We will go ahead and call to order the board of Indianapolis Animal Care Services.

It is July 20th at 8:30 a.m.

We'll start with introductions.

Chris Roberson, mayoral appointee to the board.

Correct.

Miles, mayoral appointee to the board.

Amanda Dehoney, Director of IACS.

Bailey Red Sheet Board Council.

And James Friendlyston, CFO, and acting as board secretary for today.

Alright, first on the agenda is the adoption of minutes.

Okay.

I have one note.

Last name needs to be updated.

I have noted that I say that.

Second.

All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Opposed.

Correct.

New business.

We have James for resolution 0626.

Alright.

Right.

This is for why can't I repeat?

Alright, this is for licensed veterinary services for a thousand dollars for a two-year contract with uh Dr.

Freeland.

Um recommended to us uh and we are excited to try and pursue that and see how things go.

Uh I'm not exactly clear on how many exact hours per month, but it's built in there for so we don't have to come back every year as well as there's flexibility for the amount of hours you can come in.

So he would be coming into the shelter to provide services here.

Correct.

Any other questions?

James, can you just explain when when we have a series of contracts that are structured as enough to exceed a month?

I mean, let's just say we had 10 of these amounting to a million dollars of veterinary services.

If we're halfway through the year and we're not tracking to spend that full million dollars.

Does it does it or can it be reappropriated to the contracts are saying we are allowed to send up to this amount?

It is not time.

I'm not tying 100,000 for or $50,000 every time for each of those contracts if they're $50,000, 150,000.

Especially with say the spay neuter clinics where it's we are given a total spay neuter budget, and if we added up all the spay newer clinic budget contracts, they would exceed that budget, so it's just some flexibility through which they look based on availability since they're providing basically the same services.

Okay, thanks.

Okay, motion to approve.

So move.

Second, all favor say aye.

Second opposed.

Alright, resolution 0726.

Uh gonna be a very small contract uh with Dr.

who's currently under contract with us that expires at the end of the year.

Um may be aware that it used to be the vet here back a couple years ago.

We've had it on a uh small contract for the last couple years, and we extended it back in December.

Uh that was the board resolution I think from October or November, and now we're pursuing another one.

I'm still draft agreements before submitting.

Yeah.

Second.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed.

And resolution 0826.

Uh this next one you won't recognize the name, probably.

HLE Inc.

It's our chameleon software.

Um we have extended the chameleon contracts enough where we have to instead of just submitting it, we have to get a new amendment uh agreement.

Thankfully, they have not increased their prices for another two-year agreement.

So that one's still in the draft form.

I don't know if you had the chance to look at that draft agreement.

It still needs to get maybe approved by ISA and HLP needs to give you one or two more items before we finish and sign off on it.

I noticed that the version we received did not have the attachments.

Correct.

That's part of part of that going through they owe me some.

I've reached out to them about some of their terms.

Um it'll very likely be identical to or pretty close to identical to the prior use agreements.

Um some of the when we do software contracts is helpful for both OCC and ISA to take a look at them to make sure what we're agreeing to because that's not my area of expertise whatsoever.

Uh but at very least we did get a pricing quote, which must be 452 guys.

Can you speak operationally to chameleon?

Like are we happy with it?

Does it meet our needs?

Yes, yeah, it tracks everything for us, it lets us have the dispatch system, um, connects with the Mac Center so that when they dispatch things goes directly to that.

So yeah, it's and it archives everything for us.

And use basically since you were last year, right?

Or shortly isn't the meeting software and shelter.

There's a lot of new ones.

Um not we're the only place that I'm aware of that uses it.

Um there was a really arcade one that we switched over to, but a lot of people, it's very expensive to use, as we see.

So a lot of people, there's some other ones, but they don't track in the main link web phase, so archiving or something was to get hacked, or it's very easy to get into this.

Uh there's a lot of options out there that don't have the same, you don't have to potentially get a different dispatch.

They don't have a dispatch system.

Yeah, I think a lot of the more modern ones, shelter loads do not have the dispatch abilities.

Which, if we did not, we would just have to go find another software that tied into the other software.

Yeah, this one's nice because they can you can use it all, it's like calling cook.

So you can dispatch it while you're there, you can attach the run to the animal, the animals will run.

It's all rather than trying to use two separate systems.

You can look up notes for years down because we've been using it pretty consistently for very long time.

I think it I don't think it was the new software when you were probably starting.

No, and we've long before my time.

Motion to approve.

Second.

All in favor say aye.

O's okay.

We'll go over shelter stats for June of 2026.

So our total intake for June was 847.

Uh, just so we can keep count.

Year to date has been 4,896.

Sorry, not two date, that's the end of June.

Um, total outcomes were 716.

Our save rate or live release rate is 90.25% for June.

We're still on track, although we won't use that language widely.

We still aren't tracked for industry standards to be labeled, considered no-kill shelter in the next two months.

Um straight wait times are there, owner surrender wait times.

