Chapel Hill News, June 16, 2004 County signs on veterinarians Two area veterinarians will perform spay/neuter surgeries for animals adopted from the Orange County Animal Shelter beginning July 1. On that date, the county will take over management of the animal shelter from the Animal Protection Society. The Orange County Board of Commissioners on June 8 approved contracts with Marat Dubrovsky at the Nicks Road Veterinary Clinic and Soren David Windram at the New Hope Animal Hospital. Dubrovsky has provided such surgeries to the shelter under APS management for the last two years. Under the contracts, Dubrovsky will perform spay/neuter surgeries for the shelter on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for a flat rate of $60. Windram will charge $95 to $115 for a spay and $65 to $110 for a neuter and will perform surgeries on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The veterinarians will also conduct physical exams of each animal, prepare records, and provide other services at additional cost on request. The vets will be paid on an actual fee for service basis. Overall costs to the county are projected at $132,000 to $190,000 per year. Also on June 8, the county commissioners approved a contract with the Town of Chapel Hill for animal control and Emergency Animal Rescue Services (EARS) and a separate contract with the Town of Carrboro for EARS. ________________________________________________________________ Chapel Hill Herald June 23, 2004 BY GEOFFREY GRAYBEAL ggraybeal@heraldsun.com; 918-1033 orange Co. plans to OK new budget today Tax rate would increase 3.9 cents; Chatham holds line again CHAPEL HILL -- The orange County Commissioners plan to pass a new budget today that will result in a 3.9-cent increase in the property tax rate. The board, which meets at 5:30 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, is expected to adopt the budget for fiscal year 2004-05. The board also put off the creation of a Web application developer, a human resources technician and a custodian, and requested more information justifying the need for the positions. The board also decided against creating a reserve for a staff attorney position. It did, however, set aside reserve money for six months salary for an animal services director in the event it decides to create such a position later in the year. The county is taking over operation of the animal shelter from the Animal Protection Society on July 1, but has not yet chosen what kind of model it will use to operate the shelter. ________________________________________________________________ Chapel Hill Herald June 26, 2004 Dismissal quietly ends APS dogfight By Beth Velliquette : The Herald-Sun HILLSBOROUGH -- A lawsuit and counterclaim between the Animal Protection Society and two of its harshest critics ended in a whimper Friday after an attorney filed a voluntary dismissal on the final outstanding claims. No one really won the case since the judge threw out most of the claims before a trial occurred, and the others claims were voluntarily dropped, but the controversy eventually triggered the end of the relationship between APS and Orange County. For years, Orange County paid the APS to run its animal shelter, but county officials are pushing the nonprofit out and will run the shelter on their own starting next week. The controversy also contributed to the resignation of former APS executive director Laura Walters resigned. Nevertheless, each side in the lawsuit is claiming a victory of sorts. APS critics Elliot Cramer and Judith Reitman got what they wanted -- the society's internal documents -- through the discovery process of the lawsuit, said their attorney Barry Nakell. They claimed in their lawsuit that when Cramer attempted to become members of the APS board, the board illegally changed its bylaws to exclude him as a candidate. They also claimed the APS held an illegal election for its board. But Superior Court Judge John Jolly ruled against all of the claims that Cramer and Reitman filed against the APS, its board of directors and its then-director, Walters, said attorney Ron Merritt, who represented APS. "The court ruled our bylaw change was legal. They had alleged we had carried out an improper illegal election, and the court ruled that was not true," Merritt said. "They alleged they had the right to be members, and the court ruled that was not so, and they alleged APS breached its fiduciary duties, and the court ruled that was not true." Nakell countered that the purpose of the lawsuit wasn't to bring APS down, but to compel APS it to open up its records to Cramer and Reitman. "They got access to the documents," Nakell said. "They won that big time. They got plenty of documents APS was trying to hide. They brought it to the light of day." Cramer and Reitman may have obtained the documents, but the judge put very strict restrictions on what they could do with them, Merritt said. After Cramer and Reitman filed their lawsuit spoke and wrote publicly about their criticisms of the APS, Walters, the APS and its board members filed a counterclaim that alleged Cramer and Reitman had libeled them. Judge Jolly dismissed the APS counterclaim, and on Friday, Walters and the board members voluntarily dismissed their libel counterclaims as well. "I think they just wanted to put this behind them and move on," Merritt said about their decision to drop the libel counterclaim against Cramer and Reitman. But the battle may not be over. Nakell hinted there could be more legal battles, but he wouldn't say what Cramer and Reitman's plans were. Merritt was willing to say what he believes Cramer and