REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
December 17, 2019
FROM
TRUDY RAYMUNDO, Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT
Title v
Donation of Emergency Animal Disaster Supplies from the California Veterinary Medical Foundation
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Accept donation from the California Veterinary Medical Foundation of animal sheltering supply cache valued at approximately $15,000 to augment the Department of Public Health, Animal Care and Control’s emergency supplies to assist animals in the event of a disaster.
2. Authorize the Department of Public Health Chief of Animal Care and Control to execute the Emergency Animal Supply Deposit Terms and Conditions form, as required by the California Veterinary Medical Foundation, in order to receive the donated cache to be utilized for emergency animal sheltering needs.
(Presenter: Brian Cronin, Chief of Animal Care and Control, 387-9152)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The donation of the animal sheltering supply cache is valued at approximately $15,000 and funded 100% by the California Veterinary Medical Foundation (CVM Foundation).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Department of Public Health, Animal Care and Control (ACC) provides a comprehensive array of services to pets and animal owners throughout San Bernardino County’s unincorporated areas and contract municipalities. These services include, but are not limited to: 1) providing field animal control services; 2) offering state mandated animal shelter and pet adopting services; 3) providing residents with public education and a spay/neuter voucher program; 4) effectively utilizing social media to encourage community engagement and awareness related to animal welfare and animal control concerns; 5) providing pet licensing and “at cost” rabies vaccination clinics/rabies control program; and 6) partnering with over 550 nonprofit, private sector animal rescue organizations to achieve one of the lowest pet euthanasia rates within animal shelter systems operated throughout San Bernardino County.
The CVM Foundation, the charitable arm of the California Veterinary Medical Association, received a grant from the Governor of California to create and distribute animal emergency shelter supply caches throughout the state. These caches provide immediate access to supplies for animal sheltering during disasters. The objective is to place a cache in every county in California at no cost to the county. During the pilot project implementation, a cache was placed in six counties, which were then accessed and utilized by the host agencies during disaster response and recovery phases proving to be invaluable in providing needed supplies during critical times. CVM Foundation found that all of the host agencies have been able to replenish the caches with supplies, thus increasing local resiliency and capacity to respond to emergencies.
ACC was contact by CVM Foundation and was offered a free cache of animal sheltering supplies to assist the County in its animal emergency management efforts. The supply cache comes in the form of a 20ft x 8ft x 8ft steel cargo container (delivered at no cost to the County) filled with non-perishable items to be immediately available for basic emergency animal sheltering for companion animals. The cache will contain disposable water/food bowls, clipboards, neck identification bands, cages, kitty litter, disposable litter pans, leashes, supply cart, zip ties and 30 gallon storage bins. The donation of the animal sheltering supply cache is valued at approximately $15,000. County Policy No. 06-01 requires approval by the Board of Supervisors to accept donations valued over $10,000.
The County currently has two existing cache of animal sheltering supplies: one located in the High Desert region at the Apple Valley Animal Shelter, an ACC contracted animal shelter provider; and one located in the Central Valley region at the County’s Devore Animal Shelter. ACC proposes to place CVM Foundation’s donated cache in the Morongo Basin region at the Yucca Valley Animal Shelter, a County owned property in partnership with the Town of Yucca Valley. This would place the emergency cache assets in strategic regions of San Bernardino County and strengthen the response and assistance to animals in the event of a disaster.
Approval of this item will allow ACC to accept the donation from CVM Foundation and authorize the DPH Chief of ACC to execute the Emergency Animal Supply Deposit Terms and Conditions form, as required by CVM Foundation, in order to receive the donated cache of animal sheltering supplies. The supplies may only be utilized within the State of California and only during a declared an emergency by the appropriate authority or at a training exercise for emergency responders. In addition, the County agrees to share the supplies with other municipalities under these same emergency conditions.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Adam Ebright, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on December 3, 2019; Finance (Paul Garcia, Administrative Analyst, 386-8392) on November 27, 2019; and County Finance and Administration (Tanya Bratton, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0332) on November 27, 2019.