Notes from the March 11, 2013 KCSPCA Board Meeting
As usual, these are notes taken by members of the public who attended this meeting, they are not official minutes. Those attending were: Julie Wilson, Dr. Lynn Lofthouse, Carol Furr and Catherine Samardza. As usual, our comments are in italics.
The meeting was called to order at 7:10 by Alex Moore, President; there was some discussion around the room to check if there was a quorum.
The minutes were accepted.
The treasurer’s report. Frank Newton noted that copies of his report had been distributed. He noted that they are 42% through the fiscal year, with 47% of the income and 40% of the expenses. He said he had concerns with two figures – donations and fundraising. He also said the Finance Committee was looking at a potential budget that was based on being “out of the animal control business” with no contracts. He said the budget was being refined “so we’ll know where to go and what to do. The treasurer’s report was accepted.
Fundraising committee report. It was reported that this report was being fine-tuned and would be e-mailed to the board members. They are working with Dover Downs and the Sheraton for a gala event. Alex Moore asked about sponsors; it was reported that would be discussed at the committee meeting tomorrow, and then sponsor forms and t-shirt forms would be distributed. Kevin Usilton said that the flyer for the event was on FaceBook and the website. There was discussion as to t-shirt sizes, and whether or not XXL should be offered. It was noted that a lot of events were coming up quickly.
Someone asked about the meetings for the Publicity and Planning Committees. Mr. Moore asked that an e-mail with the committee meeting schedule be sent out to the board members. It was announced that the Publicity committee would be at 6 PM on Thursday, 3/14, and the Planning committee @ 7:15 PM on Thursday. The board members were asked to send any ideas for the Planning committee to the chair (regarding threats, opportunities, strengths). Mr. Moore also asked if everyone knew who was on each of the different committees, and the members present all said yes, they knew.
Executive Director’s Report. Kevin Usilton reported on a comparison of figures from last year to this year: Adoptions were 389 last year, 281, this year; 190 euthanasias last year, 49 this year. 54 animals to other rescues this year, 174 last year. 224 dogs returned to owners last year, 121 this year. He noted that the totals were down this year. He also noted that they did not have the Kent County contract for dog control this year.
(Mr. Usilton sometimes said “this time last year” and also said “as of January 1” so we are not entirely sure of the time-period being compared – March 2012 to March 2013, or January 2012 to January 2013.)
He reported that the 3rd class of dogs has graduated from the Bailor program. All but one of the dogs was adopted by either staff or inmate family members. The one dog remaining has separation anxiety.
Mr. Moore reported that Sussex stopped the DESPCA (Georgetown facility) program at the prison there due to dog bites. Mr. Usilton explained that “our program is sequestered, dormitory-style” and said that the DESPCA dogs are exposed to more people.
One of the board members said “We’re more caring when it comes to animals than them.” Another member said (we’re more) “nurturing.”
There was a discussion about writing/publicizing the Bailor program, but Mr. Moore explained that the KCSPCA needs written approval from the prison for that. He also said that Bailor put out a press release concerning the program.
Mr. Usilton said that there have been 670 animal control calls, 204 of them bites. He also said that the bite reports are more aggressive. He talked about details of cases from City of Dover and the City of Wilmington. When asked why bites were more aggressive, he said it was due to lack of enforcement.
(We’re not sure what the point of this was – KCSPCA does not have animal control for Dover or Wilmington, so whose lack of enforcement was he talking about?)
Steve Schwartz reported on the PetSmart contract. He noted that the contract was a 3-year term from Feb. 16, 2011 to Feb. 16, 2014. Then it automatically converts to 1 year periods under the same terms. PetSmart could terminate the contract at any time with 30 days notice; the KCSPCA can only terminate with or without cause, after the initial 3 year period, although Mr. Schwartz said if PetSmart was in breach he thought the KCSPCA would have grounds for termination in the first 3 years. After the 3 year initial period, The KCSPCA could terminate with or without cause with 90 days notice. Mr. Moore asked, “the good news is, we don’t have to do anything right now?” And Mr. Scwhartz said “right.”
