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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-06-17 City Council (49)TO: FROMi B-’DGET 1996-98 City City of Palo Alto Manager’s Report HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT:POLICE AGENDA DATE: SUBJECT: June 17, 1996 CMR:299:96 Renewal of Emergency Animal Control and Care Service Agreement with the Town of Los Altos Hills REQUEST This report requests that the Council authorize the City Manager to execute the attached agreement with the Town of Los Altos Hills to continue contracted emergency animal control and care services for another year. RECOMMENDATIONS In August 1993, Council approved an agreement for the Animal Services Division of the Police Department to provide state-mandated and essential animal control and care services for the Town of Los Altos Hills. Staff recommends that Council authorize the City Manager to enter into the attached agreement that will allow for continuation of these services with Los Altos Hills for the period from July 1, 1996 to June 30, 1997. POLICY IMPLICATIONS This agreement does not represent, any change to existing policy. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY " On July 1, 1993, Santa Clara County discontinued animal control and care services to incorporated cities in the County. After reviewing their options, the cities of Mountain View, Los Altos and the Town of Los Altos Hills expressed a preference for contracting with the City of Palo Alto for mandated animal control and care services. Staff developed proposals to provide limited or emergency se~wices and calculated the sexwice levels for each city, together with the impact on animal control service to residents of Palo Alto. As a result, a one-year agreement was signed with Los Altos Hills in August 1993, and has subsequently been renewed annually since then. Staff will be returning to Council in August with the agreements for Mountain View and Los Altos. CMR:299:96 Page I of 3 The current agreement calls for staffto process 100 animals from the Town of Los Altos Hills. A review of the actual services provided for the 18 months from July 1994 to December 1995, indicates that the number of animals received (255) from the Town of Los Altos Hills exceeded the projections by 59 percent. As a result, staffs ability to meet objectives related to response times has been impacted. It is anticipated that demands for service from Los Altos Hills will remain at the cmrent level. Due to increases in the number of animals handled for the cities of Mountain View and Los Altos staff is recommending hiring of two half-time, temporary employees to assist with the additional workload. As stated previously, there has been a 59 percent increase in the number of animals handled from the Town of Los Altos Hills. Staff believes that the service levels for the upcoming year should not increase beyond what has occtu’ed over the last eighteen months. Based on these projections, the agreement cost have been increased from $30,200 to $35,358. This increase includes funding for additional staff, and a 3 percent increase for overhead cost. The scope of se~wices provided under the tenns of the agreement would remain unchanged fi’om the previous two years. FISCAL IMPACT The attached agreement represents full cost recover3, for providing the services. Total costs to provide these services are $35,358. Costs, including salal3, and benefits, equipment and utility costs and overhead, are pro-rated for each contracted city, based upon the projected number of animals handled and the amount of time provided by animal control officers. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT This is not a project for which an Environmental Assessment is required. ATTACHMENTS Agreement Exhibit A: Breakdown of Increased Cost PREPARED BY:Torin Fischer, Acting Superintendent of Animal Services CMR:299:96 Page 2 of 3 DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEW: DURKIN, Police Chief CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: Manager CMR:299:96 Page 3 of 3 AGREEMENT FOR EMERGENCY ANIMAL CONTROL AND SHELTERINGSERVICES BETWEEN THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AND THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS This Agreement for Emergency Animal Control and Sheltering Services is made this day of , 1996, by and between the City of Palo Alto ("Palo Alto") and the Town of Los Altos Hills ("Agency"). RECITALS WHEREAS, animal control and sheltering services previously provided by the County of Santa Clara--specifically those associated with dogs running at large and with rabies prevention, are required by State Law to be provided by the incorporated cities; and WHEREAS, Palo Alto has an established animal control and shelter operation; and WHEREAS, Agency has no current facilities or ability to provide those required animal services, and has requested that Palo Alto provide animal control and sheltering services within the jurisdiction of Agency, and for the citizens of Agency; and WHEREAS, Palo Alto has the capacity to provide such services to Agency as are hereinafter described, and is willing to do so; NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the following covenants, terms, and conditions, the parties agree: SECTION i.Term. The term of this Agreement shall commence on July I, 1996, and shall terminate on ~June 30, 1997. Any party may terminate this agreement by giving thirty (30) days’ prior written notice of termination at any time during the term of this Agreement. SECTION 2.Scope of Services. Palo Alto shall perform those services set forth in Exhibit "A", entitled "Scope of Services," attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. 