Lake Forest on Tuesday became
the third south Orange County city to decide to explore alternatives to
county-provided animal care in the wake of a recent grand jury report that
alleges shoddy management and crumbling conditions at OC Animal Care.
At its meeting, the Lake Forest
City Council followed Laguna Hills and Rancho Santa Margarita’s lead in
answering the grand jury’s report and demanding a schedule and cost from the
county. Meanwhile, they also will explore cost-effective ways to partner with
nearby cities in a joint plan to provide animal care locally.
Officials from Laguna Hills and
representatives from Mission Viejo Animal Services spoke on behalf of a
jointly-operated local shelter.
Next steps could include
forming a committee with representatives from the cities to determine possible
locations, costs, employee salaries and volunteer assistance. Sharon Cody, who
runs the Dedicated Animal Welfare Group for the Mission Viejo shelter,
advocated the local-run shelter and spoke of the quality and lower cost that
Mission Viejo provides through its services to its residents as well as Laguna
Niguel and Aliso Viejo, which contracts with them.
Last week, the Laguna Hills
City Council voted to pursue a study with neighboring cities in considering a
joint-authority shelter in South County. A week before that, Rancho Santa
Margarita voted to move forward to join adjacent cities in discussions over a
joint shelter.
San Juan Capistrano will be the
next South County city to consider options and is expected to do so in the next
month.
“We’re definitely willing to
look at other proposals,” San Juan City Councilman Sam Allevato said Tuesday.
If San Juan Capistrano also
votes to look at a joint shelter with the other cities, there could be no more
county-served cities in South Orange County. San Clemente and Dana Point
already operate a joint animal shelter. Mission Viejo Animal Services contracts
with Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel. Laguna Beach Animal Shelter contracts with
Laguna Woods.
The idea isn’t new. In 2008, an
animal activist grass-roots effort was underway in each of the county-served
cities, including Aliso Viejo. Aliso Viejo ended its contract with the county
and began contracting with Mission Viejo Animal Services in 2009 after studies
done by representatives from each city appeared to show that a local venture in
South County would prove more expensive than staying with the county.
But that was a mistake, Lake
Forest City Councilman Jim Gardner said. The proposals worked up in 2008 didn’t
take revenues of a new local shelter into account.
City officials in Lake Forest,
Laguna Hills and Rancho Santa Margarita say the county has long been dragging
its feet in getting a new shelter built. They also know each city will be on
the hook to pay for the new facility – possibly to the tune of $1 million,
Gardner said.
The county’s aging shelter was
built in 1941. Discussions by the Board of Supervisors to build a new shelter
have been underway for two decades.
South O.C. city officials say a
joint shelter would lower the cost of animal care for its residents, offer
better quality care and with a lower euthanasia rate and better service.
“This is the beginning of a
resurgence to get the idea going again,” said Gardner, who in 2008 was among
South County animal advocates pushing for separation from the county. “In 2008,
it was pushed by citizens. Now you have several people on all the councils in
the cities pushing it.
The cities’ action follows an
Orange County grand jury report in May that lambasted county officials for poor
shelter conditions and a failure in moving forward with building a new shelter.
In June, they issued a second
report with results of an investigation brought from veterinarians and animal
groups.
In its report, “If Animals
Could Talk about the Orange County Shelter,” the grand jury investigated
concerns regarding employee morale, human and animal issues, feral cat polices
and allegations of criminal behavior. In 2014, a workplace investigation report
of the Animal Shelter was ordered by the Board of Supervisors and conducted by
an outside firm whose findings revealed significant evidence to support the
complaints and allegations.
The grand jury reports asked
cities to review their commitment to be part of OC Animal Care and their
consideration on pursuing other options.
Grand jurors also said
contracting should demand the county provide a viable plan with cost and
schedule estimates for a new facility or facilities to evaluate as part of
their commitment review.
The county
shelter is expected to submit its response to the grand jury’s findings within
90 days.
July 22, 2015
The
Orange County Register
By
Erika I. Ritchie
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