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HomeMy WebLinkAbout*Other - BOCCJune 26, 2022 To: Grant County Commissioners, Danny Stone, Cindy Carter JUL 2 6 2022 �f �), -,,(- 4 1`00" and br loner; MosPS I Manager, Allison Williams; and Moses Lake Chief of Police, Kevin Fuhr My name is Sara Thompson Tweedy and I am writing to you in my role as the president of the Grant County Animal Outreach, which is the only animal shelter in Grant County. The shelter takes in stray, neglected, seized, and abused animals from every city and town in our county. I have served on the Board for one year. During that time, I have assessed the situation at GCAO and have concluded that GCAO cannot continue on its current trajectory without significant investment from our partners. We are facing a dire situation at the shelter. Our facility is dilapidated and is consistently over capacity with dogs and cats which leads to substandard conditions. We have staffing challenges due to the low wages we offer our kennel attendants because our budget won't allow for higher wages. We need more support from the two primary public entities to whom we provide services. Attached you will find a detailed description of those challenges. On behalf of the Board of GCAO Directors, I am requesting: 1. An increase in the amount of our annual contract to $100,000. This would require an annual increase on the part of the City by $40,.000 and the county by $58,000. 2. Support for a new building. The contractual increase will allow us to hire additional kennel attendants as well as increase wages so our staff can afford to stay with us longer term. Many of our staff are devoted to animal welfare but are lured away to work in jobs that pay higher hourly wages. We also need to increase the salary of our Executive Director so we can attract and retain a qualified person. We need to be able to pay in the $60,000-$70,000 range for this position. The building in which GCAO is housed is dilapidated beyond repair. The functional limitations that we face on a daily basis make our work even more challenging than it already is. GCAO is willing to launch a fundraising campaign for a new building, but we want the support of the City and the County Commissioners. This support can be in the form of donated land or a significant monetary investment to help us in this effort. We will be launching a fundraising effort for a new building and would like to make a public announcement that includes concrete support from the Commissioners and the City. The unfortunate reality is that without these investments, GCAO is near the point of dissolution. The City and the County are depending upon a small dedicated group of individuals to provide services that far exceed our current capacity. In our assessment, we must work together to address these challenges because one entity alone cannot overcome the challenges associated with the years of neglect of the facility. As you make your decision, I invite you to come and see our current facility, meet the staff who are working in unfathomable conditions, and look at the overcrowded conditions in which the animals are forced to lived. The staff and the animals in their care deserve humane conditions and the public would support an investment of their taxpayer dollars towards this effort. would also be happy to come to a meeting of the commissioners or the city council in order to answer questions. would appreciate the courtesy of a reply this request by July 31St. I can be reached at 845-594- 5525 or sttweedv@gmail.com. Sincerely, Sara Thompson Tweedy President of the GCAO Board of Directors CHALLENGES WITH GCAO Staffing: • Hourly wages out of pace with other employers Constant rotation of staff Compassion fatigue Our shelter needs 225 hours per week of staff time to complete cleaning, feeding, meeting with potential adopters, scheduling spay/neuter appointments, transporting animals to vet, caring for sick animals, completing paperwork, advertising adoptable pets, etc. The facility is open to the public Monday through Wednesday from 12:00-5:00 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 12:00-6:00 p.m. Though closed to the public on Sunday, we need S hours of staff time to clean kennels and feed our animals. As you can see in the chart below, we cannot hit the 450 hours per bi-weekly payroll in order to complete all of the tasks necessary to operate the shelter due to turnover. In lieu of paid staff, members of the Board of Directors are taking on responsibilities in addition to director duties. This expectation is not sustainable and is reflected in the fact that only two Board members have served more than one year. We also have volunteers occasionally, but often lose them because the conditions at the facility are so dreadful. Payroll This chart is our bi-weekly payroll and number of hours of paid work. It does not include volunteer hours. *This payroll does not include the Executive Director salary because it is vacant. Building Issues: Functional Limitations We are one of two brick and mortars in our county and the only open door shelter in Grant County. The Board has made a number of investments to the building. However, the following issues exceed our current resources: • No AC in dog runs due to significant electrical issues • Electrical deemed unsafe by two electricians both of whom refused the work • Shingles coming off of the roof • Stench due to lack of ventilation • Damage due to rat infestation • Not enough kennels for dogs May 11 May 22 June 8 June 22 Payroll* $8657 $7780 $7668 $6677 Hours per payroll 447 416 396 342 *This payroll does not include the Executive Director salary because it is vacant. Building Issues: Functional Limitations We are one of two brick and mortars in our county and the only open door shelter in Grant County. The Board has made a number of investments to the building. However, the following issues exceed our current resources: • No AC in dog runs due to significant electrical issues • Electrical deemed unsafe by two electricians both of whom refused the work • Shingles coming off of the roof • Stench due to lack of ventilation • Damage due to rat infestation • Not enough kennels for dogs Number of Dogs brought to the Shelter by the City and County. YR 2022 Jan Feb March April May June Total County 15 7 25 23 10 14 80 City 21 28 37 38 17 26 167 36 35 62 61 27 40 247 *These numbers do not include owner surrenders or animals we find abandoned on our property. A common occurrence is finding an abandoned litter of puppies and/or kittens at the gate when staff arrive in the morning. Lack of Resources: City, county, & public bring us more animals than we have capacity to serve The City and the County need to provide the monetary resources for GCAO to pay competitive wages, retain an adequate staff, and find/build an adequate facility to humanely house the number of animals being entrusted to our care The Way Forward: The City and the County need to provide for the true costs of services. Do a presentation for Rotary to ask for funding for the design of a new building. GCAO needs a new building that can: • Provide shelter for 80 dogs, keep our current capacity for cats, and provide space for adequate exercise • This will require additional staff to support • Is built to serve as an animal shelter o Drainage o Indoor/outdoor kennels o Isolation area for dogs who are sick/contagious/injured o Isolation area for cats who are sick/contagious/injured o Space for animals to exercise &play & be trained o Has a true cat room that provides stimulus Other Options • Dissolve GCAO and promote acity/county run shelter.