960521 syn 0042561 1 SECTION 3.Agency’s Obligations. 3.1 Agency hereby warrants that it has, by duly enacted legislation, designated Palo Alto to perform, on behalf of Agency, all the duties that Paio Alto has agreed to perform in Section 2. 3.2 Agency further warrants that Palo Alto’s designated animal control employees, as described in Section 2, may legally enforce those sections of Agency’s municipal code that they have agreed to enforce in Section 2. Such code provisions specifically include, but are not necessarily limited to, violations of licensing provisions and violations of provisions prohibiting dogs from running at large. 3.3 Agency acknowledges and agrees that it shall provide any legal services deemed necessary (in Agency’s reasonable discretion) to prosecute criminal actions commenced by Palo Alto’s animal control employees, as described in Section 2. 3.4 Agency shall process and carry out its obligations with respect to its own locally enacted requirements for administrative hearings with respect to impoundment, dangerous animals and other similar circumstances; provided, however, that Palo Alto will cooperate with and assist Agency, as set forth in Section 2. ~ 3.5 Agency shall provide Palo Alto with a list of its duly established fees for the following services: Impoundment, Board, Disposal of dead owned pets, and Dog Licenses. Agency shall provide at least thirty (30) days written notice to Palo Alto prior to the effective date of any fee increase. SECTION. 4.Com_gensation. 4.1 .Agency shall pay to Palo Alto for all services provided under this agreement, the amount of Thirty-Five Thousand Three Hundred Fifty-Eight Dollars ($35,358.00) payable in equal quarterly payments of Eight Thousand Eight Hundred Thirty-Nine and 50/100 Dollars ($8,839.50). The first quarterly payment shall be due within thirty (30.) days after the date of execution of this agreement. The succeeding quarterly payments shall be payable on or before the last days of December 1995, March 1996, and May 1996, respectively. Palo Alto shall submit quarterly billing statements to Agency, as a courtesy reminder, but inadvertent failure or lateness of such billing shall not alter Agency’s obligation to make any payment in a timely manner. 960521 8yn 0042561 In the event of early termination of this agreement in accordance with Section i, Palo Alto shall refund to Agency a prorata amount of the quarterly payment made by Agency that covers the quarter during which such’termination is effective° 4.2 A breakdown of the amounts owing by Agency is set forth on Exhibit "B", attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. The costs described in Exhibit "B" include record keeping, forms and logs; citation filing; dispatching of calls to field units; telecommunication equipment; training of Animal Control Officers; maintenance of office equipment; miscellaneous office supplies; overhead, including general City administrative costs associated with personnel, payroll and accounting. Agency hereby acknowledges and agrees that the amount owing by Agency is based upon certain projected estimates of the time that will be required to perform the services set forth in Section 2, and agrees that if the number of animals handled from Agency exceeds the projected 150 animals per year by more than thirty percent (30%), or if the time spent by animal control officers providing service to Agency exceeds the projected 6 hours per week by more than twenty percent (20%), Palo Alto shall have the right to increase the amount owing by Agency, commensurate with such increase in workload° In addition to such an increase, Palo Alto does not anticipate that this agreement will require any major capital expenditures for shelter improvements; however, if the increase in services exceeds the expected volume to such an extent that shelter improvements are thereby deemed reasonably necessary, Palo Alto shall have the right to require Agency to pay its prorata share of the costs of such future improvements, if such improvements are agreed to in advance by Agency. The amount of Agency’s obligations to pay for any capital improvements would be subject to further negotiation by the parties. 