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Peninsula Humane Society outlines services, response times as contract renewal approaches
Summary
Peninsula Humane Society presented its San Mateo County animal services contract to the East Palo Alto City Council, noting the five‑year contract runs through June 2026 with an option to extend three years and reporting average East Palo Alto response times (priority‑1: 32 minutes; priority‑2: 94 minutes). Residents pressed for more local access to spay/neuter and vaccination services.
The Peninsula Humane Society presented an overview of its operations and contract services to the East Palo Alto City Council on July 8, highlighting shelter and clinic operations, volunteer programs and response‑time metrics for calls in East Palo Alto.
The presenter said the current five‑year contract runs through June 2026 with an option to extend for an additional three years. He described three facilities (Coyote Point shelter near Highway 101, adoption and education services in Burlingame, and a Saratoga wildlife center) and stressed donor‑funded services such as vaccine clinics and a spay/neuter clinic. The presenter said average response times last year in East Palo Alto were 32 minutes for priority‑1 calls and 94 minutes for priority‑2 calls, and that staffing shortages have limited ability to operate a mobile spay/neuter van since 2020.
Members of the public and council asked about local accessibility and outreach: residents noted difficulties traveling to Burlingame, asked whether a local substation or periodic mobile clinic could return, and urged bilingual outreach. One resident said the city spends roughly $550,000 on the contract and asked whether East Palo Alto is getting adequate local service for that cost. The Peninsula Humane Society representative said decisions about service locations and city funding levels are set in partnership with the county and offered to continue dialogue with the city manager and council to expand outreach and reestablish mobile clinic services when staffing permits.
Council members asked staff to place a follow‑up item on a future agenda for more detailed statistics and to consider options ahead of contract renewal.
