ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION OCTOBER 11, 2021, 6 PM AUSTIN CITY HALL, Room 1101 301 W. Second St. AUSTIN, TEXAS 78702 Some members of the Commission may be participating by videoconference. The meeting may be viewed online at http://www.austintexas.gov/watch-atxn-live AGENDA CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: Craig Nazor, Chair Nancy Nemer, Parliamentarian Palmer Neuhaus Edward Flores Monica Frenden Jo Anne Norton Lotta Smagula CALL TO ORDER CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first 10 speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda Ryan Clinton, Vice Chair Lisa Mitchell Katie Jarl Dr. Jon Brandes Yolanda Rodriguez-Pacheco Luis Herrera a. Review and approval of minutes from the September 13, 2021, Animal Advisory 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commission Meeting. 2. STAFF BRIEFINGS a. Austin Animal Center and Animal Services Reports. b. COVID Update. c. Office of the City Clerk Refresher Training: Roles and Responsibilities d. IT/Data Presentation, Austin Public Health IT e. Fire Code Requirements for Nonprofit and Commercial Animal Shelters and Boarding Facilities in Austin f. Austin Pets Alive! Quarterly Report 3. OLD BUSINESS: Update, Discussion and Possible Action a. Comparative Evaluations of Monthly Release Rates. b. Monthly Reporting of Data. c. Working Group on Off-Leash Dogs. d. Working Group on How to Increase Microchipping in the City of Austin. e. Shelter Space Issues Working Group. f. Austin Pets Alive!’s Future at the Town Lake Animal Center and the Maintenance of No Kill in Austin. g. Transferring Austin Animal Center Animals to Other Communities. 4. NEW BUSINESS: Discussion and Possible Action a. Fire Code Requirements for Nonprofit and Commercial Animal Shelters and Boarding Facilities in Austin 5. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 6. ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 hours) before the meeting date. Please call Belinda Hare at the Animal Services Office, at 512-978-0565, for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Animal Advisory Commission, please contact Board Liaison. Belinda Hare, 512-978-0565 or Belinda.Hare@austintexas.gov
Animal Advisory Commission Report Q3 2021 This report is intended to give a high level overview of Austin Pets Alive!’s lifesaving operations, with a focus on APA!’s impact on Travis county through our partnership with Austin Animal Center. Summary: Austin Pets Alive! (APA) continues to be the city of Austin’s largest partner in lifesaving and the largest subsidizer of the city’s budget to serve Austin animals. APA takes animals that have medical and behavioral issues that require a higher cost per animal than the average healthy animal in care. APA focuses on these animals in an effort to have a measurable effect on the live release rate at AAC. In July and August, of all animals transferred from Austin Animal Center to partners, APA took 80% and over 25 times the number taken by the other brick and mortar shelter in Austin. APA’s cost to care for the animals pulled this past quarter was approximately $500,000-$750,000. APA receives no funding from the City of Austin but does receive use of the TLAC property, which if on the rental market could reasonably expect to receive $8 per square foot, per year in rent for the use, condition and location that it is in (ie $100,000 per quarter). APA!, therefore, contributed between $400,000-650,000 last quarter to subsidize the city’s budget to serve Austin animals. APA’s mission is to eliminate the unnecessary killing of shelter animals. Over the last 10 years of the license agreement, the role of APA’s support at AAC has shifted away from lifesaving and into serving as “overflow” for AAC, serving many animals that should not be at risk of euthanasia in the city’s publicly-funded shelter. The Austin Animal Center has received an increase in budget of more than 10 million dollars since 2010 and many supports have been put in place over the years by Austin City Council. APA is 100% committed to continuing to serve as a safety net for animals that cannot be saved through tax payer dollars and is currently negotiating a license agreement that more accurately reflects the mission of APA and the responsible utilization of all funds put towards animals, whether they are donated or tax funded. In the last quarter, 569/608 animals were considered “at risk” or “at high risk” of euthanasia. 5 small dogs, 24 large/medium dogs and 10 cats were pulled for “space” or as “non-at risk” reasons. The percent …
