOW FIVE. SO, UM, THAT WAS A SIGNIFICANT UPTICK LAST MONTH. UM, THE BIGGEST HIGHLIGHT FOR US THOUGH WAS THE PREGNANT DOGS THAT WERE POOLED OVER AND THERE WERE FIVE IN TOTAL. ONE ALREADY CAME WITH 12 PUPPIES AND THE OTHER FOUR DELIVERED 39 PUPPIES WITHIN TWO DAYS OF ARRIVING AT OURSELVES. SO, UM, 39, 49, 51 PUPPIES THAT CAME ACROSS. AND WE'VE ALSO PULLED FIVE PREGNANT DOGS ALREADY THIS WEEK, WHICH WE ARE GENUINELY HAVING A COMPETITION BETTING ON HOW QUICKLY THOSE DOGS DELIVER CAUSE THEY SEEM VERY PREGNANT. UM, BUT ALL VERY, VERY CUTE, UM, FLY ANIMALS TO US. UM, AGAIN, WE'LL OBVIOUSLY HEAR THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE SPAY GROUP AT THE END, BUT WE JUST, OUR NORMAL NOTE THAT WE SPAYED 562 CATS AND DOGS LAST MONTH. UM, AND WE HAVE OUR NORMAL INFORMATION THERE ABOUT THE OUTCOMES OF THE MEDICAL CASES TRANSFERRED TO US IN DECEMBER. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS? YES. UH, COMMISSIONER MAGULA. HI. SO I'M LOOKING AT YOUR REPORT IN UNDER THE SURVI, THE TOTAL MEDICAL CASES TRANSFERRED. IT SHOWS DECEMBER, IS THAT DECEMBER, 2022? CORRECT? YES. NOT JANUARY. RIGHT, BECAUSE WE LOOK A MONTH BACK CUZ THIS IS THEIR SURVIVAL RATE AFTER AT LEAST 30 DAYS. OKAY. OKAY. SO GOT, OKAY, NOW I UNDERSTAND. YEAH. THANK YOU. YES, COMMISSIONER, CAN I ASK A QUESTION? CLARIFYING QUESTION FIRST, STEPHANIE, IF SINCE AAC IS INVOLVED IN THIS REPORT, CAN I ASK AAC A QUESTION ABOUT THIS REPORT? YEAH, I DON'T SEE A PROBLEM WITH THAT. UM, DIRECTOR BLANDER JASON, UM, ON LIVE RELEASE IT SAYS THAT AAC AACS IMPLIED RELI RELEASE [00:30:01] RATE WITHOUT APA TRANSFERS IS 88%. UM, IF APA DIDN'T PULL THOSE ANIMALS, WOULD YOU ACTUALLY KILL THEM? THEY'RE IMPLYING NO. THANK YOU. SOME OF THEM DO HAVE DEADLINES WHEN WE PULL THEM. AND THE IMPLICATION IS THAT THEY'LL BE EUTHANIZED AT THOSE DEADLINES. ALL OF THEM FOR BEHAVIOR DOGS AT LEAST. YES. TELL ME OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. I COULDN'T TELL YOU. THERE'S ALSO A NUMBER OF MEDICAL THAT WOULD DIE IN THEIR CARE. BUT YOUR NUMBER HERE, ALL THE ANIMALS BEFORE RIGHT? THAT THE NUMBER YOU HAVE 88%, YOU'RE SAYING THAT'S ASSUMING ALL OF THEM, RIGHT? THEY WOULD'VE EITHER DIED, THEY WOULD'VE EITHER DIED IN THEIR CARE OR BEEN EUTHANIZED. CORRECT. BUT THEY WOULD NOT THAT AAC IS SAYING THAT THEY, I JUST WANNA CLARIFY THAT AAC WOULD NOT KILL ALL THOSE ANIMALS THAT YOU TOOK. MAYBE A COUPLE BEHAVIOR DOGS, BUT NOT ALL THOSE ANIMALS. AND YOU TOOK SIX. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU. I WANNA ADD THAT WE WERE ABLE TO PULL PEABODY BECAUSE HIS FORMER FOSTERS BANDED TOGETHER AND FOUND A NEW FOSTER, AND THEY CAME TO US INSTEAD OF FOSTERING THROUGH AAC. SO THAT WAS A POLL THAT WE WERE ONLY ABLE TO TAKE BECAUSE OF THE NETWORKING OF HIS FORMER FOSTER. SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE THEM. I HAVE A QUESTION YES. ABOUT PEABODY. UM, WERE THERE ANY NOTES, UM, INDICATING THAT PEABODY WAS A DANGEROUS DOG AND SHOULD BE KILLED AT AAC? FROM WHAT WE SAW, WE INTENDED TO EVALUATE HIM. UM, WHEN IT CAME HIS TIME ON THE LIST, WE TRIED TO GO DOWN THE LIST IN ORDER. WE DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING IN HIS NOTES THAT INDICATED THAT HE WAS A RISK OR THAT WE WOULD'VE OTHERWISE. I MEAN, WE PULLED HIM STRAIGHT INTO FOSTER. WE DID A HALF DAY EVAL AND PUT HIM RIGHT BACK INTO FOSTER. DO YOU CONSIDER, UM, NOT EUTHANIZING AN ANIMAL KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD? NO. THANKS. UH, SO LET, LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT. SO PEABODY WAS THE DOG, UM, WE DISCUSSED EARLIER. I THINK THAT WAS KATIE A KIM. OKAY. OKAY. SO PEABODY WAS SAVED. YES. WE HAVE HIM NOW. HE'S IN A FOSTER HOME. THANK YOU. YES. UH, WHO IS THAT? WAS IT COMMISSIONER DZIK? YES. SO, UH, NOW THAT PEABODY ETHAN FOSTER, IS HE AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION? YES, HE IS. YES. OKAY. SO HE'S LISTED, THANK YOU. MM-HMM. . OKAY. UH, ANYBODY ELSE? OKAY, I I'LL GET BACK TO YOU. I MEAN, I WANT EVERYBODY FOR ONCE FIRST AND THEN COMMISSIONER NORTON. OKAY. UM, I HEARD, AND I DON'T HAVE HIS RECORDS, BUT I CAN, THAT THERE WAS A NOTE FROM A FOSTER SAYING THAT HE ALMOST SPIT HER IN THE FACE. THEY WERE CONCERNED, UM, FOR THEIR SAFETY AROUND HIM, AND THAT'S WHY THEY BROUGHT HIM BACK. ARE YOU SAYING THAT NOTE WAS NOT IN THERE? I AM NOT INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH HIS RECORDS. UM, IF OUR TEAM WAS WILLING TO PULL HIM AND EVALUATE HIM, THEN THAT MEANS THAT THERE WAS SOME SORT OF INDICATION TO THEM THAT THAT BITE, THAT THAT INCIDENT WAS EITHER PROVOKED OR WAS VERY EXPLAINABLE AND COULD BE PREVENTED. IS I I I MEAN, WE SHOULDN'T BEAT AROUND THE BUSH HERE. IF I, IF ANYBODY ON HERE FROM THE SHELTER KNOWS OF PEABODY'S RECORD AT THE SHELTER, WOULD YOU CARE TO SPEAK UP? HI, THIS IS JASON. UM, WE, WE CAN ACTUALLY PROVIDE THE NOTIFICATION THAT WAS DONE THAT LISTS ALL HIS NOTES. UM, I REMEMBER THERE WAS, WHERE WAS A NOTE THAT WAS PUT IN ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE FOSTER TAKING BY, UH, ATTEMPT THAT WAS AN ATTEMPTED MINOR FACE AND SHE FELT UNCOMFORTABLE WITH IT. WE, THERE WAS ANOTHER FOSTER NOTE, UM, AND I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH WE CAN DISCUSS IT. UM, AND, BUT, UM, YEAH, WE CAN PROVIDE THE NOTIFICATION THAT WAS SENT OUT TO RESCUE PARTNERS TO AS, AS CODE. YEAH. UH, I, I CERTAINLY DON'T WANT, YOU KNOW, TO SAY ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN'T SAY, BUT THIS IS A QUESTION THAT WE'RE HAVING AT THE COMMISSION AND PEOPLE ARE ASKING IT. AND SO IF WE CAN GET INFORMATION, I'M JUST TRYING TO GET INFORMATION AND I'M NOT, I'M NOT TRYING TO SAY THAT THAT FOSTER WAS NOT RIGHT TO BE CONCERNED. OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING HAPPENED IN HER HOME THAT CONCERNED HER AND THAT'S FINE. UM, I'M JUST SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, FROM WHAT OUR TEAM READ OF THE NOTES, THEY OBVIOUSLY FELT LIKE IT WAS NOT SOMETHING THAT HE COULDN'T COME BACK FROM. OKAY. UH, ANY OTHER COMMENTS? YES. DO YOU REMEMBER READING THIS? WAS IT A SEPARATE FOSTER, THE SAME FOSTER WHERE THERE WAS AN INCIDENT OF PEABODY CHASING THE FOSTER'S ROOMMATE THROUGH THE HOUSE AND THE FOSTER'S ROOMMATE HAVING TO HIDE OUT OF FEAR FROM THE DOG? [00:35:01] I VAGUELY REMEMBER THAT. YEAH. I DON'T KNOW THE DETAILS. OKAY. I MEAN, WE, WE CAN, WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO DO IS WE NEED TO SEE THE INFORMATION ON THE NOTES. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO SEE THE INFORMATION ON THE NOTES. SO CHAIR, YES, I AM A LITTLE CONCERNED WE MIGHT BE GETTING OUT OF THE POSTING LANGUAGE ON THIS TOPIC. I I WOULD SUGGEST THAT PERHAPS WE COULD BRING THIS UP. I'M SORRY. YES. I'M SORRY. I'M ON WINE AND I'VE HAD MY HAND UP FOR ABOUT FIVE MINUTES. CAN I HAVE THE FLOOR WHEN WE'RE DOWN HERE? YES. DOES SHE NOT INTERRUPT THE CLERK? SHE INTERRUPTED THE CLERK. OKAY. GO. YES, LET, LET'S, OKAY. I, BUT I DO WANNA SAY THAT CHAIR, I AM CONCERNED THAT WE ARE GETTING, GETTING IN A DISCUSSION TOPIC THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE NEED TO, NEED TO BE INDEPENDENTLY POSTED. OKAY. WHICH IS FINE, BUT I, I MEAN, I'M ASSUMING THIS IS IN THE REPORT AND IT'S OKAY TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE REPORT, BUT WE DO NEED TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT THE DISCUSSION GOING OUTSIDE WHAT'S CURRENTLY POSTED. OKAY. UH, UH, COMMISSIONER MITCHELL, I DID NOT SEE YOUR HAND. THANK YOU. I UNDERSTAND. AND I, THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO JUST INTERJECT. SO I DIDN'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT ANYONE, BUT WHEN WE'RE ONLINE AND WE'RE NOT RECOGNIZED, SOMETIMES WE JUST NEED TO SPEAK UP FOR OURSELVES. I AGREE WITH WHAT THE CLERK'S OFFICE JUST SAID. WITHOUT THIS, THIS ISN'T IN THE SCOPE REALLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. AND WE DON'T HAVE THE INFORMATION IN FRONT OF US. SO I THINK IT'S INFLAMMATORY AND A LITTLE INSULTING TO THE PUBLIC TO START ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THERE WERE NOTES THAT NO ONE HAS IN FRONT OF THEM. CAN WE JUST STICK WITH THE TOPIC AND, AND LET THE REPORT BE HAD? I, IT'S THE, IT'S JUST, IT'S FRUSTRATING. THAT'S ALL. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND SO WE'LL MOVE ON. UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR A APA? OKAY, WELL THEN THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. OKAY, SO NOW WE'RE GOING TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, UH, OUR [4. Discussion regarding dangerous dogs, serious dog bites, criteria for shelter intake, and information regarding giardia outbreak and prevention.] NUMBER FOUR DISCUSSION REGARDING DANGEROUS DOGS, SERIOUS DOG BITES, CRITERIA FOR SHELTER INTAKE AND INFORMATION REGARDING GERARDIA OUTBREAK AND, AND PREVENTION. UH, SO THIS IS, UH, COMMISSIONER NEWHOUSE'S ITEM. UM, CHAIR, NO, THIS IS NOT MY ITEM. THIS, UM, I HAD AN ITEM, UH, REQUESTING A BRIEFING ON THE INTAKE CRITERIA THAT WASN'T INCLUDED, BUT THIS IS NOT MY ITEM. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO WE PUT THIS ON THEN. THIS WAS SOMETHING WE PUT ON LAST MONTH. I ASK, I ASKED FOR THAT BECAUSE OKAY. WAS TOO MANY, TOO MANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WITH A CONFUSION THAT HOW ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICERS DECLARED DANGERS AND IS NOT ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICERS ARE THE JUDGE. AND EACH CASE IT'S INDEPENDENT. I THINK, UH, MR. DOLAN OR MR. JASON GARZA IS GOING TO HELP US WITH THESE NUMBERS. OKAY. SO, UM, SO DANGEROUS DOGS, YOU, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, WE, WE HAVE A LEGAL, LEGAL DEFINITION OF DANGEROUS DOGS, CORRECT? YES. OKAY. AND DOES ANYBODY HAVE THAT WORDING? I MEAN, WE, WE WENT OVER THAT A YEAR OR TWO AGO. YES. UH, THE, THE DANGEROUS DOG STATUTE FROM THE STATE, UH, THAT, THAT IS OUT THERE, UH, IN CHAPTER 22. UH, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK WAS, WAS BEING CONSISTENTLY, UM, MISUNDERSTOOD WAS THAT, UH, ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICERS WERE THE ONES THAT WERE DEEMING THAT. BECAUSE IN THE STATE LAW IT SAYS THE ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICER CAN DO THAT. THE CITY OF AUSTIN DOES NOT CHOOSE TO DO THAT. UH, WE ALLOW A THIRD PARTY TO DO THAT. UM, LAST YEAR, YOU KNOW, WE HAD OVER 20 HUN 2,500 BY INVESTIGATIONS. UH, OF COURSE NOT ALL THOSE, UH, ARE DANGEROUS DOGS, BUT IF SOMEONE, UH, REPORTS THAT THEY, THEY WANT TO, YOU KNOW, DEEM A DOG DANGEROUS, THEN WE GIVE THEM THE PAPERWORK AND THEY TAKE THAT AND WE TURN THAT INTO THE MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGE WHO HEARS THE DANGEROUS DOG CASES AND RENDERS THE DECISION. AND AFTER A DECISION IS MADE, IF THERE'S DISAGREEMENT, THEY HAVE 15 DAYS THAT THEY CAN ALSO APPEAL THAT. UH, AND THEN THEY HAVE TO FOLLOW THE DANGEROUS DOG STATUTES IF THAT IS, UH, DEEMED DANGEROUS. BUT ALSO IT WAS, UH, AN ANIMAL IS, IS HABITUALLY ESCAPING. AND IT, IT'S, AND WE, YOU KNOW, WE TRY TO WORK WITH FENCING AND FENCING ASSISTANCE TO HELP THEM KEEP THEIR ANIMAL IN IF THEIR ANIMALS, UH, ARE AT THE SHELTER AND THEY'RE HABITUALLY ESCAPING. THERE WAS, SOMEONE HAD MENTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, WHY DO WE TURN THEIR ANIMALS BACK TO THEM? WELL, IN TEXAS, ANIMALS ARE PROPERTY. AND SO WE, WE DO, UH, RETURN THEIR ANIMALS TO THEM AND WE [00:40:01] DO NOT, UM, ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO, UH, SEEK, TURN, SURRENDER DOGS AT DANGEROUS DOG, UH, INVESTIGATION. THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE DO. WE JUST PROVIDE THE, THE PROCESS AND THE DOCUMENTATION FOR THEM TO THE PAPERWORK, THEN THE CLOUD. AND THAT'S ALL HANDLED BY THAT THIRD PARTY MUNICIPAL JUDGE. UH, YES. COMMISSIONER CLINTON, I DO HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THAT. THE LAST TIME THAT I WAS INVOLVED WITH ONE WAS MANY, MANY YEARS AGO. BUT ISN'T, ISN'T THERE A CITY PROSECUTOR THAT PROSECUTES THEM? IT'S, THERE'S, I I KNOW IT'S GOES TO MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGE THAT HEARS IT. UH, RIGHT. A A JUDGE IS NOT A PROSECUTOR THOUGH, ISN'T IT? A CITY ATTORNEY THAT PROSECUTES IT? WELL, THIS IS, THIS IS JASON. YES. I BELIEVE OUR APOS WORK WITH OUR LAW DEPARTMENT AND SOMEONE FROM THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE WILL PRESENT THE CASE THE, TO THE JUDGE AND OR THE ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING OFFICER, DEPENDING ON WHICH, WHICH, WHERE IT GETS, UH, FILED AT. THANK YOU. SO I, I I'M NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT CLEAR. SO A DANGEROUS DOG IS A LEGAL DEFINITION, CORRECT? YES. OKAY. YES. SO HOW DOES THAT DEFINITION GET MADE? IS IT ONLY BY A JUDGE, OR IS THAT, HOW DOES THAT DEFINITION OF A DANGEROUS DOG GET MADE? WELL, IN AUSTIN IT IS, YOU KNOW, ALL THE PAPERWORK IS TURNED IN AND IT'S REVIEWED, AND THEN THE MUNICIPAL JUDGE MAKES THE DECISION. OKAY. SO, UH, WITHOUT, UH, GOING TO COURT, IS IT, UH, YES. COMMISSIONER NORTON? UM, DEPENDING ON THE SEVERITY OF THE BITE, UM, THE, IF SOMEONE PURSUES DANGEROUS DOG, IT'LL EITHER GO TO THE HEARING OFFICER, UM, THAT THE CITY PAYS FOR. UM, IF IT'S NOT, UM, PERMANENT DAMAGE, IF IT'S MORE EXTENSIVE DAMAGE THAN IT GOES THROUGH THE MUNICIPAL COURT SYSTEM. AND THE OUTCOME, IF THEY'RE DEEMED DANGEROUS, IS THE SAME. UH, WHAT, UM, THE STATE REQUIRES PEOPLE TO DO WITH A DANGEROUS DOG, LIKE HAVE CERTAIN, UH, KEEP IT ON A LEASH, HAVE CERTAIN INSURANCE. RIGHT, RIGHT. BUT THE WHO HEARS THE CASE DEPENDS ON THE SEVERITY OF THE BITE. OKAY. WELL, I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT I'M TRYING TO FIND OUT HOW THE ACTUAL DESIGNATION GETS MADE. IF, IF THE MUNICIPAL, MUNICIPAL COURT CAN ALSO, CAN, THE MUNICIPAL COURT OR THE HEARING OFFICER CAN DEEM THE DOG DANGEROUS, SAY THAT IT IS A DANGEROUS DOG AND THAT'S HOW IT GETS MADE. IF IT'S THE HEARING OFFICER, THE UM, CASE WITHIN, I THINK IT'S 14 DAYS, CAN BE APPEALED TO MUNICIPAL COURT. IF IT'S MUNICIPAL COURT, THEN THEY HAVE THAT DECISION. I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S AN APPEAL PRO PROCESS FOR A MUNICIPAL COURT. OKAY. SO ALL THAT TAKES A, A COURT PROCEEDING. COR IT EITHER TAKES THE HEARING OFFICER DEEM THE DOG DANGEROUS OR MUNICIPAL COURT IT, HOW THE, THE BITE. RIGHT. I UNDERSTAND THAT GOES, THEY BOTH MAKE THE SAME DEC THEY BOTH CAN MAKE THE SAME DECISION OR NOT DEEM IT DANGEROUS. YEAH. AND, AND THAT'S NOT QUITE SO IMPORTANT. I'M JUST TRYING TO FIND OUT HOW THE DECISION OF A DAY OF DOG GETTING LABELED DANGEROUS, HOW IS THAT MADE? IS IT A PUBLIC PROCESS? CAN, FOR INSTANCE, CAN SOMEONE FROM THE SHELTER GET TOGETHER WITH SOMEONE FROM AUSTIN LEGAL, GET TOGETHER WITH A HEARING OFFICER AND DECIDE, I, I JUST DON'T KNOW. THAT'S NOT CLEAR TO ME YET. IS, THAT'S CLEAR. I JUST, THE, SO THE CITY HAS TO PROSECUTE THE CASE. LIKE THEY DON'T PROSECUTE THEMSELVES. THERE IS NOT LIKE A PACKAGE OF INFORMATION THAT JUST GOES TO A JUDGE. THE CITY HAS TO CHOOSE TO PROSECUTE. I UNDERSTAND THAT COMMISSIONER NORTON IS SAYING THE CITY CHOOSES RIGHT. PROSECUTE SOME CASES IN FRONT OF THE MUNICIPAL COURT YES. AND PROSECUTE SOME CASES IN FRONT OF A HEARING OFFICER, WHICH I THINK IS A LITTLE BIT BETTER