OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Animal Welfare Commission Meeting - July 13, 2026

City Council — Monday, July 13, 2026
BodyTulsa, Oklahoma
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, July 13, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 4:00:03

Transcript — Verbatim
1:18

I'd like to welcome everyone to the July 13, 530 meeting of the Animal Welfare Commission.

1:24

You can also view this on Cox, uh Channel 24 and TGov Online.org.

1:31

And we will now call the roll.

1:34

And call the meeting to order.

1:36

Roll call please.

1:37

Burke at present.

1:39

Stucky present.

1:41

Well, we have a quorum.

1:44

All right.

1:44

Is everybody had a chance to read item number two?

1:47

The minutes.

1:48

Motion to approve the minutes from our last meeting.

1:51

All right.

1:52

And I will second that.

1:53

It's been moved and seconded it.

1:56

And uh let's have a roll call, please.

1:59

Burke at present.

2:01

Yes.

2:02

Coonsweiler, yes.

2:04

Yes.

2:05

My name is misspelled, and I'm thinking, should I try to get that fixed or just let it go?

2:10

But there's no H in Teresa.

2:13

Oh, no, thank you.

2:15

Yes, we can get that.

2:18

You guys have changed the substance.

2:20

In my last meeting, we changed it because of a name misspelling, so we can just fix it.

2:25

Exactly.

2:28

We'll make sure she changed them.

2:30

Alright, item number three, new animal uh services facility update.

2:39

Um well it is coming along, they're getting ready to put asphalt on the ground, so uh drive by now, the front of the building looks almost complete.

2:53

It's just we're getting real close.

2:55

So we've got some tour set up for city councils, some other groups and where rescue partners have gone out there.

3:03

Um so it it's uh definitely on schedule and still tentative to get the keys, we hope by the end of September.

3:14

Of course, that means it'll take us a little while to get in there and we'll have to do a punch list, make sure everything's done, but um it's getting close.

3:25

And I should have introduced you, Sherry Carrier as our animal services director.

3:30

I appreciate that.

3:31

And I'll let you all introduce yourself when we get to the item.

3:36

Uh number four, new diversion initiatives, shelter support network.

3:42

So shoulder support network friends of TAS, also animal services.

3:54

Um we've come together to start something new.

3:59

Um, been trying to do multiple things for um kind of changing the path before we get to the Silly.

4:09

Spain order has been a big one that we're still trying to push for education and um potentially finding hopefully more funding in the future for that.

4:21

Um our friends of TAS group, and I'll let you all introduce yourselves.

4:27

Um, we came together and decided that we were gonna try something a little bit different.

4:34

Thank goodness we have them and their support because they're volunteers that are helping us, and I mean a lot of you guys are there multiple times a week.

4:48

And um, and um so part of our diversion efforts, uh our diversion coordinator is Allie, and um, she's working directly with friends of TIS.

4:59

I see some more coming.

5:01

Um so we determined that there's four categories that we would partner and they would assist us, and that would be for anybody that's surrendering an animal for supplies, potential medical peer support, and some housing issues.

5:21

So peer support could be you know, hey, I got a puppy two weeks ago from you all, it's not working out.

5:28

We're trying to pass it off to them so that they can maybe give them some training tips, go over some things with them because we don't want animals coming back in if we got adopted.

5:38

We want to make sure it's a good fit, and then also people that have owned animals for a while that need support, but we just don't have the time or opportunity to be able to work with those people individually, like this group of women do, so um I can't say enough about um how grateful we are for you all, um because like I said, we wouldn't be able to do this.

6:09

Um we're doing this out of the goodness of their work, and um I can't imagine not having this opportunity, so I'll let them tell you a little bit more about it.

6:21

But we just kicked it off July 1st, and we're gonna see how it goes for 30, 60 days, see how many differences, or how many people that we've been able to help, or they've been able to help, and then see how many what the reduction is of animals that are coming back in to the shelter for being uh surrendered.

6:46

So this is just one more step to put a tool in our tool belt.

6:51

So this uh, you want to introduce everybody here and then we can probably start out online.

6:57

So my name's Nissa, I'm the president of the shelter support network.

7:03

I'm here, I'm Isabella Frank, Cassidy Springs.

7:08

Susan Brasson.

7:10

We're just really we really appreciate you coming here tonight taking some time out of your evening and definitely helping the shelter and sharing.

