By: NICOLAS FIERRO
Salina Post
During a study session about the animal shelter, Salina City Commission discussed with directors about the overall status of the facility.
Throughout the session, Andrea Murphy and Jeff Hammond of the Parks and Recreation department who oversee the shelter went over historical reports that included previous inspections from the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA).
A 2023 report KDA gave was an "unsatisfactory" report twice, over various maintenance concerns.
Following was an overview of the Jan. 12, the three stray puppies with parvovirus and Mar. 17 inspections.
As a result of the concerns of euthanasia procedures, staff training/ documentation and veterinary care documentation for an animal, KDA required animal shelter staff to halt all euthanasia procedures and have veterinarian conduct them.
The veterinarian comes from Wichita, but no mention of veterinarians from Salina that conduct the services.
City Manager Jacob Wood stated the animal shelter will not do any euthanasias until staff is trained and completes an online course to be certified. He confirmed that Murphy is actively taking a course to be certified.
"Until the state is satisfied with the training we have, we will not perform any euthanasias that is not done by a vet," said Wood.
He further added they should have conducted the procedures on the three puppies with parvo "differently."
"There were some concerns about how we performed that euthanasia. We probably should have done it differently and probably sedated them. We recognized that it was not done appropriately... we certainly would have done it differently, had we do it today. This is all part of learning from your past mistakes."
City Attorney Patrick Hoffman added they will "strive to meet the highest standards" when it comes to animal care.
Moreover, the Hammond presented the shelter's "No-Kill philosophy."
The shelter has been unable to be considered a "no-kill" facility due to not meeting the criteria of an acceptable live outcome rate which has been below 90%.
In order for the shelter to be considered "no-kill," it would need to maintain a 90% save rate over the course of a 12-month period.
The live outcome percentage of the animal for cats and dogs combined in 2025 was 88%.
Furthermore, Murphy added there are five active volunteers at the shelter with more applications coming in.
Decision made to move forward with an "operational assessment"
The majority of Commissioners, excluding Doug Rempp, agreed to move forward in conducting an "operational assessment" on the animal shelter, and not a request for proposal (RFP) for an independent contractor.
The operational assessment, would be conducted by a consultant with a quote of $25,000.
The assessment would include covering areas such as:
- Physical facility
- Shelter operations
- Animal care and housing
- Community engagement
- Volunteer program
- Finance and budgeting
- Data management and reporting
- Leadership and mangement
- Veterinary services
Commissioner Doug Rempp stated he would rather want to see an assessment over the pros/cons about a private entity being in partnership with a city-owned shelter.
He stated the city would save on taxpayer money and the animals would have better care, if a private entity were to manage daily operations.
"I think a private entity could do a better job," said Rempp.
Dr. Davis responded to Rempp's comment by saying it was a "slap to the face" towards city staff.
Mayor Mike Hoppock stated he would opt for the operational assessment due to it being "hard to make a decision without the facts."
"So we are going to hire another consultant," Rempp responded.
Rosemary Mai who is apart of the animal shelter advisory board, was the one who motioned for the city to look into bringing Prairie Paws.
The majority of the board voted for it to be passed.
Mai gave her comments about the Commissioner's decision of the operational assessment.
"It is the same old, same old. It is just money down the drain and it's going to go right back where it was, making it forever to make a decision," she said. "They are not even considering Prairie Paws and if you look at the Mayor's face, you can tell that he does not even want to consider the situation. I think Commissioner Rempp is the best commissioner we have on that board right now, because he listens to the public."
She further added she does not think the other four commissioners do not have the best interest in the public.
The next animal shelter board meeting will take place on April 8.
"We had a member of the board visit the shelter the day after the last inspection (Mar. 17) and things are not changing," Mai said.