DESCRIBED AS AN ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE. RIGHT. IT'S LIKE A, IT'S LIKE A, UH, IT'S, I DON'T WANNA SAY PRETEND JUDGE, BUT THEY, THEY DON'T HAVE THE SAME RULES OF, OF EVIDENCE. THEY DON'T HAVE ALL THE SAME REQUIREMENTS OF A, OF A COURT. AND WHAT SHE'S SAYING IS THAT IF IT GOES TO, IF THE CITY PROSECUTES IT IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING YES. THEN THERE'S AN APPEAL THAT THAT PERSON COULD APPEAL BACK TO THE CITY COURT. SO WE, THERE'S ALWAYS A A, AN AVENUE FOR THE PERSON TO APPEAL TO THE CITY COURT. BUT THE, THE, THE, EITHER THE ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE OR THE CITY MUNICIPAL JUDGE IS GOING TO MAKE THE DETERMINATION, AS A MATTER OF FACT RIGHT. WHETHER OR NOT THE DOG IS, HAS, UH, MET THE REQUIREMENTS FOR TO BE DETERMINED, DANGEROUS, AND THEN MAKE A DETERMINATION OF LAW AS TO WHETHER OR NOT TO DECLARE THE ANIMAL DANGEROUS. OKAY. SO [00:45:01] DOES, DOES THERE, UM, SO A DOG AT THE SHELTER, WHATEVER, CAN, CAN SOMEONE AT THE SHELTER JUST GO TO ADMINISTER DOUG JUDGE OR, OR THE OTHER, UH, WHO WOULD YOU SAY THE HEARING OFFICER AND, AND JUST SAY, CAN THE TWO OF 'EM GET TOGETHER AND DECLARE A DOG DANGEROUS WITHOUT ANY KIND OF, UH, UH, COURT PROCEEDING? OTHER THAN, YOU KNOW, THEY JUST, SO, SO BY STATE LAW, DR. OR MR. BLAND SAID THAT THEY COULD, BUT BY, BUT THAT'S NOT THE PROCESS THAT THE CITY GOES THROUGH. THE CITY EITHER GOES TO THE ADMIN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING OR TO THE MUNICIPAL COURT. OKAY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. YES. UM, JUST CUZ I THINK THERE'S A LITTLE CONFUSION. IT'S, UM, MY UNDERSTANDING, AND JUST FULL DISCLOSURE, I KNOW THIS FOR TWO REASONS. UM, WHEN WE LOOKED AT VICIOUS DOG AND THE CHANGE TO THE ORDINANCE, I WORK WITH, UM, YES. UH, COMMISSIONER CLINTON DOWN THERE AND MY HUSBAND IS ONE OF THE HEARING OFFICERS. UM, SO, UM, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT IF THERE IS A BITE SITUATION, THEN A P O THE ANIMAL PROTECTION GETS INVOLVED. THEY HAVE TO FILL OUT PAPERWORK, THEY GET A NUMBER. SO, UM, IF YOU GO TO THE DOCTOR, YOU HAVE TO GIVE THAT NUMBER CUZ IT GETS, AND THEN THE ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICER WORKS WITH THE PERSON AND THEN THE PERSON CAN DECIDE WHETHER TO, UM, UH, HAVE THE DOG DEEMED DANGEROUS OR NOT. AND IT'S NOT JUST A BITE. THERE'S ALSO, UM, UH, A SITUATION WHERE IF YOU WERE, YOU KNOW, FEARED THAT THE DOG WOULD ATTACK YOU OR THAT YOU WERE IN FEAR OF ATTACK, THAT COULD, THAT COULD ALSO LEAD TO A DANGEROUS DOG. BUT IT, IT WORKS THROUGH THE ANIMAL PROTECTION SYSTEM. AND THE ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICERS AT LEAST ATTEND THE ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS AND PROBABLY ATTEND THE ONES AT MUNICIPAL COURT. OKAY. I THINK YOU ARE, THAT'S HOW, IT'S NOT LIKE IT'S JUST A MEMBER OF PUBLIC CAN GO REQUEST IT, RIGHT? YEAH. THROUGH ANIMAL PROTECTION. YES. I'M TRYING. SO, SO AFTER THE STRAY HOLE PERIOD, A DOG IS IS OWNED BY THE CITY. YES. UH, AFTER THE STRAY PERIOD, IF NOT RECLAIMED, IF NOT RECLAIMED BE THE CASE, IF SOMEONE SAYS, THIS IS MY DOG AND THEY JUST GO THERE. RIGHT. WELL, HERE'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO FIND OUT AS IS. IF THAT HAPPENS, AS SOMETHING HAPPENS AT THE SHELTER, CAN THE SHELTER GET A DOG, JUST THE SHELTER, GO TO THE CITY AND GET A DOG DECLARED DANGEROUS DOG? OR WOULD THAT HAPPEN EVEN THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING FROM DOC, FROM MR. BLAND THAT BY STATE LAW THEY COULD, BUT THAT FROM COMMISSIONER NORTON, THAT'S NOT THE PROCESS THAT THEY TAKE. OKAY. SO THAT DOESN'T, BUT I DON'T KNOW. I MEAN, MAYBE SOMEBODY SHOULD ANSWER WHETHER THEY'RE AN EVIDENCE SINCE WHERE THEY'VE SKIPPED THAT PROCESS. IF THEY ARE BACK TO THE CARETAKER OF THE DOG AT THE TIME, OR OWNER. I HAVE NOT SEEN THE CITY HAVE AN ANIMAL IN ITS POSSESSION AND THAT WE HAVE GONE AFTER A DANGEROUS DOG DE BORROW THAT DOG THAT IS IN OUR SYSTEM. UH, IT WOULD EVEN MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR US TO ADOPT IT OUT. UH, SO, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S OWNED DOG DOGS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE GOT BIT AND THE OWNER'S RETAINING THAT DOG THAT NORMALLY GO AFTER DANGEROUS DOGS, UH, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT IF A STRAY COMES IN, COMES IN, WE'RE GOING TO GO AFTER IT. A DANGEROUS DOG. WE'RE NOT GONNA DO THAT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. ONE MORE THING. CHAIR. I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THERE WOULD BE NO POINT IN DOING THAT CUZ THEY COULD JUST EUTHANIZE IT. YES. PUT IT UP FOR YES. THAT THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT I'M THINKING. THAT'S WHAT I'M THINKING. OKAY. UH, SO THEN THE NEXT THING IS SERIOUS DOG BITES. UM, I THINK, DO WE HAVE SOMEONE WHO'S GONNA REPORT TO US ON THAT? AH, I APOLOGIZE. OUR MANAGER OVER, UH, ANIMAL PROTECTION COULDN'T BE WITH US THIS EVENING, BUT I DO HAVE SOME NOTES HERE. UM, I, I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE IS A DEFINITION FOR, UH, WHAT A SERIOUS BODILY INJURY MEANS. AND, UM, IN 2020, OUR FIELD SERVICE OFFICER HANDLED 60 SBI INVESTIGATIONS COMPARED TO 34 AND 21, 28, AND 2020 AND 14 IN 2019. SO THEY ARE SEEING AN INCREASE AND IT'S TAKEN, AND THOSE TAKE QUITE A BIT OF TIME. AND SO THEY'VE ACTUALLY TAKEN ONE OF THE A P O OFFICERS AND THAT'S ALL THEY DO FULL-TIME NOW IS TO, UH, S B I INVESTIGATIONS. YES. COMMISSIONER MAGULA. UM, COMMISSIONER LYNN, CAN YOU REPEAT THOSE AGAIN? UH, I, I CAUGHT 60 INVESTIGATIONS IN 20 20, 34 INVESTIGATIONS IN 2021. NOTHING YET FOR 2022. NO, 20 20 22 WAS 60 FOR OUR FISCAL YEAR. OKAY. UH, [00:50:01] YEAH. AND 2021 WAS 34, 20 20 WAS 28, AND 2019 WAS 14. UH, DO YOU HAVE ANY, UH, THOUGHTS AS TO WHY THE NUMBERS ARE GOING UP? I THINK THAT, UH, WE'RE TRYING TO REHABILITATE AND REHOME ANIMALS THAT IN THE PAST WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN OKAY. UH, IS, WAIT A MINUTE, THAT SUGGESTS THAT THESE ANIMALS ARE ALL AT THE SHELTER. THAT ANSWER SUGGESTS THESE AN ANIMALS ARE AT THE SHELTER. THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL. DO YOU HAVE EVIDENCE THAT THE 60 OR ANIMALS THAT WERE IN HOMES TRYING TO BE REHABILITATED OR FOSTER HOME OR, OR ANIMAL WELFARE GROUPS? NO. THESE, THESE ANIMALS, UH, THE MAJORITY OF THEM WERE NOT AT THE SHELTER. NOT AT THE SHELTER AT ALL. THEN HOW COULD IT BE THE RESULT OF THE FACT THAT WE'RE TRYING TO REHABILITATE DOGS? COULD BE THE CAUSE? NO, I'M JUST SAYING I THINK PEOPLE ARE PUTTING IN THE EXTRA TIME TO TRY THAT. YOU KNOW, MAYBE IN THE PAST THEY WOULDN'T HAVE, UH, BUT THEY'RE TAKING THE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF RESOURCES OUT THERE NOW AND THEY'RE TRYING TO HOLD ONTO THESE ANIMALS AND TRY TO, TO SAVE THEM. IS THERE ANY EVIDENCE THAT THE 60 WHERE ANIMALS IN HOMES WHERE PEOPLE WERE USING EXTRA RESOURCES TO TRY TO RE REHABILITATE ANIMALS? I CAN'T SPEAK TO THAT WITHOUT LOOKING AT 'EM INDIVIDUALLY. I FIGURED. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, KRISTEN, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YES. UH, I HOPE Y'ALL CAN HEAR ME. I'M JOINING YOU FROM BEARING TOMMY MICHIGAN TONIGHT WHERE I AM CHAIR FOR WORK. SO CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME OKAY? YES. OKAY, GREAT. UH, YES, THANK YOU. UH, DIRECTOR OF LAND, HOW MANY, YOU SAID STAFF ARE BEING ALLOCATED COMPLETELY TO SERIOUS BODILY INJURY CASES. HOW MANY STAFF WOULD THAT BE THAT ARE ALLOCATED COMPLETELY TO INVESTIGATING SERIOUS BODILY INJURY CASES? UH, I SAID WE HAD ONE AS O P A A P O PHYSICIAN THAT SPECIFICALLY WORKS THESE CASES AND WAS, UH, DEDICATED TO DOING ALL OF THE INVESTIGATIONS. THANK YOU. IS THAT A NEW, IS THAT A NEW ASSIGNMENT FOR, UH, ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICER? UH, IT WAS MAY A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. I THINK IT WAS LAST YEAR ACTUALLY, UH, WITH MARK SLOPE. UH, HE, IT WAS TAKING SO MUCH TIME THAT HE DEDICATED A PERSON TO THAT IT WAS NOT A NEW POSITION, IT WAS JUST AN INTERNAL MOVE. UH, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUE YES. UM, ARE YOU, ARE YOU TRACKING SPAY NEUTER STATUS OF THESE ANIMALS? DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF WHETHER THEY'RE OVERWHELMINGLY INTACT OR SPAYED AND NEUTERED? I KNOW THAT THAT IS PART OF THE DOCUMENT ON THE ANIMAL, BUT I CAN'T GIVE YOU THE BREAKDOWN AT THIS POINT. UH, I, I JUST WANNA ADD THAT I THINK THAT'S AN EXTREMELY GOOD QUESTION BECAUSE THE ONLY CASE I KNOW OF, OF A SERIOUS DOG BITE IN AUSTIN, IT HAPPENED ON MY STREET AND IT WAS A PUREBRED DOG THAT DIDN'T COME FROM ANY SHELTER THAT HAD NOT BEEN NEUTERED IT. AND IT WAS A, A GREAT DANE. SO THAT, I THINK THAT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION. UH, IT KIND OF ADDRESSES THE, THE QUESTION ABOUT WHY DOGS MIGHT BE BITING. SO ANYWAY, GOOD QUESTION. THANK YOU. YES. I HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE DIRECTOR OF PLANT. DO YOU NEED MORE OFFICERS TO FOLLOW UP WITH THESE, UH, SBIS AND WORKING WITH THE DANGEROUS DOGS? NO, I THINK THAT WHEN THEY ASSIGNED THE ONE PERSON, I THINK THAT SOLVED THE ISSUE. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON SERIOUS DOG BITES? WHO'S SOMEONE ONLINE? KRISTEN CHRISTIE? UH, YES. THANK YOU. I'M SORRY, I JUST HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION. WERE ANY OF THESE'S DOGS ADOPTED FROM AUSTIN PETZ OR AMER, UH, OR, UM, AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER? AND DID YOU SEE ANY INCREASE BECAUSE IT, IT'S STILL SOUNDING TO ME LIKE THERE'S AN ASSUMPTION THAT THERE'S SOMETHING CHANGING IN THE WAY WE'RE QUOTE SAVING DOGS THAT WE HAVEN'T BEEN BEFORE. BUT IS THERE ANY INCREASE IN THE DATA SHOWING THAT ANIMALS FROM EITHER OF THESE TWO AGENCIES ARE CAUSING MORE SERIOUS DOG BITE INJURIES? I KNOW WE WOULD HAVE THAT DATA. UM, [00:55:01] DON'T HAVE THAT WITH ME RIGHT NOW. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UM, OKAY. SO CRITERIA FOR SHELTER INTAKE. UH, FROM WHAT I HAVE SEEN OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS THAT, THAT, THAT CHANGES, UH, DEPENDING ON, BUT I MIGHT BE WRONG, BUT DEPENDING ON HOW MANY ANIMALS IN THE SHELTER, AND I'M JUST WONDERING WHAT, WHAT, WHAT IS THE CURRENT CRITERIA FOR SHELTER INTAKE? IF, IF AN ANIMAL COMES IN, UH, WITH AN APPOINTMENT, UH, IF IT COMES IN WITH, IF IT'S SICK OR INJURED, UH, WE, WE TRY TO GET ANIMALS, UH, YOU KNOW, TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT. UH, WE, YOU KNOW, ALL THE MODELS OUT THERE, YOU KNOW, WERE SHOWING THAT ANIMALS THAT STAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHEN, YOU KNOW, ARE MORE SUCCESSFUL IN FINDING THEIR OWNERS. UM, AND I KNOW THAT ABOUT 25% OF THE FOLKS THAT MAKE AN APPOINTMENT, UH, NEVER SHOW UP BECAUSE THEY, THEY RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. BUT, UH, WHEN, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE BEEN RESTRICTING INTAKE, BUT IF SOMEONE COMES AND THE ANIMAL MIGHT NOT BE SICK OR INJURED, THEY CANNOT KEEP IT, IT IS STILL BEING TAKEN IN. UH, WE, UH, AVERAGED 31 ANIMALS, UH, INTAKE FOR THE OPEN DAYS LAST MONTH. SO BEING RESTRICTED, WE'RE STILL TAKING IN 31 A DAY AVERAGE. UH, AND A QUESTION COMES UP TO THAT IS WHEN YOU MAKE AN APPOINTMENT, HOW MANY DAYS OUT DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT? UH, CUZ I KNOW IF THE APPOINTMENT IS MADE TOO FAR OUT WHAT SOME WILL MAKE THE APPOINTMENT THAT, BUT THEN THEY'LL KIND OF BE FORCED TO MAYBE DEAL WITH A PROBLEM BEFORE THAT DATE ARRIVES. SO THE 25% OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T COME THERE, AS YOU SAY, MIGHT HAPPEN BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, UH, UH, UH, THEY'VE RESOLVED THE PROBLEM, BUT THAT MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE AMOUNT OF TIME IT TAKES TO GET AN APPOINTMENT. AND SO MY QUESTION WAS THAT, DOES THAT NUMBER CHANGE? WHAT DOES THAT NUMBER CURRENTLY JUST, YOU KNOW, IT GIVES SOME IDEA, IT DOES CHANGE BASED ON OUR, UH, SPACE INTAKE, UH, HOW MANY ANIMALS WE HAVE IN THE SHELTER. UH, CURRENTLY IT'S, UH, PUSHING FOUR WEEKS RIGHT NOW. OKAY. UH, DR. BRUCE, SO I HAVE A QUESTION. YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE CITY MUNICIPAL SHELTERS ARE SET UP TO TAKE SICK AND INJURED ANIMALS AND, AND BITE QUARANTINES. BUT ALL OF THESE OWNER SURRENDERS, I MEAN, WE HAVE DOZENS AND DOZENS OF TRANSPORT PARTNERS AND RESCUE GROUP PARTNERS. HOW MANY OF THOSE GROUPS ARE STEPPING FORWARD AND BEING PUT ON THAT LIST? I MEAN, HOW MANY OF THESE OWNER SURRENDERS COULD BE DIVERTED TO OTHER GROUPS IF OTHER GROUPS CHOSE TO TAKE THEM? I MEAN, THE CITY IS NOT OBLIGATED TO TAKE OWNER SURRENDERS IF SOMEBODY ELSE WERE TO, TO STEP INTO THAT VOID, RIGHT? I MEAN, I DON'T CAN CAN YOU CLARIFY HOW MANY RESCUE PARTNERS WE HAVE AND HOW MANY, UM, WANT NOTIFICATION ON THESE ANIMALS? WE HAVE OVER 180 RESCUE PARTNERS AND WE DIVERTED THREE OWNER SURRENDERS DIRECTLY TO RESCUE PARTNERS LAST MONTH. HOW, HOW MANY OWNER SURRENDERS DO YOU HAVE A MONTH? UH, 99. WHAT WAS, WE HAD 90, UH, OWNER SURRENDER REQUEST APPOINTMENTS LAST MONTH. OKAY. UH, UH, COMMISSIONER HASSEN. THANK YOU. UM, SO THE NEXT AVAILABLE APPOINTMENT TO TALK TO SOMEONE ABOUT OWNER SURRENDERS FOR MARCH 10TH RIGHT NOW. UM, AND SO I'M WONDERING WHEN YOU SCHEDULE THAT APPOINTMENT, WHAT IS THE WAIT TIME FOLLOWING SCHEDULING THAT APPOINTMENT? AND I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION AFTER, UH, IF I REMEMBER OUR CONVERSATION WHEN I WAS TALKING WITH INTAKE, UH, IT BY THE, SOMETIMES IT IS, IT'S TWO WEEKS FURTHER, THEY, IT MIGHT TAKE 'EM TWO WEEKS TO TALK TO SOMEONE AND TWO WEEKS FURTHER, UH, IT COULD, THAT'S WHERE THE FOUR WEEKS COULD COME IN. WELL, THE FOUR WEEKS WOULD BE IT'S FOUR WEEKS UNTIL THEY CAN GET AN APPOINTMENT TO SPEAK TO SOMEONE AND THEN ESSENTIALLY TWO WEEKS AFTER THAT, NO, THEY'RE SPEAKING TO 'EM SOONER THAN THAT. I JUST TRIED TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT ABOUT FIVE MINUTES AGO TO SPEAK WITH SOMEONE AND IT GAVE ME MARCH 10TH OF THE FIRST AVAILABLE DATE. OKAY. UM, I, I GUESS THAT, SO MY QUESTION, THE, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE ABOUT THIS IS [01:00:01] STILL SAYS ON THE WEBSITE EMERGENCIES ONLY, CRITICAL CAPACITY EMERGENCIES ONLY, AND IT SAYS STARTING SEPTEMBER, 2022. IS IT JUST GOING TO SAY THAT INDEFINITELY OR DO YOU UPDATE THAT? CAUSE IT IT HAS NOT CHANGED SINCE SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR. DO YOU, DO YOU ANTICIPATE CHANGING THAT AT ALL? AND IS THAT FOR ALL SPECIES OF ANIMALS OR JUST FOR DOGS? IT SAYS ALL SPECIES CURRENTLY. UH, THE DASHBOARD, THE, THE, THE INDICATORS ON OUR DASHBOARD ARE, THOSE ARE LIVE BASED ON OUR INVENTORIES IN OUR CHAMELEON SYSTEM. SO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING ON THE WEBPAGE, THOSE INDICATORS ARE, ARE LIVE. SO THAT IS ACTUAL NUMBERS, THAT'S WHAT THIS IS JASON, JUST TO ADD ON TO THAT. YEAH, I MEAN, SO YEAH, WHEN WE'RE AT CRITICAL LEVELS RIGHT NOW IT'S BEEN AT LARGE DOGS. WE WERE KIND OF LIKE THAT TODAY WITH, WITH SMALL DOGS. BUT LIKE IN CATS WE'RE IN THE GREEN. AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IF SOMEONE WERE TO BRING US A CAT, WE'RE LIKE OKAY, WE CAN PROBABLY TAKE THAT