4.3 At.the end of each quarter, Palo Alto shall pay to Agency any fees it has collected from individual citizens in accordance with Section 2, for the following services: dog (but not cat) licenses, impoundment fees, board fees and services fees for disposal of owned dead pets. Payment shall be by check from Palo Alto and shall not be a set off or deduction from the quarterly payments owing by Agency to Palo Altoo SECTION Indemnification and Hold Harmless° Agency acknowledges that it is required by law to provide some of the services set forth in Section 2, and that its citizenry desires provision of all services set forth in Section 2, but that it has no present ability to provide those services and has requested that Palo Alto provide such services. Therefore, Agency expressly agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Palo Alto, its officers, employees, and agents from any and all demands, 960521 syn 0042561 3 claims, liabilities, losses, charges, costs, or damages caused by or arising out of Palo Alto’s negligent acts or omissions in the performance of this agreement, except where the cause arises from Palo Alto’s sole negligence, wilful misconduct or criminal act. SECTION 6.Notices. All notices shall be submitted, in writing, and sent by the United States mail, certified and postage prepaid, by private express delivery service, by facsimile transmission followed by delivery of hard copy, or by any other process mutually acceptable to the parties to the addresses stated below or to any other address noticed in writing. PAL0 ALTO:Superintendent of Animal Services 3281 East Bayshore Road Palo Alto, CA 94303 AGENCY:Jeff Peterson, City Manager 26379 Fremont Road Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 SECTION 7.Miscellaneous. 7.1 This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of California. 7.2 This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. 7.3 Palo Alto shall not be deemed in default on account of any delay or failure to perform any obligations in accordance with Agency laws, the laws of the State of California, the Palo Alto Municipal. Code, and the terms of this Agreement, which directly results from an Act of God, including, without limitation, the act of a superior legal authority or an occurrence of nature. 7.4 The headings are not a part of this Agreement and shall have no effect upon the construction or interpretation of any part of this Agreement. 7.5 This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties concerning its subject matter, and there are no other oral or written agreements between the parties not incorporated in this Agreement. 7.6 This Agreement shall not be modified, unless the parties first agree to and approve of such modification in writing. 960521 syn 0042561 4 7.7 If a court of competent jurisdiction finds or ~ules that any provision of this Agreement is void or unenforceable, the unaffected provisions of this Agreement shall remain in effect. 7°8 The prevailing party .in any action brought to enforce the terms of this agreement may recover from the other party its reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees expended in connection with such an action° IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement in Palo Alto, County of Santa Clara, California, on t~e date first above stated. "PALO ALTO"AGENCY" CITY OF PALO ALTO TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS June Fleming, City Manager Jeff Peterson, City Manager APPROVED AS TO FORM:APPROVED AS TO FORM: Senior Asst. City Attorney City Attorney Police Chief Deputy City Manager, Administrative Services 960521 syn 0042561 EXHIBIT "A" SCOPE OF SERVICES Palo Alto shall provide emergency animal control and sheltering services to Agency, as hereinafter set forth. The services to be provided are described as Animal Control Services, which are essentially State mandated services, and Animal Care (sheltering) Services. i. Animal Control Services. Palo Alto shall provide Animal Control services to cover the entire incorporated jurisdiction of Agency,.as follows: a. .Palo Alto shall schedule an Animal Control Officer to provide regular field coverage, on a "request for service" basis, seven days per week, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. After hours services shall be provided by one on-call officer, who will service Agency’s entire service area. b. Palo Alto shall investigate ~iI animal bite incidents according to section 1920 of the California Health and Safety Code. An Animal Control Officer shall respond to the scene of the bite, capture the biting animal (if it is running at ~arge), impound and transfer the animal to Palo Alto’s Animal Services Center where the animal shall be held for rabies observation (quarantine). The officer shall contact the victim to investigate the circumstances of the bite and shall contact the animal’s owner, if known, to determine whether the animal is vaccinated or licensed. At the conclusion of the quarantine, both the animal’s owner and victim shall be notified by the officer. If Agency’s local laws require or provide for an administrative hearing in connection with impoundment, dangerous animals, or other circumstances, the Animal Control Officer will act as a witness and otherwise cooperate with Agency in carrying out its administrative obligations under its own laws. c. Palo Alto shall provide for the control of rabies through quarantine and testing of animals suspected of rabies, in a manner consistent with provisions of the California Health and Safety Code. If an animal becomes sick or dies during quarantine, the Animal Control Officer shall euthanize the animal if not dead, and shall decapitate the animal and transport the specimen to the Santa Clara County Health Department for rabies testing. The pet owner and victim shall be promptly notified of any animal that becomes sick or dies during the quarantine period. Palo Alto shall be responsible for filing an Annual