Lewis and
Minutes of Monthly Board Meeting
Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004
CALL TO ORDER: Newly-elected President
Lisa Peterson called the monthly meeting of the Lewis and Clark Humane Society
(LCHS) Board to order at 6:01 p.m. at the LCHS shelter. Present were board members Lisa Peterson,
Jane Benson, Debbie Irby, Kevin St. John, Jean Ketchel, Gail Beattie, Laura
McArdle, Ruth Anne Hansen, Jolyn Eggart, and Annie Murfitt. Shelter Manager, Gina Wiest, and Lewis and
Clark County Commissioner, Anita Verone, were also present. Board members absent were Tia Nelson, Ed
Stipich, Lisa Mecklenberg Jackson, Esther Suhr-Stewart, and Kaye Davis. (Board members Kevin St. John, Tia Nelson,
and Annie Murfitt recently submitted their written resignations from the
Board).
TREASURER'S REPORT: Newly-elected Treasurer
Kevin St. John stated that he was still trying to figure out the numbers, as
they tend to come in increments. Kevin
was looking at reports back to 2001, and what he noticed was a trend -- our
income goes up, but our fundraising was way down. Fundraising was supposed to raise
$25,000/year, and that had not been happening for the past several years. Lisa P. reported that the shelter had
received $4,600 in donations since the recent news coverage of the animal
cruelty/break-in matters. Lisa P. also
reported that the Department of Environmental Quality, Phoenix Building, held a
silent auction every year for the shelter, and this year, it raised about $1,800,
which they requested be put into a spay/neuter account. Lisa P. said they are being formally thanked,
and that LCHS would provide updates on animals fixed with this donation as a
result. Anita asked to see a
profit/loss statement. Lisa P.
requested that Kevin set up a "Finance 101" meeting to go over
budget/finances, and that the LCHS auditor, LCHS investment manager, and Robyn
(bookkeeper) attend. Jolyn asked to see
a copy of the most recent portfolio from D.A. Davidson. Gina explained that the D.A. Davidson account
manager had been investing our money in very conservative funds. The Board apparently looked at it one year
ago and was told it was performing well.
SECRETARY'S REPORT: Newly-elected Secretary
Jolyn Eggart asked the board to approve the October 2004 minutes. Motion by Jane; second by
Kevin. Motion passed.
SHELTER MANAGER'S
REPORT: Gina provided statistics from October
2004. She said very few cats are
returned to their owners, which adds to the high number of cat statistics at
the shelter. Gina stated that in about 3
months, we might start seeing some results from the recent SNIP event. Gina also said that Carrie Stewart, marketing
representative from KTVH, approached her about ways to get our name out to the
public. Carrie volunteered to do a
marketing plan for us, especially now that the election is over, so they can
showcase us easier; possibly do a special series on issues like the dog kennel. Carrie also suggested talking with Don
Dunwell, Director of "Special Projects." Anita said she will corner KTVH and the
Independent Record (IR) at the Hometown
PRESIDENT'S REPORT: Lisa P. wants to run the
meetings pursuant to Robert's Rules of Order, with the result hopefully being
smoother/shorter meetings. Motions will
be more clear/firm, and committee chairpersons were reminded to take minutes
at committee meetings and distribute them prior to monthly board meetings, as
well as use proper parliamentary procedures during the meetings. Chairpersons were also reminded to send out
notices to everyone in advance of meetings, so others can attend if they wanted
to, including members of the public.
Lisa P. emphasized to everyone that this board requires committed and
active members, and encouraged more volunteering out at the shelter. She asked that if each board member cannot
commit at least eight hours/month of their time, they should reconsider if this
is what they want to do.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
1. Shelter: Nothing to report.
2. Building/Grounds (B/G Comm.): Nothing to report.
3. Fundraising (FR Comm.): Lisa P. reported that Pet-o-ween was a huge success.
She thanked the Board members and volunteers who contributed their time
and great ideas. Santa Paws is Dec.
4-5, 10:00-2:00 p.m., at Murdoch's. This
event needs lots of volunteers, including a Santa Claus, so the board was asked
to contact Lisa MJ if they can help.
Lisa P. mentioned that there was some talk of moving the spayghetti dinner from October to April/May, due to it
being a busy month in terms of local fundraising events. She also asked that all board members let the
fundraising committee know if they have any ideas for other possible events in
2005.
4. Education/Outreach (E/O Comm.): Lisa P. is stepping down as chairperson.
OLD BUSINESS:
1. Website: Lisa P. suggested that the E/O Comm. should
be combined with the Website comm. Lisa
P. said she will give Ed Benasky, the current webmaster, one more chance to see
if he is willing to keep the website updated and improved. The Website comm. needs to send Ed B.
current info in order to do that. If
Ed cannot maintain it, Lisa P. has heard from others in the community who are
willing to help. Anita asked Lisa P.
to e-mail her a request that Anita look into setting up a link to the LCHS
website from the city/county Website.
