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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007/02/12 - Agenda Packet - Spec. Meet. ( Animal & Care Work PLan update)AGENDA CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING Monday, February 12, 2007 4 4:00 p.m. Rancho Cucamonga Civic Center-Tri Communities Room 10500 Civic Center Drive ~ Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730 A. CALL TO ORDER Pledge of Allegiance 2. Roll Call: Mayor Kurth Mayor Pro Tem Williams Councilmembers Gutierrez, Michael and Spagnolo B. PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS This is the time and place for the general public to address the City Council on any item listed on the agenda. State law prohibits the City Council from addressing any issue not previously included on the Agenda. The City Council may receive testimony and set the matter for a subsequent meeting. Comments are to be limited to five minutes per individual. C. ITEM(S) OF BUSINESS ANIMAL CARE AND SERVICES -- WORK PLAN UPDATE D. ADJOURNMENT I, Debra J. Adams, City Clerk of the City of Rancho Cucamonga, hereby certify that a true, accurate copy of the foregoing agenda was posted on February 8, 2007, per Government Code 54954.2 at 10500 Civic.Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, California. Siaff Report DATE: February 12, 2007 TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council Jack Lam, AICP, City Manager FROM: Joe Pulcinella, Animal Care and Services Director Pamela Easter, Assistant City Manager Marcia Godwin, Assistant to the City Manager Kimberly Thomas, Management Analyst III Subject: ANIMAL CARE & SERVICES -FEBRUARY 12 WORKSHOP TOPICS At the February 12 Council Workshop on Animal Care and Services, our presentation will include: • Overview of Animal Care and Services activities and progress since transitioning to aCity-operated Center in May and assuming responsibility for Field Services in July. • Discussion of challenges and opportunities, including an update on staffing and statistical trends. • Discussion of facility needs and the planned continuation of remodeling/construction of the Animal Care & Adoption Center (Phase II). An option for a surgery area to be included with Phase II construction, to address concerns about the availability and future costs for private veterinary services, will be presented for consideration. .George Weins, WLC Architects, will be available at the Workshop to answer questions and review Phase II options. Animal Care and Services Work Plan Update February 12, 2007 Council Study Session ~+~'"~~ AC &AC Work Plan Update In this follow-up presentation to our late September Workshop update, we will look at: • Summary review of our first six months of operations •Challenges and opportunities of building toward the "No Kill" goal •Update on our six-to-nine month Work Plan presented at the September Workshop: -Focusing on our facility needs -Based on our real operating experience ~;V.- Animal Care and Services Work Plan Update-February 12, 2007 (continued) •To include an evaluation of the options to construct medical surgery area •Present future considerations of staffing levels recommended to meet the unanticipated needs of our operations • Strategic overview of our programs .+~"".~ Building Toward the Goal of No Kill In May of 2006, the Council set the goal for our "No Kill" Program: "our mission is to save animals' lives, bring people and pets together, and ensure public health and safety, through a program that is oriented towards animal care and community service working toward the goal of a `No Kill' Community. " (continued) "...With one of our core goals: To ...Strive to save healthy, treatable animals by developing and implementing programs that include a strong volunteer, faster, and rescue program; community education, outreach, spay and neuter and vaccination programs; medical care and behavioral programs, appropriate animal regulations; and other innovative approaches... " Building Toward the Goal of No Kill l~,';• y Building Toward the Goal of No Kill (continued) As you know, our program is a work in progress we are committed to reinforcing successes and making improvements where needed •The path toward the "No Kill" goal is unquestionably a building process •It takes an efficient, comprehensive facility, staff, and resources to adequately meet the "No Kill" goal that has been set r"'r~ Animal Care and Services Department Beginnings •Opened the Center on May 3rd •Started providing Field and Licensing services on July 1St •What makes our Center so unique and helps to move us along the path to our "No Kill" goal is our ability to provide quality services to our community •The Center has also had many additional accomplishments to date ,,~. ~~~, ~;. ~*~~~ Department Beginnings-(continued) The Department has already become known for setting new standards to meet the needs of our community for animal services and has become a progressive model in the area for those who are looking at "No Kill" programs. Center Operations: •There have been significant renovations that have made the Center more