HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-07-22 City Council (16)TO:
City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Report
HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: Police
AGENDA DATE: July 22, 1996 CMR: 352:96
SUBJECT:Renewal of Emergency Animal Control and Care Service Agreement
with the City of Los Altos
REQUEST
This report requests that the Council authorize the City Manager to execute the attached.
agreement with the City of Los Altos 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 City
of Los Altos. Staff recommends that Council authorize the City Manager to enter into the
attached agreement that will allow, for continuation of these services with the City of Los Altos
for the period from August 1, 1996 to July 31, 1997.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
This agreement does not represent any change to existing policy.
EXECUTIVE SUMNARY
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 services and calculated the service 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 in August 1993, and has been renewed annually since then. City Council renewed
the contract with Los Altos Hills at its meeting of June 17, 1996.
CMR: 352:96 Page 1 of 3
The current agreement calls for staff to process 300 animals from the City of Los Altos. A
review of the actual services provided, for the 18 months from July 1994 to December 1995,
indicates that the number of animals received from the City of Los Altos was 418, which
exceeded the projections by 39 percent. As a result, staff’s ability to meet objectives related to
response times has been impacted. It is anticipated that demands for service from Los Altos will
remain at the current level. Due to increases in the number of animals handled for Mountain
View and Los Altos Hills, staff included funds for two half-time, temporary employees to assist
with the additional workload in the Police Department’s 1996-1997 budget..
As stated previously, there has been a 39 percent increase in the number of animals handled from
the City of Los Altos. Staff believes that the service levels for the upcoming year should not
increase beyond .what has occurred over the last eighteen months. This increase includes funding
for additional staff as indicated above, and a 3 percent increase for overhead costs.
The scope of services provided under the terms of the agreement would remain unchanged from
the previous two years.
FISCAL IMPACT
The attached agreement represents full cost recovery for providing the services. Total costs to
provide, these services are $86,694. Costs, including salary 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 which an Envi)onmental Assessment is required.
ATTACHMENTS
Agreement for animal control services for the period from August 1, 1996 to July 31, 1997.
Exhibit A: Breakdown of Increased Cost
PREPARED BY.: Torin Fis,cher, Acting Sup~nt~ident
DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEW:
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
of
~~ief
Bernar~M. ~Strojfassistant City Manager
CMR: 352:96 Page 2 of 3
EXHIBIT "A"
CITY OF LOS ALTOS
Current Contract
$75,536
3% Overhead
Increase
$2,266
Share of Position
Increase
$8,892
Total for Fiscal
96/97
$86,694
CMR: 352:96 Page 3 of 3
AGREEMENT FOR EMERGENCY ANIMAL CONTROL AND SHELTERING SERVICES
BETWEEN THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AND
THE CITY OF LOS ALTOS
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 City of Los
Altos ("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 be for twelve months,
commencing on August I, 1996, and terminating on July 31, 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.
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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 Palo 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.Compensation
4.1 Agency shall pay to Palo Alto for all services
provided under this agreement, the amount of Eighty-Six Thousand
Six Hundred Ninety-Four Dollars ($86,694) payable in equal
quarterly payments of Twenty-One Thousand Six Hundred Seventy-Three
and 50/100 Dollars ($21,673.50)~ 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 day of January, April and July 1997,
respectively. PaloAlto shal! 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°
In the event of early termination of this agreement in
accordance with Section i, Palo Alto shall refund to Agency a
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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 300 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 8 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 5.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,
claims, liabilities, losses, charges, costs, or damages caused by
or arising out of Palo Alto’s negligent acts or omissions in the
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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.
PALO ALTO :Superintendent of Animal Services
3281 East Bayshore Road
Palo Alto, CA 94303
AGENCY:City Manager
City of Los Altos
1 North San Antonio Road
Los Altos, California 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.
4960705 syn 0042627
7.7 If a court of competent jurisdiction finds or rules
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 the
date first above stated.
"PALO ALTO"
CITY OF PALO ALTO
"AGENCY"
CITY OF LOS ALTOS
Mayor
ATTEST:
Dianne Gershuny, City Manager
City Clerk
Assistant City Manager
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Senior Asst. City Attorney.
APPROVED:
Police Chief
Deputy City Manager,
Administrative Services
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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 all 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 biZing animal (if it is running at large), 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. PaloAlto 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:
960705 syn 0042627
i o Availability of dog licenses either in
person at the Animal Services 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
iiio 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, PaloAlto 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.
ix.Upon receiving a call for services, Palo
Alto shall pick up dead, unclaimed dogs and cats from public
property or streets.
2o 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 300
live animals annually, under the following terms and conditions:
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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.
eo 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.
ho 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 Paio 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.
k. All cages and kennels shall be cleaned and
disinfected on a daily basis by Palo Alto staff to 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
3960705 syn 0042627
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 wi.th 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 VSo 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).
s. No animals, whether dead or alive, handled by Palo
Alto shall be knowingly released or sold -for any type of
experimental purposes.
t. 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.
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°
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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 agreement, Animal Control Officers shall respond to
emergency service/ and shall endeavor to arrive at the scene within
thirty (30) minutes.
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 veh±cle 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.
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.
6. Extension of Aqreemento This agreement constitutes
an extension of an existing agreement; and service shall continue
so long as the agreement is executed prior to August i, 1996.
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