AS-2010-08-17Animal Services
Minutes of Meeting
August 18, 2010
The Coppell Animal Services Board met on August 18, 2010 at 5:30pm. The meeting
was held at the City Animal Shelter, located at 821 S. Coppell Rd., Coppell, TX. The
following members were present: Lisa Sawyer, president and Reid Garfield DVM. City
liaisons Manager Robert Smith, Lt. Shawn Fullagar and animal services officers Charlene
Trego and Jonathan Horner were present. There were four members of the community
present at this meeting, Tressa Broadhead, Tom Sawyer and two unnamed citizens.
Item 1: Call meeting to order
Lisa Sawyer, board president, called the meeting to order at 5:32pm.
Item 2: Monthly report for Animal services, prepared by Robert Smith
Mrs. Sawyer passed out copies of the shelter statistics for the month of July. No one
had questions or comments about the reports at this time.
Item 3: Chained dogs in Coppell
Mrs. Sawyer asked if there is a problem with the tethering of dogs in the city. Robert
said that there was not much tethering that we have been made aware of. He recited
Chapter 821 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, Subchapter D, Section 821.077,
unlawful restraint of a dog. No one had any other questions or comments regarding this
issue.
Item 4: Sponsorship of animals in the shelter
Robert Smith explained our “guardian angel” program for adoptable animals. Lisa
Sawyer asked about the possibility of putting something about this on the website. She
brought up seeing one of our dogs in the local paper and how it was advertised as being
free and sponsored by a citizen. Dr. Garfield asked Lisa about the program and the
newspaper article and she explained what she knew and had read.
Item 5: Open discussion
Discussion was opened. Coppell resident Tom Sawyer cited examples of how the
breed rescue organization conducted a similar program to our guardian angel and
presented materials to Robert Smith. He explained that “his” program accepted credit
cards, had online access and the option for monthly giving and did not recommend a
specific amount of monetary gift. He stated that he feels this type of program would
improve our success.
Coppell resident Tressa Broadhead asked how the shelter utilizes donations. Lisa
Sawyer was unsure and referred the question to Robert Smith. Robert explained that most
of the funds are used for the sterilization of adoptable pets at the shelter and anything that
is not traditionally in our yearly budget provided by the city. Tressa then questioned why
we did not use them for the vaccination of the animals Robert responded by explaining to
her that we already have a program in place, in which a veterinarian visits the shelter
periodically and vaccinates the adoptable animals.
Mr. Sawyer stated that he was disappointed in the publicity that the shelter was getting,
especially online. He was upset that prior meeting minutes and other documentation was
not accessible online. He said there needs to be more of a “paper trail” so the community
can keep abreast of what’s going on. He also stated that he believes the board should be
comprised of more members, citing 5-7 as an ideal number.
Tressa Broadhead questioned Mrs. Sawyer about whether or not she believed the board
needed more members. Lisa did not lean in favor or against the idea. She did, however,
state that it was not an animal control issue and is something that should be addressed by
higher levels such as council and/or city management. Tom Sawyer cited that other,
neighboring cities had 5-7 members on their board, specifically mentioning Lewisville
and Carrollton. Lt. Fullagar expressed that there had been a change in command for our
department and that he would express some of these concerns with the higher ups. Mrs.
Broadhead stated that she had already spoken with city officials regarding this issue.
Mr. Sawyer began, again, stating his disappointment with lack of documentation and
similar issues. Dr. Garfield asked where the minutes from past meeting are at. Robert
Smith said he would get to the bottom of that matter. Mrs. Broadhead stated that she
wants a definite answer about whether or not these issues will be addressed or voted on in
a future meeting. Dr. Garfield agreed that these issued do, indeed, need to be brought
before the city officials designated to possibly make changes. Mrs. Broadhead began
explaining the way the board was operated in 2007-2009, when she was a member.
Again, she mentioned the larger board that are held by surrounding cities and the positive
impact she believes it has on the decision making process. Lisa Sawyer stated that she
doesn’t understand why anything should be changed, as she believes Animal Services is
doing an excellent job and there is not a need for improvement/changes at this time.
Tom Sawyer addressed some possible ordinance changes he believes should be made.
He believes we should have some type of “commercial” dog breeding ordinance that does
not permit such activity within the city. He would like to know why nothing like that is in
place currently. Lisa Sawyer explained that the mentality of people will not necessarily
change because there are people who obey laws and people who do not obey laws across
the board. Mr. Sawyer explained what he believes the differences are in types of
breeders. Mrs. Broadhead stated that there are several breeders in Coppell. Mr. Sawyer
stated that Lewisville is doing a good job with keeping mass breeding under control and
again mentioned the size of the board. Dr. Garfield stated that the board size does not
have much impact of the actions of animal breeders. Mrs. Broadhead believes that with
more members come more opinions and ideas and a “voice for the citizens.” She and Mr.
Sawyer believe that the extra board members should be regular residents with no
affiliation to the shelter or an animal rescue. Tressa stated that she wanted a “true
quorum.” She stated that there hasn’t been success in the past getting things passed with
only three members. Mr. Sawyer again stated that he wishes for 7 members of the board.
Item 6: Adjournment:
Nothing else was addressed at this time. Lisa Sawyer adjourned the meeting at 5:58 pm.
Lisa Sawyer, Board President
Charlene Trego, recording secretary