EASY OVER THERE AND WE CAN DO A LARGE DOG. WE'LL, WE'LL WE'LL TRY TO, UH, WORK WITH THE FINDER IF THEY ARE ABLE TO CODE IT FOR US A LITTLE BIT LONGER, BUT IF NOT, THEN, YOU KNOW, THEY MAY, THEY MAY TAKE IT. OKAY, THANK YOU. AND I JUST, THE LAST THING I, I JUST WANNA SAY IT LIKE, I'M LOOKING AT MY PHONE RIGHT NOW AND IT SAYS BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 13TH, INTAKE IS RESTRICTED TO EMERGENCIES ONLY DUE TO CRITICAL CAPACITY. UM, AND IT SAYS THE SHELTER TAKES IN MORE THAN 17,000 ANIMALS A YEAR, WHICH IS NOT ACCURATE. IT'S 11,000 AT THIS TIME. SO I JUST WANNA POINT OUT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING IS NOT MATCHING WHAT'S WRITTEN ON THE WEBSITE. OKAY. WE HAVE NANCY NEMER WITH A QUESTION CHAIR. I WOULD, I WOULD PROBABLY ACKNOWLEDGE BOTH. I'M, I'M SORRY I DID NOT MEAN TO INTERRUPT YOU, COMMISSIONER, BUT I, I WOULD JUST LIKE THE CHAIR TO ACKNOWLEDGE BOTH PEOPLE WHO ARE RAISING THEIR HAND CUZ I SEE THAT THEY'RE RAISING THEIR ANSWER FOR A LONG TIME. YEAH, YEAH. SO I WOULD MI PROBABLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU SEE THEM AND ANNOUNCE WHAT ORDER YOU'LL TAKE THEM IN. OKAY. I C SO I SEE, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER NEWHOUSE AND I, UH, THIS IS NEER'S NA, COMMISSIONER NEER'S FIRST QUESTION. SO GO AHEAD. NA UH, COMMISSIONER NEER. THANK YOU. UM, IN REF, UH, MR. GARZA, I'M CURIOUS, YOU SAID THE CATS ARE IN THE GREEN AND I WAS CONTACTED BY A CITIZEN THE OTHER DAY AND THEY WERE A CAREGIVER FOR, UM, SOMEONE WHO HAD BEEN PUT INTO A REHABILITATION HOSPITAL FOR SOMEONE WHO HAD HAD A STROKE AND WAS NOT EXPECTED TO SURVIVE. AND THEY HAD CALLED AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER TO TRY AND GET A CAT IN ON AN EMERGENCY SITUATION WHERE THERE WAS NO ONE TO TAKE THE CAT. THIS WAS LITERALLY YESTERDAY AND THEY WERE TOLD THAT THAT WAS NOT POSSIBLE, THAT YOU ALL WERE AT CAPACITY. AND I SAID, NO, THAT'S NOT TRUE. THEY SHOULD TAKE ON AN EMERGENCY BASIS. AND YOU'RE TELLING ME TODAY THAT THE CATS ARE IN THE GREEN. CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME WHY THAT THEY WOULD'VE BEEN TOLD THAT YESTERDAY, EVEN REGARDLESS OF THEM BEING YOU ALL BEING IN THE GREEN TODAY, BASED ON WHAT DIRECTOR BLAND JUST SAID IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION LIKE THAT, SHOULDN'T Y'ALL HAVE TAKEN THAT CAT? YES, AN EMERGENCY SITUATION. YOU WOULD'VE, I MEAN, IF THEY CAN I, I GUESS OFFLINE AFTER THIS, IF YOU WANNA SHARE ANY INFORMATION YOU HAVE WHEN I COULD CHECK INTO IT. I'M LOOKING AT THE WEBSITE NOW. I MEAN, WE HAVE FOR THE CAT INTAKE OPEN, SO I HAVE TO FOLLOW UP WITH STAFF AND ANY SPECIFIC PERSON THEY MAY HAVE SPOKE WITH. I, I WILL DEFINITELY GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU ONCE I, I I WILL CALL THIS THIS CITIZEN BACK AND SEE, BECAUSE I WAS CONTACTED DIRECTLY TO SEE WHAT I COULD DO. AND I SAID THAT I WOULD LOOK INTO IT WHEN WE HAD THE MEETING TODAY BECAUSE I, THEY WERE, THEY ABSOLUTELY WERE TOLD THAT, THAT IT WAS NOT THERE. THEY WERE, THEY WERE, THEY WERE CLOSED TO INTAKE EVEN ON AN EMERGENCY BASIS. SO I JUST SEND ANY INFORMATION YOU HAVE, I'LL LOOK INTO IT TOMORROW MORNING. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I APPRECIATE THAT. UH, COMMISSIONER NEWHOUSE? YES. UH, I HAVE ACTUALLY HAVE A QUESTION FOR JASON. UM, THE, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, WHEN YOU'VE WORKED FOR THE SHELTER, UH, PRIOR TO DON GLENN COMING ON AND THE SPACE COUNT HAD BEEN USED, UH, THROUGH, WHILE OTHER DIRECTORS WERE LEADING THE SHELTER. IS THAT CORRECT? YES, WE, WE'VE SINCE IN THE FIVE AND A HALF YEARS. WOW. FIVE AND A HALF YEARS. SO UNDER, UNDER THE OTHER DIRECTORS, DID THE SPACE KENNELS WITH THE DIFFERENT COLOR COATINGS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH CLOTHING INTAKE OR RESTRICTING, UH, [01:05:01] ANIMALS COMING IN? OR WAS IT ALL ABOUT A SHELTER SPACE MANAGEMENT ISSUE? UM, YES. I, SO THERE WERE TIME TO, WE TRACKED THE RESTRICT INTAKE. I THINK WE'VE EVEN RESTRICTED INTAKE AS FAR BACK AS 2016. I I'M SORRY, I I'M SORRY, JASON. I THINK YOU UNDERSTAND MY QUESTION. UH, DID THE COLORS, DID YOU RESTRICT, IF ANYTHING WAS OTHER THAN GREEN, DID THAT MEAN THAT WE WERE RESTRICTED, UM, AT THE DIRECTION OF THE OTHER FOLKS? NO, I MEAN, WE TRIED TO DO OUR BEST, BUT AT THAT POINT TOO, I MEAN, WE WERE BUT YELLOW, YELLOW OR RED DID NOT MEAN THAT WE WERE RESTRICTING IN INTAKE, CORRECT? UM, NO, I MEAN, WE, WE, WE TOOK THEM IN AND JUST HAD TO FIND WHERE WE, WHERE WE COULD FIND SPACE. WE STILL, WE STILL HAVE CONTINUED TO TAKE INDUSTRIES THAT WERE IN NEED IN THE COMMUNITY REGARDLESS OF THE COLOR CODING. CORRECT? CORRECT. YES. YES. THANK, THANK YOU. I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS. OH, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES. UH, I'M JUST GONNA MAKE A STATEMENT HERE THAT WHEN WE WERE NOT RESTRICTING BASE ON COLOR COATING AND WE HAD ANIMALS HOUSED IN THE TRUCK COURT IN THE HEAT WITH FANS ON THEM, WE HAD AN INTENSE DISTEMPER OUTBREAK AND IMMENSE AMOUNTS OF SUFFERING. SO ANIMALS COMING INTO THE SHELTER WHEN WE'RE IN YELLOW AND RED. MAY NOT HISTORICALLY HAVE BEEN A FANTASTIC IDEA. UH, COMMISSIONER NEWHOUSE. I'VE BEEN RAISING MY HAND BEFORE. OH, OKAY. ALL RIGHT. UH, LET, LET, LET'S GO WITH, WITH, UH, COMMISSION NIELSEN, CUZ SHE'S HASN'T SPOKE HERE YET. YES. UM, SO IN, OH, JUST TO MENTION, I'M ON THE WEBSITE RIGHT NOW AND IT, AND IT SAYS, IT SHOWS THAT THE NUMBER OF CATS ARE IN GREEN AND IT SAYS INTAKE OPEN ON THE WEBSITE. AND THEN FOR MEDIUM LARGE DOGS IT SAYS EMERGENCIES ONLY AND NUMBER OF SMALL DOGS. IT SAYS EMERGENCIES ONLY. AND THEN, SO, UM, SO DON, WHEN THE NUMBER BECOMES RED, WHEN WE HAVE FOR FOR DOGS, THE NUMBER BECOMES RED WHEN WE HAVE MORE DOGS THAN WE HAVE APPROPRIATE DESIGNED SPACE FOR. IS THAT AN ACCURATE WAY TO CHARACTERIZE THAT? THAT IS CORRECT. AND WE, UH, THE, THE, THE INDICATORS ON THE DASHBOARD ACTUALLY LOOK AT NON-PUBLIC SPACE AS WELL. THE DAILY REPORT THAT SOMEONE OF YOU GET, UH, DOES NOT INCLUDE THAT, THAT JUST INCLUDES PUBLIC SPACE KENNELS. AND IF, IF, JASON, I THINK I I'M GONNA ASK THIS QUESTION OF YOU. BACK IN 20 16, 20 18, WHEN THE SHELTER WAS CLOSED, WERE THEY EVEN USING A COLOR CODING SYSTEM BACK THEN? BECAUSE WE JUST CAME OUT WITH THIS COLOR CODING SYSTEM TO LOOK AT THE NON-PUBLIC KENNELS JUST HERE RECENTLY. SO I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY WERE USING ANY KIND OF INDICATORS PREVIOUSLY. UM, I, THE, THE COLOR CODING SYSTEM THAT WE HAD IN PLACE WAS REALLY JUST INTERNAL TO STAFF AND CERTAIN PARTNERS. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE SORT OF SHARED THAT WITH THE PUBLIC TO GIVE AN INDICATOR OF FOLKS, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE WERE AT. AND THEN I HAD A FOLLOW UP. YES. QUESTION. THIS PART OF THE SAME QUESTION. SO DIRECTOR BLAND, IF WE HAVE, UM, IF WE HAVE TWO MORE DOGS, THEN WE HAVE SPACE FOR WHAT COLOR SHOWS UP? RED. RED. IF WE HAVE A HUNDRED MORE DOGS THAN WE HAVE SPACE FOR WHAT COLOR SHOWS UP RED? YEAH. SO, SO HISTORICALLY ONE MIGHT HAVE BEEN OPEN IN A RED SITUATION IF THE NUMBER WERE TWO, BUT W I, I KNOW THAT WE WERE IN A POSITION EARLIER, UH, IN SEPTEMBER WHERE WE HAD 96 MORE THAN WE HAD APPROPRIATE SPACE FOR, OR MORE THAN THAT. IF YOU LOOK AT THE INTERNAL DOCUMENT THAT THEY USED THAT WENT TO THE RESCUE PARTNERS WHEN THEY WERE USING RED, GREEN AND YELLOW, RED, RED AND GREEN AND YELLOW, UH, IN AND WHEN, WHEN ALL THREE WERE GREEN IN 2018, IT ONLY HAPPENED EIGHT TIMES. UH, IN 2019 IT DIDN'T HAPPEN AT ALL. IN 2020, OF COURSE, THROUGH THE PANDEMIC IT HANDLED HAPPENED 92 TIMES. UH, SO IN 14 TIMES IN 21. SO IN 22 WE HAD ZERO TIMES THAT ALL THREE WERE GREEN AT THE SAME TIME. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER, UH, NEWHOUSE. OH, WE CAN'T HEAR YOU. I'M SORRY. COULD YOU REPEAT THOSE NUMBERS AGAIN THAT YOU SAID OF THE NUMBER OF DAYS WERE ALL GREEN BASED ON THOSE OLD REPORTS [01:10:01] THAT WERE GOING OUT TO THE PARTNERS? UH, IN 2018, IT HAPPENED EIGHT TIMES. IN 2019 IT HAPPENED ZERO TIMES. IN 2020 IT HAPPENED 92 TIMES. UH, 2021 IT HAPPENED 14 TIMES IN 2022 IT HAPPENED ZERO TIMES. THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND SO CAN YOU, I ASKED AT THE LAST MEETING, AND I GUESS JUST TO CONFIRM, WILL INTAKE GO BACK TO, WE WILL TAKE EVERY STRAY WHEN THE PERSON FINDS IT, WHEN THEY COME TO US FOR HELP? WILL THAT NOT HAPPEN UNTIL ALL AREAS ARE GREEN? IT WILL HAPPEN WHEN THAT AREA IS GREEN. IF SOMEONE SHOWS UP WITH A CAT RIGHT NOW, WE WOULD TAKE IT BECAUSE WE'RE IN THE GREEN AND WE HAVE SPACE TO TAKE IT. YES. WELL THAT SOUNDS LIKE THERE MAY BE A LITTLE CONFUSION WITH THAT BASED ON WHAT NANCY SAID, BUT SO WITH WITH LARGE DOGS, WHICH YOU'RE PRETTY MUCH ALWAYS IN THE RED, DO YOU MAKE ANY PREFERENCE ON INTAKE REGARDING WHETHER IT'S A STRAY OR AN OWNER SURRENDER? IF, IF A A DOG, AN ANIMAL COMES IN, IF IT'S AN EMERGENCY, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA TAKE THOSE ANIMALS, WHETHER IT'S OWNER SURRENDER OR ATRA. I GUESS I'M NOT FOLLOWING YOUR QUESTION. I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, IF I FIND A DOG TODAY AND I CALL YOU, AM I GONNA GET THE SAME APPOINT INTAKE APPOINTMENT THAT SAY MY NEIGHBOR, WHO NO LONGER CAN KEEP THEIR DOGS GONNA GET IF THEY CALL YOU TODAY? OR DO YOU, DO YOU PUT, UH, DO YOU PUT THE PREFERENCE FIRST FOR ANIMALS IN NEED THAT ARE ON THE STREETS OR THOSE THAT ARE BEING REHOMED? I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION THAT THAT WOULD THE STAFF THAT'S TAKING THOSE DOGS IN. BUT I WOULD UNDER, I WOULD ASSUME THAT THEY WOULD TAKE THE MOST PRESSING NEED, THE ONE THAT'S THE MOST URGENT THAT NEEDS THE HELP. FIRST, I GUESS THE MISSION STATEMENT ONLINE SAYS THAT THE BOSTON ANIMAL CENTER PROVIDES SERVICES AND SHELTER TO ANIMALS IN NEED. AND THAT TO ME WOULD BE MOST THAT ARE LOOSE AND ON THE STREETS. AND I GUESS I, IF WE'RE WAITING UNTIL WE'RE GREEN ON LARGE DOGS, I DON'T THINK THAT YOU'VE BEEN GREEN ON LARGE DOGS OVER A 30 YEARS. WELL, IF WE'RE TAKING AN AVERAGE OF 31 ANIMALS IN A DAY LAST MONTH, WHAT IS THE BREAKDOWN OF LARGE DOGS ON THAT? I'D HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT LARGE DOGS ARE STILL COMING IN ACROSS THE COUNTER BY THE PEOPLE SHOWING UP WITH THEM. OKAY, THANK YOU. OKAY. UH, COMMISSIONER NORTON, UM, CAN YOU CLARIFY WITH THE HOME TO HOME, UM, TOOL THAT YOU HAVE ON THE WEBSITE, IF, UM, A PERSON SAY, I WANTED TO SURRENDER MY DOG AND I'M WAITING FOR MY APPOINTMENT, UM, DURING THAT TIME, WOULD MY DOG BE ON THE HOME TO HOME WEBSITE SO THAT SOMEONE COULD LOOK AT IT AND HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADOPT IT BEFORE IT COMES TO THE SHELTER? LIKE WHAT, WHEN, WHEN DID THE DOGS GET ADVERTISED ON HOME TO HOME? WHEN WHEN A CITIZEN FILLS THAT THE INFORMATION OUT AND PUTS THEM IN THERE, IT, IT, IT GOES UP IN THERE IMMEDIATELY. UH, SO, AND IT IS, UH, IT DOES WORK. WHAT AN ORDER I THINK WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT IS NOT ON THE DISCUSSION HERE. I THINK THE COMMISSIONER NORTON IS VEERING OFF THE SUBJECT. UM, THANK YOU. BUT, UM, I DON'T THINK I AM, BECAUSE HOME TO HOME IS PART OF THE WHOLE INTAKE WHERE TO TRY TO HELP THE CITIZENS AVOID INTAKE. UM, AAC HAS A TOOL ONLINE SO THAT DURING THAT TIME PERIOD THERE'S A POSSIBILITY THAT A CITIZEN COULD, UM, ADOPT THAT DOG DIRECTLY. AND I ALSO RECENTLY HAVE SEEN A COUPLE OF THOSE DOGS, UM, PROMOTED BY RESCUE GROUPS OR RESCUE GROUP TO TRY TO SAY, HEY, I'M DOING A COURTESY POST FOR HOME TO HOME. SO I BELIEVE THAT IS PART OF INTAKE AND TRYING TO HELP THE DOG GET INTO A HOME, WHICH IS WHAT WE ALL WANT. I DON'T THINK IT HAS TO DO WITH INTAKE NUMBERS, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. I THINK SHE'S TYING TO DIGRESS. OH, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, OKAY. OKAY. LET'S NOT, LET'S NOT, UH, TALK, UH, WHAT, WHAT, UH, WHAT COMMISSIONER WAS TALKING ABOUT A PROGRAM HOME TO HOME, TO PRO TO TRY AND PREVENT INTAKE, UH, OR, YOU KNOW, LOWER INTAKE INTAKE. SO THE QUESTION WOULD BE THEN, UH, HOW SUCCESSFUL IS THAT? HOW MANY HOME TO HOME THINGS HAPPEN, UH, A MONTH? THE, IS THAT A SUCCESSFUL WAY OF LOWERING INTAKE, I GUESS BE THE NEXT QUESTION. IT IS SUCCESSFUL. I DON'T HAVE THOSE FIGURES RIGHT NOW CURRENTLY, BUT, UH, IT IS SUCCESSFUL AND WE DO HAVE QUITE A FEW ANIMALS EACH MONTH THAT, UH, GET ADOPTED THROUGH THAT PROCESS DIRECTLY FROM THEIR OWNERS. OKAY. [01:15:01] SO CUZ WHAT, UH, OKAY. CUZ ALSO IN, IN ANOTHER, IN ANOTHER SENSE, THIS IS OUTCOME, WE'RE KIND OF TALKING ABOUT HALF THE PROBLEM. YOU KNOW, THERE'S INTAKE AND THERE'S OUTCOME AND YOU KNOW, YOU CAN HAVE VERY LOW INTAKE, BUT IF THE OUTCOME ISN'T, IS LOWER THAN THE INTAKE, YOU STILL HAVE A PROBLEM. SO, I MEAN, IT IS COMPLICATED. I UNDERSTAND. SO ARE THERE ANY MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT CRITERIA FOR SHELTER INTAKE? DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT? OKAY. THEN THE NEXT ONE IS REGARDING GERARDIA OUTBREAK AND PREVENTION. WHO'S GOING TO SPEAK TO THAT? I CAN, I CAN DO THAT. OKAY. UH, YOU KNOW, IT, IT WAS SU IT GOT REPORTED THAT IT WAS, YOU KNOW, A BIG EPIDEMIC OF OUTBREAK. UH, AND I REPORTED TO YOU THAT FRIDAY THAT WE FIRST HEARD THAT THERE WAS THREE CASES OF THE HUNDREDS OF CASES THAT THEY TESTED. THEY ENDED UP WITH 15 POSITIVE CASES. NOW, UH, 30% OF ANIMALS THAT COME INTO MUNICIPAL SHELTERS ALREADY HAVE GIARDIA. NOW, SOME WERE CARRIERS AND ARE NOT EXPERIENCING ANY SYMPTOMS. OF COURSE WITH STRESS AND OVERCROWDING, THAT CAN BE A CAUSE OF, OF THEM BREAKING AS WELL. BUT WHAT THEY DETERMINED WAS THE PROBLEM THAT, UH, WHY IT WAS BEING SPREAD IN, IN THAT, IN THE KENNELS WAS VOLUNTEERS USE, UH, LICKY MATS AND, UH, TO GET THE DOGS TO DO CERTAIN THINGS OR ENRICH THEM AS WELL. AND THEY WERE LITERALLY JUST RINSING THOSE, THE PEANUT BUTTER AND CREAM CHEESE JUST RINSING 'EM OFF WITH WATER AND NOT WASHING THEM AND START STERILIZING THEM. AND SO THAT WAS SPREADING CAUSE THEY USE IT, GO RINSE IT OFF AND USE IT AGAIN. AND SO THEY, UH, VET SERVICES DID PUT IN PROTOCOLS FOR THEM TO ALL BE WASHED THOROUGHLY AND SANITIZED PROPERLY. UH, SO THAT, UH, HELPED OUT AND BROUGHT THE GIDI INTO LINE AGAIN. AND I, I KNOW THAT THERE'S VETS THERE THAT KNOW A LOT MORE ABOUT GIDI THAN I DO. IF Y'ALL HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD, UH, FEEL APPRECIATE, BESIDES, BESIDES THE, THE LICKY MATS, THEY, THEY WERE ALSO, UH, REUSING BOWLS AND SPATULAS AND THINGS LIKE THAT AS WELL. SO, UH, THAT WAS ONE OF THE DETERMINING FACTORS. UH, I I HAVE A QUESTION. HOW COMMON ARE GERARDIA OUTBREAKS IN OUR SHELTER? SAY IN, IN 2022? THE, I MEAN, LIKE, DO WE HA DO YOU HAVE LITTLE OUTBREAKS ALL THE TIME AND YOU'RE FIGHTING IT OR IS JUST LIKE ONE OUTBREAK AND THEN IT KIND OF GOES AWAY? OR, UH, THIS IS THE 15 ANIMALS AT ONE TIME IS THE MOST THAT WE'VE HAD SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE. OKAY. SO THAT, OKAY. AND THOSE ARE 15 ANIMALS WITH SYMPTOMS? CORRECT. I TESTED POSITIVE. OKAY. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? HAVE QUESTION CHAIR, UH, WHO IS IT? OH, YES, THERE, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER NEWHOUSE. UH, YEAH, DON, I HAVE A QUESTION. UH, HAVE THERE BEEN ANY OTHER PROBLEMS WITH THE DRAINAGE, UH, SINCE THE LAST MEETING? UH, NO, THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE DRAINAGE. UH, I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UH, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, WE DO IS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR BIG DRAINS PUMPED MONTHLY. AND, UH, THEN IF, IF THE, AT THE END OF THE KENNEL AT PART OF THE CLEANING PROCESS IS, IS THEY CLEAN, THEY GET DOWN TO THE VERY END OF A SCOOP, THE DRAIN OUT. IF THE DRAIN IS CLOGGED AND THEY CAN'T UNCLOG IT, WE CALL OUR LOCAL BUILDING SERVICE PERSON. AND IF THEY CAN'T, THEN THEY SUCCESS CAN'T SUCCESSFULLY UNCLOG, THEN THEY CALL A PLUMBER. SO THERE IS PROCESS IN PLACE AND, UH, IT'S, IT'S, WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY ISSUES, BUT THERE HAVE BEEN NO PROBLEMS SINCE THE LAST MEETING REGARDING BACKUP OR ANYTHING. OKAY. COMMI, COMMISSIONER HASSEN. THANK YOU. I'M GONNA BEKI MATT FAN, SO I APPRECIATE YOU SHARING. I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE HEARD OF A GIARDIA OUTBREAK CAUSED BY A LEAKY MAT. AND I HAVE HEARD THERE WAS FECES FREE FLOWING FROM THE DRAINS, UM, COMING UP FROM HOG DRAINS AND FLOODING IN THE KENNELS. UM, IS THERE ANYTHING IN WRITING TO DETERMINE A CAUSE? I JUST, I CANNOT IMAGINE THAT KENNEL RICHMOND, UM, THAT'S A PRETTY ROUTINE THING IN MOST SHELTERS AND I'VE JUST NEVER HEARD OF THAT. IS THERE, IS THERE SOMETHING DEFINITIVE IN WRITING ABOUT THAT? YES, THERE IS. I'M, I'M LOOKING AT THE REPORTS THAT I WAS PROVIDED BY THE HEAD VETERINARIAN. SO IT WAS PROVEN [01:20:01] THAT IT WAS COMING FROM A PEN ENRICHMENT ITEM. THAT'S WHAT I'M BEING TOLD. THANK YOU. UH, YES, UH, COMMISSIONER MAGULA. ALL RIGHT. COMMISSIONER BLAND. SO LET ME SEE IF I HAVE THIS CORRECT. SO THE GIARDIA OUTBREAK YOU'RE SAYING WAS CAUSED BY VOLUNTEERS USE REUSING LICKY MATS WHO, AND JUST CLEANING THEM WITH WATER IN THE RESOURCE ROOMS RATHER THAN THEM BEING RUN THROUGH THE DISHWASHER AT A HIGHER TEMPERATURE AND ALL OF THAT? YES. SO, AND YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU INFORMATION THAT STATES THAT FROM THE VETS. DOES IT SHOW THAT ALL 15 CASES OF THE GIARDIA ALL HAD LICKY MATS AND THEY ALL GOT GIARDIA FROM LICKY MATS? CAUSE I FIND THAT DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE. AND I DON'T KNOW THE TIME PERIOD. I THINK THAT WAS A WHOLE MONTH, THOSE 15 CASES IN THE WHOLE MONTH. SO THEY ALL DIDN'T HAVE IT AT THE SAME TIME. UH, BUT IT'S NOT BROKE DOWN FOR ME. OKAY. YES. UH, COMMISSIONER NELSON, I JUST WANTED TO REINFORCE SOMETHING THAT, THAT YOU LIKE, TOUCHED ON, THAT THE PROBLEM ISN'T THE LICKY MATS OR ANY OTHER ENRICHMENT ITEM. THE PROBLEM IS INAPPROPRIATE STERILIZATION OF THEM. AND THEN, UM, AND THEN INAPPROPRIATE, YOU KNOW, BIOHAZARD CONTROL OF NOT, NOT LETTING A DOG PUT SOMETHING ITS MOUTH ON A SPOON OR A TONGUE DEPRESSOR AND THEN NOT STICKING THAT BACK INTO THE GENERAL TUB OF WHATEVER YOU'RE OFFERING, THAT IT GETS SPREAD THAT WAY. UH, YES. COMMISSIONER MITCHELL. UM, THANK YOU. I, DIRECTOR BLAND, I THINK YOU SAID IN RESPONSE TO ANOTHER QUESTION THAT, THAT, THAT YOU HAVE JUST WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION THAT THAT WAS, THAT WAS THE CAUSE. CAN WE GET A COPY OF THAT? WOULD THAT BE SOMETHING THAT COMMISSIONERS COULD BE PROVIDED? YES, I CAN SEND THAT TO THE CLERK. GREAT. THANK YOU. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? CUZ THAT, UH, ON THE GERARDIA, OKAY, SO THAT IS ITEM FOUR. ITEM [5. Discussion regarding report on current shelter intake and outcome numbers compared to previous year numbers.] FIVE IS DISCUSSION REGARDING REPORT ON CURRENT SHELTER INTAKE AND OUTCOME NUMBERS COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEAR NUMBERS. AND THERE'S SOME ONLINE, UH, THERE'S SOME POSTED INFORMATION AND THIS IS COMMISSIONER HASSAN'S ITEM. THANK YOU CHAIR, UH, HELP YOU REALLY BRIEF THE DATA SPEAKS TO ITSELF, BUT I WON'T SHARE ANY OPINIONS. I THINK ONE OF MY FRUSTRATIONS WITH THESE MEETINGS IS WE'RE OFTEN TALKING ABOUT SPECULATIVE INFORMATION AND, UM, THINGS WE BELIEVE MAY BE THROUGH. AND SO I REALLY WANTED TO LOOK AT THE SHELTER'S DATA AS PROVIDED THROUGH THE, UH, OPEN DATA PORTAL THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN. SO ALL OF THIS DATA COMES FROM THE OPEN DATA PORTAL. UM, AND I'M HAPPY TO SHARE MY METHODOLOGY. UM, IT'S REALLY U IT'S USING THE FILTERS AND I'M SIMPLY LOOKING AT TIMEFRAMES AND INTAKE AND OUTCOME TYPES. SO THERE'S NOTHING ANYONE CAN'T DO. AND I WILL, I WILL COMMIT TO PROVIDING THESE EVERY MONTH BECAUSE I BELIEVE SOMEONE HAS TO PROVIDE DATA. BUT IF ANYONE ELSE WANTS TO TAKE THIS ON AS SOMETHING REALLY ANYONE CAN DO. AND I'LL JUST GO REALLY BRIEFLY THROUGH, UH, THE FINDINGS. SO, UM, INTAKE. SO I, AS A, YOU KNOW, IN MY OTHER LIFE, I'M A SHELTER CONSULTANT AND I LOOK AT SHELTER DATA ALL DAY. AND WE SAW THIS TREND IN 2020 WHERE INTAKE DID, AND THEN IT CAME BACK ALMOST TO 2019 LEVELS. IT'S NOT QUITE THERE, BUT IT'S CLOSE. UM, AND YOU CAN LOOK AT SHELTER, THREE ANIMALS COUNT, THEY HAVE A ENTIRE DATA DASHBOARD ABOUT THIS. THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER, WE SAW SOMETHING QUITE DIFFERENT, WHICH IS THAT INTAKE, UH, STEEPLY DECLINED AND THEN IT NEVER REBOUNDED. AND IN THE SECOND FIGURE YOU CAN SEE THAT IT HAS SOMEWHAT REBOUNDED FOR, UM, TOTAL INTAKE, BUT THAT'S PRIMARILY PAT'S AND OTHER SPECIES. DOG INTAKE REALLY HAS NOT REFOUNDED AND REMAINS CLOSE TO WHAT IT WAS IN 2020. SO PREVIOUSLY THE SHOULDER WOULD'VE TAKEN IN, UH, TIME TO 11,000 DOGS ANNUALLY. THIS PAST YEAR IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE 6,500 TOTAL DOGS. AND IT'S BEEN SORT OF CONFOUNDING ME WHY CONDITIONS ARE SO OVERCROWDED IF THEY SHELTER. SO I THOUGHT MAYBE OUTCOMES WERE DRAMATICALLY DOWN. UM, AND THEY DID TAKE A DIP. SO IN, IN THE THIRD FIGURE, YOU CAN SEE THE OUTCOMES BY TYPE. UM, THE TRANSFER RESCUE ACTUALLY HAS COME BACK AND REBOUNDED THE DOG ADOPTION NUMBERS DIPPED SHARPLY AND STARTED TO REBOUND. THEY'RE BETTER THAN, THAN, UH, THEY WERE IN 2020. THEY'RE STILL NOT WHERE THEY WERE. UM, HOWEVER, AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, YOU COULD SAY, WELL, INTAKES [01:25:01] ARE DOWN AND ADOPTIONS ARE DOWN, BUT ACTUALLY INTAKES ARE DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY FOUR THAN ADOPTIONS ARE NOT. SO WE SHOULD HAVE FEWER ANIMALS IN THE SHELTER, FEWER ADOPTION IN THE SHELTER. AND THEN THE ONE THAT REALLY WAS, UM, CONCERNING TO ME IS THAT RETURN TO OWNER DIPPED BELOW A THOUSAND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AACS HISTORY THAT I CAN FIND. UM, I CAN'T FIND ANY OTHER YEAR WHERE RETURN TO OWNER NUMBERS HAVE BEEN SOLD LOW. UM, AND THEY, I I DID A COUPLE OF GRAPHS ON THIS JUST TO SHOW THAT RETURN TO OWNER RATES HAVE DECLINED SHARPLY. THIS IS NOT ON TREND, UM, WITH THE REST OF THE NATION, UM, RETURN TO OWNER AS A PERCENTAGE OF INTAKE HAS GONE DOWN. THIS IS ALSO NOT ON TREND. UM, AND SO I ADMITTEDLY I PUT THIS TOGETHER IN A RATHER RUSHED FASHION, THOUGH I KNOW MY DATA'S ACCURATE. I WAS SELECTIVE ABOUT WHAT I CHOSE. EUTHANASIA HAS REMAINED RELATIVELY CONSTANT, THOUGH EUTHANASIA AS A PERCENTAGE OF INTAKE IS HIGHER THAN IT WAS PREVIOUSLY. AND SO I THINK WHY I WANTED TO TRY THIS DATA TODAY IS THAT ONE THING THAT'S BEEN CONCERNING ME IS THAT WHAT WE'RE SHARING SIMPLY DOES NOT MATCH THE NUMBERS. AND THESE ARE NOT MY NUMBERS. THEY'RE PULLED FROM THE OPEN DATA PORTAL. AND SO THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE EASIEST YEAR AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER HAS HAD IN FIVE TO SIX YEARS. AND YET WE FIND THAT IN THE SLOWEST MONTH OF THE YEAR, UM, THEY ARE AT CRITICAL CAPACITY ON DOGS. UM, AND THAT POINTS TO THE FACT, AND WHAT I WANTED TO SAY IS THAT, UM, WE HAVE TO INCREASE OUTCOMES. NOW, IF WE DON'T, WE ARE GOING TO END UP IN A MUCH WORSE SITUATION VERY SOON. I THINK I SAID I FEEL LIKE A BROKEN RECORD A LITTLE BIT. I THINK I SAID THIS, UH, LAST YEAR AS WELL. WE HAVE TO INCREASE THOSE OUTCOMES. WE HAVE TO SPEED UP OUTCOME. LENGTH OF STATE IS DRAMATICALLY LONGER THAN IT WAS MUCH, MUCH LONGER. AND I'M NOT CERTAIN ABOUT THIS CAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE, I HAVE FINANCIAL DATA FROM MOST LARGE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. BUT I BELIEVE, AND, AND PLEASE PROVE ME WRONG, I BELIEVE THAT AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER IS SPENDING MORE PER INTAKE. SO THE TAXPAYERS AUSTIN, ARE SPENDING MORE PER INTAKE THAN ANY OTHER JURISDICTION. THEY'RE WELL FUNDED, FEWER ANIMALS. WHAT IS GOING ON THAT THE SHELTER IS FULL. AND LASTLY I'LL SAY THAT WHAT, IN TERMS OF, UH, RESCUE PARTNERS, RESCUE TRANSFERS, WE'RE DOING PRETTY GOOD, UM, THIS YEAR. BUT I THINK THAT THE CONCERN FOR ME IS THAT AS, AS ONE OF THE LEADING CITIES IN THE COUNTRY, WE SHOULD BE HELPING ANIMALS FROM OTHER PLACES BECAUSE ANY SHELTER WITH THIS BUDGET IN THIS INTAKE SHOULD BE ABLE TO MANAGE THESE NUMBERS. UM, SO I WILL STOP THERE. THANK YOU. UH, COMMISSIONER NIELSEN. UM, SO I MEANT TO HAVE THIS HERE. UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T, I WAS ONLY ABLE TO LOOK AT IT BRIEFLY BEFORE THE MEETING. UM, BUT I BELIEVE ONE THING THAT I NOTICED IS THAT OUTCOME FOR DOGS, OUTCOME FOR LARGE DOGS HAS NEVER BEEN AS HIGH AS INTAKE FOR LARGE DOGS. IS THAT CORRECT? I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN BY OUTCOME, BUT WHAT I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN BY, UH, EVER. I MEAN, I MEAN LIVE OUTCOME FOR LARGE DOGS, DOGS THAT ARE RE-HOMED FROM THE SHELTER. IS THAT CLEAR? ADOPTIONS, TRANSFERS RETURN TO OWNER? IS IT CLEAR WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT? I THINK YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT BEGINNING AN INCOME ANNUALLY. NO. SO WHAT DO YOU WANNA BE? NO, NO. IS IT CLEAR THAT BY OUTCOMES I MEAN LIVE OUTCOMES? I I'M NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. YOU CAN TELL US WHAT YOU WANNA SPECULATE ABOUT, BUT I'M JUST OFFERING WELL, NO, LOOKING AT YOUR NUMBERS. IF THE OUTCOMES FOR LARGE DOGS, ANY, ANY OUTCOMES, IN FACT, IF THE OUTCOMES FOR LARGE DOGS HAVE NEVER BEEN AS HIGH AS THE INTAKE OF LARGE DOGS, THAT WOULD BE LIKE IF YOU HAD YOUR FAUCET RUNNING ON YOUR SINK FASTER THAN YOU HAD WATER DRAINING OUT OF IT. RIGHT. AND EVENTUALLY THE SINK WOULD FILL UP AND OVERFLOW. SO IF THE OUTCOMES FOR LARGE DOGS OF ANY SORT, OUTCOMES FOR LARGE DOGS HAVE NEVER BEEN AS HIGH AS THE INTAKE FOR LARGE DOGS, IT WOULD JUST RESULT IN A PROBLEM THAT'S GETTING WORSE AND WORSE AND WORSE. AND THAT'S WHAT WE SEE. RIGHT? WELL, WE DON'T KNOW THAT INFORMATION, I THINK, BUT THAT INFORMATION'S IN THE LET'S THE CHART, LET'S, LET'S, LET'S TALK ABOUT REAL ACTUAL INFORMATION. NO, THE, THIS WAS IN THE CHART. IT'S GOT OUTCOMES, RIGHT? BUT WE DON'T KNOW THAT THE OUTCOMES IT'S ONLINE. WE DON'T KNOW. WHAT WE DON'T KNOW IS, IS THE, THE OUTCOMES OF LARGE DOGS COMPARED TO THE INTAKE OF LARGE DOGS. UH, WELL, WE KNOW THE SHE HAS DOG OUTCOMES BY TYPE. I DON'T, SHE DOESN'T HAVE IT BY LARGE OR [01:30:01] SMALL DOGS. OKAY. SO WITH EVEN TOTAL DOGS, THERE'S NEVER BEEN AS MANY OR MORE OUTCOMES THAN THERE HAVE BEEN INTAKES IN A YEAR. WE, WE DON'T KNOW THAT FOR A FACT. WELL, I THOUGHT, I THINK THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF THE DATA, IS THAT OKAY BECAUSE SHE'S GOT, SHE'S GOT TOTAL, SHE'S GOT ABSOLUTE NUMBERS FOR INTAKES. UH, UH, THE, THE MEANING OF HER DATA IS UP TO EACH ONE OF US TO DECIDE FIRST. NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT DA THAT'S THE ENTIRE NOT POINT OF DATA . THAT'S THE, SO LET, LET, UH, LET'S, LET'S TALK ABOUT ACTUAL DATA. WAIT, I AM TALKING ABOUT ACTUAL DATA. I'M TALKING ABOUT ACTUAL DATA. AND YOU SHOW YOUR TOTAL AAC TOTAL INTAKE DOG AND CAT INTAKE. I GUESS YOU ONLY HAVE IT FOR 2018 AND 2022. AND THE SCALE FOR THE INTAKE GOES UP TO 20,000. THE SCALE FOR THE OUTCOME FOR DOGS ONLY GOES TO 6,000. INDICATING THAT IN THE TWO YEARS YOU'VE SHOWN THE OUTCOMES FOR DOGS ARE ALWAYS LESS THAN THE INTAKES FOR DOGS. WE, WE DON'T KNOW THE NUMBER OF DOGS HAVE BEEN EUTHANIZED, SO I DON'T, IT DOESN'T, THE THAT IS, THAT'S INCLUDED IN THE OUTCOMES. I I, I I DON'T THAT'S INCLUDED IN THE OUTCOMES. THAT'S EUTHANASIA'S ADOPTIONS. ANY DOG THAT'S NO LONGER ALIVE IN THE SHELTER IS INCLUDED IN THE OUTCOMES. SO THIS IS WHY THIS DATA IS SHOWING US WHY THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT'S GOTTEN WORSE AND WORSE AND WORSE. AND ADDITIONALLY, YOU SAID BOTH THAT ANIMALS, DOGS, LARGE DOGS SPECIFICALLY SPEND MUCH MORE TIME AT THE AUSTIN ANIMAL SH CENTER THAN THEY DO AT OTHER FACILITIES. I THINK IN LARGE PART BECAUSE OTHER FACILITIES EUTHANIZE THEM FOR SPACE. SO DOGS SPEND A LOT MORE TIME AT THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER BECAUSE WE DON'T EUTHANIZE THEM. AND THEN YOU POINTED OUT THAT THE NUM THE AMOUNT OF MONEY SPENT PER INTAKE IS WAY HIGHER THAN OTHER SHELTERS. AND THAT'S BECAUSE WE KEEP THEM, PEABODY WAS AT THE SHELTER FOR OVER A YEAR. I MEAN, THE SHELTER WASN'T PAYING FOR THE FOOD DURING THAT TIME BEFORE. THE DOGS THAT HAVE BEEN AT THE SHELTER FOR A YEAR, THEY'RE EXPENSIVE. IT'S EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE TO, TO HOUSE DOGS THIS LONG AND TO CONTINUE TO HAVE DOGS COME IN WHEN YOU CAN'T GET THEM OUT AT THE SAME RATE. UH, UH, THANK YOU. CAN I RESPOND TO THAT? UH, I JUST WANNA SEE, YES. I I WANNA JUST, UM, POINT OUT THAT THE REASON I OFFERED THE COMPARATIVE THE, UM, AND, UH, FOR THE COMMISSION IS THAT PREVIOUSLY AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER WAS TAKING IN ANYWHERE BETWEEN 16 AND ABOUT 20,000 ANIMALS A YEAR, UM, MAINTAINING A ABOVE 95% LIABILITIES RATE. UM, AND WE DIDN'T HAVE THE SAME CAPACITY PROBLEM. CAPACITY IS ALWAYS A CHALLENGE. AND YOU KNOW, EVERY GOVERNMENT SHELTER STRUGGLES WITH THAT IN THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES. BUT THIS, IT'S SORT OF LIKE, WE, WE KNOW WE CAN DO THIS. AND I THINK, I, I'M NOT HERE TO ARGUE, I, I'M PULLING DATA OUT OF THE OPEN DATA PORTAL. WHAT I WANNA SAY IS THAT WE KNOW WE CAN DO THIS WITH A MUCH HIGHER INTAKE, FEWER STAFF, BECAUSE EVEN WITH SHORT STAFFING, WE STILL HAVE MORE STAFF THAN WE EVER DID YEARS AGO. AND WE KNOW WE COULD DO IT THEN WHY CAN'T WE DO IT NOW? WHAT IS DIFFERENT NOW THAN NONE? AND NOTHING IN THE DATA GIVES US A VERY OBVIOUS ANSWER, EXCEPT THAT, UM, THE EMPHASIS ON GETTING THE ANIMALS THROUGH THE SYSTEM, AND THAT REQUIRES COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, LARGE VOLUNTEER AND FOSTER PROGRAMS, ET CETERA. UM, THAT IS NOT APPARENTLY HAPPENING IN THE WAY IT WAS. AND WE KNOW THAT FROM THE COUNTLESS VOLUNTEER AND, UH, FOSTER COMMENTS WE HEARD. SO SOMETHING HAS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY. AND IT'S NOT IN THE DATA, IT'S NOT IN THE INIC. INIC IS LOWER. YEAH, I, I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT ABOUT THIS. I, I MEAN, DATA'S COMPLICATED AND THAT'S WHY IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO KEEP YOUR EYE ON DATA. WHY WE GET GOOD DATA. WE GET DATA POSTED, WE GET DATA MONTHLY. UH, THE, THE, THE, THE AMOUNT OF DOGS IN THE SHELTER GOING IN AND GOING OUT IS AFFECTED BY MORE. THERE'S ALSO FOSTERS. AND IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF FOSTERS, THEN THE, THE SHELTER, EVEN IF YOUR OUTCOMES