We have reconstructed the um intake schedule to hopefully bring this number down.

They just started that recently, so hopefully those numbers will come down and we can bring them in a lot quicker.

Can you can you share more about that?

Yeah, they were looking really good in April.

Yeah, it's that time of year.

The summer and spring always ramp up and become your busy season.

Um more animals start running, weather's better, people are outside, animals are getting out, getting loose, so that's where a lot of that comes in.

Do you know what our capacity was at the end of June?

No, I don't have to go back and look at all the top like how many were in the building.

Yeah, just I don't know off the top of my head.

I know it was like right before I left for vacation and walked to the caverns and they were pretty full.

But yeah, it's just for the past probably month or so for a while.

We hardly had any cats.

We were doing pretty good, and then it was just like boom, and is here.

And while we're on cats, I'm assuming the decrease in like release rate on cats is a reflection of the other dates.

Yes, yeah.

Yeah, we have been really well at getting a lot of them out to fosters and rescues.

Um, we have had quite a few litters come in um with PAN loop recently.

Uh we did have a rescue pool two separate times, quite a few of them, but with Panloop, it's you know can be very hard to manage.

So I think we did lose a few of those.

And then enforcement stats for June 26.

Uh reports done by ACOs, 256.

Total fights reported were 89.

Summons and citations issued were 175.

Investigation impounds were 87, and our service calls were 2,046.

If you compare that to June of 25, which was only 1,605, that kind of gives you an idea.

Also capacity in the shelter, what we're dealing with, um, how many runs officers are responding to, what's coming in, and it's just it's kind of seasonal.

Uh vacancy report.

I'll let you kind of read through that there.

Oh, um how are runtimes doing?

Honestly, usually probably have sucked in front of me.

I can't I can get that to you.

Okay, thank you.

But since we since we've been in July, we do have um luckily, thankfully, the rescue coordinator and a foster coordinator now.

Just recently started last week.

So those positions are 100% filled again now.

Um, so just not even going to get approval for the other administrator position for the Billy's old position.

No, no, fine, not until 27.

Okay.

And I feel like there's another.

Oh, the ACARES team is just all now specialists and a coordinator or manager directly over it.

Yeah, they'll just be all specialists with the placement manager over them.

We are still hiring for a full-time veterinarian that has been out.

We have raised the salary up to 150 now, and still are getting no inquiries about full-time work, unfortunately.

How often do we have a vet on contract?

It varies.

Uh it varies.

So we have a contract with Humane Society vets, they'll come in, but that's dependent on.

I mean, we have set days there to come in, but then it's dependent if they're able to leave the clinic downtown or what's going on at the shelter there.

Our other vet, Dr.

Birchfield comes in once to one to two times a week, but it's also dependent on if she books herself other places, but she's been pretty regular.

I think right now she's not gonna be here much this month, and I don't know what's I mean if she had some travel plans, and then I don't know if she has got booked somewhere, so then hopefully with Dr.

Freeland, he will be coming in.

Um I don't know if he wants to come in the same day as other vets are here, or if he's fine working by himself.

Um yeah, it's pretty much all of them's been pulling in.

Um and then volunteer report.

New volunteers and training are 66.

Active new volunteers, those are the ones that are in the building, ready to go.

Um, 22.

Total active volunteers are 227.

Um at the shelter hours was 1,075 at special events was 73.

External service groups doesn't look like we had any in June.

And doggy day out hours for volunteers were 56.

Um, total 1,204.

Anybody have questions about any of the stance?

Okay.

Oh, the doggy day outside.

Seems like they are they look like they're kind of cyclical down bump up month, you know, down month up any theories on why some some months it's gangbusters, 162 hours a day.

A lot of it, I I don't have a theory, so this is nothing stuck.

A lot of it could just be um if there's been events out in the public because a lot of times volunteers will take them to the events.

Um it could be weather dependent, you don't want to take them out right now.

Um I don't I honestly don't know because a lot of them are also fine just taking them home and letting them chill out.

So I don't know.

I would I mean I would imagine just like it may have seen due to the movement of the big push on the else that they have.

I mean, not so much a question, just I guess a comment if we want to have any conversation about it.

People continue to reach out to me as a board member related to the wait times.

And obviously, there's been a complicated, like difficult sort of policy discussion about the fact that we don't euthanize for space at all, but we're telling a member of the public if they pick up a stray, they have to hold it for four weeks before it can be dropped off of the shelter.

Yeah.

I mean, I don't know if there's sort of a black and white or heroic decision about that, but then there's obviously like a good idea.

I don't know if there's a black and white solution.

Um other than going through and killing healthy animals.

Yeah.

So I mean, that's what we would essentially have to do if they're wanting us to euthanizer space.

Yeah, and how do you determine who they use and how much of the community that's and then you're also gonna have the other side of that where we could obviously we could do that, then there's gonna be upset people for doing that as well.

So it's a double-edged sort.

Yeah.

Definitely willing to listen to and any suggestions or you know, recommendations, how you get around that, but yeah.

