Animal Care in Lake Forest - The Next Step

We’ve been discussing the recent Grand Jury report on the County’s animal care services. As a result, Councilman Adam Nick, Mayor Pro Tem Barbara Kogerman (Laguna Hills), Rose Tingle (Citizens for Animal Shelter Orange County) and I toured the shelter, made a joint statement, and a few days ago I posted pictures from our tour. Today I want to discuss the options available to Lake Forest.

About 500 live pets and animals from Lake Forest went into the County shelter last year at a cost of over $600,000, about two thirds of which came from fees and licenses ($417,938) and the rest came from our general fund ($189,247). Of the 500 who went in, 35% were euthanized, 21% were adopted, 17% were returned to their owners, and 14% were taken by rescue groups.

In our neighbor city, Mission Viejo, they took in 1,226 animals and only 7% were euthanized (FWIW – MV also services Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo). The cost to Mission Viejo taxpayers was about $500,000, remarkably less than the amount that Lake Forest taxpayers paid to the County. Of the $500,000 paid by Mission Viejo, more than $100,000 went toward depreciation; so on an operating basis, the cost was closer to $400,000. Compare that to the $200,000 Lake Forest paid, and then consider that Mission Viejo charges much less than the County for license and fees and is serving more than twice as many people as twice as many animals.

What can we do? We are paying more but getting less. Here’s three options

WHAT’S INVOLVED?

In 2014, based on OC Animal Care statistics, there were about 1,100 live animals that entered the County shelter from Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, RSM, and San Juan Capistrano. For all 4 cities, dogs were 44% of the total, followed by “other” animals (34%) and cats (22%).

Mission Viejo served about 1,200 live animals last year; more or less the same number. The total population MV serves is 211,173 (MV + LN + AV). The total population of the 4 cities we might partner with (LF, LH, RSM, SJC) is 195,272. The total area MV serves is 39.9 square miles. The figure for the 4 cities is 51.5.

Bottom line – a multi-city shelter that served Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, RSM, and San Juan Capistrano would be similar to the one now serving Mission Viejo.

OPTION 1 - SOUTH COUNTY SHELTER

The Board of Supervisors has been promising a new shelter for decades and delivered nothing. They are still promising. Meanwhile nearly every expert in the field of animal care recommends that instead of one massive shelter, a large service delivery system such as Orange County needs smaller localized shelters. The County’s plan to build a new monolithic shelter, even if they were sincere, is untenable. Right now, the Board of Supervisors should authorize building a South County Shelter to serve the cities of Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, RSM, and San Juan Capistrano as well as the unincorporated areas in South County.

The County has the funds to do this and they have the land to build on (e.g., Musick Jail being only one alternative).

A South County Shelter would reduce the transportation and service costs, and in addition, it would receive many more volunteers who would further reduce the operational costs. Moreover, a South County shelter would far more likely result in higher adoption rates, not only because it is more convenient to the 200,000+ people who live in South County, but also because it would be a more positive experience.

A South County shelter would be the best thing that could happen to the other 14 cities served by OC Animal Care Services. It would relieve the shelter of more than 1,000 animals a year and make room for much needed space for the animals. It would also let the field service people focus on the central and north parts of OC and not spread themselves so thinly.

A South County shelter would also give the Board of Supervisors a model to create 2 more smaller localized shelters in central and north Orange County.

I would also show everyone that the Board of Supervisors is prepared to actually do something.

The Board of Supervisors will probably NOT do this, although that doesn’t mean the City should not recommend that they do it. But make no mistake, the promise that the Board will do something means nothing. Only if they vote to spend the money should we pay attention to any promises.

OPTION 2 - REGIONAL SHELTER

South Orange County has two shelters that have a history of functioning well, with low euthanasia rates and high levels of volunteerism. Our City should approach the cities of Irvine and Mission Viejo and see whether or not either (or both) of these cities want to expand their current services to become a regional provider. Mission Viejo is already a small regional provider, offering services to Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo.

Adding the 4 cities to Mission Viejo would double their size. Adding the 4 cities to Irvine would increase the size by only 25%, and Irvine has been talking for years about expanding their shelter and possibly moving it to the Great Park.

The County is going to require that our city (and the other 3 cities in this region) gives them hundreds of thousands of dollars for the County to build their monolith. Between all the cities, over $1,000,000 will be demanded by the County. Why not take this money and use it to expand the existing services of one of the animal care services already in operation? The two existing shelters are far superior in every respect to the County services.

This is a viable option but it depends on one or both of the other cities choosing the option to expand. In informal talks, I haven’t personally found either group to be enthusiastic about this idea, but coming officially from a City committee or a multi-city committee may generate a different response.

OPTION 3 - MULTI-CITY SHELTER

As a third option, Lake Forest can work with the other 3 cities to form our own multi-city shelter, using the $1,000,000 we will have to give the County to build our own shelter. There is land available right here in Lake Forest that we can use, if better land is not available in the other cities. The 1,100 animals handled by OC is slightly less than the number handled by Mission Viejo, meaning that a facility more or less the size of Mission Viejo would meet the needs of a new multi-city shelter.

The first step would be to ask the other 3 cities to join us in a feasibility study to see whether or not a multi-city shelter is economically advantageous. My own very tentative calculations show that we can operate a multi-city shelter at a significantly reduced cost than we currently pay the County, and that the costs of building the shelter could be recaptured in less than 10 years. Imagine that? Higher quality, better service, and lower costs. I offer this only as my best guess and wait for a thorough research analysis to determine the real figures.

NEXT STEPS

At the July 21 meeting of the Lake Forest City Council, we should -

1. Form an ad hoc committee on Animal Care with the specific charter to improve the quality of care for pets and animals in Lake Forest. This will include, among other things, (a) approaching the Board of Supervisors and demanding that a South County shelter be approved and funded within the next 3 months, (b) work with other South Orange County cities to see whether or not Irvine and or Mission Viejo are receptive to the idea of expanding their service to form a regional service, and (c) fund a feasibility study on a multi-city animal care service for those cities that wish to participate.(d) In the interim, this committee should also look into how to improve the quality of care for people and their pets within the existing contract (e.g., sponsoring low cost micro-chipping, trap-neuter-release programs, Pet Days, etc.).

2. The ad hoc committee should consist of two Council members and the Director of Community Services. This committee may appoint others to facilitate the work of the committee.

The City of Laguna Hills is meeting on Tuesday July 14 to consider their response to the devastating Grand Jury report on animal care. Encourage your friends who live in Laguna Hills to attend and to recommend the multi-city option.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.

Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 3 pm to 5 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a mini town meeting every month. The next meeting will be on August 15 at 2 pm at the El Toro Public Library.