SHOW, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE GETTING MORE DOGS THAT ARE COMING OUT, YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE AS MANY DOGS IN THE SHELTER, IN WHICH CASE THE CITY CAN OFFER MORE SERVICES TO PEOPLE. AND I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT ASPECT THAT WE CAN'T SEE WITH THIS DATA. YOU KNOW, THE, SHE'S, SHE'S DONE A VERY ROUGH THING. UH, THE THING ABOUT THIS DATA THAT, THAT DISTURBS ME IS, UH, [01:35:01] UH, THE DOG RETURN TO OWNER RATE. AND THAT DISTURBS ME MOST BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I, I DO A LOT OF, I I I MONITOR A LOT OF, UH, UM, MEDIA ABOUT ANIMALS AND LOST DOGS. AND, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN LOST FOUND PETS AND NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR AND EVERYTHING. AND YOU KNOW, TO MANY PEOPLE, THESE ANIMALS ARE VERY IMPORTANT. AND YOU READ ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE MISSING THEIR DOG, THEY CAN'T GET IT. THEY'RE MISSING THEIR PET. SOMETIMES THEY FIND IT DEAD, SOMETIMES THEY NEVER FIND IT. SOMETIMES IT COMES BACK YEARS LATER. UH, THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT IF, IF THEY GET THEIR PET BACK, THEY'RE YOUR YOUR BEST SHELTER SUPPORTER. YOU WILL EVER HAVE THE BEST SHELTER SUPPORTER YOU'VE EVER HAVE. AND WHEN, WHEN THAT LINE GOES DOWN THAT I'M, THAT MAKES ME VERY CONCERNED. YES. I I ACTUALLY HAVE, UM, A COMMENT ON THE DOG RETURN TO OWNER. I WOULD BE CURIOUS TO SEE THIS BROKEN OUT A BIT MORE AS TO HOW APOS ACTUALLY FIND OWNERS TO RETURN DOGS TO. IS IT BECAUSE OF TAGS ON CALLERS? IS IT BECAUSE OF MICROCHIPS? UM, IS IT BECAUSE NEIGHBORS HAVE REPORTED SEEING THAT DOG ON THAT BLOCK? UM, I DO THINK IT'S INTERESTING HOW DRAMATICALLY THIS CORRELATION WITH LACK OF RETURN TO HOMES, UM, CORRELATES WITH LACK OF SERVICES THAT WE'VE BEEN PROVIDING TO THE PUBLIC. SO, YOU KNOW, PRE C V I D EMANCIPATE WAS, AND AUSTIN HUMANE SOCIETY WERE ALTERING 10 TO 11,000 ANIMALS A YEAR DURING COVID THAT DROPPED DOWN BELOW 5,000. SO THAT'S 5,000 ANIMALS ANNUALLY FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN GOING THROUGH THE SPAY SERVICE, WHERE THE VAST MAJORITY OF THOSE ANIMALS WOULD'VE BEEN MICRO CHIPPED, EMANCIPATE HISTORICALLY ALSO PROVIDED NAME TAGS FOR THOSE ANIMALS. AND SO I THINK THAT AT THAT DEFICIT OF AT LEAST 15,000 ANIMALS IN OUR COMMUNITY IN THE LAST THREE YEARS, WHO MOST LIKELY HAVE NOT BEEN MICRO CHIPPED, BECAUSE WE KNOW EMAN PETS BOOKED OUT FOR NINE MONTHS. WE KNOW EVERYBODY'S PLAYING KETCHUP. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT ALSO POINTS TO YOUR POINT, KRISTEN, THAT EACH ONE OF THESE INDIVIDUAL SERVICES CUMULATIVELY ADDS TO THIS MUCH LARGER PICTURE OF US DOING A BETTER JOB IN AUSTIN. AND SO, WHILE I THINK THERE ARE IMPROVEMENTS WITHIN THE SHELTER THAT CAN BE LOOKED AT, CERTAINLY I THINK WE ALSO HAVE TO LOOK AT IMPROVEMENTS OUTSIDE OF THE SHELTER WITH OUR COMMUNITY PROGRAMS THAT WE'VE FALLEN DRAMATICALLY BEHIND ON. UH, UH, HERE, UH, UH, OKAY. UH, COMMISSION DELK. YES. UM, I, I FIND VERY INTERESTING, UH, COMMISSIONER KRISTEN HANSEN, UM, GRAPH AND ALSO DR. AMANDA FRIES, AMY. AND, UM, THE MONTHLY REPORT THAT WE HAVE BEEN GETTING, WHICH IS MORE MICRO VERSUS THE MACRO THAT KRISTEN PAUL DOES SHOW THAT THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER IS CONTRACTING THE SERVICES. AND, UM, TO ME IT IS PUZZLING THAT, UM, IN THE PAST I'VE HEARD THAT THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER IS ALWAYS, COMES IN UNDER BUDGET. SO THERE'S MONEY THERE REGARDLESS OF COMPARISON TO OTHER PLACES. AND YES, I AGREE WITH DR. BRIDE'S DAD, UM, IS IT IS THE BIGGER PICTURE. YOU HA HAVE TO USE DIFFERENT THINGS, UM, OFTEN ANIMAL CENTER. AND AT THE SAME TIME, DA ANIMAL CENTER IS A LEADER FOR OUR COMMUNITY, HAS TO BE A LEADER. PEOPLE LOOK AT THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER, YOU'RE A VERY IMPORTANT, IMPORTANT PART OF THE COMMUNITY. THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS. THANK YOU, CHAIR. YES. I COMMISSIONER HER. UH, I, I DON'T HAVE THE DATA. I DON'T KNOW IF, IF WE CAN PULL THIS DATA, MAYBE THIS DATA DOESN'T EXIST, BUT WITH THE RETURN OF THE RETURN TO OWNERS, WE CAN SEE, AS YOU SAY, AUSTIN LAWSON FOUND GROUPS THAT ONE SCALE, THE COMMUNITY IS GETTING MORE PROACTIVE. THE COMMUNITY IS GETTING MORE EDUCATED IN THIS TOPIC, AND PEOPLE LEADS GETTING THAT. WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT THE OIN ANIMAL CENTER SET UP FIRE STATIONS WITH SCANNERS FOR MICROCHIPS. THE COMMUNITY IS GETTING MORE AND MORE INVOLVED WITH THESE. NOT EXACTLY. ALL THE ANIMALS WHO ARE LOST OR WANDER ARE COMING TO THE SHELTER. I CAN SAY I LIVE ON DISTRICT THREE, UH, SORRY, IN DISTRICT TWO. OH MY GOD. YES. I LIVE [01:40:01] IN DOBB SPRINGS AND I HELP TO RETURN TO ORDER THREE TO FIVE DOGS PER WEEK. I DON'T TAKE THEM TO THE SHELTER. I THINK THE COMMUNITY IS GETTING MORE INVOLVED TO THIS. AND MAYBE IF WE DON'T SEEM THAT HUGE NUMBER OF RETURN TO THE OWNERS, WE JUST JUMP TO AUSTIN LAWS AND FOUND PETS. WE CAN SEE VERY HAPPY STORIES EVERY DAY THAT PEOPLE WHO FIND THEIR PETS. UH, I I THINK THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS NOT CAPTURED IN THE DATA. ONCE AGAIN, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE FOSTERS, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT CAPTURED IN THE DATA. UH, AND I'M NOT SURE AUSTIN LAWSON FOUND PETS CAPTURES THAT DATA. THAT'S INTERESTING. UM, WHAT CON UH, SO THAT, THAT, THAT WE ALSO KNOW, SOMETHING ELSE THAT I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT HERE IS WE'RE GETTING MORE AND MORE AND MORE PEOPLE MOVING INTO AUSTIN. WE'RE THE, WE'RE WE HAVE, UH, THERE'S TH HOW MANY DOGS MOVE INTO AUSTIN EACH YEAR? WELL, WELL, CHAIRMAN, CAN I, CAN I RESPOND TO WHAT YES, LUIS SAID. I, I'M SORRY. GIVE MINUTE. IT'S MY REPORT. I JUST, GO AHEAD. I JUST WANNA RESPOND TO SAY THAT I THINK THAT WE ARE INCREDIBLY LUCKY. I MEAN, I THINK WHEN WE CONSIDER THAT AUSTIN HAS THE, YOU KNOW, GAME CHANGING, EMANS HAVE HAD AUSTIN PETZEL, AUSTIN HUMANE SOCIETY, AUSTIN LAWS HOUSE, WE HAVE THIS CIRCLE OF CARE AROUND THE ANIMAL SERVICES. AND I AM IN NO WAY SUGGESTING THAT WE SHOULD NOT BE FUNDING ANIMAL SERVICE AS WELL. I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY A REALLY IMPORTANT THING THAT WE'VE PUT SO MUCH INTO ANIMAL WELFARE CARE. WHAT I, WHAT I HOPE THIS DATA SHOWS IS THAT WE HAVE THIS AMAZING, EXCEPTIONAL GROUP OF ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDING SUPPORT THAT ALMOST NO ONE ELSE HAS IN THE COUNTRY, IF ANYONE. AND THEN WE HAVE A GREAT BUDGET AND WE HAVE THOUSANDS OF PURE ANIMALS COMING IN THE DOORS. AND ADOPTIONS ARE KEEPING PACE FROM 2019. SO IF WE, THIS ISN'T MY DATA, THIS IS OPEN DATA, PORTAL DATA. AND I REALLY THINK THE COMMISSION, IF WE'RE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD OUTSIDE OF OUR OWN PHILOSOPHICAL DIFFERENCES, WE'VE GOT TO START WITH THE DATA AND STAY WITH IT. AND WHEN I HEAR LUIS YOU SAYING, I DON'T KNOW THE DATA, WE NEED TO STOP SAYING THAT. BECAUSE IF WE DON'T KNOW THE DATA, WE EITHER HAVE TO GET IT OR WE HAVE TO STOP SPECULATING. I FEEL LIKE A LOT OF WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE IS BECAUSE OF OUR SPECULATION AND I'M, I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN REALLY TRY TO HONE IN ON WHAT THE DATA SAYS AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO RESPOND TO IT. UH, ANNIE MOORE, COMMS COMMISSIONER NORTON. YES. UM, THANK YOU. UM, I BELIEVE, UM, COMMISSIONER HASSEN, YOU MENTIONED THAT, UM, AUSTIN WASN'T DOING AS WELL WITH OUTCOMES AS OTHER SHELTERS. UM, CAN YOU SHARE WITH US YOUR COMPETITIVE DATA? UM, THE SHELTERS AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE NO-KILL AND NO AND NO-KILL. NO-KILL AT 95% LIKE CITY OF AUSTIN IS REQUIRED TO HA MEET. AND IF YOU COULD SEND THAT, I BET YOU COULD JUST SEND IT, YOU CAN SEND IT TO THE CLERK. AND IF YOU DON'T MIND, AND SHE CAN SEND IT TO US. I'LL, I'LL JUST SAY IN, IN RESPONSE TO NATIONALLY, REALLY LOOKING AT SHELTERED ANIMALS COUNT NATIONAL DATABASE IS IMPORTANT CUZ WHAT WE SEE IS THAT OUTCOMES ARE LAGGING BY ABOUT 5% IN 2022. SO WE WANNA LOOK AT OURSELVES NEXT TO THOSE NATIONAL OUTCOMES. OSSIAN IS NOT IN LINE WITH NATIONAL TRENDS. SO IF YOU TAKE MY DATA AND LOOK AT IT NEXT TO SHELTER ANIMALS COUNT, YOU CAN COMPARE AUSTIN'S PERFORMANCE VERSUS THE OVERALL NATIONAL TREND OF ORGANIZATIONS. OKAY. ARE THERE ANY MORE DISCUSSION, UH, YET ANYBODY, DOCTOR OR COMMISSIONER? MAGULA? HI. SO, UH, A COUPLE THINGS. YEAH, DATA IS, DATA IS DATA. WE, YES, IT'S DATA IS TRUTH. HOWEVER, DEPENDING ON HOW YOU LOOK AT THE DATA, DEPENDING ON HOW THE DATA IS MANIPULATED, YOU CAN GET MANY DIFFERENT ANSWERS. SO, YOU KNOW, TWO THINGS. YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE DATA FROM THE, THE OPEN PORTAL, WHICH IS RAW DATA NUMBERS, UM, AND THEN A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE USING PERCENTAGES, WHICH IS A, A TOTALLY NOTHER MANIPULATION OF DATA. SO IT, YOU KNOW, I AGREE THAT WE NEED DATA AND WE NEED TO BASE THIS STUFF ON DATA, BUT WE NEED TO BE BASING THE DATA AND USING THE SAME METHOD TO, TO PULL AND REPORT THIS DATA AS OPPOSED TO PROVIDING RAW NUMBERS IN ONE REPORT, PERCENTAGES IN ANOTHER REPORT, DECIMALS, WHATEVER IT IS IN ANOTHER ONE. I MEAN, IF WE CAN, YOU KNOW, AGREE TO REPORT THINGS IN THE SAME, UM, IN, IN THE SAME WAY SO THAT WE'RE DOING APPLES TO APPLES, I THINK IT'LL MAKE A LOT MORE SENSE TO MANY OF US ON THIS COMMISSION. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? WELL, [6. Discussion and possible action to approve a recommendation to Council regarding animal welfare policies or budget priorities identified by the Commission based on community input.] LET'S MOVE ON TO ITEM. [01:45:01] UH, WHAT DO WE GOT? SIX. DISCUSSION POSSIBLE ACTION. MOTION? YES. I WAS WONDERING IF, IF I COULD, I WOULD MOVE TO PUT SEVEN IN FRONT OF SIX CUZ I REALLY HAVE TO GO. SO THERE'S A MOTION HERE TO MOVE SEVEN TO BEFORE SIX. DO I HEAR A SECOND? I'LL SECOND. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON THAT? HOW MANY WOULD LIKE TO MOVE ITEM SEVEN BEFORE SIX. RAISE YOUR HAND. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. I, OKAY, SO HOW MANY ARE OPPOSED TO A MOVING ITEM? SEVEN BEFORE SIX. SO I GUESS CHAIR, I WOULD JUST SAY YOU DO NOT HAVE TO TAKE A VOTE FOR THIS. IT IS YOUR DISCRETION IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO REARRANGE THE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, I'M NOT REALLY SURE THE OPPOSITION TO THIS. IF A COMMISSIONER NEEDS TO LEAVE, I DON'T QUITE UNDERSTAND WHY WE COULDN'T SWITCH ORDERS, BUT THAT'S JUST, YOU KNOW. NO, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T NEED TO TAKE A VOTE FOR THAT. I, I I I I, I I GET IT. WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH CUZ I, WE HAVE TAKEN VOTES IN THE PAST, LIKE YEARS AGO WITH, I WENT WHEN NO, IT'S OKAY. THAT YOU DO. WELL DOCUMENT IT. IT'S JUST, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO NECESSARY FOR YOUR MANAGEMENT OF, OKAY. ALL RIGHT. OKAY, SO, UH, ITEM SIX, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNSEL REGARDING ANIMAL WELFARE POLICIES OR BUDGET PARTIES IDENTIFIED BY THE COMMISSION BASED ON COMMUNITY INPUT. WHOSE ITEM WAS THIS? MAYBE THIS WAS NOT MY ITEM WHEN YOU, OKAY. THIS WAS A REQUEST TO DISCUSS, UH, IT CUSTOMER ISSUES THAT WERE RAISED TO THE COMMISSION. SO THIS WAS THE LANGUAGE THAT WAS AGREED UPON BY LEGAL AND THIS IS WHAT WE PUBLISH. SO THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT, UH, CUSTOMER ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO YOUR ATTENTION THAT YOU'RE RECEIVING. I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THE WORD THAT WAS USED. COMPLAINTS PER, PER, YEAH. MAYBE THAT'S COM. WHAT WAS USED BEFORE CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS. UM, MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY COMPLAINTS. SO THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS THAT AND TO MAKE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS. UH, COMMISSIONER NORTON. UM, THANK YOU FOR ASKING LEGAL FOR CLARIFICATION, BUT I THINK SINCE, UM, WHAT'S DESCRIBED HERE IS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WAS I REMEMBER IN THE MINUTES WAS RECOMMENDED. YEAH. UM, WOULD UM, IT BE POSSIBLE TO JUST CARRY THIS OVER TILL NEXT MONTH SO THAT ALL OF THE COMMISSION COMMISSIONERS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY KNOWING WHAT THIS IS TO BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS IT? OKAY, SO, SO LET'S POSTPONE THIS ITEM, POSSIBLY REWORDED FOR WHAT THE WORDING IS. NOW WE JUST KNOW WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO DO. WE'RE RIGHT. SO, UH, DO I HEAR, SO I HEAR A MOTION TO POSTPONE THIS TILL NEXT MONTH IN MARCH. DO I THERE A SECOND? I HEAR A SECOND. OKAY. HOW MANY, UH, VOTE TO POSTPONE THIS ITEM. RAISE YOUR HAND. OKAY, SO WE GOTTA FOUR. HOW MANY VOTE NOT TO POSTPONE THIS ITEM. SO THE REST OF EXTENSIONS. SO WE GOTTA DO THE ITEM. SO DISCUSSION ON ITEM SIX, HEARING NO DISCUSSION? YES. OKAY. COMMISSIONER MULA. SO, YES, SO I CAN SAY THAT I, I'M NOT PREPARED TO DISCUSS THIS CUZ I HAVE RECEIVED COMPLAINTS AND I HAVE RECEIVED EMAILS FROM SIT FROM RESIDENTS. HOWEVER, I DID, I WAS NOT UNDER THE STAND, UNDER THE STAND UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS IS WHERE WE WOULD BE DISCUSSING THEM. SO I HAVEN'T, I DON'T HAVE THAT PREPARED. OKAY. SO, UH, O ONE OF THE ISSUES, I KNOW THERE ARE COMMISSIONERS WHO WANTED TO DISCUSS AN ITEM LIKE THIS AND THERE ARE A NUMBER OF COMMISSIONERS WHO ARE ROLLING OFF THE COMMISSION. UM, AND SO I THINK THAT WAS PART OF THE REASON TO WANNA GET THIS ITEM ON THERE. UM, BUT IF, IF , IF NO, IF THIS ITEM FOR DISCUSSION AND NOBODY HAS ANYTHING TO DISCUSS, THEN WE'RE GONNA GO ON TO THE NEXT ITEM. I'M THE CHAIR AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO. I DON'T SEE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN DO. AND IF WE WANNA REVISIT THIS, PUT THIS UP, PUT A NEW ITEM, PUT REWORDING DISCUSS. I, I I WILL SAY IT'S JUST EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT, UM, WE HAD WHAT I WOULD CONSIDER A BIT OF AN ANOMALY AND, AND THE CLERK'S OFFICE AND AROUND THE WHOLE CITY. SO WE, WE, WE DIDN'T GET THE INPUT WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN. AND IF WE WANT A NEW ITEM HERE, IF WE GET RIGHT ON TOP OF IT AND WE MAKE SURE IT CAN GO TO US LEGAL AND WE CAN GET THIS, THE DISCUSSION MOVING, THEN MAYBE WE'LL DO A LOT BETTER. IS EVERYBODY, UH, OKAY. SO THAT, [7. Report and recommendations from the Spay/Neuter Working Group.] NOW LET'S GO ON TO ITEM SEVEN. REPORT A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE SPAY NEUTER WORKING GROUP. ALL RIGHT. HA, SO YOU DUE, DO IT. OKAY. YEAH, I'M GONNA GO WITH THE RECOMMENDATION. SO LET ME JUST SAY [01:50:01] THAT, UM, WE WORKED EXTREMELY LONG HOURS, MANY MEETINGS. WE MET WITH INTERESTED PARTIES FROM AUSTIN HUMANE SOCIETY, EMANCIPATE FROM TRAVIS COUNTY, DEALING WITH THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT, HAD MEETINGS WITH ALL OF 'EM AS TO WHAT WE COULD DO AS A COMMISSION, WHAT WE COULD RECOMMEND TO IMPROVE SPAY NEUTER AS A WHOLE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY. UM, AND THESE ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS AFTER MEETING WITH ALL THE INTERESTED PARTIES, THESE ARE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE CAME UP WITH. UM, THERE ARE SUPPORTING NARRATIVES THAT I'M NOT GONNA GO OVER. IT'S THERE, ANYBODY CAN READ IT. UM, SO I'LL JUST GO THROUGH THE RECOMMENDATIONS. RECOMMENDATION NUMBER ONE IS THAT THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN AMEND ITS CONTRACT WITH EMANCIPATE TO INCLUDE A FIFTH DAY OF FREE SERVICE TO AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY RESIDENTS. RECOMMENDATION NUMBER TWO, THE AUSTIN ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN AMEND ITS CONTRACT WITH EMANCIPATE TO INCLUDE THE F V R C P AND D H P P VACCINATION FOR CATS AND DOGS REGARDLESS OF AGE OWNED BY AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY RESIDENTS THAT PRESENT FOR MOBILE FREE DAY SERVICES. RECOMMENDATION NUMBER THREE, THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN PURSUE AN ADDITIONAL VENDOR FOR SPAY AND NEUTER SERVICES. RECOMMENDATION NUMBER FOUR, THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE POSITION OF PUBLIC HEALTH EDUCATOR WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY CAT PROGRAM AT AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER BE MADE A FULL-TIME PERMANENT POSITION. RECOMMENDATION NUMBER FIVE, THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE ANIMAL STERILIZATION AND WELLNESS SERVICES CONTRACT BETWEEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND AUSTIN HUMANE SOCIETY BE AMENDED TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR THE ANNUAL NUMBER OF SURGERIES TO 3000 COMMUNITY CATS ANNUALLY. AND TO INCLUDE THE F V R C P VACCINATION FOR CATS GOING THROUGH THE PROGRAM. THE CURRENT CONTRACT FUNDS APPROXIMATELY 1800 STERILIZATIONS ANNUALLY. AND THE FINAL RECOMMENDATION NUMBER SIX, THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL SUPPORTS AN ANNUAL TARGET OF 7,200 SPAY NEUTER SURGERIES AT AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER. SO THAT'S A MOTION? YES. SO I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT THE COMMISSION APPROVES THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE SPAY NEW WORKING GROUP. OKAY. DO I HEAR A SECOND? OKAY, SO NOW WE CAN HAVE DISCUSSION. WOULD ANYBODY LIKE TO DISCUSS THIS MOTION? PALMER PALMER? UH, UH, UH, OKAY. UH, COMMISSIONER NEWHOUSE. WELL, YEAH, QUESTION. UM, I DID NOT SEE ATTACHMENTS WITH LIKE, ANY DATA WAS, I GUESS THE DATA ANALYZED TO KIND OF PULL TOGETHER THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND HOW YOU WERE WANTING TO ALLOCATE IT. AND WHERE DID I MISS THAT? I, WHAT SORT OF DATA ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT BUDGETARY DATA? NO, NOT BUDGETARY DATA, BUT THE DATA THAT KIND OF SUPPORTS ON, ON LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE AREAS WITH EMAN PET ON HOW MANY COMMUNITIES AND ZIP CODES AND WHERE THE, WHERE THE CURRENT SPAY NEUTER SURGERIES ARE GOING AND WHERE THESE WILL GO. KIND OF THE BREAKDOWN AS TO WHAT'S NEEDED AND WHAT THE RECOMMENDATION IS. SO EMANCIPATE AND WORKS CLOSELY WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN LIAISON TO SET THE LOCATIONS OF WHERE THE MOBILE UNIT GOES. AND SO THAT IS A, A LIVE EVENT, ESSENTIALLY LOOKING AT INTAKE AND THEN SETTING, UH, THOSE LOCATIONS BASED ON, ON CURRENT INTAKE. AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ALSO PLAYING AROUND A BIT WITH, UM, COMMUNITY CENTERS THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN THOSE COMMUNITIES TO OFFER THAT. SO IT IS NOT CURRENTLY, I DON'T HAVE ZIP CODE DATA, BUT THIS EMANCIPATE AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAVE HISTORICALLY WORKED TOGETHER TO ESTABLISH WHERE THE MOBILE UNITS GO TO THE AREAS OF HIGHEST NEED. COMMISSIONER HERRERA, ANY OF THE CATEGORIES. DO YOU HAVE DATA, DID YOU READ THROUGH THE NARRATIVE? BECAUSE I FELT LIKE WE INCLUDED QUITE A BIT OF DATA THERE. I MEAN, IF YOU HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, I CAN, I CAN TRY AND ADDRESS THOSE OR THE OTHER FOLKS PRESENT AT THE MEETINGS CAN ATTEMPT TO ADDRESS THOSE. I, I, AGAIN, I FEEL LIKE WE INCLUDED QUITE A BIT OF INFORMATION IN THE NARRATIVE, UM, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER INDIVIDUAL QUESTIONS. UH, NO, I JUST WAS LOOKING TO SEE IF I WAS MISSING SOMETHING. UH, COMMISSIONER ERRA, JUST, JUST, JUST TO INCLUDE TO THESE, THE FOUR ZIP CODES THAT THE MOBILE CLINIC HAS [01:55:01] MORE PRESENCE FROM EMANCIPATE. IT'S 44, UH, 7, 8, 6 1 7, 7 8, 7 2 3 AND 7, 8, 7, 4 1. OKAY. UH, COMMISSIONER HASSAN, THANK YOU. UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE WORK PUT INTO THIS. I, I, I WANNA SAY THAT I, YOU KNOW, I, I AM GOING TO BE STAYING ON THE COMMISSION. UM, AND REALLY I HAVE DECIDED THAT AS, AS I SAT HERE AND LISTENED TO US, I'LL TALK, I I DO THINK WE HAVE TO MAKE A COMMITMENT TO DATA AND THERE'S NOT ENOUGH DATA TO SUPPORT ANY KIND OF DECISION LIKE THIS. I'LL BE EMPHATICALLY VOTING THOUGH. UM, EVEN THOUGH I APPRECIATE THE EFFORT PUT IN, WE HAVE A CRISIS IN OUR ORGANIZATION IMMEDIATELY. WE HAVE ANIMALS THAT ARE LANGUISHING. THEY DO NOT NEED TO BE EUTHANIZED. I HOPE FOLKS WILL STOP SUGGESTING THAT, UM, THEY ARE LONG SKATE DOGS. I CAN'T FIND THAT IT, MANY OF THE LONG 10 LONGEST GAY DOGS HAVE EVER BEEN, BEEN MARKETED. WE HAVE AN EMERGENT CRISIS THAT HAS TO BE DEALT WITH IMMEDIATELY. AND SO, AS MUCH AS I BELIEVE SPAY NEUTER IS THE ANSWER, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT DATA. WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT ARE WEPAY NEUTERING. I'M TIRED OF PAYING YORKIES AND, AND POMERANIANS GETTING PARALYZED AND TAXPAYER DOLLARS WHEN THERE IS ZERO REASON FOR THAT TO HAPPEN. SO I HOPE THAT WE CAN STOP AND BREATHE AND THINK THAT THIS IS A KNEE JERK REACTION TO A COMPLEX PROBLEM AND WE HAVE TO SOLVE THAT BIRTH. WE OWE MORE TO THE ANIMALS IN OUR SHELTERS THAN WE'RE GIVING THEM. WE CANNOT GET DISTRACTED BY ANY OF THIS. THANK YOU. I'M GONNA WHOLEHEARTEDLY DISAGREE WITH YOU THAT THERE'S NOT DATA. YOU KNOW, WE WERE SPAYING AND NEUTERING 10 TO 11,000 ANIMALS ANNUALLY PRIOR TO COVID COMING ON DROP TO FIFTY NINE HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWENTY DROPPED TO FORTY NINE HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWENTY ONE, IT DROPPED TO FORTY SEVEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWENTY TWO. WE HAVE STAFFING CRISISES, WE HAVE VETERINARY CRISISES. EVERY SINGLE PERSON THAT WE TALKED TO HAD ANXIETY AND WANTED TO SEE A CHANGE IN THE SPAY NEUTER IN AUSTIN. IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE THAT IT'S TAKING NINE MONTHS TO GET A LARGE BREED FEMALE DOG SPAYED IN THIS COMMUNITY. WE ESSENTIALLY DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO LOW-COST SPAY NEUTER IN THIS COMMUNITY. THAT IS NOT THE BASIS OF A NO-KILL COMMUNITY. YOU'RE WELCOME TO DISAGREE WITH THAT, YOU'RE WELCOME TO VOTE NO ON THAT. BUT THE VAST MAJORITY OF CITIZENS WANT ACCESS TO LOW COST SPAY NEUTER, AND THAT DOES NOT CURRENTLY EXIST. WE NEED TO INCREASE CAPACITY ACROSS EVERY AVENUE THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO US, AND WE NEED TO FIND OTHER AVENUES TO INCREASE IT EVEN FURTHER. UH, OTHER COMMENTS? UH, COMMISSIONER NORTON. UM, THANK YOU. UM, THANK YOU FOR THE ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF WORK YOU PUT INTO THIS. I FOUND THE NARRATIVE AND THE DATA YOU PROVIDED. UM, EYE-OPENING AND INTERESTING. I THINK WE ARE HERE FOR THE CITIZENS, THOSE OF US WHO VOLUNTEER TO BE WITH THE CITIZENS AND TO LISTEN TO THEM AND ATTEND THINGS LIKE MICROCHIP EVENTS. HEAR PEOPLE SAYING, HOW CAN I GET SPAY NEUTER? HOW CAN I TAKE, THEY WANT OUR CITIZENS WANT TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR PETS. IT'S NOT ABOUT WHICH ZIP CODE WE'RE GONNA VOTE NO, CUZ WE DON'T KNOW THE ZIP CODE. IT'S ABOUT HELPING THE COMMUNITY. AND THIS IS SUCH AN INCREDIBLE WAY TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY, UM, FOR AN AREA THAT PEOPLE ASK ABOUT. AND WHEN WE'VE HAD WONDERFUL MICROCHIP EVENT, UM, COMMISSIONER HER PUT ON IN DISTRICT THREE, UM, WE HAD, UM, VARIOUS PEOPLE THERE, UM, THERE, UM, UH, HELPING OUT. AND AGAIN, PEOPLE WANTED TO GO TO EMANCIPATE AND MAKE A, MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO SPAY NEUTER. SO I THINK YOU'RE SPOT ON ON THIS WORK ON WHAT YOU'VE DONE AND THE RECOMMENDATION. AND I THINK THIS WILL HELP THE CITIZENS AND THE ANIMALS IN AUSTIN. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. UH, ANY, ANYONE ELSE HAVE A COMMENT TO MAKE YOU WANNA SPEAK AGAIN? GO AHEAD. OKAY. CAN I, WHO WAS IT WITH SOMEONE? WAIT, LET'S SEE. UH, LET'S HAVE NANCY, NANCY, COMMISSIONER NEMER. THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT, I, I KIND OF FEEL A LITTLE BIT LIKE COMMISSIONER NEWHOUSE DID AND LIKE COMMISSIONER HASSAN DID IN THAT WE MIGHT BE FOCUSING TOO MUCH ON A PROBLEM THAT MIGHT NOT NECESSARILY EXIST. IF SPAY AND NEUTER WAS REALLY THE PROBLEM, I WOULD THINK THAT WE WOULD BE DROWNING IN PUPPIES AND KITTENS. AND THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE CASE. UM, WE'RE, WE'RE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH GETTING BIG DOGS OUT OF THE SHELTER. WE'RE HAVING PROBLEMS ABOUT GETTING ANIMALS ADOPTED OUT, BUT WE'RE NOT REALLY DROWNING IN BABIES RIGHT NOW, WHICH WOULD BE WHAT WE WOULD BE SEEING IF THERE WAS AN, A TRUE SPAY AND NEUTER SITUATION GOING ON [02:00:01] RIGHT NOW. AND I THINK WE NEED TO FOCUS ON THE OVERPOPULATION THAT WE'VE GOT GOING ON IN THE SHELTERS AND THE, THE EUTHANASIA PROBLEMS THAT WE'VE GOT GOING ON IN THE SHELTER. FIRST AND FOREMOST, BEFORE WE START WORRYING ABOUT THIS. I APPRECIATE ALL THE EFFORT THAT Y'ALL PUT INTO THIS AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S GOT TO BE AT THE FOREFRONT RIGHT NOW. I THINK EUTHANASIA OF INNOCENT ANIMALS NEEDS TO BE AT THE FOREFRONT RIGHT NOW. COMMISSIONER HERRERA, UH, I AM GOING TO ADD SOMETHING. UH, I DON'T HAVE THE DATA, BUT, BUT I CAN SAY THAT, UH, WITH ALL THE RESPECT, I AM THE ONLY PERSON WHO DRIVE ALL THIS HERE AND ALL THIS COUNTY FOR THE LAST 11 YEARS. UH, TRYING TO FIND MORE CANDIDATES FOR FREE ESP WAS VERY CHALLENGING SOME NEIGHBORHOODS. BUT AFTER THE THIRD OR THE FOURTH TIME PEOPLE JUST WAS COMING TO ME AND GIVING ME PETS WAS ONE TIME I THINK WAS THE DOCTOR MAGGIE MCDONALD AT THE MANE PET. I HAVE 10 APPOINTMENTS AND I SHOW UP WITH 27 PETS BECAUSE PEOPLE WAS RESPONDING VERY, VERY GOOD TO THESE. UH, YES, WE ARE NOT, NOT, NOT NOT FLOATING, WE POPPIES, BUT JUST HER FRIENDS FROM APA JUST SAY THAT THEY JUST HAVE THIS TON OF PUPPIES AND Y'ALL CAN COME TO THE SHELTER. I THINK THIS IS THE YEAR THAT I'VE SEEN MORE PUPPIES THAN EVER. UH, I LOVE THE IDEA TO SAVE THEM ALL. UH, AND IT'S VERY CHALLENGING FOR DOGS WHO, WHO HAS THREE YEARS AT THE SHELTER GET ADOPTED WHEN SOMEBODY JUST SHOW UP WITH A PUPPY, UH, PUPPY STEAK. MOST OF THE TIME THE SPACES THAT DOGS ONE YEAR, TWO YEARS, FIVE YEARS, OR SENIOR DOGS TAKE. AND IF WE ARE TALKING THAT SOMETIMES WE HAVE DOGS WITH BEHAVIOR OR WITH MEDICAL CHALLENGES ARE GOING TO BE MORE, MORE DIFFICULT. UH, I REALLY WANT TO EMBODY TO BOAT ON THIS BECAUSE, UH, WE NEED ESP IN THIS CITY. IT'S GETTING SO EXPENSIVE AND WE NEED TO REMEMBER IT'S FOUR FACTORS THAT PEOPLE, UH, TAKE BEFORE ESP, ESP URE. ONE IS CULTURAL, THE OTHER ONE IS EDUCATION. THE OTHER ONE THEY MAYBE DON'T HAVE THE ECONOMIC RESOURCE AND THE LAST ONE IS NOT THEIR PRIORITY. THE MORE OFFER FREE OFFER THAT WE CAN PUT IT TO THE, TO THE COMMUNITY, THE MUCH BETTER WE CAN HAVE. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? UH, COMMISSIONER JARL. HI, I I WANNA ECHO WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID AND, AND THANK EVERYONE THAT PUT SO MANY BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS INTO THE RECOMMENDATIONS THEY ARE, UM, THOROUGH. AND I READ THROUGH THE, YOU KNOW, SUMMARIES AND I DO APPRECIATE ALL THE TIME THAT WENT INTO IT. I GUESS WHEN I WAS READING IT, THE FIRST THING THAT STRUCK ME WAS HOW MANY OF THE LINE ITEMS DIRECT CITY COUNCIL TO RENEGOTIATE CONTRACTS WITH, UM, OUTSIDE PARTIES OUTSIDE 5 0 1 AND I'M WONDERING IF WE HAVE ANYBODY FROM CITY LEGAL IN THE ROOM, BECAUSE I'M LOOKING AT OUR DESCRIPTION AND IT JUST, AND THE REASON I'M ASKING IS BECAUSE I'VE BEEN ON THIS COMMISSION NOW FOR A WHILE. THIS IS MY LAST MEETING AND YOU KNOW, I'VE NEVER SEEN US DIRECT CITY COUNCIL TO RENEGOTIATE CONTRACT WITH A PRIVATE OR ENTITY OUTSIDE OF US. AND IT SAYS THAT WE DO HAVE SOME, YOU KNOW, ABILITY TO ADVISE ON BUDGET PRIORITIES, BUT WE SHOULDN'T, UM, ADVISE ON ISSUES RELATED TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE DIVISION. AND I, IT WOULD SEEM CONTRACT RENEGOTIATION WOULD FALL UNDER THAT ADMINISTRATION OF THE DIVISION PORTION. AND I'M JUST CURIOUS IF THIS COMMISSION HAS THE ABILITY TO DIRECT COUNSEL TO RENEGOTIATE ANY CONTRACTS RELATED TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE DIVISION CHAIR. THIS IS STEPHANIE FROM THE CLERK. I'M NOT A LAWYER JUST TO GET THAT OUT THERE. BUT WHAT I DO KNOW IS THERE ARE NO BOARDS OR COMMISSIONS THAT CAN DIRECT COUNSEL TO DO ANYTHING. SO THIS A RECOMMENDATION CAN BE SUBMITTED. ABSOLUTELY. UM, WE, THERE ARE SOME, THERE ARE SOME INTERESTING POINTS THERE THAT ARE WORTH TO CONSIDER THAT WHAT IS THE, WITHIN THE REALM OF THE COMMISSION. ABSOLUTELY. BUT A RECOMMENDATION WILL GO FORWARD TO COUNCIL AND THEN COUNCIL DECIDES IF THEY MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT OR NOT. SO THAT'S THE PIECE I CAN SPEAK TO. UH, YES, I KIND, THAT'S WHAT I KIND OF FEEL. IF IT'S A RECOMMENDATION, WE WOULD RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY DO THIS. THAT'S FINE. AND UH, BUT I ALSO WANNA, UH, OH, KRISTEN, OUR COMMISSIONER HASS. THANK YOU. I I'LL BE BRIEF. I JUST, I THINK THAT ALSO IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CONTRACTS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE AUSTIN PETS LIVES TAIL UP HERE EVERY MONTH REPORTING, WHICH IS STILL UNCLEAR TO ME WHY THAT'S HAPPENING. BUT, AND WE HAVE SOME PETS ALSO ON CITY PROPERTY INVOLVED IN CITY CONTRACTS. LIKE I THINK WE HAVE A BIGGER ISSUE [02:05:01] HERE. LIKE WE HAVE UNEQUAL TREATMENT OF DIFFERENT CONTRACTED PARTNERS ON CITY PROPERTY. WE HAVE DIFFERENT, LIKE I JUST DON'T FEEL LIKE WE HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION ABOUT THIS AND WE HAVE TO FOCUS ON THE ANIMALS THAT ARE BURDENING TAXPAYERS AND HARMING THE ANIMALS OF AUSTIN. AND SO I WOULD, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT THIS COMMISSION REALLY NEEDS TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND LOOK AT WHAT ARE WE FUNDING. WE'RE FACTORING AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF SPAY NEUTER RELATIVE TO OTHER CITIES. WE NEED TO GET A HANDLE ON THAT BEFORE I COULD EVER VOTE FOR ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR THIS. AND, AND EVEN THOUGH IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, PARTICULARLY AROUND COMMUNITY CAT ISSUES AND BIG DOGS. UH, COMMISSIONER MITCHELL, THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, I, I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AND AGAIN, WE'LL ECHO THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY THAT WENT THROUGH THIS. CAUSE I KNOW THAT THIS IS A, A LOT