Yolo County Animal Services (YCAS) operates out of an antiquated building, which lacks adequate space for employees, volunteers, sheltered animals, and for essential services such as spay / neuter and similar medical services. County staff are proposing a phased approach to address these needs as outlined below:
Phase 1: Address immediate needs by conducting deferred maintenance to the existing shelter building (substantially complete), resolving pending contractual matters, and processing any pending personnel actions (completed).
Phase 2A: Seek Board approval to create a new spay/neuter facility (plus other surgical and/or ancillary functions) in unused space at 2780 E. Gibson Road, Woodland (adjacent to future CrisisNow space).
Phase 2B: Seek partnership(s) to provide no-cost or low-cost spay/neuter services and expanded medical facilities for trap-neuter-release (TNR) programs, etc. in a future modular building to be deployed on the same property. Potential partnership(s) shall include, but not be limited to, an affiliation agreement (or comparable agreement) with the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (UCDSVM) for a Residency Training Program and/or other practical veterinary medicine education which dually meets community needs and enhances the number and availability of veterinary medicine students.
Phase 3: Plan long-term solution for a future new animal shelter building.
Phase 1 is complete (pending the last of the deferred maintenance punch list). Staff are requesting Board approval to move forward with Phase 2A. Staff are seeking input and direction regarding Phase 2B and Phase 3.
These phases are discussed in more detail below:
Phase 1: As part of the update on YCAS on January 23, 2024, the Board of Supervisors received a progress report on addressing deferred maintenance items for the existing shelter. Most of the work has been completed, and the current project status list is attached to this report (Att. A YCAS Deferred Maintenance Update). These maintenance repairs are primarily being funded with current fiscal year YCAS budget savings totaling approximately $300,000. Roof repairs totaling approximately $75,000 are funded with Accumulated Outlay Funds. Other matters successfully completed include the solution of pending contracts as well as the adjudication of pending personnel actions.
Phase 2A: Space is needed for adequate spay/neuter facilities, including community spay/neuter clinics. The current spay/neuter facility is a trailer that is situated behind the shelter. It is relatively small, with outdated equipment and poor air circulation. It is not adequately sized for spay/neuter services for medium to large dogs (small dogs and cats are more easily accommodated in the limited space), and does not have adequate space for pre-surgery kenneling or recovery. The trailer was originally used in Hurricane Katrina response prior to 2005, and was shipped to Yolo County from Florida when it was no longer in use. It is simply too old and too small to provide adequate services.
The proposed solution is conveniently located next door to the current YCAS shelter facility at 2780 E Gibson Road, Woodland, in the former Probation Administration building, within the unused modular building space adjacent to the planned location of the CrisisNow program. This building has over 2800 square feet of available space that can be converted to a veterinary clinic and related shelter use at a reasonable cost. The vision is to use this space to perform a greater number of in-house spay/neuter surgeries, and other ancillary functions, which would accommodate medium to large dogs, which is not easily done in the existing facilities. This will include animals housed at the YCAS shelter, stray cat colony trap-neuter-release (TNR), and low-cost spay neuter services for the public. Staff also plan to decompress some of the administrative space in the existing shelter to create a more welcoming environment for people looking to adopt or seeking other shelter services.
The building needs very little work to bring this plan to fruition. The proposed work includes replacing the flooring with a smooth, cleanable surface, adding new paint, making some circulation improvements for the surgery and recovery areas, as well as adding ADA access. The floor plan for the proposed work is found in Attachment B: YCAS Proposed Spay Neuter Facility.
These improvements are estimated to cost up to $650,000. Staff proposes to use $500,000 from the Animal Services Reserve account plus $150,000 in Accumulated Capital Outlay funds. The Animal Services Reserve account contains funds from prior years' YCAS budget savings. In accordance with the Animal Services Reserve account policy, CAO staff reached out to jurisdictional partners, including all four city managers, or their designated staff.
With regard to the surgical facilities, existing surgical equipment will be re-used as much as possible. However, much of the equipment is old and requires constant maintenance. Therefore, staff will seek grant funding to replace some of the veterinary surgical equipment, including an anesthesia and monitoring machine, surgical tables, and exhaust.
Phase 2B: By building a new modular building located on the same campus as 2780 E. Gibson Road, Woodland, it could afford the possibility of partnering with an entity that could provide shelter medicine, spay / neuter services, and surgery for injured shelter animals. One such partnership could be with the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (UCDSVM). County staff have had early discussions with the UCDSVM regarding the possibility of a partnered approach to provide space for veterinary students to learn shelter medicine while providing a valuable service to our communities in the form of low-cost spay neuter service, TNR, and surgeries for injured shelter animals. UCDSVM has plans to increase its student population by as much as 200 students and expand its shelter medicine program. A new modular space on the 2780 E Gibson Road campus could provide the needed space while providing much-needed veterinarian services to shelter animals, community rescue groups, and TNR programs.
There is vacant county-owned land next to the future CrisisNow building and between the proposed spay/neuter facility and the existing County Juvenile Detention Facility. This space would be ideal for a future modular building that could be used for this purpose (See Att C. Proposed Future Modular Location). The current estimated cost of building a modular for this purpose is approximately $1.5 million, based on the cost to build a similarly sized modular recently completed on the Dept. of Community Services campus.
Staff are seeking feedback on this concept and direction to continue discussions with UCDSVM and explore other partnerships with community groups.
Phase 3: As stated earlier, the existing YCAS shelter facility is antiquated. We must keep our eye on this future need to plan and seek funding opportunities or partnerships that could bring a future replacement shelter to fruition. Some stakeholders have also expressed a desire for a low-cost spay/neuter services in West Sacramento. This need could be met with vouchers, shuttle services, or mobile services, and will be taken into consideration with long-term planning.
|