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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-06-17 Council MinutesTOWNHALL MEETINGS Animal Control Matters Rising costs and budget concerns of animal control services and partnerships for the City of Caldwell FY-2026. Caldwell City Hall Council Chambers 205 South 6th Avenue Caldwell For the purpose of receiving Tuesday public comments June 17, 2025 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. For the purpose of receiving Monday public comments June 30, 2025 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. or until verbal comments are complefeco Any person needing special accommodation to participate in a public meeting should contact the City Clerk's Office (cityclerk(a.cityofcaldwei1.or4 or (208) 455-4656) prior to the meeting. Cualquier persona que necesite adaptaciones especiales para participar en una reunion publica debe comunicarse con la Oficina de la Secretaria Municipal (cityclerk[cDcityofcaldwell org o (208) 455-4656 antes de la reuni6n. ROOM Mw 17:TITC101% TOWNHALL MEETING West Valley Humane Society Contract June 17, 2025 6:00 p.m. The Roll of the City Council was called with the following members present: Councilors Doty, Stadick, Register, Williams, Allgood, and Dittenber. Mayor Wagoner gave a brief introduction noting that all public comments would be limited to three (3) minutes per person and then asked Staff to give opening comments detailing the budgeting process that had led to the evenings' meeting. Raelynn North provided an explanation of conversations she has held with West Valley Humane Society regarding the budget. She noted that she provided alternative budget contributions Rex Ingram, Chief of Police, provided data 350 animals were surrendered to the West Valley Animal Shelter abandoned animals (2) and vicious animals (2). The City of Caldwell will not discontinue animal control. Expressed concern with the excessive increase of requested amount from WVHS. Oscar Klaas, City Attorney, provided a handout to those in attendance. Bach • West Valley Humane Society (WVHS) is a private organization that has a contract to provide animal shelter services for the City of Caldwell. • WVHS has contracts with the City of Nampa and Canyon County for animal shelter services that are separate from Caldwell's contract. • WVHS's shelter is located within Caldwell in a building owned by Canyon County. • Animal control services are different from animal shelter services. Animal control services are currently part of the Caldwell Police Department mission. Caldwell Police currently employ two animal control officers to address animal control needs within city limits, including collecting and transporting animals in need of shelter to WVHS. Relevant Terms of Current Contract • The City entered into the current contract with WVHS in October 2023 for animal shelter services for animals transported by Caldwell Police and for Caldwell citizens to drop off strays found within city limits. • The contract is for three years, ending September 30, 2026, with the following annual prices for Caldwell: o FY 23124: $65,000 paid in 12 equal monthly payments of $5,416; FY 24/25: $68,250 (5% increase from FY 23/24); FY 25/26: $71,662 (5% increase from FY 24/25). • The price is a flat rate for "regular services" provided by WVHS to the City for animal shelter services which are: c Sheltering dogs at large for five business days; c Sheltering animals in protective custody holding for as long as CPD directs; o Sheltering animals in an active investigation for as long as CPD: Courts require; 0 Bite quarantine of stray dogs for 10 days from the date of bite. • Animals turned in by Caldwell citizens are billed separately to the City at $30 per day. WVHS is required to provide proper food, water, shelter and necessary medical treatment for any animals in its care. • After the sheltering period specified in the contract, the animal becomes the sole property of WVHS. WVHS Price Increase Reauest • WVHS requested the annual price increase to $540,000, nearly 7.5 times the current contract price. • WVHS has requested increased amounts from its other partners: r Nampa: $720,000 per year (48% increase) Canyon County: $240,000 per year (16% increase) (the County receives a contribution credit of $100,000 per year for maintaining the building it owns). • Current budget realities for Caldwell make this request difficult to meet without cutting funding to other city departments or services. • In March, the City offered to pay a one-time increased price of $100,000, which WVHS declined. WVHS was then asked to present its request to the City Council for consideration. • During the May 19 presentation, WVHS informed the City Council that it would not accept any payment lower than $540,000 from Caldwell alone because that was the per capita cost WVHS associated with Caldwell's use of the shelter. • It is the City's understanding that if it does meet this request, WVHS would no longer accept animals from Caldwell Police or Caldwell Citizens. Public Comments Residents: • Julie Yamamoto, 2619 S Willow Brook Lane, spoke to the history of the shelter noting that her family had been involved in the founding of the shelter and gave significant support to the shelter over the years. Ms. Yamamoto expressed her support for the partnership with West Valley and hoped the City would continue to work with local partners to continue the contract even with the potential for increased taxes. PAGE 130 • Stan Sewart, 4003 Preston Ave, noted that he agreed that the proposed increase was significant. Mr. NAME added that cost increases are happening elsewhere and should be expected for support of the shelter as well and that the community is already participating in providing fill-in services where the shelter may be lacking. • Scott White, 15428 Flora Springs Way, reviewed his support of the shelter over the years and his observation of lacking leadership and organization within the board. Mr. White reported that he believed the current