(There was no mention of the fact that at the February meeting, Mr. Moore and Mr. Usilton wanted to discontinue the PetSmart contract because it was “too stressful” for Mr. Usilton to deal with the complaints he gets from PetSmart Corporate.)
Mr. Moore asked if there was any old business, when there was no response he asked for new business.
Carol Kizner said that the KCSPCA does not have a lot of adoptable cats or dogs right now, and she thought it was because the surrender fees for Kent County were too high; people who bring in animals don’t have a lot of money to start with. She noted that the fees for NCC and Sussex were less.
Mr. Usilton said that it was because the contracts with NCC and Sussex give them more resources so they can take animals from those counties. He said the KCSPCA has a relationship with those counties. There was further discussion concerning the fact that the KCSPCA will not take strays, cat or dog, from Kent County, and only owner-surrendered animals at the higher rate. It was noted that the Kent County fees were raised when the KCSPCA lost the dog control contract from Kent County. The fees go into the care for the animals.
Mr. Usilton went on to say that “our state doesn’t give a rat’s crap about cats” and that you see them “dead on the road every time you go out.” Although the KCSPCA has handled 4,000 fewer cats this year, there is no safe place for cats, and they are killed by “others.” He also went on to say that the CAPA requirement that all cages be filled should be all cages should be empty. He complained that “we have a 24 hour dispatch working on reuniting animals with their owners” and the Animal Welfare Task Force thinks that “some administrative assistant sitting in an office can magically handle all that business.” He said that people don’t care.
(The AWTF recommendation that Mr. Usilton complained about does not call for the Animal Welfare Office to handle dog control or dispatch directly. It does recommend this office find revenue streams and research a number of the issues that the TF, in only 8 sessions, was unable to adequately address – including animal control. I have included the full recommendations later in this document.)
Mr. Moore then mentioned that the KCSPCA had been contacted by a development manager that wanted them to remove a cat colony, but he was told they could not help him. A board member said “then they’ll poison them.” Mr. Usilton said that last year he had gone to Harrington to talk to them about the cats in the town; Hetti Brown from HSUS was also at that meeting, and it led to a TNR program sponsored by Harrington. A colony caretaker contacted the KCSPCA after finding 17 cats dead; Dr. Tami performed a necropsy, but the findings were inconclusive. Mr. Moore said that while the original spay/neuter partner was DESPCA, Forgotten Cats in Pennsylvania is now the partner. Mr. Moore went on to say that Forgotten Cats must be handling the cats wrong and sent a disease back to the colony.
(Dr. Tami is the veterinarian of record for dogs and cats supposedly spayed but not, at least one dog that was only partially spayed, another that had foreign matter left inside on closing, at least 2 cats that turned out pregnant when adopted, and a dog that was adopted out with such severe pneumonia that his new family had him euthanized. We not only question her necropsy results, but Mr. Moore’s assumption that Forgotten Cats infected the cats and sent them back with a disease.)
Mr. Moore asked if everyone had received a copy of the letter Mr. Usilton sent out (“open letter to legislators” dated 3/1on their website). Members asked who it had been sent to; they were told the letter went to every elected official in the counties and the state legislators. Mr. Moore said that if anyone knew a legislator personally, they should take the letter to them and talk to them about it.
Mr. Usilton then went on to complain about the Animal Welfare Task Force recommendation of a new office within the Division of Public Health. He said there are only 2 states that do this, Maine and New Jersey, and that they are both underfunded. There is only one person in the office who just sits there. He went on to say that this was only going to result in more laws on the shelters and animal welfare groups.
One of the board members asked if this would affect all rescue groups; Mr. Usilton said no, only shelters, if a rescue keeps animals in their home, they are not subject to the laws.
Ms. Cooper said, “then they are appropriating half a million dollars to oversee 5 shelters? What a waste.”
