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07-12-2023 (Animal Shelter) Minutes %Aj f Nv Animal Shelter Advisory Board CITY OF WYLI E Minutes Regular Meeting July 12, 2023 — 6:00 pm Wylie Municipal Complex— Council Chambers 300 Country Club Road, Bldg. 100 Wylie, TX 75098 CALL TO ORDER Announce the presence of a Quorum. Dr. Brad Abraham called to order the Animal Shelter Advisory Board meeting at 6:04 pm. Board members present Shelia Patton, Lt. Matt Miller, Amber Porter, Jeff Forrester, Joe Webb, Laurie Black and Susan Cranford. Quorum is present. INVOCATION The invocation was given by Jeff Forrester. CITIZENS COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS Residents may address Council regarding an item that is not listed on the Agenda. Residents must fill out a non-agenda form prior to the meeting in order to speak. Council requests that comments be limited to three (3) minutes. In addition, Council is not allowed to converse, deliberate, or take action on any matter presented during citizen participation. REGULAR AGENDA 1. Consider and act upon an Animal Shelter Advisory Board Chair appointment for a term ending June 2024. (ASAB Chair) Board Action A motion was made by Joe Webb to nominate Dr. Brad Abraham as the ASAB Chair. Jeff Forrester seconded the nomination of Dr. Brad Abraham as the ASAB Chair. A vote was taken, and the motion passed unanimously. Minutes July 12,2023 Animal Shelter Advisory Board Page 1 2. Consider and act upon an Animal Shelter Advisory Board Vice Chair appointment for a term ending June 2024. (ASAB Chair) Board Action A motion was made by Joe Webb to nominate Amber Porter as the ASAB Vice Chair. Dr. Brad Abraham seconded the nomination of Amber Porter as the ASAB Vice Chair. A vote was taken, and the motion passed unanimously. 3. Consider and act upon the Animal Shelter Advisory Board minutes of April 12, 2023. (ASAB Chair) Board Action , A motion was made by Joe Webb to accept the Animal Shelter Advisory Board minutes of April 12, 2023, as presented. Dr. Brad Abraham seconded to accept the Animal Shelter Advisory Board minutes of April 12, 2023, as presented. A vote was taken, and the motion passed unanimously. 4. Consider and place on file the 2023 second-quarter statistical information for shelter operations.(ASAB Chair) Board Action A motion was made by Dr. Brad Abraham to accept and place on file the 2023 second-quarter statistical information for shelter operations, as presented. Jeff Forrester seconded to accept and place on file the 2023 second-quarter statistical information for shelter operations, as presented. A vote was taken, and the motion passed unanimously. Joe Webb asked what policy HRRC is. Lt. Matt Miller stated that Shelia Patton will explain the report. Shelia Patton explained the ASAB statistical report. She also explained that HRRC is a high risk rabies carrier. Joe Webb stated that trapped by residents is a large number, but they are not all wild animals. Shelia Patton explained what other animals mean in the ASAB statistical report. Shelia also describes the TNR report and our TNR program. She stated that the total number of TNR is down due to diseases at the shelter and the work of citizens and rescues working independently to TNR animals. Jeff Forrester stated that this report is exactly what he was asking for, and he thinks this report shows the TNR program is working. Dr. Brad Abraham asked if the map is everyone in the city that has TNR cats, and the report is just what the city has TNR. Shelia Patton responded that the map is every TNR the city has done since the program started, and the report is just the TNR cats from the second quarter. Lt. Matt Miller stated that normally the number of TNR cats in an area won't go down unless we have a caretaker that has a deceased TNR cat. Shelia Patton responded that it would depend on the caretakers. She thinks that the TNR program is working as well. Lt. Matt Miller asked if Shelia could explain why we want to separate the TNR cats from the domestic cats. Minutes July 12,2023 Animal Shelter Advisory Board Page 2 Shelia Patton explained the difference between a feral cat and a domesticated cat. She also stated just because a cat is in a trap does not mean it is feral. The officers scan every animal that comes into the shelter to ensure that the animal doesn't have an owner. These are wild feral animals, and they have a job to do in the neighborhood. They are also being tested and vaccinated for feline leukemia and for rabies. It is not a reason to euthanize an animal simply because of what it is. Joe Webb stated that this is a much more humane approach. He also stated that he likes what the city is doing with TNR. Joe Webb asked if we find a lot of feral cats at the parks. Shelia Patton responded that Animal Services does not set traps. The caretakers would need to trap the feral cats. We also have not had any reports of cats at the parks. Amber Porter stated that, in her experience that feral cats come mostly from mobile homes parks. Jeff Forrester explained what the city does to support residents with TNR. The goal of the program is to ensure there is a caretaker for each colony to care for the feral cats. WORK SESSION WSI. Discuss the status of the Board's recommendations related to current and future facility needs. Lt. Matt Miller stated that the board's recommendation of hiring a consultant has been pushed to the 2024 budget, which starts in October. We will still have to go through the whole process, but the $35,000 is in the budget. We also have another contracting group that has come out to the shelter to provide the city with estimates. The City Manager wants to see what we can do with the existing building. The goal is to use the building for operations of Animal Services and another building out front as an adoption center. This is going to take time, but he is excited about the improvements to the shelter that are being planned. Joe Webb asked if there has been a tracking of the population growth of the city and how many times the facility has been shut down for capacity reasons. Lt. Matt Miller responded that the shelter had not been shut down for capacity reasons. Shelia Patton stated that the closures are not due to capacity but due to diseases and our inability to have separate areas for sick animals. For example, if we have one sick cat in the intake room, that is enough to close the intake of cats because we don't have a place for the new animals coming in. Shelia also stated that she has been with the city for 17 years and she has seen the population grow, but she has not seen the shelter grow with it. This is just a renovation and not a fix-all, but she believes that the city is doing the best it can to improve the shelter. Joe Webb thinks it puts a lot of stress on the animals being at the shelter, whether for a short or long stay, and anything we can do to make the stays shorter is moving in the right direction. ADJOURNMENT Motion was made by Jeff Forrester and seconded by Shelia Patton to adjourn the meeting. With no further business before the board, the board's consensus was to adjourn at 6:46 pm. Minutes July 12,2023 Animal Shelter Advisory Board Page 3 ASAB Chair ATTEST: 1A� Shelia Patton, ASAB member Minutes July 12,2023 Animal Shelter Advisory Board Page 4