administration seemed to better understand the needs of the shelter and leadership and organization and had a real understanding of the true costs of running the operation. Mr. White suggested that a county takeover might be considered. • Martha Rohall, 2711 Quail Meadow Loop, expressed her concern with the shelter making a transition to euthanizing animals. She noted that if costs must be cut, she did not believe that euthanizing was the answer. • Kim Strathorn, 3015 Arlington Ave, suggested that the City ought to put focus on residential breeders throughout the community that might help deter overpopulation. Ms. Strathorn also suggested offering low cost spay and neuter clinics and microchipping to help with rehoming lost pets. • April Long, 11740 Parakeet Way, spoke as a longtime supporter of the shelter and asked that the jurisdictions contribute more to the increasing costs for animal control. • Shannon Netherby, 16066 Sunnyfield Ave, noted that when she moved to Caldwell in 2016 she was surprised by the amount of loose cats in the area and suggested implementing a low cast spay and neuter program to help with the cat population in the area. Ms. Netherby noted that she would be willing to pay more in taxes to support the program as she had spent her personal money to help. Non -Residents • Sharma Jigger, 14920 Fitzwell, Nampa, spoke as the director of the Pet Haven cat shelter in Nampa. She noted that she had seen a significant impact from West Valley ending their cat sheltering program and the true focus area should be on stopping the overpopulation of cats throughout Canyon County with low cost spay and neuter programs. • Michelle Glaze, 722 Lake Lowell, Nampa, spoke to her desire to focus on solutions instead of issues from the past. She hoped that support from funding partners, Caldwell, Nampa, and Canyon County, would result in positions on the shelter board to ensure that corrective actions were being taken by the board to increase accountability and transparency. Ms. Glaze recommended that fines and charges for animal violations should be increased. • Jessica Atkinson, 1893 S Goldsmith Ave, Meridian, clarified that the proposal from West Valley was asking for cost coverage of all animals from Caldwell and not just those brought in from City officers. She noted that it was important to clarify that she believed residents did not have to choose between supporting animals and supporting first responders. • Mary Wilson, 752 E River, Eagle, spoke'as a supporter of animals and noted she was working toward discounted spay and neuter programs throughout the area and that 1,000 cats had been fixed in 2025 already. She hoped that more options for surrendering would be helpful for solving overpopulation. • Sarah Teas, 4504 Lake Ave, reported that she worked with cat populations throughout the area based on need. She added that she hoped a solution could be worked through as the community needs the services provided by shelters and support programs in the area. • Wendy Coome, Melba, suggested that the City use inmate release work program to provide staffing for West Valley which would decrease employment costs. • Laurie Wittges, Nampa, noted that she had been heavily involved in TNR programs in both California and Idaho and reported that those programs are often the only way to make a true impact on overpopulation. Ms. Witkiss expressed her frustration that feline programs were no longer in the area and that funding seemed to be unaccounted for. • Kristopher Shaffer, 201 Newbell, spoke as an employee of the Idaho Humane Society and noted that the problems in Caldwell are common throughout the country. He added that contracting services was the most fiscally responsible way to deal with animal services. Councilor Doty thanked those present for attending and making comments. Councilor Stadick explained his concern over the cost proposal presented to Council and asked that transparency be increased before Council could make a decision. Councilor Register thanked those in attendance and the City for hosting the event and added that she was pleased with the nature of the content and the many helpful suggestions provided. Register noted that the City had asked for negotiations on the cost of the contract but was denied. She continued by requesting a taskforce be formed to propose a solution before the contract with West Valley expires in 2026. Councilor Williams thanked Caldwell Animal Control officers for being present and for their hard work. Williams asked RaeLynn North to explain the impact of property taxes on funding and noted that the City was committed to caring for the animals of Caldwell but faced budgeting dilemmas because funding comes from the Police budget within the general fund. Councilor Allgood also thanked the public in attendance and recognized that Chief Ingram was being asked to make difficult decisions with his budget. Allgood noted that, normally, the City would seek the lowest bid for a contract but had no control over the option because West Valley was the only option. He also added that he hoped supporting a feline program would be reimplemented with a contract negotiation. PAGE 131 Councilor Dittenber thanked the attendees for sharing their knowledge of the subject matter and acknowledged that the price increase was difficult to comprehend. Dittenber asked Ms. North to explain designated funds to those in attendance noting that government funds and enterprise funds could not be allocated to other areas. Councilor Register asked for clarification on who owns the building currently housing West Valley. It was explained that Canyon County owns the property and rents the property to West Valley. She added that perhaps the property could be utilized through either a partnership between entities or with a different partner entirely. Discussion ensued. Mayor Wagoner thanked those in attendance and closed the townhall at 7:23 p.m. APPROVED AS written THIS 7th DAY OF July 2025. Councilor ty oun ' or Register Councilor good ,, , IRAN ,. a6' Councilor Dittenber