(There are CAPA requirements that the small rescue/shelters are subject to – but there are allowances made for the difference in size of the facility, the fact that homes are private property, and the numbers of animals processed. And as to the AWTF recommendations, the proposed budget for the new office is $500,000 and recommends the following:
• Executive Director
o Represent office to the public
o Oversee staff and overall office function
o Research and make recommendations regarding:
• Making licenses easier to obtain and beneficial to owners
• Possible revenue streams (licensing, grants, license plates)
• Animal control contracts and how best to structure
• Animal cruelty statute
• TNR
• Requirements for rescue organizations
o Public education regarding spay/neuter, licensing, proper care, etc.
o Arrange training for prosecutors
• Deputy Director
o Shelter standards investigation and oversight
o Inspection of shelters (and licensed retailers?)
o Rabies calls and follow-up
• Spay/neuter oversight
o Run state spay/neuter program
• Animal Control Officer
o Oversee training and certification for animal control officers
o Handle complaints
o Dangerous dog panel
• Administrative Position:
o Operate statewide database, with all shelters participating
o Oversee lost and found database
o Provide administrative support for entire office
o Represent office to the public
o Oversee staff and overall office function
o Research and make recommendations regarding:
• Making licenses easier to obtain and beneficial to owners
• Possible revenue streams (licensing, grants, license plates)
• Animal control contracts and how best to structure
• Animal cruelty statute
• TNR
• Requirements for rescue organizations
o Public education regarding spay/neuter, licensing, proper care, etc.
o Arrange training for prosecutors
• Deputy Director
o Shelter standards investigation and oversight
o Inspection of shelters (and licensed retailers?)
o Rabies calls and follow-up
• Spay/neuter oversight
o Run state spay/neuter program
• Animal Control Officer
o Oversee training and certification for animal control officers
o Handle complaints
o Dangerous dog panel
• Administrative Position:
o Operate statewide database, with all shelters participating
o Oversee lost and found database
o Provide administrative support for entire office
Hardly “some administrative assistant” sitting alone in an office and certainly not overseeing “just 5 shelters.”
Board member Julie McNeill announced that she was arranging for training literature for the front desk staff, to develop better public relations. It is a difficult job with a lot of pressure, and people have to be trained for it.
Linda Murray-Jackson announced that she is developing a database of where all the (donation) banks are. She said she is losing some old locations and getting some new ones. It was also noted that the change should be counted before it’s turned in. It was also asked if the members would get more involved, and ask their friends to put out banks. They hope to do better tracking of the banks in the future.
Mr. Moore said that “we’re starting from scratch in everything we’re doing.”
(We realize that changing directors after 18 years is major, but WHY do they have to start from scratch with everything in an organization that’s been around as long as this one has? Particularly since some of the board members have such longevity?)
Mr. Moore then asked about old business again. There was discussion concerning the meeting with Kent County Levy Court that was mentioned at the February board meeting. Mr. Moore said they had not met with KCLC, although he has left messages for Mike Petit de Mange (KC Administrator) and a commissioner. He said they wanted to talk to Kent County to tell them that they would have more bids for dog control if they would award the contract 3 months before it was due. He said he would try to contact them again.
There was discussion concerning the KCSPCA spring and summer camps for kids. It was noted that they sponsor this themselves now (used to be with Kent County) and so all the fees go to the shelter.
New Business: Mr. Moore announced that he met with the Board of Safe Haven. He said it was a nice meeting, and they are coming to an agreement on working together. He is asking them to co-sponsor a “summit” of the presidents of all the shelter organizations to set policies on how they react to each other.
(Wow. This one was a surprise and left us waiting for the other shoe to drop. So we contacted the SH board. According to 2 of the SH board members we contacted, Mr. Moore attended their last board meeting for a few minutes, but no agreement to work together was reached. They feel the two shelters’ philosophies and objectives are very different.)
The meeting was adjourned.
