Lewis and
Minutes of Board Meeting
Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2003
CALL TO ORDER: President Jean Ketchel called the
monthly meeting of the Lewis and Clark Humane Society Board to order at 6:38 pm
at the shelter. Present were board members Jean Ketchel, Angie McDunn, Lisa
Mecklenberg Jackson, Kaye Davis, Jan Sheehan, Jane Benson, Annie Murfitt,
Jennifer Green, Tia Nelson, Judy Trevor, Jolyn Eggart, and Pam Joscelyn. Shelter executive director Gina Wiest was
also present. Board members absent were
Sara Stanton and Lisa Peterson. Guests
present included Mike Maynard, animal control officer.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Kaye reported that November was a good month. We received $22,500 from
SECRETARY’S REPORT: Motion by Jan, seconded by Tia, to approve the Nov. 2003 minutes with
changes. Motion passed.
SHELTER MANAGER’S REPORT: Gina reported that shelter statistics were much better
in November than in October. Only 55
animals were euthanized in November, compared to 154 in October. There were also 85 fewer impounds in
November.
The Spayghetti Dinner, put together by shelter staff, will be held Feb. 28
at the Elks Lodge (behind the ice arena).
There will be a $50 rental fee for the building. If the dinner had been held at the Great
Northern as previously discussed, the food would have had to be catered. The bar will be open for the event at the
Elks and shelter staff is busy looking for silent auction items.
Gina mentioned that she had seen a letter to the editor in the IR asking
about a pet cemetery. Ours has
been full for several years. Both
available land and maintenance would be issues if we were to have another pet
cemetery. It was not felt that we have
the resources to deal with this issue at this time.
There will be a compassion fatigue seminar (designed for
those who put animals to sleep) for shelter staff from 10-12 on Dec. 17. Any board members are welcome to attend. Either insurance will cover the costs, or
there is money in the budget for this.
Gina announced that we will not be participating in the community
entertainment fundraiser discussed last month. They wanted us to create a separate bank
account and it just sounds a little “fishy,” she said.
Gina reported that the spay/neuter task force could come and hold a spay/neuter
clinic for us sometime in January or February (Tia said this would be good as
cats come into heat in March). They
cover their own costs—we just need to organize the event. Gina will contact them for details. A committee of Judy as chair, Tia, and Jane
will work on this project.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT: None.
OLD BUSINESS: The
Christmas party will be held at Jan Sheehan’s house (1009
Several items were brought up from last month’s meeting. The h.s. policy manual should state that staff children are not allowed at the shelter except at the discretion of Gina. Gina will put this in the manual.
Pam, Annie, and Tia mentioned that they thought the dogs behind the counter at the shelter were adoptable. Judy stated that “the purpose of the shelter is to adopt animals—these dogs already have homes.” She added, “it can be overwhelming for people when they walk in.” Annie stated that the staff needs to be motivated to bring the shelter dogs out front. Jan said, “the staff see this as a perk for having somewhat cruddy jobs.” Gina stated that the area at the front counter could be made less congested by dog walkers going straight out the back of the shelter.
NEW BUSINESS: Motion by Annie, seconded by Kaye, to make the shelter the regular monthly meeting place for the board. Motion passed.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Fundraising – Kaye reported that Santa Paws was a blast. $1,258 in pictures, plus the collection box, resulted in a total take of about $1,300 for the two-day event. And the fundraising letter for the society will be sent out at the end of this week or the beginning of next.
Building/Grounds – none.
Shelter – Tia reported that three doors on
shelter buildings need to be replaced at a cost not to exceed $2,085. Motion by Annie, seconded by Pam, that this
be done. Motion passed. Tia also reported that other counties use
our shelter facilities without proper payment.
Motion by Annie, seconded by Angie, that residents residing outside
MISCELLANEOUS: Gina mentioned that because of
Home Depot and old plotting, the
address of the shelter will be changed. She is waiting for a letter
stating the new address; we will have a year to make the changes on stationary,
envelopes, etc. Motion by Annie,
seconded by Jan, for the shelter to be open only from 11-3 on Christmas Eve Day.
Motion passed. There was a
suggestion to change the board agenda
format for future meetings. It was also suggested to invite staff to 3-4
meetings each year. The staff would also
like to see board members at the shelter more often. There was discussion on having a meeting in
February between the board and staff to discuss these matters. Lisa MJ was instructed to e-mail out a current list of committees and their members. She will do so.
ADJOURNMENT:
The board meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm.
The next LCHS Board meeting will be at the shelter on Wednesday, Jan.
21, 2004 at 6:30 pm.
Respectfully
Submitted,
Lisa
Mecklenberg Jackson
LCHS
Secretary