2. Disaster Plan: Jean had nothing to report.
3. Spay/Neuter Task Force (S/N Task
Force): Jane reported that 1,354 total
animals were fixed (about 970 cats).
Less than .10% of the animals developed medical problems/died
afterwards. This event set a record for
the largest percentage of local vets providing their services. A Phase II event is potentially being planned
for this spring, which requires the community to pay for about 1/2 of the total
costs, (about $745/day or $8-10,000 total).
Jean explained that this event is not sponsored by LCHS, but through the
S/N Task Force. Anita said the
city/county would be interested in contributing funds to support the next
event, only if it is sponsored through LCHS, and only if there is a business
plan in place with projections. Anita
said the county would need a letter telling them how much this event will cost
before they can contribute anything.
Annie asked about whether it was acceptable to dedicate funds to
specific purposes. Kevin said our
accountant does not like to do that due to possible IRS ramifications. Gina said she would pose this question to
our accountant (Galusha) to find out exactly why. It was proposed that the county could write
the check to LCHS, and then LCHS would write a check directly to the S/N Task
Force. Esther asked that we consider
doing some advertising, to let the public know which vets were supportive of
this event and provided services. Lisa
P. said we received $1,000 from the Mikal Kellner Foundation to allow us to
place an ad in the IR next week thanking the vets/sponsors.
4. Legislative Issues: None.
5. Brewers' Game Payment: Jolyn reminded the board members that at the
July 2004 Board meeting, all board members agreed that we would sponsor the
LCHS staff/family/volunteers attending the game, as a fun way to thank them for
their hard work. Jolyn passed out a
breakdown of the costs from the Brewers outing ($10/per person, including food
and a ticket into the game). The total
bill came to $390, but due to members who did not show up, did not eat, or were
unable to eat because the food had already been taken down, the final bill came
to about $335. Jolyn asked that each
board member who was on the board at that time pay her directly, and she would
write one check to the Brewers. Kevin,
Jane, Annie, Kaye, Lisa MJ, and Lisa P. have all paid. Jolyn will ask at the Dec. 15 meeting for payment
from the Board members who have not paid.
NEW BUSINESS:
1. Meagher County (MC) Reimbursement: MC finally entered into a plea agreement with
the defendant on Aug. 31, 2004, and the chihuahuas
officially became the property of the shelter on November 1, 2004. Gina said the shelter is doing open
applications on the dogs, and it will be in the paper tomorrow. Gina emphasized that they will be “special
needs” animals, and the shelter will want to do home-checks. Lisa P. agreed to e-mail everyone the animal
cruelty statutes, especially for the benefit of the new members. Gina provided a breakdown on the costs
incurred by LCHS from March 2004 through October 2004, as a result of this
case. (Per animal - $52,107; per kennel
- $21,327). HSUS asked us to get
involved, so it agreed to reimburse our medical costs. Motion by Laura; second by Jean to pursue
restitution against MC. Jolyn agreed
that she could write a letter on behalf of the board, with documentation on the
cost breakdown, to MC prior to initiating any formal legal action, if that is
what the board ultimately intended to do.
Jolyn reminded the board that she should not be considered the board's
“formal” attorney, as it does not carry malpractice insurance and she does not
have her own since she is a state attorney.
But she is happy to provide legal services at no cost to the shelter,
with the caveat that she is not completely familiar with the AC statutes. She asked the board to consider whether it
wants to hire an attorney more familiar with that area of law. The board agreed to have Jolyn draft the
letter. Due to Jolyn’s
currently busy schedule, it would probably be late next month before a
letter is drafted. Anita asked that
when it is drafted, to copy it to the L&C County Attorney, Attorney
General's Office, MC County Commissioners, and the MC Sheriff. Jolyn said prior to going out, she would
distribute the letter to all the board members for their review and approval. Jane asked about pursuing reimbursement for
the $21,327, not the $52,107. The motion
was amended by Laura to pursue restitution in an amount no more than $21,327;
second by Jean. Motion passed.
2. Animal Cruelty Cases (AC)/County
Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs): Gina, Annie, Tia, and Lisa P. met with Capt.
