Lewis and
Minutes of Board Meeting
Call to Order: President Jean Ketchel called the
monthly meeting of the Lewis and Clark Humane Society Board to order at
TREASURER’S REPORT:
Gerry had no report. The
budget will be discussed in-depth at the March meeting.
SECRETARY’S REPORT: Motion made by Gerry, seconded by Tia, to approve the January 2003
minutes. Motion passed.
SHELTER MANAGER’S
REPORT: Gina reported that the Equine Expo will be held at the end of March and
they would like the shelter to have a booth (we did last year). Annie, Tia, and Jan will work on this. Might be a good idea to bring stock
dogs. Gina will be speaking at the
Kiwanis meeting at the end of the month.
Gina reported that the holes in the parking lot were filled, but not
flattened very well. She also stated
that Shauna Stallings has been finding all kinds of auction items for the
spay-ghetti dinner on March 1. With
regard to Camp Collie, Gina reported that the prosecution is going for another
trial after the acquittal. 165 collies
are on site; the cats are somewhere else.
The dogs are doing well now and Gina and Christine have been reimbursed
money owed them thus far. Gina also
stated that the door is on the cat room now.
Jan mentioned that CostCo has cat trees at a reasonable price. Gina hasn’t had time to act on the adoption
counselor position yet. Jane has the old
humane society computer which she would give back to the shelter—it might be
able to be used for the adoption counselor position.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT: None.
OLD BUSINESS: Gerry reported on the Chocolate and Valentine Fair (held Feb. 8 at the civic center). Angie helped call bakers and there was more food available than usual. The event netted about $300. Gerry pointed out that this is as much as it takes to run the shelter for ½ day and his group may reconsider doing the fair next year. Robyn reported that Retz Funeral Home already has envelopes with the humane society name and address on them for people wishing to give donations in our behalf. Jan will bring one of these envelopes to the next meeting so board members can see it. With regard to reinstating the Spay Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP), Gina will bring money figures to the next meeting. Letters to other shelters regarding spay-neuter policy—Gina will find out the current policies for shelters around the state and we will talk about at the next meeting.
Jefferson County—Robyn
reported that we did receive a check from Jefferson County for the first two
quarters at the old prices. Jefferson
County is the only county not currently paying what we had asked ($55 per
animal). We take in about 250 animals a
year from Jefferson County. In December,
we wrote the county a letter to that effect, and they have not responded. Gerry suggested there be some publicity on
this. Perhaps the City of Helena and
Lewis & Clark County could write a letter to the IR and the Boulder paper
(the Monitor) explaining the situation.
Jean replied that this is not a city or county matter but a humane
society matter that has been ongoing for 10 years and she feels the humane
society should deal with it. Other ideas
included a direct mailing to people in the county who use the shelter, and have
Anita Varone meet with their commissioners.
Kaye also suggested that we bill them quarterly for all they animals
brought in, but this would require a contract.
It was suggested that we let the situation go for now, but a letter to
Jefferson County will be included with the next budget. That letter will state that we won’t penalize
them this year, but if they don’t pay their fair share next year, we won’t
accept any animals from Jefferson County law enforcement after their budget has
been used up (but we will still accept them from private citizens). Jean will start working on the letter;
perhaps have Anne O’Leary co-sign a letter to the papers as she is a Jefferson
County resident. We will also do a
mailing to the humane society members in Jefferson County and some board
members will meet with Anita Varone.
NEW BUSINESS: Budget—Jean stated that the budget might need to be adjusted. The budget shows $25,000 for fundraisers and even with the spay-ghetti dinner and Strutt Your Mutt, we won’t make that much (however, we do have more in donations than the budget shows). The next budget needs to be done at the March meeting as the budget letters go out in April.
Pauline Allen bequest—Pauline Allen left $80,000 to
the humane society. We should have the
money by the end of the month. Suggested
uses for some of the money include: a ventilation system for the shelter
building, paving the parking lot, and rebuilding the crematorium. Gina will bring quotes for these larger items
to the next board meeting.
MISCELLANEOUS: Jan reported on a recent Montana Shares meeting. Jazz & Just Desserts will be held March 14, 2003 at the Myrna Loy. By contributing desserts we get points. For 2002-2003, we are currently the top donation receiver at $22,000. Jane reported on HB 553. The bill was tabled on Feb. 18 in the House Judiciary. Rep. John Parker agreed to rewrite the bill and make a motion to get it off the table. He and a small committee will meet on Monday to discuss the bill (and try to clean it up) before it goes back to the Judiciary Committee and (hopefully) to the full House for 2nd and 3rd reading later next week.
ADJOURNMENT:
The board meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm.
The next LCHS Board meeting will be Thursday, March 20, 2003 in the
Ponderosa Room at St. Peter’s Hospital.
Respectfully
Submitted,
Lisa
Mecklenberg Jackson