OF OF TIME AND I, I DO APPRECIATE IT AND I THINK THIS IS A GREAT JUMPING OFF POINT FOR MORE DISCUSSION. BUT MY TWO QUESTIONS WOULD BE THESE, FIRST OF ALL, UM, AND IT KIND OF GOES TO SOME OF THESE CONTRACTING ISSUES. I DON'T KNOW IF THE GROUP LOOKED INTO, SO I'M THROWING THE QUESTION OUT THERE WHETHER OR NOT THE ADDITIONAL SPAY NEUTER SURGERIES THAT WOULD THEN BE FUNDED IF, IF THERE ARE THE RESOURCES, YOU KNOW, THE HUMAN RESOURCES TO DO THAT, UM, AND WHETHER OR NOT THOSE COULD BE CARRIED OUT IF WE THROW MONEY AT THAT. AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION WOULD JUST BE, I THINK, I DON'T REMEMBER WHO MADE THE COMMENT, BUT SOMEBODY HAD COMMENTED THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF CITIZENS WANT LOW-COST BAY NEUTER. AND SO AGAIN, TO THE, THE COMMISSION'S, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUS FOCUS ON DATA, EVERYBODY HERE IS INTERESTED IN DATA. UM, I'D BE INTERESTED IN SEEING THE DATA THAT SUPPORTS THAT. YOU KNOW, IF, IF THE GROUP HAD GONE OUT AND SPOKEN WITH FOLKS AND, AND HAD SOME DATA ON THAT, THAT'D BE, I THINK REALLY HELPFUL TO SEE. THANKS VERY MUCH. I CAN SPEAK TO WHETHER OR NOT THERE'LL BE STAFF AVAILABLE. SO EMANCIPET CURRENTLY DOES NOT HAVE STAFF TO STAFF A FIFTH DAY. UM, THEY ARE WORKING TO GET GEARED BACK UP TO PROVIDE THE FOUR THAT THEY'RE ALREADY CONTRACTED FOR. UM, BUT DO HAVE, WOULD LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING FUTURE CAPACITY TO DO FIVE DAYS. AUSTIN HUMANE SOCIETY DOES CURRENTLY HAVE STAFFING. WE ARE ON TREND TO ACTUALLY DO MORE THAN THE ALLOTTED NUMBER. IT'S ABOUT GETTING THEM THE MONEY TO DO SO. UM, AND YOU KNOW, THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA RECENTLY PUT OUT A A, A PAPER ON THE BACKLOG OF SPAY NEUTER AND ITS EFFECTS ON ANIMAL SHELTERS. SO THERE IS A DIRECT EFFECT OF UNALTERED ANIMALS ON ANIMAL SHELTERS IF THERE ARE MEMBERS OF THIS COUNCIL THAT CHOOSE TO BELIEVE OTHERWISE. I THINK THAT'S UNFORTUNATE FOR OUR COMMUNITY. BUT THERE, THERE IS PA THERE ARE PAPERS I HAD ACTUALLY FORWARDED ONE TO, UM, MS. HALL TO BE INCLUDED IN, IN, UM, THIS INFORMATION THAT IS LOOKING AT THE IMPACT ON ANIMAL SHELTERS. SO THE INFORMATION'S THERE, UM, YOU CAN FIND IT, YOU CAN READ OVER IT, YOU CAN DECIDE IF YOU WANNA CHANGE YOUR OPINIONS OR NOT. UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, NIELSEN HAD A COMMENT AND THEN WE'LL DO NEWHOUSE AFTER THAT. YEAH, AND I, I WOULD JUST WANNA SAY THAT, UM, COMMISSIONER, WAS IT MITCHELL WHO'S IN THE BROWN? UH, I I THINK BOTH OF HER POINTS, HER QUESTIONS ARE ADDRESSED IN THE, IN THE NARRATIVE. AND, UM, FROM MY RECOLLECTION, IT WAS DURING THE MEETING WITH EMANCIPET THAT EMANCIPET ACTUALLY ASKED FOR THE FIFTH DAY BECAUSE THEY AC THEY DO BELIEVE THEY WILL BE AT CAPACITY AND THEY ARE OUT IN THE CLINIC AND THEY SEE HOW IN DEMAND THEY ARE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY AND THEY SEE HOW IN DEMAND THEIR, THEIR CLINICS ARE AND HOW THEY AREN'T ABLE TO SERVE EVERYBODY WHO SHOWS UP DESPERATELY WANT WANTING THOSE SERVICES. SO THEY ACTUALLY WANT TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A FIFTH DAY OF THESE SERVICES BECAUSE THERE'S OBVIOUS DEMAND IN THE COMMUNITY. UM, AND, AND I GUESS I ALSO WANTED TO SAY THAT EVERY DOG AND CAT CURRENTLY AT THE SHELTER WAS ONCE A PUPPY OR A KITTEN, AND MANY OF THEM WERE IN HOMES BEFORE. SO THE EASE OF BEING ABLE TO ADOPT OUT A PUPPY, ESPECIALLY A LARGE RELATIVE EASE OF ADOPTING OUT A LARGE BREED PUPPY DOES NOT PREVENT IT OR DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT IT'S NEVER GONNA NEED SERVICES AT THE SHELTER LATER ON. IN FACT, UM, FOR CERTAIN PERCENTAGES, THEY WILL VERY LIKELY NEED SHELTER SERVICES LATER ON. SO, UM, DOGS AND CATS GETTING PREGNANT AND HAVING PUPPIES AND KITTENS DO CONTRIBUTE TO OUR ISSUES IN THE SHELTER. COMMISSIONER NEWHOUSE, THANK YOU. UM, A COUPLE OF THINGS BECAUSE ON IN PAST YEARS ON THE COMMISSION, WE'VE ASKED FOR REPORTING, UM, UM, FROM EMANCIPATE AND FROM THE HUMANE SOCIETY FOR ANY MONEY THAT HAS BEEN ALLOCATED TO HELP THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND [02:10:01] THE PEOPLE'S ANIMALS, AND WE'VE NOT RECEIVED REPORTING. SO I THINK ONE THING THAT'S IMPORTANT IS, UH, IF WE'RE ASKING TO SEND MORE MONEY, I THINK IT SHOULD BE REPORTED UPON ON WHO'S BEING HELPED, WHAT ZIP CODE, WHETHER THEY'RE OWNED, STRAY RESCUE, WHAT ARE THEY? WE DON'T EVEN KNOW FOR THE MONEY THAT'S CURRENTLY BEING HANDED OUT, WE'RE NOT RECEIVING REPORTING FOR IT. SO BEFORE MORE MONEY WOULD GO, I THINK WE'D WANT TO BE ABLE TO GO THROUGH THE DATA ON WHAT'S CURRENTLY, UM, BEING SPENT. BUT THE OTHER THING YOU KEEP SAYING THAT PEOPLE WANT LOW-COST SPAY NEUTER, AND I'M SURE THEY DO, BUT PEOPLE ALSO WANT THE STRAYS IN THE COMMUNITY TO HAVE A SAFE PLACE TO GO AND WANT HELP WITH THAT. AND THAT'S NOT HELPING EITHER. IF, IF THE STRAYS WERE GOING INTO THE SHELTER, THE SHELTER HAS THE FUNDING TO BE ABLE TO SPAY NEUTER THOSE ANIMALS AS THEY GO THROUGH THE DOORS, BUT THAT'S NOT HAPPENING. SO I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF WANTS RIGHT NOW IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND I THINK THAT WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT, UH, AS A WHOLE, WHAT ARE THE, WHAT IS THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER RESPONSIBLE FOR? WHAT IS THEIR MISSION STATEMENT? WHAT ARE THE ORDINANCES SAY? ARE WE MEETING THOSE BEFORE WE START THROWING MONEY AT THINGS THAT MAYBE DON'T HELP US MEET THINGS THAT WE'RE FALLING BEHIND ON? THANK YOU, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER NORTON. THANK YOU. UM, IF, UM, THIS RECOMMENDATION, UM, SADLY DOESN'T PASS TO HELP OUR CITIZENS, UM, THIS IS A CLARIFYING QUESTION FOR, UM, MS. PAUL OR, OR, UM, CHARNEY OR, UM, AM I CORRECT THAT A COUNCIL MEMBER OR PERHAPS AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER COULD STILL HAVE IT ADDED TO A COUNCIL AGENDA, UM, WITHOUT GOING THROUGH THE COMMISSION? I MEAN, IT CAN GO THROUGH THE COMMISSION, BUT THEY CAN CERTAINLY RECOMMEND MAKE THEIR RECOMMENDATION WITHOUT THAT. YES, CERTAINLY THEY COULD. UH, YES. I THINK THAT'S THE GENERAL ANSWER. I, I DID JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT THIS IS P THIS IS POSTED TO PRESENT A REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE WORKING GROUP. THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT ACTION NEEDS TO BE HAPPENED TONIGHT. THERE COULD BE A FUTURE ITEM PROPOSED THAT WE REVIEW THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE WORKING GROUP AT A LATER MEETING. UH, AND ACTUALLY I WOULD PROBABLY SUGGEST THAT CUZ IT'S NOT REALLY POSTED TO TAKE ACTION TO ADOPT THE RECOMMENDATIONS, IT'S JUST THE REPORT AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE WORKING GROUP. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT HELPS ANY OF THE DISCUSSION. I WANNA MENTION THAT, THAT THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT. UM, ANY CITY COUNCIL MEMBER CAN, CAN, CAN WRITE UP, UH, UH, PROPOSE OR ACTION AND PASS THROUGH THE CITY COUNCIL AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO SAY A WORD TO US . THEY CAN ALSO WRITE UP SOMETHING AND THEN BRING IT BACK DOWN TO US, GET OUR APPROVAL SAYING, YOU KNOW, I WANNA PRESENT THIS AS CITY COUNCIL. I WANT, I WOULD LIKE YOUR APPROVAL. I MEAN, I BROUGHT STUFF LIKE THAT UP TO THIS COMMISSION MYSELF. MM-HMM. . SO THOSE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS TO DO IT. I ALSO DO WANNA SAY, UM, THAT A A REALLY BIG, I GO TO A LOT OF CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS NOW, AND A REALLY BIG ISSUE WITH THE CITY COUNCIL IS EQUITY. AND ONE OF THE THING, IF THE, AND, AND THEN THE OTHER, OTHER BIG ISSUE IS MONEY. SO WHAT WOULD MAKE THIS PROPOSAL TO ME? I THINK, UH, I, I, I HAVE A TENDENCY TO WANNA SUPPORT THIS BECAUSE I HAVE A STRONG BELIEVEMENT BELIEVE IN, IN, IN SPAY NEUTER. BUT WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS IF YOU COULD PUT SOME DOLLAR AMOUNTS, LIKE GO TALK TO EMANCIPATE ABOUT HOW MUCH WOULD THAT COST GO? IT'S HOW PUT SOME DOLLAR AMOUNTS ON THIS. CUZ FIRST OF ALL, THEN THAT LETS PEOPLE WHO MIGHT HAVE A, LIKE ONE THING MORE THAN THE OTHER SAY, WELL, LET'S, I LIKE THIS. YOU KNOW, THEN PART OF IT COULD GET PASSED IF NOT EVERYTHING, WHICH, YOU KNOW, AS POLITICS. UM, THEN ANOTHER ISSUE IS DEFINE IT IN EQUITY. BECAUSE YOU KNOW, WHEN I, COMMISSIONER HASEN SAID THIS ABOUT MORE YORKIES GETTING FIXED. I KNOW PEOPLE WHO, WHO, WHO TAKE, WHO JUST WAIT. I MEAN, AND THEY HAVE MONEY AND THEY WAIT UNTIL THEY CAN GET THEIR DOG OR CAT FIXED FOR FREE. AND IF IT HAS A FEW PUPPIES OR KITTENS IN BETWEEN, THEY DON'T CARE BECAUSE THEY'RE WAITING FOR THE STEEL COMPANY. AND THESE PEOPLE HAVE MONEY. AND THEN I ALSO KNOW PEOPLE WHO HAVE VERY LITTLE MONEY AT ALL AND DON'T REALLY KNOW ABOUT THE RESOURCE. THEY DON'T KNOW WHERE IT IS. AND, AND, AND, UH, COMMISSIONER. AND SO THIS IDEA ABOUT HAVING A MOBILE UNIT THAT'S [02:15:01] FUNDED WOULD BE AN IDEA THAT WOULD FLY MUCH BETTER. NOW, THERE MAY BE SOME EXPENSE TO THAT, BUT WOULD FLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE EQUITY LENS, WHICH THE BUMI, THE CITY COUNCIL'S, PUTTING THAT ON EVERYTHING. SO, UH, I KIND OF LIKE THE IDEA. WE, WE, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE, UH, IT'S A RECOMMENDATION AS AN ACTION. I LIKE THE IDEA OF PUTTING THIS ON THE, THE NEXT AGENDA DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION OR DISCUSS AN ACTION ITEM. AND MAYBE WE CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT AND GET A LITTLE MORE DATA, A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ON THE INDIVIDUAL PROPOSALS SO THAT SOMEONE LIKE SOMETHING MORE THAN OTHER IT CAN BE PICKED OUT JUST TO GIVE IT A BETTER CHANCE TO SUCCEED. SHARON NA, THIS IS, YES, COMMISSIONER ZITI CITED. THANK YOU. SO I ACTUALLY LIKE A LOT WHAT YOU TA UH, YOU BROUGHT THE WORD EQUITY AND UM, DEFINITELY THE, I THINK THIS IMPACTS MA UH, IF WE PUT GUARD RAIL OIL IMPACT MAINLY, UM, UH, ECONOMICALLY DEPRESSED AREAS IN NOT ONLY AREAS, BUT, UH, HISPANICS, BLACKS, ET CETERA. UH, TYPICALLY, I'M NOT SAYING THAT THEY'RE NOW OTHER RACES, BUT ECONOMICALLY DEPRESSED AREAS WILL BENEFIT A LOT FROM THIS. AND, UM, WE NEED TO LOOK AT THAT. I, AT THE SAME TIME, I KEEP THINKING WHAT I'VE SEEN OF THE NUMBERS. THE CITY AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER, IT'S UNDER BUDGET, HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN UNDER BUDGET. SO I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY WE CANNOT, UM, PROVIDE, UH, IN A SMART WAY FOR THE BAY NEUTER. ALSO THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS TALKING ABOUT, UH, TAKING CARE OF DOLLAR ISSUES WITH LARGE DOGS AND, UH, TENISHA GETTING MORE ANIMALS ADOPTED. SO I, I LIKE WHAT I SAW THE PROPOSAL FROM THIS GROUP WORK GROUP. THEY DID AN EXCELLENT JOB AND I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE HOMEWORK FROM THEM BASED ON THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS, UH, TO SHOW, UH, I DON'T KNOW, A SPREADSHEET OR I WOULD RECOMMEND REACHING OUT TO KRISTEN HANSEN SPECIFICALLY WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO HELP TO GET TO THE NEXT LEVEL. I THINK WE HAVE SOMETHING REALLY GOOD GOING ON HERE. THANK YOU. I'M HAPPY TO GATHER DATA TO GET THIS TO PASS. I AM ALSO UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE WITH STRONG OBJECTIONS TO PUTTING MONEY TOWARDS SPAY NEUTER. NO MATTER HOW MUCH DATA I BACK THIS UP WITH, I, I WOULDN'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS OF WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK OR BELIEVE. I JUST WOULDN'T DO THAT. JUST, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANNA, IF YOU ARE WILLING TO GET MORE DATA, I, WE UNDERSTAND THAT'S A LOT OF WORK. YOU'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK ALREADY. THAT'S A LOT OF MORE WORK. IF YOU ARE WILLING TO DO THAT, THEN I THINK WE'LL FIND MORE FRIENDLY. UH, I'M ABSOLUTELY WILLING TO DO THAT. IF COMMISSIONERS ARE WILLING TO COME TO THE CONVERSATION WITH AN OPEN MIND, I WOULD BE, I WOULD BE VERY ABLE TO. DO WE ASSUME GOOD FAITH? YES. ASSUME GOOD FAITH. THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT. WE ASSUME GOOD FAITH. ASSUME GOOD FAITH. YES. A MEDIUM TO LARGE FEMALE DOG AND NEED TO WAIT NINE MONTHS TO GET SPAY. YEAH. YEAH. I, I ALSO PERSONALLY, THE, THE ONLY DOGS I, I'VE NEVER PERSONALLY HAVE A TROUBLE WITH AN AGGRESSIVE DOG THAT I COULDN'T DEAL WITH. UH, I HAD A MORE AGGRESSIVE CAT ONCE THAT LEFT THE SCAR FOR YEARS. UH, BUT THE, THE, THE, THE, THE MOST AGGRESSIVE DOGS I'VE HEARD TROUBLE WITH ARE DOGS THAT ARE NOT SPA, ARE NOT NEUTERED, AND THAT THAT CAN THAT, BUT THAT'S JUST MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. SO I I'M INCLINED TO THINK THAT THIS WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO HELP, YOU KNOW, SOME OTHER ISSUES WE HAVE IN THIS CITY. MAYBE SO, BUT I, I, I THINK, AND, AND THE, THE, THE MONEY IS GOING TO BE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. YOU KNOW, I WAS AT THE STATE LEGISLATURE TODAY FOR A COMPLETELY OTHER REASON, BUT, UH, THEY'RE PREPARING A BILL TO CUT PROPERTY TAXES. THEY'RE PAR WE TALKED ABOUT LAST TIME THIS JUDGE WHO, OR, OR, OR THE, [02:20:01] THE, UH, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL WHO MAY DECIDE THAT IF YOU SPARE NEUTER, UH, YOU KNOW, FERAL CATS, YOU OWN THEM, YOU KNOW, ARE, I MEAN THERE WE HAVE ALL THIS LIKE STUFF HANGING IN THERE. AND I, SO I THINK A DOLLAR AMOUNT ON THESE THAT CAN BE TEASED OUT, ONE FROM THE OTHER, UH, WHERE WE CAN BE A LITTLE SELECTIVE IF, IF THE OPINION GOES THAT WAY, I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL. AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, I I, DOES EVERYBODY AGREE THAT, UH, CHRIS, UH, COMMISSIONER HASSAN, THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU. MY NAME IS PRONOUNCED HASSAN. UM, AND, UH, COMMISSIONER VAL, THAT VALDI SAID SOMETHING IMPORTANT, WHICH IS, IT IS AN EQUITY ISSUE. AND I THINK THAT WHAT I WOULD ASK IS WE, SO WE KNOW THAT IN ANY GIVEN YEAR, ABOUT TWO TO 3% OF THE ANIMALS IN A COMMUNITY WILL INTERFACE WITH ANIMAL SERVICES IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. THAT LEAVES US OPEN TO A MASSIVE NUMBER OF ANIMALS THAT HAVE NEEDS AND ARE NOT GONNA INTERFACE WITH US. AND SO WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT RESOURCES ARE ALWAYS GONNA BE VERY LIMITED NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE PUT TOWARDS IT. AND WHAT I THINK IS THAT WHAT WE NEED TO CONSIDER IS WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT WHAT'S ENTERING AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER, WHAT'S GETTING STUCK THERE, WHAT'S AT RISK OF EUTHANASIA AND HOW ARE WE ALLOCATING SPAY NEUTER FUNDING, UM, TO THOSE NEEDS. SO I WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE KIND OF NEED TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT HISTORICAL FUNDING AND WHAT SPECIES AND SIZE OF ANIMALS IT'S GONE TO, HOW THAT'S IMPACTED INTAKE. AND REALLY CONSIDER SHOULD TAXPAYER DOLLARS BE DIRECTED TOWARDS A COMMUNITIES WHERE THEY'RE, THEY ARE ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED, THE POORER PARTS OF THE CITY WHERE PEOPLE HAVE LESS ACCESS TO RESOURCES AND REALLY NEED