Report of Local Rabies Control Activities and Statement of Enforcement with the California State Department of Health Services. d. Palo Alto shall provide the residents of Agency a dog license program and rabies vaccination clinic. Components of the dog license program shall include: 960521 syn 0042561 1 I.Availability of dog licenses either in person at the Animal Sezvices Center, by mail, or by phone or fax. Palo Alto will accept payment by Visa and Mastercard, as well as cash. ii. Licenses received by mail shall processed within five working days of receipt by Palo Alto. be iii.Dog owners may choose licenses with varying effective terms, from six months to three years, depending upon the effective term of the rabies vaccinations. iv.Renewal reminder notices shall be mailed prior to the expiration of the license and again on the deadline of the license, if not previously renewed. v.A complete owner name (alphabetically arranged) and address printout of all licenses issued within Agency’s jurisdiction shall be provided annually by Palo Alto to Agency. vi.Palo Alto shall provide one clinic for dog owners residing within Agency’s jurisdiction where they can receive an "actual" cost rabies vaccination for their dogs. Palo Alto shall report annually to Agency and to the State of California Department of Health Services the number of "actual cost" public vaccination clinics provided and the number of animals vaccinated and licensed at the clinic. The cost of "actual cost" .rabies vaccinations shall be dictated by the State of California. vii.Palo Alto shall provide owners of lost pets with information about animals impounded by it in accordance with section 32001 of the California Food and Agriculture Code. Palo Alto shall maintain records on public display at the Animal Services Center of all animals impounded, including those animals impounded dead on. arrival. ~viii.Upon receiving a call for services, Palo Alto shall convey abandoned, injured or sick dogs and cats to a veterinarian for care. Upon receiving a call for services, an Animal Control Officer shall respond to the scene of any sick or injured dog or cat and transport the animal to medical attention for care and treatment. iXo Upon receiving a call for services, Palo Alto shall pick up dead, unclaimed dogs and cats from public property or streets. x.Upon receiving a call for services, Palo Alto shall relocate wild animals which are known to present a hazard to human safety (e.g., bobcats, rattlesnakes, etCo), with the exception of mountain lions. 2960521 syn 0042561 2.Animal Care Services~Palo Alto agrees to accept and house animals received from residents of Agency, as well as those animals picked up by its Animal Control Officers within Agency’s jurisdiction, at its Animal Services and Placement Center ("Center"). Palo Alto agrees to receive and care for up to 150 live animals annually, under the following terms and conditions: a. The Center will be open to the public Monday through Saturday during hours which are convenient to the public. b. Palo Alto shall accept cash~ check or Visa or Mastercard for all services and products° c. Fees for impoundment, board, disposal of owned dead pets, and dog (but not cat) licensing shall be at the rates established by Agency. All other fees for services under this agreement shall be at the rates established by Palo Alto. d. - Palo Alto shall provide all necessary forms to receive animals and will take responsibility for compiling records from these impound records. e. Palo Alto shall provide kenneled animals with adequate room for the animal to move around and exercise. f. The Palo Alto Animal Control Officer shall be responsible for kenneling the animals delivered to the Center. g. Palo Alto shall provide, and Animal Control Officers shall administer, vaccinations to each tractable live dog or cat that is brought to the Center. Dogs shall receive a combination Canine Distemper-Infectious Hepatitis-Leptospirosis-Parainfluenza- Parvovirus vaccination, and cats shall receive a Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis-Calici-Distemper vaccination before the animal is kenneled° h. Palo Alto shall provide medical supervision of all housed animals, Any animals exhibiting symptoms of disease shall be isolated by Palo Alto staff in an isolation ward and treated by either the Palo Alto City Veterinarian or a veterinarian under contract with the City of Palo Alto. I. The Palo Alto City Veterinarian shall provide supervision of Agency’s animal health, hygiene and nutrition programs to ensure the well-being of all sheltered animals° All animals shall be fed once each day an adequate and balanced diet° j. Palo Alto shall provide secure and isolated kennels and cages for animals suspected of having rabies. These quarantined animals shall be examined by either an animal control officer or the City Veterinarian at the conclusion of their quarantine to certify the animal is not rabid. 