Crookshank, L&C Co. Atty, and Sheriff Liedle about the financial drain on
the shelter due to the length of time some of these AC cases take, not to
mention the effect it has on the animals that sometimes remain at the shelter
for months. They vocalized concerns
about the need to pursue the bond under the new cruelty statutes, and expedite
the cases to hearing sooner. Gina
provided an update on the Kirscher cruelty case. According to the L&C County Attorney,
this should probably be wrapped up by next week. As for the newest AC case, the hearing is
set for Dec. 9, 10:30 a.m. The
L&C County Attorney is asking the judge to require the defendant to post
bond ($3100). Jolyn will e-mail Anita
regarding the suggestion of having Jorge Quintana, Attorney General, and former
L&C County Attorney, prosecute some of the AC matters due to the heavy
workload of the current L&C County Attorney. The sheriff's department asked if LCHS would
be willing to investigate minor complaints.
Due to the volume of these complaints, the board decided LCHS would not
be able to, although it does and will continue to provide assistance. Gina asked if the L&C County ACO, who is
located with the L&C County Health Dept., could also assist in these
investigations. Gina will e-mail
Anita to discuss some options regarding this issue. Jean brought up doing a MOU with all the
counties. Anita wanted a report on MOUs at other shelters and possibly using some of those
examples. Jolyn discussed creating a
committee to handle quasi-legal matters of this nature, including revising the
adoption agreements, financial agreements, etc.
Lisa P. said the shelter comm. should do the MOUs. Jolyn felt that the
shelter comm. already takes on too many issues, and in order to get it done
more timely, a different committee should draft one.
3. Update on Break-in at Shelter: A hole was cut into the fence by the shed in
back, and the burglars entered the shelter through the puppy room window. A safe, containing medications, checks, petty
cash, and a Paws journal, and two digital cameras were stolen. The safe was kept up front. The drugs and journal were recovered on Jim
Town Road. All locks have been changed,
and limited people have access to the building now. The shelter is probably out about $600
cash. The shelter needed a new safe to
be certified with DEA for medical accreditation. Gina will look into seeing if we could get a
safe donated ($800). Insurance will
cover some of the losses.
4. New Committee Formation: Lisa P. recommended revamping some of the
committees and creating the following three new committees:
a) Finance: Kevin wants to disband the fundraising
comm. He asked that a new committee be
established, and only be made up of the people he already approached
personally, as he felt they were the only ones who would get off their seats
[sic] and do something. Kevin did not
want the former members to be involved.
Lisa P. recommended that the fundraising comm. not be disbanded. The fundraising comm. should act in
conjunction with the finance comm., and then the whole board needs to be
involved once the ideas/dates are in place.
Motion to create finance comm. by Annie; second by Jane. Motion
passed. It was clarified that the
finance comm. would oversee investments, budget, and financial issues, so these
could be taken out of the shelter comm.'s purview. The Treasurer would act as the chairperson,
and it would work in conjunction with the fundraising comm., but that the
fundraising comm. would remain a separate committee and implement the ideas.
b) Governance: Lisa P. proposed that this would be an
"ad hoc" or temporary committee, and its purpose would be to update
the LCHS bylaws, Constitution, ensure the non-profit corporate filings with the
Secretary of State’s office were updated and properly filed, and work on other
matters of this nature, including the conflict of issue matter, which could be
built into the bylaws. The business plan
may also fall under this task force.
Motion to create governance task force by Jean; second by Jolyn. Motion passed.
c) Other
Committee Changes: Board members
assigned themselves to the particular committees they wanted to be involved
with. Committee chairpersons will
need to be decided at the next meeting.
5. Business/Marketing Plan: Anita said all non-profit/for-profit
corporations have a business plan, so they can know what they need to do in the
first quarter, look at expenses, how to meet goals, etc. Anita said the entire board must work on it,
and we should also include Debra Hayden/Amy Palmer in creating one, based on
their experience. Jean said it would be
helpful to have a proposal so we know exactly what it entails. Motion by Lisa P. to minimize our agenda at the
next board meeting on Dec. 15 to discuss the business plan/marketing plan;
second by Kevin. Motion passed.
6. December 2004 Newsletter: Jane asked for approval for an extra long
newsletter next month, which would require additional costs for
paper/postage/inserts. Gina reminded
Jane that because the board did not do a fall letter, we have money available
to do this, so it should not require board approval. Lisa P. said a "panic" letter
would be going out tomorrow, in lieu of the X-mas letter this year. Lisa P. also said the water bill insert
was approved, and she was taking the insert to the printer tomorrow.
7. Miscellaneous: Starbuck's asked the board if LCHS wanted to
set up a table at their store. Lisa P.
tended the table, which raised $40 for the shelter. There was no word on how much we made from
the pizza fundraisings yet.* (12/7/04 Update:
We raised about $400 from the Pizza Hut fundraiser).
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Jane; second by
Kevin to adjourn the board meeting. The
meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m. The next
LCHS Board meeting will be at the shelter on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2004, at 6:00
pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jolyn E. Eggart
LCHS Secretary