THOSE. UM, B PLACE THAT TO SPECIFICALLY MEDIUM AND LARGE DOGS AND COMMUNITY CATS, ALL OF THEM. UM, BUT I WORRY THAT WE HAVEN'T TARGETED, WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY INCOME REQUIREMENTS AND THERE ARE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT THAT. LIKE, I DON'T KNOW THAT I'M WELL-VERSED ENOUGH TO KNOW, BUT I DO KNOW THAT HISTORICALLY TAXPAYER FUNDING DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH CHECK ON IT RIGHT NOW. AND SO WE ARE STERILIZING THE TAXPAYER DOLLARS ANIMALS WE PROBABLY SHOULDN'T BE. AND WE NEED TO GET A GRIP ON THAT. LIKE, I THINK WHEN I SAY GO BACKWARDS, I BELIEVE, UH, YOU KNOW, I KNOW ALL THOSE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA STUDIES, WE'VE GOT TO KEEP UP WITH STERILIZATION, BUT WE HAVE TO DO IT IN A WAY THAT MAKES LOGICAL SENSE FOR WHAT THE TAXPAYER BASE CAN AFFORD IN THIS CITY AND HOW THAT CAN HAVE THE MAXIMUM NUMBER FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED AND FOR THEIR PETS. AND SO THAT'S WHAT I DON'T THINK WE'VE DONE SO FAR, BUT, UM, I HOPE THAT WE CAN WORK TOGETHER ON THIS. AND I'M HAPPY TO LEND MY, UM, AS MUCH INFORMATION AS I CAN AS YOU ALL KIND OF CONTINUE TO THINK THROUGH THIS. OKAY. SO THEN, UH, UH, IS EVERYBODY AGREEABLE TO, LET'S DO A LITTLE MORE WORK ON THIS. GET IN TOUCH WITH COMMISSIONER HASSAN AND WORK ON AND, AND, AND WORK ON SOMETHING AND BRING IT TO THIS CAN, BECAUSE THE WORKING GROUP IS STILL, HAS NOT BEEN, YOU KNOW, DISBANDED YET. SO YOU CAN BRING A MORE DETAILED, UH, MAYBE NUK THING TO US WITH A, YOU INCORPORATING THE THINGS SUGGESTIONS WE'VE MADE. IS THAT OKAY WITH EVERYBODY? THAT'S GOOD. OKAY. [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS] WHICH MEANS IT BRINGS US TO FUTURE GIN ITEMS. AND LET ME JUST, I, I WANNA SAY A FEW THINGS ABOUT THESE CUZ WE ADD A BIT OF A, YOU KNOW, UH, SNAFU, FIRST OF ALL WITH AGENDA ITEMS, WE WANT TO HAVE THE AGENDA ITEMS SUBMITTED ON BY MONDAY BEFORE OUR MONDAY MEETING AT LEAST A WEEK. AND THAT IS PROBABLY PUTTING IT A LITTLE TIGHT, UH, AS I LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU SUBMIT YOUR AGENDA ITEM, YOU WANNA THINK ABOUT THE WORDING, YOU WANNA HAVE SOME REALLY GOOD WORDING, AND I CAN HELP YOU WITH THAT IF YOU WANNA CALL ME AND, AND, AND WE CAN RUN IT BY UH, UH, STEPHANIE, CUZ SHE CERTAINLY KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT. UM, AND THEN IF, IF YOU, IF THERE'S, IF THERE'S AN ACTION YOU WANNA TAKE, IT'S NICE TO HAVE THAT ACTION WRITTEN UP. LIKE, TH THIS WAS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THAT COULD HAVE BEEN AN ACTION ITEM THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, UH, WELL WRITTEN UP SO THAT WE CAN POST, BECAUSE WE GOTTA RUN IT THROUGH A COUPLE FILTERS HERE. AND I'M STILL LEARNING ABOUT HOW THOSE FILTERS RUN AND WORK AND I, YOU KNOW, SO WE, WE GOTTA DO IT AND, AND IRON THE STUFF OUT AHEAD OF TIME. UH, AND IT ONLY TAKES TWO OF YOU TO PUT ON AN ITEM, BUT THEN WHEN YOU BRING AN ITEM AND YOU HAVE A WORD, THEN, THEN YOU PRESENT IT. THE, WHOEVER WROTE THAT ITEM, DO YOU PRESENT IT? AND TWO OF YOU PUT IT ON THE AGENDA. AND, AND, UH, SO IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANNA ADD TO THAT? UH, NO, I'M ANTICIPATING QUESTIONS AND I WILL SEE IF THERE ARE SOME, [02:25:02] BUT, BUT, BUT YES. YES. UH, COMMISSIONER HASSAN, I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE AN AGENDA ITEM THAT WE ESTABLISHED CRITERIA FOR WHAT PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS DO AND DON'T NEED TO REPORT MONTHLY TO THIS COMMISSION. I, I FEEL LIKE I KNOW LIKE EVERY KITTEN THAT'S ENTERED AUSTIN PELI FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS, AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE HAVE ONE SET CRITERIA FOR ONE PARTNER THAT'S ON COUNTY PROPERTY IN PARTNERSHIP AND NOT ANOTHER. WE HAVE NUMEROUS PARTNERS, NUMEROUS CONTRACTS, AND I DON'T CARE EITHER WAY, ALTHOUGH I THINK THESE MEETINGS ARE TOO LONG. BUT I DO THINK WE NEED TO HAVE A DISCUSSION, UM, ABOUT WHAT, WHAT IS THE CRITERIA FOR HAVING TO SHOW UP HERE EVERY MONTH OR REPORT WHEN OUR OWN LEADERSHIP DOESN'T SHOWING UP AND REPORTING A BOSTON ANIMAL CENTER. SO, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE AN AGENDA ITEM FOR DISCUSSION ON THAT TOPIC. UH, OKAY. SO COULD YOU WRITE THAT UP AND GET A SECOND AND SUBMIT IT TO, UH, TO STEPHANIE HALL IN THE, IN THE NEXT WEEK? CAN YOU DO IT NOW? I MEAN, I NEED SOME, CAN YOU CLOSE THAT NOW AND GET A SECOND HERE, OR I HAVE TO, YES, COMMISSIONER, YOU CAN ABSOLUTELY DO THIS. YOU CAN ABSOLUTELY DO THAT. NOW. I, I THINK I NEED A, I WOULD NEED A LITTLE BIT OF CLARIFICATION ON WHO YOU WOULD WANT TO BE HERE. THAT'S NOT WHAT I JUST HEARD IS NOT SOMETHING I WOULD BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN UPON MY UNDERSTANDING. AND AGAIN, I'VE ONLY BEEN ATTENDING THE COMMISSION MEETING, ALTHOUGH I'VE BEEN OBSERVING FOR SOME TIME. I'VE ONLY BEEN ATTENDING IN THIS CAPACITY FOR A FEW MONTHS. AND IT SEEMS AS IF THERE'S ALWAYS A RE A REQUEST TO HAVE A STAFF REPORT BY ANIMAL SERVICES AND THEN A REPORT BY AUSTIN PETZ ALIVE. I DON'T KNOW THE HISTORIC BACKING FOR THAT. IF YOU ARE WANTING SOMEONE ELSE TO PRESENT, THAT CERTAINLY CAN BE REQUESTED AND WE CAN ASK THAT. THIS IS WHERE THINGS GET HUNG UP. WE CAN CERTAINLY ASK ANY STAFF DEPARTMENT OR ANY ENTITY TO COME PRESENT AT THE COMMISSION MEETING. THAT DOES NOT MEAN THEY'RE GOING TO BE HERE OR THAT WE CAN GET THEM. I KNOW COMMISSIONER MAGULA HAS EXPERIENCED THIS GREATLY. WE'RE TRYING TO GET SOMEONE HERE TO PRESENT ON AN ITEM SHE'S REQUESTED, AND I'M HAVING A HARD TIME GETTING STAFF TO ATTEND. SO I THINK THERE JUST NEEDS TO BE A LITTLE BIT OF AWARENESS OF THAT. SO I GUESS I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE WHAT YOU'RE ASKING ME TO FIND OUT FOR YOU, BUT AS A COMMISSION YOU CAN REQUEST TO HAVE ANYTHING COME TO YOUR AGENDA. I SENT OUT AN EMAIL EARLIER THAT REMINDED OF THE PARAMETERS THAT THIS COMMISSION IS, UM, WITHIN, IN CITY CODE. AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ENCOURAGE. WE WOULD ENCOURAGE AGENDA ITEMS AND THE BRIEFINGS YOU'RE REQUESTING THE REPORTS, YOU'RE REQUESTING TO STAY WITHIN THAT PARAMETER, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, YOU CAN MAKE THE REQUEST. IT'S JUST, PLEASE REMEMBER THE SECOND PIECES. THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN I CAN GET SOMEONE HERE OR THAT I COULD HAVE A REPORT HERE. NO, I, I I UNDERSTAND YOU AND I UNDERSTAND THAT. I'M JUST REQUESTING AN ITEM FOR DISCUSSION OF THE CRITERIA FOR WHAT CONTRACTED OR OTHER PARTNERS OF AUSTIN AND ANIMAL CENTER NEED TO PRESENT TO THIS COMMISSION. BECAUSE IT IS NOT HISTORICAL THAT AUSTIN PET PRESENT EVERY MONTH. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHEN THAT STARTED. BUT THESE MEETINGS ARE TOO LONG. AND SO I'M ASKING IT BE AN AGENDA ITEM SO WE CAN MAKE SOME DECISION AND PERHAPS HAVE EACH PARTNER PRESENT ONCE A YEAR SO THAT THE COMMISSION ISN'T, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EMAN VET TONIGHT. WE'RE TOTALLY BLIND. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEIR DATA SAYS. WE CAN I, WHERE WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT PET LAG, I CAN TALK ABOUT IT ALL DAY. SO I THINK WE NEED, I DO THINK THAT IT'S AN APPROPRIATE DISCUSSION ITEM, UM, FOR, FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION FOR AT LEAST WHAT WE ARE GOING TO PUT ON THE AGENDA IN THE FUTURE. UH, I, JASON, I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN HELP ANSWER THAT A A LITTLE BIT. THE, THE LICENSE AGREEMENT HAS A PROVISION THERE THAT THE APA HAS TO PRESENT. I THINK IT'S QUARTERLY. THEY HAVE TO GIVE Y'ALL A MONTHLY REPORT JUST BY PAPER. I THOUGHT SOMEONE HAD REQUESTED IT FOR THEM TO COME BY MONTHLY, BUT REALLY THEY'RE JUST OBLIGATED TO COME QUARTERLY. YES. ALSO, THERE IS A STATE LAW THAT SAYS THAT, THAT ANY, UH, WE CAN REQUEST REPORTS I THINK TWICE A YEAR FROM ANY SHELTER IN THE COUNTY OR THERE, THERE'S SOMETHING IN A STATE LAW THAT WE NEED TO LOOK UP. I, I, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER CLINTON'S GONE, BUT THERE'S SOMETHING IN A STATE LAW THAT THAT GIVES US SOME KIND OF POWER OVER SHELTERS. UM, SO WE'LL HAVE TO LOOK THAT, BUT THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. BUT, UH, WHAT, WHAT IT WOULD BE REALLY GOOD TO DO IS TO COME UP WITH, CUZ THIS IS THE WORK OF IT TO BE HONEST WITH YOU. I MEAN, UH, IF IT, MY EXPERIENCE IS IF YOU WANT AN ITEM TO, TO, TO, YOU KNOW, COME UP AND, AND SHOW IS THE WORK OF IT IS WRITE OUT CLEARLY WHAT YOU WANT AND ASSEMBLE THE BACKUP. LIKE, UH, COMMISSIONER HASSAN DID A GREAT JOB ON ASSEMBLING SOME BACKUP FOR WHAT YOU WANTED TO DISCUSS. AND AS, AS DID YOU ALSO, WE, AND THEN YOU, YOU PRESENT IT AND THEN IT'S GONNA BE MUCH EASIER FOR US TO WORK IT TOGETHER. I THINK THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT ITEM. I'M NOT SURE HOW TO WORD IT. JUST LISTENING TO YOU TALK ABOUT IT. I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY HOW TO WORD IT. WHAT MIGHT BE THE BEST WAY TO WORD IT? MAY WE, WE MIGHT BE BEST GOING THROUGH ONE, ONE, UM, ORGANIZATION AT A TIME OR GROUPS [02:30:01] AT A TIME, OR THEY MIGHT NOT COME. THERE'S SOME ORGANIZATIONS WE CAN'T, YOU KNOW, THAT MIGHT NOT SHOW UP. UH, DO YOU HAVE A COMMENT? YEAH. SO AUSTIN PET LIVE IS HERE BECAUSE IT'S DIRECTED BY COUNCIL IN THEIR LICENSE AGREEMENT. UM, THEY HAVE TO BE HERE QUARTERLY AND THERE'S A LIST OF WHAT THEY HAVE TO GIVE, WHAT DATA THEY HAVE TO GIVE US. SO IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE COULD SAY, OH, DON'T COME COUNCIL SAYS IN THEIR LICENSE AGREEMENT THAT THEY APPROVE THAT THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE THIS TO US. UM, I BELIEVE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER IS PART OF THE CODE. UM, THERE'S A LIST OF WHAT THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE TO US. UM, I DON'T KNOW WHO NEGOTIATED THE EMANCIPATE, I ASSUME THAT'S CITY LEGAL. SO I DON'T IF WE MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS. THEY'RE ALL INDIVIDUAL LICENSE AGREEMENTS THAT GET INDIVIDUAL, UM, OPTIONS. BUT I CAN SEND IT TO YOU SO YOU COULD SEE WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. I HAVE THE APA LICENSE AGREEMENT AND YOU COULD SEE, WELL, THEY'RE NOT, NOT LICENSED TO PRESENT MONTHLY AND I THINK IT'S A WASTE OF OUR TIME. NO, BUT THEY WANTED TO, WANTS TO SEE TIME AT THESE MEETINGS. SO, UH, I AM, I WILL WORK ON AN AGENDA ITEM. I WILL WORK ON GETTING A SECOND FOR THAT AND I WILL WORK ON BOARDING FOR THAT. SO THANK YOU. UH, I HAVE AN AGENDA ITEM THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER CLINTON HAS SECONDED. I DIDN'T GET IT IN IN TIME. MY AGENDA ITEM IS, UM, UH, DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE CITY, HIRING A, UM, UH, A BAT SPECIALIST, UH, WHO WOULD WORK IN, UH, THE WATER UTILITY WITH THE BAAS CANYONLAND PRESERVE. UH, THERE SEEMS TO BE A REAL INTEREST. WE GOT NOWHERE WITH THE STUFF WE PASSED AND ALL THE NICE STUFF WE PASSED. IT WENT NOWHERE, NOWHERE. SO, UH, BUT, BUT THE BAAS CANYON PRESERVE COULD USE SUCH SPECIALISTS AND THAT SPECIALIST COULD WORK ON THE ENTIRE CITY AND PICK UP THE RABID BATS AND APOS WOULDN'T HAVE TO DO IT. SO ANYWAY, THAT ITEM, AND I'LL WORK ON THAT EXACT WORDING AND EVERYTHING, UH, ANY OTHER ITEMS? OKAY, WELL, UH, Y OH YES, UH, COMMISSIONER JAR, I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER ITEMS TO REQUEST TO ADD TO THE AGENDA, BUT I DID WANNA MAKE A REQUEST OF THE CLERK'S OFFICE REGARDING THE TIMING FOR POSTING BACKUP MATERIALS FOR THE FUTURE AND WONDERED IF WE, I KNOW ONE OTHER COMMISSIONER AL ALREADY MENTIONED IT, BUT HAVING ITEMS POSTED ON MONDAY OR LATE IN THE DAY ON MONDAY MAKES IT REALLY HARD FOR THOSE OF US, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT WORK ON MONDAYS AND, UM, TO BE ABLE TO REVIEW AND COME TO THESE MEETINGS PREPARED AND WITH QUESTIONS. AND SO I'M JUST HOPING MAYBE THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO COMMIT TO POSTING AGENDA ITEMS AND BACKUP ITEMS AND MATERIALS BY FRIDAY MORNING IN THE FUTURE. UM, WE WILL DO OUR BEST. THERE ARE, THIS WEEK WAS ROUGH. I'VE TALKED TO SEVERAL COMMISSIONERS. UH, ANYWAY, THE, SOME OF THE ISSUES WERE WITH ME PERSONALLY AND JUST NOT HAVING ENOUGH TIME THIS WEEK TO GET THINGS DONE. BUT WHAT I WILL SAY IS FRIDAY IS WHEN WE'RE GONNA POST THE AGENDA, AND I WASN'T ABLE TO POST AGENDA TILL 3:00 PM ON FRIDAY. I CANNOT POST BACKUP BEFORE I POST THE AGENDA. SO THE EARLIEST I COULD HAVE GOTTEN BACK UP ON THERE WAS 3:00 PM AND I POSTED EVERYTHING THAT I SAW, COMMISSIONERS POINTED OUT THINGS THAT WERE MISSING. THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY IS MONDAY AT 10:00 AM SO THERE ARES JUST SOME THINGS THAT JUST THE TIMING JUST DOESN'T PERMIT. WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THINGS POSTED AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. I HAVE NOT SEEN YET THE ABILITY TO POST AN AGENDA BEFORE FRIDAY. THERE ARE TOO MANY THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING LAST MINUTE, LAST MINUTE REQUEST, LAST MINUTE CHANGES. AND I, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, BUT WE DO DEFINITELY MAKE A GOAL TO POST UP ALL THE BACKUP THAT WE HAVE AT THE SAME TIME WE'RE POSTING THE AGENDA, BUT IT CANNOT BE DONE EARLIER THAN THAT. RIGHT. NO, I UNDERSTAND THAT. THANK YOU. OKAY, ANY OTHER ITEMS? OKAY, WELL THE, THIS IS COMMISSIONER . YES. SO, UH, MY QUESTION IS, IS BECAUSE OF THE TIMING OF POSTING THE BACKUP DATA AND THE AGENDA, IF IT'S SO DIFFICULT AND IT'S NOT FRIDAY AND CANNOT BE DONE TILL MONDAY, SHOULD THIS MEETING NOT NOT BE ON MONDAYS ? BECAUSE I MEAN, WE MEET ONLY ONCE A MONTH AND WE WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE AND BE REALLY WELL PREPARED FOR THE MEETINGS. I'M JUST THROWING THAT OUT THAT WELL, I I WILL TELL YOU THAT JUST GETTING A SPOT IN THE ROOM IS SOMETHING YOU GOTTA DO A YEAR AHEAD OF TIME. AND NO MATTER WHAT DAY WE POSTED IT, IT WOULD STILL HAVE TO BE THREE DAYS BEFORE. CORRECT. AND I [02:35:01] WOULD BET MY LAST DOLLAR THAT WHAT THAT THAT THOSE FRIDAY COMMISSION MEETINGS, WHICH I DON'T THINK THERE'S MANY, UH, SCRAMBLE ON WEDNESDAY. YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? I LIKE RIGHT. I DO. I MEAN, I I HEAR YOU. BELIEVE ME, I HEAR YOU. AND I I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND NEEDING THE TIME AND WANTING THE TIME. I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THAT TO YOU. BUT THIS, THIS IS A, A PROBLEM THAT A LOT OF COMMISSIONERS HAVE BECAUSE THEY'RE TRYING TO GET EVERYTHING IN WITH THE TOMA REQUIRED TIMELINE. AND IT IS, IT'S TIGHT. UH, IT, IT'S TIGHT. OKAY. ANY OTHER AGENDA ITEMS A WEEK AND THIS DISCUSSION CAN GO ON, CALL ME UP, EMAIL ME. UH, YOU KNOW, I TH THIS IS SOMETHING I'M INTERESTED IN AND I CAN HELP ANYONE AS BEST I CAN. AND, UM, UH, STEPHANIE HALL RESPONDS TO MY CALLS AND EMAILS SO WE CAN, WE, WE, NOT EVERYBODY IN THE CITY DOES THAT, BY THE WAY, . SO ANYWAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND THE MEETING IS A AGENDA, UH, IS, IS ADJOURNED AT, UH, EIGHT WHAT THIS IS 38, 39, 38, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. THANK YOU. YES, THANK YOU. WEATHER. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.