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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-10-04 Minutes ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE Minutes of a meeting of the Animal Advisory Committee held on October 4, 2006 at 2:30 P.M. at the Animal Shelter ROLL CALL Present: John Stoner, Chair Rhonda Johnson, Vice Chair Councillor Adrian Foster (attended until 3:58 p.m.) John Sturdy Sheila Elkington, Sr. Animal Services Officer (attended until 3:45 p.m.) Anne Greentree, Deputy Clerk Cindy Fleming, Administrative Assistant, Acting Secretary Absent: Charmaine Dunn Helen Koscok 1. ADOPTION OF MINUTES Moved by Councillor Foster, seconded by Rhonda Johnson THAT the minutes of the Animal Advisory Committee for the meeting of June 14, 2006, be approved without comment. CARRIED 2. COMMUNITY EVENTS – UPDATE i) Safety Day – September 30, 2006 Anne advised that due to a staff shortage at the Shelter, only one officer was available to attend the Safety Day on September 30, 2006, and was only able to attend for half of the day. She stated the event was very well attended and that next year she hoped the Shelter could participate for the full day. Councillor Foster suggested an e-mail be sent out prior to the event requesting volunteers to staff the table. Anne highlighted the purpose of the event in promoting fire and life safety education to the community and reported that copies of the Regional brochure on Emergency Preparedness would be made available to the public at the Shelter. Animal Advisory Committee -2- October 4, 2006 ii) Photo with Santa Anne stated she has received many positive comments about last year’s Photo with Santa event and outlined the format of the day. A copy of the previous advertisement was circulated. Anne advised $295 was raised and requested the Committee’s input on holding the event again this year. The Committee felt the event was worthwhile and it was suggested that the event be held either the last Saturday in November or the first Saturday in December. John Stoner confirmed he would be Santa and Anne confirmed she would follow-up with the photographer to determine his interest. 3. QUARTERLY REPORT FOR April, May, June, 2006 A copy of Addendum Report to CLD-019-06 – Animal Services Quarterly Report – April to June, 2006 – Corrections was distributed to Committee Members. Sheila advised the statistics reported as “quarterly” in Report CLD-019-06 were actually for the month of June 2006, and the “year-to- date 2006” statistics were actually for the Second Quarter of 2006. The Committee discussed overtime hours. Sheila confirmed that the figures include overtime hours worked but do not include hours taken as “time-in-lieu” of overtime. She also confirmed that overtime hours are not usually generated as a result of the Pickering agreement as the Pickering animals are brought in during the day. Anne advised that cats remain an issue. She requested Committee input on the issue of a “No Turn-Away” Policy which eventually results in a higher euthanasia policy. This matter will be further discussed at a future meeting. 4. SHELTERING FOR PICKERING - UPDATE Anne advised in June, the City of Pickering exercised their option to extend their sheltering agreement with the Municipality of Clarington for six months and that a further six-month extension was recently requested. She noted however, that Pickering does not intend to carry on the agreement for the full six-month term noting they were very close to a resolve and having a permanent solution. Anne highlighted various issues that have impacted the Clarington Animal Shelter but noted generally the arrangement has been a positive experience in spite of difficulties dealing with the two municipalities’ conflicting priorities and policies concerning animal health and welfare. Animal Advisory Committee -3- October 4, 2006 5.LICENSING PROCESS FOR 2007 – DISCUSSION Anne advised licensing revenue is as forecasted to be for 2006; as a result of re-contracting with Animal Licensing Services Inc. (ALS). She noted in previous years there had been a number of customer-service related issues with ALS and that in order to address the issues a customer services manual was developed and a training session was held with the contractor and his employees. She noted there have been very few complaints received since the training session. Anne requested the Committee’s input regarding the door-to-door program. The Committee concurred that the program should be continued. Discussion took place on the need to promote licensing of cats, issues concerning the sale of lifetime licences and points of sale for animal licensing. Anne stated staff would do a mail-out every few years to update records concerning lifetime licenses. 6. VETERINARIAN SERVICES CONTRACT Anne advised the current Veterinarian Services Contract expires at the end of this year and that she would be drafting a tender for a new contract and was hoping to incorporate emergency veterinary service into the new document. Sheila noted the only emergency service currently available is in Whitby, it is expensive and is quite a distance to drive with an injured or sick animal. Staff are considering options to better service animal emergency needs. 7. OTHER BUSINESS John circulated newspaper articles from England reporting on the deaths of children recently killed by a roteweiller and the increased authority provided to the police in dealing with vicious dogs. Anne distributed copies of Report CLD-022-06 - Proposed New Responsible Pet Owner By-law and Kennel By-law advising the Report was presented to the General Purpose and Administration Committee on October 2, 2006, and was referred back to staff for further review. Anne suggested that the Kennel By-law be the focus of the next Animal Advisory Committee meeting and that interested parties be invited to the meeting to voice their comments and concerns with respect to the by-law. The Committee concurred with the suggestion of focusing the next meeting on the Kennel By-law. Animal Advisory Committee -4- October 4, 2006 The Hellenic Animal Welfare Society (World Society for the Protection of Animals) Official Gazette Volume One dated July 29, 2003 Law 3170/2003 Pets, stray pets and other provisions was distributed to Committee members for information. 8. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be on November 29, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 4:05 p.m.