Council reviews animal shelter policies; staff aims for Sept. 1 rollout of new software and surgical suite work

City staff presented a rewritten policies-and-procedures manual for the municipal animal shelter and described operational changes intended to expand services. The shelter superintendent (introduced in the meeting as Stephanie Adams Hawkins) said the manual formalizes ongoing operational improvements and supports development of a small surgical suite to allow in-house contracted veterinary services and increase the shelter’s ability to provide quick medical care.

Staff also described signing a contract to move from an older records system (Shelter Pro) to a cloud-based platform called Shelter Love. The superintendent said the goal is to have Shelter Love operational by Sept. 1 and that the new software will streamline intakes, adoptions, medical records and data transfer with partner rescues. Staff noted Shelter Love’s training resources and a plan to keep the legacy system running during the migration as a safety net.

Councilmembers asked about the creation and timing of an advisory or citizen oversight panel; staff said details of qualifications are being developed and that council feedback would be solicited and could be placed on the agenda for a near-term meeting. Councilmembers also discussed recordkeeping improvements, scheduling changes to enable seven-day operations, and the potential for a contracted or eventually staff veterinarian. No formal council action was required on policy adoption during the presentation; council encouraged staff to return with specifics on advisory-panel structure.