Workshop set forth options for achieving ‘no-kill’
The San Marcos City Council is poised to consider options to move the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter (SMRAS) to no-kill status in the coming years. Last week at a workshop meeting, the council heard a presentation about the shelter and ways to make progress toward a 90 percent live outcome rate.
“It’s very easy to point to a lot of deficiencies and issues we’ve been having,” City Manager Bert Lumbreras said, “but I think we need also to pause for a minute and celebrate that there has been progress; there has been good work.”
Lumbreras noted that the shelter had a live outcome of about 45 percent in Fiscal Year 2016. In the most recent fiscal year, the shelter had a live outcome of 73.4 percent, and in the most recent quarter the live outcome rate was 81 percent.
“It’s something to be proud of,” Lumbreras said. “It’s something to celebrate.”
Lumbreras emphasized that moving the shelter toward the no-kill threshold of a 90 percent live outcome rate is something for all entities that use the shelter to work on.
“This is not a city of San Marcos issue; it’s a community issue,” he said, listing just some of the parties that can contribute to the efforts: “Not only myself as your city manager, but council at the policy level, our excellent staff that works hard every day, our partners, our volunteers.”
Lumbreras said that collaboration with animal advocates, stakeholders and regional partners will be a part of the plan to move forward. He also noted that the city does not want to rush into changes without preparation, favoring the incremental implementation of solutions.
“If we’re going to get there,” he said, “let’s make sure we do it right.”
Jeff Caldwell, head of neighborhood services, and DerryAnn Krupinsky, assistant director of neighborhood enhancement, gave the presentation, which included some history and a list of the core services SMRAS offers. The presentation emphasized the importance of partnerships with organizations like PAWS and Emancipet and with the regional entities that use the shelter, including Hays County and the cities of Buda and Kyle.
“We can’t emphasize enough — partners are an essential part of this,” Krupinsky said.
Caldwell and Krupinsky presented three options for the shelter at the workshop. The first is for the shelter to stay on its current course by using available funding and resources within multiple budgets, and work with the community and regional partners to develop a plan to achieve the 90 percent live outcome rate. The second option is a more focused approach with the shelter’s local and regional partners to develop a plan to achieve 90 percent live outcomes within five years and allocate additional funding for the shelter each year. The third option is for the shelter to have a more focused approach and become a single-entity shelter, focusing on restricting intake, fund needs as identified and set aside budget funds over multiple budgets, and develop a plan to achieve the 90 percent live outcome rate within five years. All three options included the city council adopting a resolution to bring back, within six months, an implementation plan with timeline for achieving a higher live outcome rate. City staff is recommending option 2.
Caldwell said the sixmonth timeframe will give the city time to come up with needed initiatives to get the plan moving and see what it might look like and what the shelter’s options are.
“This is going to be a growing project,” he said.
Lumbreras said that having a goal of achieving nokill status within five years does not mean the city will wait five years to get to 90 percent.
“If we get there in two years, great. If we get there in three years, it’s great,” he said. “But it gives us a little bit of time.”
Lumbreras said that contractual issues with the city’s partners could take time to iron out, and he wanted to make particularly sure that the city has time to look at its budgets and make sure it has some capacity to give the shelter more financial support.
“I just worry about that,” he said.