attractive, better environment for animals, and easier to clean and sterilize •Implemented procedures and staff training which have established a high level of facility maintenance which controls the spread of disease •Established much improved levels of animal care and monitoring /._..i Department Beginnings-(continued) •Implemented procedures which help to ensure that potential pet owners adopt pets who are suited to their resources/needs •Developed a greatly improved medical program •Established the basics for successful rescue, foster, outreach, and volunteer programs •Expanded hours to provide more convenient access to the Center Department Beginnings (continued) Field Services: •Created a positive and cooperative image for our Field Services Program •Emphasized education as not only a tool for compliance, but also as away to create more responsible pet owners .'~~ - T ~~M ~1 ~~ Department Beginnings (continued) We have also made progress by addressing the following areas: Center Operations: •Established aspay/neuter voucher program and provided assistance with sterilization of feral cats •Developed relationships with outside agencies, such as Western University •Enhanced our options to increase revenue through responsible pet programs, such as dog licensing Field Services •Established Field Services on a 24/7 schedule •Established procedures to handle barking dog complaints and potentially dangerous and vicious dogs ~'"_.~ Department Beginnings (continued) Support and Positive Results for the Department: •Established the Department as a source for healthy, well cared for pets as well as information on pet care •Greatly increased number of people visiting the Center •Received a great deal of support for events and programs such as volunteer and foster programs •Began to establish successful efforts to raise and increase funds •Experienced increased numbers of owner requested euthanasia ~_ Department Operations -An Overview •Significantly increased customer traffic that continues to grow everyday •Facility is at capacity of both space and resources for the animals we can accommodate •The Center has experienced a steady increase in adoptions •Reduced number of adoption returns • S igni~ cant increase in owner surrenders, especially with cats •Number of stray cats and kittens has also significantly increased •Euthanasia has been reduced while placement has increased •Strong placement of Center animals to rescue, including wildlife ~~ Center Operations - A Statistical Overview 7 Month "Snap Shot Review" (July -January) 2005 2006 Total Incoming Pets 3211 3382 5% Total Adoptions 1198 13 84 16% Total to Rescue 110 295 168% Total RTO 332 352 6% Total Euthanasia 1033 661 -36% r~'"J Center Challenges and Opportunities Based on our first six months of experience towards our goal of a "No Kill" community, there are obvious challenges and opportunities that are before us. •The volume of workload, the needs of a 7-day per week operation, and community response are much higher than anticipated when original staffing recommendations were prepared •Significant increase in staff time spent with each client •Transition occurred during peak season and demand has not abated •We continue to have a large number of incoming animals, especially kittens and cats Center Challenges and Opportunit ei s (continued) •We have increased numbers of people who want to surrender their animals, as well as strays left due to the growing knowledge of our "No Kill" goals •We also need to build our community and behavioral programs to better meet the need of our No Kill goals •Our medical needs far outpace our current private veterinary contracts and local clinics availability •Our spay/neuter capacity has proven to be inadequate to the demands we are experiencing. ~'""~~ Center Challenges and Opportunity (continued) •As the Center Staff have worked to respond to the unanticipated high demands of the new Department, the addition of Temporary Employees has been vital •City Manager's staff is continuing to provide staff support r~ Responding to Challenges and Opportunities •our goal is to continue to work to improve the Center's program components and services to reinforce current successes Tonight, we will focus on the construction and staffing needs •We will have updates on other areas in the future ~~n. 'r1• a •_F~'. X ~~ Responding to these Challenges and Opportunities-Facility Modifications •In February 2006, the City Council approved and gave direction to implement two phases of building repairs, modifications, and improvements to begin to build the path toward "No Kill." Overall "No Kill" direction was addressed in the Animal Shelter Transition Reports that were presented by Mr. Nathan Winograd •Phase I of Council approved facility renovation and modifications were completed prior to Center opening •Phase II to be considered tonight '.,~ ~-~lm r t,' ~~ Facility Modifications-Phase I The "Phase I" Initial improvements included many modifications and improvements that are helping to move us toward our lifesaving goals Facility Modifications-Phase II •Tonight we are presenting our recommendations for Phase II construction based on actual experience operating the facility over the r last several months •We are presenting our consideration of all of the options for the facility incorporating our experience on the full consideration of tactical and strategic options '~Y +' $ ~_ AC & AC Plans R_cb ~~~ Mw.d Cwnw Rwwevf~ P-re I ~1'I r, :.