Reitman have on their minds. "Barry has indicated they might appeal," Merritt said. The appeal would challenge the judge's ruling that the APS board acted properly when it changed its bylaws on who could be nominated to serve on the board, and on how the group held its election, Merritt said. If Cramer and Reitman appeal, the APS may decide to file its own appeal on the judge's decision to dismiss the libel claim the group filed against Cramer and Reitman, Merritt said. At times the relationship between the litigants became heated, with each side claiming the other acted improperly. In an affidavit filed with the lawsuit, Walters claimed that Cramer came to the shelter, banged on the door, tried to get in the side doors, entered areas of the shelter that were closed to the public and hung around in the parking lot. "Since the fall of 2002, Mr. Cramer has been wholly occupied by my actions at work, and I consider him an obsessed stalker," she said. "I'm afraid for my safety and urge the court not to lift the trespassing order." Nakell called her statements ridiculous. "That's the kind of outrageous thing that they did," he said. "Clearly there was no merit to that." But Nakell admitted Cramer is obsessive. "I haven't any doubt that he is obsessive, but stalking is a different matter," he said. The actions of Cramer and Reitman were not meant as attacks on APS, Nakell said. "I think our object was to get APS on the right track," he said. Cramer and Reitman wanted to improve APS by becoming active members, but APS changed its rules to keep them out, Nakell said. "None of us wanted to see a venerable Orange County organization that had served the community for so long to come to this situation," he said. --- Comment: I think Barry meant that I was diligent and determined, rather than obsessive. Certainly APS misjudged me when they thought that false trespass and slander claims would deter me from telling the truth about APS. Laura Walters' October 10, 2003 claim that she was "afraid for her safety" is astonishing given the fact that APS invited me to make a nomination statement to their Board on November 11 and dropped its trespass claim on January 20, 2004. In my August 8, 2003 deposition I was asked by APS attorney Ronald Merritt to "Tell me every outrageous lie that you have information about concerning Laura Walters." My answer went on from page 104-176. If I had access to my files, I could have gone on much longer. The affidavit by Walters cited here is a tissue of lies which she would not dare state in public. My opinion of Walters is well known and is consistent with the opinion of Ann Petersen and the APS Personnel Committee which stated that she exhibits a "lack of integrity and trust". I believe that Walters dropped her lawsuit because she did not dare go to trial. The APS slander lawsuit was always ill-advised and APS showed poor judgment in bringing it this far. Ann Petersen has made it clear that its purpose was to stop our public criticism (See her deposition statements on www.ourpaws.info). Those responsible should be held accountable. We never wanted to destroy APS; our criticisms were constructive and if they had listened, APS would still have its county contract and would still be a viable organization. As it is, APS suffered a loss of $270,000 for fiscal 2002-2003 alone; it is doubtful that it can survive for long. As former board member Virginia Ellington said, No one on the outside is responsible for all of this. The Society self-destructed. ________________________________________________________________ Chapel Hill Herald June 30, 2004 Animal shelter set on smooth shift BY GEOFFREY GRAYBEAL : The Herald-Sun CHAPEL HILL -- Recent visitors to the Orange County Animal Shelter may have found the Permafile box of books sitting on the floor in the front lobby out of place, but such a scene has become the norm for Shelter Director Joe Pulcinella. "I'm getting to the point where a room without boxes looks like it's kind of off," Pulcinella said. "Boxes are a d‚cor item right now." Overseeing the shelter management's transition from the Animal Protection Society to Orange County government is the latest move for Pulcinella, who arrived in Chapel Hill from Pennsylvania in April and is also in the process of shifting home sites from an apartment to a house. Pulcinella, who was hired by APS, will become a county employee Thursday when the change in ownership officially takes place. For the past month, APS has been removing much of its furniture and equipment and placing it in temporary pods outside the shelter while the county replaces them with its own items. The APS sold night deposit boxes, a shed, two vans, a freezer and the phone and security systems to the county, but is taking about 60 cat cages, furniture, computers, files and cabinets. While the county has replaced the furniture and equipment, everything else about the shelter will remain the same -- for now at least. "To the public, there probably won't be a big difference in how we're operating," Pulcinella said. "We're trying to make this as minimally disruptive as possible to the animals." While there has been a buzz of activity around the shelter lately, Marcel, Ada and Boris have hardly noticed. They're just three of the stray shelter dogs hoping to find a home. "One of the things we're striving to do, for the public we would like them to see as minimal of change as possible," Pulcinella said. "If somebody comes in on June 30 and then comes back July 1, it should be about the same. We don't want there to be a big disruptive change at the front. We don't want this to be a big, disruptive