3960521 syn 0042561 ko All cages ~and kennels shall be cleaned and disinfected on a daily basis by Palo Alto staff toe prevent transmission of disease. i. Palo Alto shall provide a veterinary medical facility in Palo Alto where injured dogs and cats can be delivered for emergency treatment 24 hours each day. For the purposes of this agreement, "Emergency treatment" shall be defined as treatment .of shock, control of bleeding, stitching of open wounds, splinting of broken bones, the administration of medicine to fight infection and stabilizing the animal until the pet’s owner can be located. m. Palo Alto shall hold stray domestic animals for a "stray holding period" of five (5) days, not including the day the animal is impounded or days when the facility is closed to the public. n. Palo Alto staff shall attempt to trace any identification on any impounded stray animal in order to contact the pet’s owner. o. At the conclusion of the stray holding period, stray animals may either be placed up for adoption or destroyed at Palo Alto’s discretion. Palo Alto staff shall keep clear and detailed records concerning every animal destroyed including the reason for euthanasia, the person who authorized the destruction of the animal and the date the animal was destroyed. p. Palo Alto shall provide for the disposal of all dead animals by rendering. Individual arrangements may be made with the owner of pets for private or communal cremations at cost to the owner° q. Palo Alto shall ask all prospective pet adopters to complete a pre-adoption application to ensure that the pet will be adequately cared for after adoption and will not be allowed to become a public nuisance. Upon request Palo Alto shall provide information on. the disposition of all animals delivered to the Center by residents or officers of Agency. r. On the fifth day of each month a statistical report shall be provided to Agency listing the number of animals received by Palo Alto, how the animals were received (stray vs. surrender, officer vs. citizen) and the disposition of these animals (dead on arrival, adopted, returned to owner, euthanized, released). The report shall be detailed by type of animal (dogs, cats and other)° So No animals, whether dead or alive, handled by Palo Alto shall be knowingly released or sold for any type of experimental purposes° to Humane box traps in assorted sizes shall be made available to residents of Agency for rent for the capture of cats. The traps shall be rented from and returned to the Center in Palo Alto. The cost of this service shall be paid by the resident. 960521 syn 0042561 4 u. Palo Alto shall provide information on responsible pet ownership, care, training and health. v. Educational tours of the Center shall be available free of charge to the public by appointment° w. Palo Alto shall provide two published telephone numbers to the public. One of these numbers shall be equipped with a "roll-over" line, designed to avoid busy signals. 3. Facilities. Animals cared for under this agreement shall either be housed at the Center, 3281 East Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, or at a veterinary facility contracted by Palo Alto to care for injured or quarantined animals. Livestock animals may be housed at a facility contracted for by Palo Alto, which has suitable facilities for boarding livestock. 4. Personnel. Animal Control Officers are employees of Palo Alto. They are uniformed officers charged with the responsibility of enforcing state laws and city ordinances related to the care and protection of animals and property. Each officer is a graduate of both the California State Humane Officer Academy and the Humane Society of the United States Animal Control Academy. Officers shall receive four hours of advanced enforcement and customer relations training from Palo Alto each year. Supervision of the Animal Control Officers, Kennel Attendant and supplemental office staff is the responsibility of the Supervisor of Animal- Services. This full-time employee is responsible to the Superintendent of Animal Services, and together with the Superintendent, shall assure responsive supervision seven days a week. The Superintendent shall address policy issues of interest to Agency officials and staff, and act as liaison with Palo Alto staff and officials, and shall be responsible for overall contract compliance° Under this a~reement, Animal Control Officers shall respond~to emergency service, and shall endeavor to arrive at the scene within thirty (30) minutes. Palo Alto shall provide the necessary personnel to service Agency as set out in Section 1 of the Exhibit. 5. Equipment° Palo Alto shall provide its staff use of an animal control vehicle, fully equipped with a mobile radio, cages and safety equipment, designed for animal control and transportation° The door and hood of each vehicle shall be clearly marked with the words "ANIMAL CONTROL°" The vehicles used shall be three- quarter ton trucks, with specially built caging areas separate from the officers’ compartment. The officers shall be equipped by the City of Palo Alto with radios which can transmit to and from the home base and Palo Alto Communications, as necessary for immediate response to service requests and emergencies. 5 960521 syn 0042561 In addition to vehicles and radios, Palo Alto shall provide the Animal Control Officers with essential safety equipment, such as animal control sticks, bird nets and stretchers. 6o Extension of Agreement° This agreement constitutes an extension of an existing agreement; and service shall continue so long as the agreement is executed prior to July i, 1996. 960521 syn 0042561 6