•-a'. ~~. ~P~I Facility Modifications-Phase II Plan The initial plans for the continued construction included: •Adding a North-East addition of 1,200 sq. feet of space with a euthanasia room and a freezer, and limited storage expansion •Addresses immediate needs for the basic operations of a non- surgical Center •Could limit our ability to continue to grow our Spay & Neuter Programs, and does not address concerns about increasing medical costs due to use of external, private providers AMT ~' :-r.Ttq ~'~~.. , -.s+~.. ~r I.~~FU~,. r~- may.,.. Phase II Construction-Re-Review •Based on our first six months of operations the pressing needs for medical and surgery services have caused us to re-review our construction plans •Based on this re-review we are recommending an addition to the initial plans, providing surgery capability, and additional outdoor get-acquainted space l 1 ~ "~ " p. 1_~J': ~' r ~ ~ .. 1V(i4 Facility Modifications Adding a Medical Surgery Area-Benefits •Brings most medical services, minor surgeries, and spay/neuter in-house •Addresses increasingly serious problems with being able to obtain medical services in a timely manner from local pet hospitals -can take a week or more to get appointments • Stabilizes prices and total costs for and supply of medical services •With shortage of available veterinary services, expect costs to increase significantly if we continue to rely primarily on local providers ~- Facility Modifications Adding a Medical Surgery Area-Benefits (continued) •Expect total "hard" medical costs to be about the same for the first year -reduce contract services, but increased costs for in- house veterinary services and medical supplies. After first year, would expect cost savings •Local providers would be able to handle major surgeries, if we reduce demand for other services ~~~ Facility Modifications Adding a Medical Surgery Area-Benefits (continued) Immediate cost savings in other areas: •Animal Care -shortens time before animals are ready for adoption; - helps goal of adopting animals as soon as possible, which is a major priority according to our No Kill goal; and reduces costs •Field Services -less need for field services staff to transport animals to and from medical providers, making for more effective field services operations. Also, helps provide for staff time for other field and licensing functions Facility Modifications-Outdoor Improvements and Benefits .Additional Phase II options include outdoor get-acquainted area improvements, with additional shading for existing meet-and-greet areas, and creating new outdoor dog areas for potential adoptees .This includes the reuse space to provide for outdoor space throughout the year, in all weather conditions ..~ :u- ~"_i~ Facility Build-out-Long-term Options To fully analyze all of our options and incorporate our months of experience operating the facility, we met with the project architect to ensure that we have a viable facility that may be able to expand to meet future needs We have confirmed that that facility is viable for the foreseeable future: • If needed, existing site options are still more viable and cost effective than new construction • Save all costs on mandated site improvements • Availability and land acquisition is also limited • More cost-effective than building new construction r- Facility Recommendations •Based on our experience operating the Center and due to the minimal permit and design issues, and current authorizations, we are recommending the medical surgery construction option be added to Phase I •Construction could begin this fiscal year on the initial phase of construction with the project completion set for Spring 2008 •If surgery construction is approved tonight, the proposed 2007/08 budget would include additional City medical staffing and reduced contract costs /~ Staffing Recommendations We have analyzed all of the options and have recommendations that will be considered as part of the budgetary process for Fiscal Year 2007-08. Our goals will be to: •Move beyond the interim measure of using Seasonal/Temporary Staff for enhanced stability and staffing •Provide a final level of staffing to meet the current goals •Increase efficiencies and training of staff •Maintain and increase high levels of animal care and customer service ~~~ Looking Ahead Tonight we have focused on our facility and anticipated staffing needs There are other important elements to our Work Plan We will present additional updates in the future y .- ~~ AC & AC Plans (continued) RiocAu ~'u~rn unp Hen.,~~lrw 1'Ane 2 w..r. > r ~ti~~f ~~:.7.. ~== AC & AC Plans R macho fbcam~q Ansel Ceegr Rwm~aaa PMw 1 N wo-~~ xs R'I.C ~~~ x ~_ ~C & AC Plans (continued) •~ O • ~ . N Reecho Cuc~eawM Meeal Coeur Reew~iee Phew 2 ® .'w'n~iLw~u41 iA ® ® n-u.. W Lc' Mrw~_ x~.. ~~