7:19

We really appreciate that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Miscellaneous████████████████████████████████████36%
Historic Preservation█████████████████████21%
Animal Welfare█████████████13%
Public Safety███████7%
Water And Wastewater Management█████5%
Mental Health Awareness████4%
Engineering And Infrastructure███3%
Pedestrian Safety██2%
Economic Development██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Animal Welfare Commission Meeting - July 13, 2026

The Animal Welfare Commission convened on July 13, 2026 at 5:30 PM in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The meeting covered updates on the new animal services facility, a new diversion initiative in partnership with the Shelter Support Network, and progress on the Invest North Grant. The commission approved the previous meeting's minutes.

Minutes Approval

  • The commission voted unanimously to approve the minutes from the last meeting. A member noted a misspelling of her name ("Teresa" without an H) and requested correction, which was agreed upon.

Discussion Items

  • New Animal Services Facility Update: Animal Services Director Sherry Carrier reported that construction is progressing, with asphalt soon to be laid and the front of the building nearly complete. Keys are tentatively expected at the end of September. Tours have been arranged for city council members and rescue partners.
  • New Diversion Initiatives – Shelter Support Network: A pilot program launched July 1, 2026 in partnership with Friends of Tulsa Animal Services and the Shelter Support Network. The initiative aims to slow shelter intake by providing resources in four areas: supplies, medical support, peer support, and housing. Cases are triaged at the shelter and referred to the network. Calls received involved medical needs, a post-surgery owner unable to care for an active dog, and general support. The network also manages social media (10,000 followers) to promote adoptions.
  • Invest North Grant: The commission received an update on a grant from the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKF) for two dedicated Animal Control Officers in North Tulsa. The grant also may fund spay/neuter and fence repair. A meeting is scheduled at the end of July to finalize changes. The target area covers approximately six square miles including the Whitman and Comanche Park neighborhoods.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made.

Key Outcomes

  • The minutes from the previous meeting were approved unanimously with a correction to a member's name.
  • The new diversion pilot program was introduced and will be evaluated over 30-60 days.
  • The Invest North Grant project continues to develop, with a follow-up meeting at the end of July.
  • The new animal services facility remains on schedule for a late September key turnover.

Meeting Transcript

I'd like to welcome everyone to the July 13, 530 meeting of the Animal Welfare Commission. You can also view this on Cox, uh Channel 24 and TGov Online.org. And we will now call the roll. And call the meeting to order. Roll call please. Burke at present. Stucky present. Well, we have a quorum. All right. Is everybody had a chance to read item number two? The minutes. Motion to approve the minutes from our last meeting. All right. And I will second that. It's been moved and seconded it. And uh let's have a roll call, please. Burke at present. Yes. Coonsweiler, yes. Yes. My name is misspelled, and I'm thinking, should I try to get that fixed or just let it go? But there's no H in Teresa. Oh, no, thank you. Yes, we can get that. You guys have changed the substance. In my last meeting, we changed it because of a name misspelling, so we can just fix it. Exactly. We'll make sure she changed them. Alright, item number three, new animal uh services facility update. Um well it is coming along, they're getting ready to put asphalt on the ground, so uh drive by now, the front of the building looks almost complete. It's just we're getting real close. So we've got some tour set up for city councils, some other groups and where rescue partners have gone out there. Um so it it's uh definitely on schedule and still tentative to get the keys, we hope by the end of September. Of course, that means it'll take us a little while to get in there and we'll have to do a punch list, make sure everything's done, but um it's getting close. And I should have introduced you, Sherry Carrier as our animal services director. I appreciate that. And I'll let you all introduce yourself when we get to the item. Uh number four, new diversion initiatives, shelter support network. So shoulder support network friends of TAS, also animal services. Um we've come together to start something new. Um, been trying to do multiple things for um kind of changing the path before we get to the Silly. Spain order has been a big one that we're still trying to push for education and um potentially finding hopefully more funding in the future for that. Um our friends of TAS group, and I'll let you all introduce yourselves. Um, we came together and decided that we were gonna try something a little bit different. Thank goodness we have them and their support because they're volunteers that are helping us, and I mean a lot of you guys are there multiple times a week. And um, and um so part of our diversion efforts, uh our diversion coordinator is Allie, and um, she's working directly with friends of TIS. I see some more coming. Um so we determined that there's four categories that we would partner and they would assist us, and that would be for anybody that's surrendering an animal for supplies, potential medical peer support, and some housing issues. So peer support could be you know, hey, I got a puppy two weeks ago from you all, it's not working out. We're trying to pass it off to them so that they can maybe give them some training tips, go over some things with them because we don't want animals coming back in if we got adopted.

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