I I honestly think that the there needs to be some way to educate folks that there are worse ways to die than by euthanasia.

Um hit by car and then lying on the side of the road until passing on is not pretty.

Um dying on the end of a chain, which isn't straight, but you know, yeah, dying of starvation is not pretty.

Um there are worse things to happen to a dog than euthanasia.

Um I've seen dogs so mad that they can barely move themselves.

If a dog isn't receiving care, that's kind of where they end up.

Um I I don't know how to have that conversation with people that haven't seen it, and I don't know how to educate people, but they're definitely live release rate, is not the only number.

No, and it's not what we should be focused on.

We should be focused on humane treatment.

Um so yeah, I don't have any good advice, yeah, but I wish there were some way that we could have some sort of education system around without without bumming people out.

Yeah, because that's the problem is if you show them all these horrible things that are happening, they're just like, oh, it's all terrible.

I'm not having anything to do with any of it.

That's not where we need to be either.

How many do you know how many animals we have in foster right now?

Last I had asked, and this was probably or last I it was probably beginning of spring, it was 274.

Wow.

So now with all the kids, kittens and puppies coming in.

I can imagine that's gone up, but we also bring them in for the events, or they'll bring them in periodically and leave them for us to adopt them out here.

So it could be decreased, um, especially as they get older, they usually tend to bring them back.

So any other discussion or questions?

The other topic not related to stats, but just the general topic that I know you're aware of, Amanda, that people continue to ask in comments about is the play areas out front.

Can you just kind of level set sort of what the thought was about them, how they were intended to be used in what we can do?

Yeah, so I've asked about that, and I've asked parks department on like, hey, can we share this space?

What's what's the deal we would love to have for shelter animals?

Um from what I gather is it was a decision or two, like an agreement that parks usually run stock parks, so why not let them have a dog park?

Um I'm still working with parks trying to like, hey, can we we figure out a way to share this space?

Or if you guys don't really need it, we would love to have it back.

Um I don't think it was ever set in stone like where it was supposed who was supposed to have it.

Um it was never from my understanding originated, like oh, this is just for this.

Um so that's still in discussion.

I'm actively working trying to get it to where we can at least share half of it or have the entire park because we have no green space.

Even just more basic though, because I I honestly don't even know about are there technically two dog parks in front of the city.

So it's four acres from my understanding.

Um acres, and they're it's split in half.

One size turf, one is grass.

You have to have a spot of half of it has to be for small dogs and the other for big, so that's why it's split.

That's what I know.

Right now it is still ours, volunteers staff still take animals out there.

We haven't turned it over just yet because they were they're still waiting on software and stuff for the locks on the gates and things like that.

So currently, no, it is not open to the public right now, and it's we're using it for the animals here right now.

But once it becomes available to the public, the shelter has to stop using it for sure.

Correct.

Correct.

Can't be shared space.

Um every animal has to be registered through the parks.

Um they have to have a tag to get in, they have to be up to date on all the vaccines.

Um can't share space because then we would be if someone says, Well, yeah, a shelter dog in there and have GRE now, my dog has GREM, you're liable for treating my animal.

So we are active.

That is something we are actually trying to do.

Yeah, good.

Okay.

Um can you can you share um anything about the budget recycle timeline and process and change?

Um so we have submitted our back.

We submitted a few weeks ago our submission of our request and budget.

Um a few weeks ago we also submitted our revenue forecasts.

So from this point on, I don't hear anything basically until the controller's office releases in the first week of August budget forecasts, or uh what the actual proposed budget is to be introduced by the mayor's office.

Um I would tell you we asked for it a lot because we're moving into the new shelter and historically fiscals at the end of the year after big staff increases, big supply budget increase, and big contract and spectral claim increases.

Oh, we're that's that's the big picture.

Um I can't definitively say for sure how things will land.

Uh and it'll be based on whether willing and able to give us I believe our committee uh community affairs committee is very late in August.

Uh August 28, 7th, and 28th, something like that, and the mayor's full council meeting where he presents the budget.

It's the first week August.

So we will be able to present in the next board meeting, which will conveniently also have the new uh member of the board of kind of what the budget actually is we did aim high this year.

Yeah, so the community affairs meeting in August, late August, that'll be the committee meeting in which there's a public hearing on the budget for and then I know from last year because I'm we I can present what's been presented to me our basically budget presentation in our committee meeting, which I think is that one schedule.

It's not 17th currently.

So they overcome down and tell you nice and in detail about where everything is how things landed.

Would you be able to email Brett and I the draft budget we submitted to the to the city?

Just our request knowing that that's obviously not approved, and yeah, I should read it all for you.

Yeah, thanks.

Since you mentioned it, no, I do have a question.

Just out of curiosity, you said you'd asked for increases to staff.

Um particular departments that you're looking to increase staffing for.

Uh main one is council.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Okay, we will adjourn our next meeting will be August 17th at 8:30 here in the I guess yes.

Thank you.