Kennels – I’m happy to report that City Council unanimously voted in favor of funding painting of the kennels at EACC in August (I’ll have to look back to find date).  Unfortunately, this requires us to have several open kennels for 48-72 hours so the contractor can paint and let it cure. We are hoping to start this on November 4th but if we keep having a full house at EACC this might delay the painting even longer. I am also hoping to amend the budget and add extra funds for repair and maintenance in our 2025 budget.

Hand sanitizer stations & Eye washing stations – these had been ordered and received a few months ago but they had not been installed.  These have now been installed.

Fire Extinguisher – these were checked earlier this year but had not been serviced yet.  These should be serviced by the end of this month.

Drains – There are drains in the small dog area – it’s just you do not see them because of the placement of the small off the floor dog beds.  We do have someone that is coming to look at the drain covers and also check on the drainage to make sure everything is operating properly. This is something that we are aware of and had been working on trying to find the correct covers for the drains. Unfortunately, there have just been so many animals coming into EACC that this had been delayed.

Vaccinations – When I first started on Council in 2008, EACC did NOT vaccinate animals and this is something that I worked on getting funded and I’m happy to report that we do vaccinations now.  EACC vaccinate for kennel cough and they also have testing that they can do for Parvo, if dogs are showing signs of sickness.

Flea treatment – I’ll be honest, we do ask for donations for flea treatment and this is something that I have on my Facebook page regularly as a “Wish List” for people to donate to EACC.  I am trying to get this in the budget for next year and will address this with my Amendment to the Budget.

Wet Dog Food – We do budget for this. Unfortunately, EACC has been inundated with mama dogs having litters of puppies at EACC or breeders and back yard breeders surrendering entire litters of puppies and we ran out. Since there are always people who want to donate, again, I asked for this on my FB page as a “Wish List”. Again, I hope to address this with my Amendment to the budget.

Air Flow – Unfortunately, the maintenance worker did retire and we are unable to hire someone until the workers sick and vacation time has been paid out. The vent cleaning and changing of filters will be back on a regular maintenance & cleaning schedule.

Smell – Unfortunately, there is not a lot we can do about the smell. As you know, can clean a kennel from top to bottom and as soon as we turn around they can go to the bathroom. Our staff does all they can to keep things clean and use good sanitizers but they fight a never ending battle.

Spirit Medical Fund – I’m excited to also announce that you can now donate to the Spirit Medical Fund through the evansvillegov.org website, click on  Animal Control, go to the Donate button for Spirit Medical Fund. I have been requesting this for years and am happy to report that Joe Atkinson of Mayor Terry’s office helped make this possible. We are also hoping to add some of the licensing online and will be working on updating the Animal Control Ordinance.

 2025 Budget – It has been an honor and a privilege to serve on City Council for the past 17 years and I have always been a strong proponent of adding more funding to repair and maintenance items so we can take care of what we have BEFORE we add new line items. On Monday night, City Council will be voting on the 2025 budget & I have submitted an amendment to this budget for in the 2025 budget. There is a proposal for a new full time position for City Council to have an assistant and the proposed salary is $43,150.  I have submitted an amendment to move that $43,150 over to Animal Control and would like to see $7,000 get moved for necropsies and had asked for $36,150 to go to repairs and maintenance for EACC.  I am researching some other items and will probably be amending this to use some of the money to purchase flea medication, flea treatment for the building and more money for wet food purchases. In order for this amendment to pass, there will have to be 5 aye votes.