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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0376.007 2000-2002 11 /6101 To: Aaron Chung and 114llembers of the Finanra Gommitt~ From: 1Vladelyn Sarrea 82-773 iCamakani Street Captasn Goon, Hi 967Q4 ~rv~~~ Tele: 323-2290 , .______ef~.____ _ t. ~u~~ c~oun~~l Subject: NACA Ftepor4 Good rooming couneil. Once again !stand before you with the same complaints about the lack of anima! control in our county. lUlaybe t should start out by thanking the county f®r spending ~12,04Q.00 of the teat payers' money to pay the National Animal Control Association to back up what Ginger Towle and i have been saying for the past ~ years. The RIACA report points out that many changes should be made with the animal shelters, the animal control contract, the training of animal control officers and the laws and their enforcement. 1`heirs is a grandiose plan that would be wronderful 'rn a perfet~ world with unlimited funding. However basics are basics. Such as proper training, better shelters, enforcing the laws and giving the public good service. NACA says that they do not think that the animal contra! contrast should be split between two separate agencies because people would be confused as to which agency would be for their certain location. 1 disagree with this. There wilt always be some people that will be confused, however, i believe that if both agencies worked together, this wouk# not be a problem. We -must remember that the Sig Island is larger than some states, and yet we are considered one county. if both agencies worked together, having a connected data base for records of citations, lost and found animals, and vicious dog designations, we would be ab#e to servE the public much better. The people on the west side of this island who donate tune and money to the Humane Society would tike to see their money go to improve the shelter on the west side. As proven in the past, most of the money raised by Hawaii Island Humane Soc:~ety has been spent on the improvement of the Keaau shelter, whieh they own. A~~ the animals deserve to have good care and a good facility, not just the ones on the east side. for example, when I was the manager of the Kona shelter, ~ years ago, a lady Warned Annie rvito left ~~Q,OQO.Oit in insurance policies, to t~ used to build a separate eat facility at the Kona shelter. At that tune, t was able to line up volunteer carpenters, eleetrieians, and plumbers, and Hiram Rivera donated his tirvae and constnaction ~uiprnent and cleared the front lot at the Kona shelter, removed huge boa~lders and brought in top fill in preparation to baaild the cat facility. To this date, . ~~,r fQ there s#ill is no cat fiacility at th€ IEona shelter. Whare is the $3®,000.00 and why did Hawaii Island Humane Society send out a broc~ture telling the public that donations of X100.00 or more would entitle their name to be inscribed on the Kona cat facility, and yet it is still not built?' This Island is tov big for one agency, and it should be stressed that the animal control contract is to errforce the ani~tal ct~nta4 laws. In a letter to Legislative Auditor, Connie ICiriu, dated 11/110/01 from Grayson Hashida, executive ®irector of Hawaii Island Humane Society, ~81r. Hashida states that he "urges the County to establish a separate animal contro9 division within the Police C?epartmerrl, while continuing to contract with HfHS to run the shelters." If Hawaii Island Humane Society just wants to "shelter" the animals and not enforce the laws, t~~ thego sAts~t~At~ mot ~e awa~~c~ a arse~aB c®s~1 cow At the IoIACA public meeting held at the bona t)utdoor Circle, a recent manager of the HMS's &Cona shelter stood up and said "~6hat's the sense in giving a ~20.OD citation if people are jus# going to throw it in a draw and continue to break the lard'. This manager obviously did no# know the laws or the tine. This is an example of FIIHS's lack of training. If a manager does not know the laws, I am to think that the rest of the oft'icers are not properly trained either. Time does not allow me to make comment on all that I agree with or disagree with in t'he IdACA report, except I would like to say in closing that I do not think that there should be a special division of the police department to enforce the animal control laws. It is not appropriate to have a separation of the enforcement staff and another agency providing the sheltering. This would cause more confusion and paper work if an Animal Control ®f~cer was not at the shelter to issue a citation when a person redeemed their dog. However, I do think that the animal control contract should corns under the Jrerrsdictiort of the Police Cepartment rather' than the Finance I3epartrnerrt as they are both law errtorcement agencies. Thank you for your time and I will be happy to ans~+er any questions that the council may have now ar in the future. known the care and love of a human c~~~,r~uon. Un the streets, they tace the Gangers or ia~~-~1~~ ~ ~ .b . vicious dogs, poisoning, and starvation. Far many of them, this is their last chance to find a true home. Many more, feral and distrustful of humans, will never get that chance. What can we do to end this tragedy? The Hawaii Island Humane Society is working hard to save these lost and forgotten animals. We offer many programs to fight overpopulation of cats as well as educate the public on the proper care of our feline companions. HIHS programs include: - free intake of cats and kittens and all other animals, discouraging the abandonment of animals that will contribute to the feral population. -offering low-cost spay and neuter coupons to the public several times a year. -foster care of kittens until they are old enough for adoption. - adoptions of cats of all ages. -anew initiative to test sheltered cats for Feline Immunodeficiency Vixus (FIV) and feline leukemia, so that we may prevent the spread of those diseases among shelter cats and provide better information to adopters. new home and a second chance. This yeax, HIHS will take a huge step forward. We will be breaking ground in Kona for our Long-awaited cattery. Cats will then be housed iit their own facility, away from the stress of barking doggs. There will be playrooms for the cats. Windows for them to perch and obsexve the world around them. A quiet room for new °°"'i cats to calm down when they first arrive. A comfortable place for prospective ~ adopters to spend time and find the right cat for their home. Not only will the warm and welcoming atmosphere of the cattery encourage more adoptions, i~t,/will allow us to hold more than double our current capacity of cats in Kona. ~ ` 1 ou can help. Your donations will help us to make the dream of this cattery a reality. Help us fight for the animals of the Big Island and a brighter future for all companion animals. Sincerely, ~ Make a donation of $100 or more toward the cattery Grayson Hashida and leave a Legacy. Your name will be permanently Executive Director inscribed as a special feature of the building. Yes, I want to help the cats of the Big Island. Enclosed is my tax deductible contribution: The Hawaii 7stand Humane ~ ~ Socieh~ is a private, nonprofit charitable organization. A[I Will help us build a house for cats in the Kona shelter. Please donations are tax-deductible. indicate what name you would like inscribed in the cattery. ~ k y o ~ for you r su~~aort! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Will test two All donations ~!~""ENE Will sterilize Will sterilize cats for FIV will het the 2 female cats. 2 male cats. and FELV. p ~~~«TY cats 77ze mission of the society is to promote respect for alt animals, prevent cruelty to animals, efirninate pet overpopulation, arrci erthnncc the relationship between humans and anirrrads. Name Street City State Zip ? My check for $ is enclosed. (~i Please charge my credit card far $