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Chino resident urges city support and transparency for ARC animal services board
Summary
A resident asked the City Council to request changes to the ARC (formerly WISA) animal services joint powers authority, including longer public-comment times, clearer voting rights, confirmation of veterinary contracts, and posting of ARC agendas on Chino's website.
A Chino resident addressed the City Council on Feb. 4 with multiple concerns about the animal services joint powers authority known as ARC (formerly the West End Animal Service Agency).
Mo (Moe) Mendoza, who identified herself as a Chino resident from District 2, told the council she had been denied a reasonable opportunity for public comment at ARC meetings and asked the city to send a written letter requesting that ARC public-comment time be increased to three minutes, preferably five, for Chino residents. She also said she believes the ARC joint-powers agreement and board policies give the city of Ontario a weighted vote that limits Chino's influence and asked the council to request a presentation from Ontario clarifying voting rights under the JPA.
Mendoza further said she had not received a response about veterinarian services contracts for the temporary or permanent ARC facility and asked the city to determine whether ARC will provide medical care, TNR (trap-neuter-release) services or only intakes and adoptions. She also asked that ARC board meetings be posted on Chinos website to ensure Chino residents know when and where those meetings occur.
Council response: Mayor (name not specified) said he would discuss Mendoza's concerns with the city manager. Staff later acknowledged the request and said they would raise the issues with the city manager and relevant staff.
Clarifying details raised by the speaker: Mendoza cited an Ontario City Council discussion on July 16, 2024 and said the ARC JPA was written to provide weighted decision points; she said she had submitted a letter to the former WISA board on Dec. 5, 2024 regarding veterinarian services and had not received a response.
Next steps: The speaker asked for a written letter from the City of Chino within five working days asking ARC to permit longer public comments for Chino residents; the council did not record a formal vote on that request during the meeting and staff said they would discuss the requests with the city manager.
