MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE ANIMAL WELFARE ...

ANIMAL ADVISORY BOARDMINUTES OF DECEMBER 10, 2012 MEETINGThe Animal Advisory Board (AAB) met on December 10, 2012 at 6:30pm in the Government Center, Bldg. C,Florida Room, 2725 Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida. Present were: Clara Mutter- Chair, Nancy Allen,Nancy Calderone, Theresa Clifton, Scott Ellis, Bill Klein, Dr. Larsen, Bill Mares, Judith Weaver, JenniferWhite, BASE Interim Director, Kathy Beatson, and Recording Secretary L. Wimberly.CALL TO ORDERChair calls the meeting to order at 6:33; calls for approval of the minutes from 11/13/2012.Nancy Allen requests a correction to the spelling of a name under the public comment section (Whedbee). Judithinquires about a motion to elect a new chair and Vice Chair, which all clarified to her that is was a suggestion, not amotion; Bill Mares makes a motion to accept the minutes as amended; 2nd by J. Weaver. Motion passes unanimouslyto accept minutes as amended.Chair advises all that the Directors Report will be given at the end of the meeting by Mel, who is on his way fromTitusville, as well as the discussion on awards for contribution of service to BASE.Chair opens the floor to discuss the recommendations to include in the letter to the BOCC. This leads to anotherdiscussion on accepting the ordinance as written, and a heated repeat of prior discussions on the issue, to include theoperational policies, processes and procedures that are followed by FCNMHP in Jacksonville.Bill Klein makes a motion to move the discussion to Item #7 on the agenda; 2nd by J. White. The Chair asks fornominations for Chair and Vice-Chair positions on the AAB, and also suggests that the AAB have their own Secretary.J. Weaver nominates Nancy Allen, 2 nd by Dr. Larsen; Nancy Allen nominates Theresa Clifton; Jennifer Whitenominates Clara Mutter, 2 nd by Bill Klein. Chair asks Theresa if she will accept her nomination; which she does.The Chair calls for a vote by ballot on the nominations for Chair; Clara wins 4-3 (NA-3, TC- 3 CM-4). The Chair thenasks if they can vote on the other nominees to serve as Co-Chair, which all agree to, and cast their vote by ballot.Theresa Clifton is selected Co-Chair by a vote of 6-4.While waiting for the ACM to return to give the Directors Report, the Chair opens the floor to public comments.PUBLIC COMMENTLinda TuckSusan RobardsITEM #3: DIRECTORS REPORT:Chair directs the floor to ACM Mel Scott to give the Directors Report, specifically on the staff/community trip toJacksonville. He provides a thorough report on what he witnessed, inquired about, and information that was sharedduring his interaction with the FCNMHP director and staff, to include a contact person to inquire about potential grantfunding for animal agencies and how important PR & marketing is to succeed in this field. Advises that thegovernments’ role in securing grant funding isn’t as successful as a not-for-profit agency that secures the grant, andthen request matching funds from a government entity. He goes over the BASE statistical information he shared withFCNMHP, and advises of the opinion FCNMHP shared on those statistics, which is that the #’s were good. FCNMPHhas agreed to support the efforts of Brevard County in moving toward becoming a “no-kill” facility.Mel opens the floor for question/answer session on the Jacksonville information he has shared.Reads the current advertisement for the BASE Director position, advising where it has been posted, and that he isconducting interviews with those that qualify as the applications are receive, which leads to a detailed discussion.Also advises that Ann Holland has been hired at a temporary employee to help with the rebranding/marketing efforts,and that we want to showcase the positive things that happen at our shelters. He challenges everyone to talk about thegood things; mentor each other and test and advise each other when we see things falling back into old routines/habits.AAB MINUTES 12-10-2012 Page 1 of 2

Chair advises that since the Interim Director is not present, Agenda Item #5, Awards for Contribution of Service, willbe tabled until the next month.Chair directs the discussion back to the draft of the letter to the BOCC and asks if they want to include a suggestion orrecommendation to move toward the Jacksonville model. This leads to a discussion on should including such astatement, and if so, how to incorporate it into the letter. Scott suggests it be used as a capstone to therecommendations.Members review the recommendation information provided. Minimal discussion on wording of information, to includethe necessity to ensure that positive language is used, which will encourage cooperation.The 1 st recommendation discussed is “Animals on Public Parks/Beaches”. Mel suggests that since they want to movetoward modeling the Jacksonville facility, they should also consider the use of some excerpts from the Jacksonvilleordinance. This leads to an involved discussion on this issue and the wording to use, and progresses to discussion andfinalizing the verbiage for additional the recommendations on the letter. The following are the recommendations thatwill be included on the letter to the BOCC by agreement of the AAB members:1. No new feral cat colonies shall be established on public parks and/or beaches2. Post signage on public parks and beaches advising “It is illegal to feed the animals”3. New Colony Caregivers should complete a Colony Caregiver Certification program prior toregistering a new colony4. A cooperative efforts should be made by BASE to work with a community representatives todeal with feral cat complaints or issues (Mr. Klein opposes this recommendation and the AAB also requestinput on this issue from Amanda Novotny of Alley Cat Allies)Chair directs discussion to establishing recommendation #5, which leads to an in-depth discussion on what it shouldbe. Jennifer suggests that they include something on property rights, to include the requirement that neighbors agree toa colony being established in the area, which causes some members and the public to jointly voice opposition to thisrecommendation. The discussion on this suggested recommendation is involved and heated and they cannot reach anagreement on this issue.Chair inquires about this requirement in the current County Feral Cat Ordinance. ACM clarifies that it was done as apolicy requirement, not an official requirement of the existing ordinance. Chair moves that finalizing the letter betabled until the next meeting and AAB members concur.Chair moves to establish the agenda for the January, 2013 AAB meeting.AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING:Awards/certificates for contributions and/or service at the sheltersFinalize the Recommendation Letter to the BOCCChair adjourns the meeting at 8:29 p.m.Respectfully submitted,_________________________________________Laverne P. Wimberly, Recording Secretary__________________DATEDISCLOSURE:For a copy of these minutes in their entirety on CD, please contact Laverne at the belowlisted number.Brevard County Animal Services & Enforcement2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, A119Viera, FL 32940Phone: (321) 633-2105/Fax: (321) 633-20121AAB MINUTES 12-10-2012 Page 2 of 2