Council members will discuss plans for the city’s animal control facility and operations at tonight’s City Council meeting.
The animal control discussion will take place during a work session prior to tonight’s 6:30 p.m. meeting in the Council Chamber at 2401 Market St.
An animal control advisory committee started work in 2015 after being appointed by council when protestors cried foul over conditions of the shelter at that time.
“We gathered all of that and presented a plan to the council,” said City Manager Rick Davis said. “The first part of that plan called for a more robust marketing plan for the animals. How are we going to increase adoptions and decrease euthanasia?”
Davis said that since that time things have changed. In June, it was reported that adoptions, owner reclaims and rescues from the shelter increased from 1,435 animals in fiscal year 2015 to 1,941 animals in fiscal year 2016. This was said to be an increase in live release outcomes of more than 35 percent between the two years.
“Even those that have been critical of the city in terms of the animal control would admit that in the last couple of years we had a dramatic decrease in euthanasia and increase in adoptions,” Davis said. “It is not ‘mission accomplished’ yet, but we hired a senior animal control officer to help market the animals. She gets the word out and encourages adoptions.”
Davis said the city analyzes social media and websites to “exercise the relationships with rescue groups to get the animals out the door.”
“We are looking to take things to the next level,” Davis said.
Davis said he will recommend some changes to the animal organization, the animal control facility and to the city’s code.
“Our code right now needs to be updated,” Davis said. “And our organization needs to change in order to take care of that dimension where we have not been robust enough at, the animal health and welfare. Also, our facility does not accommodate the level of public service that we want to provide at the shelter. The bricks and mortar have to change and the organizational structure has to change. And the code has to change.”
The discussion takes place at the work session and is open to the public. Council members meet and talk, but do not take a vote. The session begins at 5:30 p.m. tonight and is held in the Hullum Conference Room at City Hall, also 2401 Market St.
Council meets following the session.
Agenda items and a video posting of the meeting can be viewed at http://baytown.org/city-hall/city-council/agendas-minutes
Viewers can also see the meeting as it is aired live in Baytown on Comcast Channel 16 and streamed live and on demand on http://baytown.org.
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