September 2021 September 2021 Animal Services Report ANIMAL SERVICES REPORT Animal Services News and five birds. Animal Protection September. • The live outcome percentage for August was 98 percent. • A total of 1,209 animals were brought to the shelter which included 604 dogs, 527 cats, 73 wild animals • A total of 793 animals were adopted (390 dogs, 369 cats, one livestock and 33 small pets) • A total of 108 dogs and cats were returned to their owners (RTOs and RTO-Adopt). • Animal Protection Officers (APOs) returned 80 animals to their owners in the field during the month of • Officers handed out 40 fencing assistance applications, impounded 151 injured animals and delivered • Officers entered 211 rabies exposure reports and submitted 35 specimens for rabies testing. 83 wildlife animals to Austin Wildlife Rescue. 1 deceased bat tested positive for rabies. • 24 total coyote related activities o 16 sightings o 6 wild sick o 3 encounters o 0 incident o 1 wild injured • Out of 24 coyote related activities, 16 fell within the reported behavior types (sighting, encounter, and incident). • Encounters: Pets were a factor: dog. unattended cat. o 1 encounter involved a coyote coming into a fenced front yard (daytime) with an unattended o 1 incident involved two coyotes entering an unfenced front yard (nighttime) and taking an o 1 encounter in a coyote coming into fenced back yard (daytime) with a human and attended dog on the deck on the other side of the yard. • 48 wildlife calls were made that involved activity by raccoon, bat, snake, opossum, fox, bird, skunk, rabbit, turtle, coyote and unknown. September 2021 Animal Services Report Volunteer, Foster and Rescue Programs • A total of 104 volunteers donated 1,589 hours during September. • The Volunteer Coordinators held 4 orientations for new volunteers in September, introducing 103 people to the shelter programs. 22 new volunteers attended their first training or mentor shifts in September. • More than 240 families provided foster care, and a total of 160 animals were adopted directly from foster care. • There are 1,291 approved fosters in GivePulse, and 105 new foster applications were processed. • There are currently 345 animals in foster homes. • 265 animals were transferred to 32 AAC rescue partners: ▪ 61 to Austin Humane Society (AHS) ▪ 32 to Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) ▪ 79 neonates to Austin Pets …
Refresher Training Boards and Commissions 2021 Texas Open Meetings Act Meetings of governmental bodies must be open to public • Agendas posted at least 72 hours prior to meeting & include: date, time, place & subject of each item • Quorum present to convene • Meetings required to be audio recorded (unless ATXN records) • Recordings are posted online & kept indefinitely All boards must comply with the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA) Agendas Properly publishing agendas is a critical part of the City’s duty to provide transparency to the public Agendas must be written so any reasonable person may understand what is intended to be discussed • Include all issues to be considered and any action or vote scheduled • Example: “Possible discussion and action of…” Agendas • Agendas are compiled by staff liaison with input from executive liaison, members, and staff • Chair approves final agenda, but does not have discretionary authority to remove • items may be postponed or accelerated due to agenda length, council deadlines, allotted time, etc. Members may include an item on an agenda when: Sponsorship is received from 2 or more members (5 days before meeting) OR Requested during a meeting under New Business/Future Items from 2 or more members Agendas Agendas are required to allow public comment • Citizen Communication • Speaker may address any topic that is not an agenda item • Number of people may be limited • Speaker sign-up • Must be allowed for any agenda item except item posted as a briefing • No limit on number of people Board Bylaws Each board has, at least, a standard set of bylaws which include: • the board’s mission; • procedures for selecting the officers; • outline duties of each officer; • requirements for establishing committees & working groups; • guidelines for posting meetings; • and using Robert’s Rules of Order Current bylaws are posted on each board’s webpage Bylaw Amendment Process 1. Bylaw amendments approved by the board 2. Board submits proposed changes to the City Clerk’s Office (OCC) 3. OCC submits proposed changes to Audit & Finance Council Committee (AFC) • Board Chairs are invited to speak to the changes • AFC makes recommendation to full Council 4. Proposed changes are then presented to full Council for final approval Committees and Working Groups Committees Working Groups Permanent bodies added to bylaw Temporary bodies Meet quarterly Present annual report …
