At tonight's Finance and Personnel Committee meeting, the Public Forum segment featured an appeal from Dorothy Gain regarding what she considers to be the sorry state of affairs at the Neenah Animal Shelter, 951 County Road G. According to Ms. Gain, she is probably "the only volunteer left". The bulk of the Board of Directors has quit leaving "two women" in charge. They've hired a fellow for $40,000 a year who, reportedly, sits at the computer all day leaving the care of the animals up in the air. Speaking of the air, the smell of the place is the primary indicator of the decline in animal care. The two girls who are supposed to be cleaning cages and such, "have their little ways" of successfully deferring those duties if they whine enough to the new director, the fellow at the computer.
I checked the web site and saw a statement on the home page that seems to acknowledge the higgledy-piggledy state the shelter is in [emphasis mine]:
Over the past several months, the Neenah Animal Shelter has been reorganizing and making personnel changes. Change is difficult in any business but it seems especially so for people working in the animal welfare business where emotions have a tendency to run high. The Neenah shelter is working hard to set new policies and procedures that will benefit both the Neenah area community and the homeless animals under their care. Reorganizing takes time and trial and error when it comes to formulating procedures. For that reason, the shelter is inviting a HSUS representative to visit the Neenah Shelter and offer their suggestions and recommendations. The Neenah Animal Shelter is excited about the new direction the shelter is taking and trusts the community will support their efforts to improve community services and care for homeless pets. All during this reorganization, the welfare of the animals has remained the primary focus of the non-profit group and will continue to be their focus in the future.
Ms. Gain said that she talked with four different people at the county and got no satisfaction, and to a lady with the Town of Neenah who told her that the shelter was a "private concern". She was clearly upset at what she considered to be the decline in the care of the animals at the shelter.
The City Attorney, James Godlewski, pointed out that the City of Neenah has no jurisdiction over the shelter since it's in the Town of Neenah. Alderman Marge Bates said that the city pays a small stipend every year ($5000) to the shelter to take strays from the city. Her point was that the city has some interest in the shelter; if nothing else to ensure that the animals we place in the shelter are treated well. She also said that it appears that the new director may have changed the "no kill" policy at the shelter to allow for a "time out"; that is, after a certain amount of time, if an animal is not adopted, then the shelter workers could have it euthanized.
At the end of the meeting, Council President, Todd Stevenson, brought up the issue again. He thought the police department should help in an evaluation of the quality of service we're getting from the shelter. Each year there is a report, but conditions can change quickly. He's heard that "performance out there has changed dramatically". He's had phone calls from constituents and he, himself, has had reason to go there. He felt that it was right that, as consumers of the shelter's services, the Council and the Police Department should be more actively aware of the conditions there.
The other items on the agenda were discussed and approved. The details of those items can be found here. No surprises:
- The committee will recommend to the City Council that the Parks Commission go ahead with the purchase of the parcel of land at the corner of Cedar and Belmont for $30,000. Parks Department Director, Eileen McCoy, gave her usual succinct and organized account of what use the Parks Department will make of the land and how the Commission arrived at the decision to purchase.
- The committee will recommend to the City Council to approve the actions of Finance Director Easker in depositing city funds into banking institutions that are not yet designated as approved depositories. Nothing unusual there; Easker is keeping on top of the best interest rates with sufficient security for the city's funds.
- The Mayor, George Scherck, filled in details of his request that funds from the Storm Water Utility fund be used to pay a membership fee in a new organization of Wisconsin municipalities affected by the expensive and near-draconian regulations being imposed by the DNR regarding the construction of storm water retention ponds. In particular, the deadline of 2013 isn't practical in any way, shape, or form considering the extent of the regulations and the economic conditions. The Alliance of Cities and the League of Municipalities are both attempting to influence the state legislature. The new membership fee is part of the activities of the League.