event." The shelter's hours will remain the same, as its adoption and surrender procedures. After vacant positions are filled and the county has settled into running the shelter, the new shelter management will review the current policies. "I'm sure there will be change, but we'll do it gradually over a period of time," Pulcinella said. Volunteers will remain a key component at the shelter. "We want people to know that we definitely wish to continue all of the volunteer activities that the shelter has had under APS," Pulcinella said. "There's been a lot of wonderful, wonderful volunteers." Volunteers walk and groom pets and conduct temperament testing and obedience training, among other duties. In April, the Orange County Commissioners unanimously decided that the county would run its own animal shelter starting July 1. More than two years of public controversy over the APS' operation of the county-owned shelter led the commissioners to rule out allowing the nonprofit group to continue running the facility. Nine APS shelter employees will transfer to Orange County, including Pulcinella, the office assistant, health care technician, five animal care technicians and the animal control officer. "We're under new management, from the county on down," Pulcinella said. The county has openings for a shelter operations manager, shelter program coordinator, administrative manager and accounting technician. "We've had good interest," said Personnel Director Elaine Holmes. "I think we're close on the accounting technician and the administrative manager. The other two, we're at the interview stage and will probably fill over the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, we have hired some additional temporary staff to help us with the transition." Michelle Pearson will serve as interim manager of shelter operations. "All of the animal care positions are covered, are filled and we're working on the administrative and management functions and have those covered with temporary staff and, I hope, shortly with employees," Holmes said. While the people will eventually fall into place, the equipment had to be ready in advance. "Trying to restock the shelter has been the most challenging thing. It's amazing how many different little things you need," Pulcinella said. "The people at Orange County purchasing have been saints. They've been great." The county had to buy and assemble 68 stainless steel cat cages and find the right type of water bowl to fit existing bowl holders in the 104 dog kennels. The county also had to buy medical items like a stethoscope and an ophthalmoscope, a commercial dishwasher, scales, computers, litter pans, exam tables, shelves, scissors and a dry erase board. All told, it needed about $163,000 worth of start-up equipment. Ann Petersen, president of the APS board of directors, said the transition has gone smoothly. "We get along very well with Joe," she said. "The transition has not been a difficult transition with the county. We've both worked very well at trying to make this transition as painless for both the people and the animals as possible. We've got a good relationship and I think it will continue to be a good relationship." Pulcinella is also looking forward to the future. "It's kind of an opportunity for a fresh start," he said. --- CONTROL OF THE ANIMAL SHELTER: A 2-YEAR-OLD SAGA July 2002: Bobby Schopler, the veterinarian/director for the Animal Protection Society of Orange County's Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, is fired following a contract dispute with Executive Director Laura Walters. Community members publicly protest the decision. September 2002: Writer Judith Reitman, whose adoption of a dog from the Orange County Animal Shelter was denied because officials said the animal was too dangerous, raises issues concerning APS' operation of the shelter during an Orange County Board of Commissioners meeting. October 2002: Schopler announces the formation of The Piedmont Wildlife Center, his own rehabilitation center. November 2002: Following criticisms of APS, the commissioners agree to an outside assessment of the animal shelter. The board hires Washington,D.C.-based Humane Society of the United States to study the shelter, which is run by the APS under a contract with the county that pays $429,000 annually. January 2003: APS critic Elliot Cramer receives a letter from organization officials warning him not to come on shelter premises. June 2003: After a motion for a six-month contract extension was recommended by County Manager John Link fails, the commissioners vote 3-2 to extend the county's contract with the APS to run the shelter for three more months followed by a monthly renewal option. June 2003: A preliminary report released by the Humane Society concludes the shelter has problems with disease control, procedures and animal management. The report cites unclean conditions, a lack of written records and the lack of a well-defined system for processing animals and managing their health. August 2003: HSUS releases its 156-page report on animal shelter management after a 2« hour presentation in which officials say APS could improve its record keeping as well as processes and procedures. September 2003: The commissioners extend the contract with APS on a monthly basis but in response the organization says it can't continue running the shelter without an additional $10,000 each month. October 2003: The commissioners decide to accept proposals for an interim animal shelter operator. October 2003: APS Executive Director Laura Walters and Associate Director Darra Das announce their resignations. November 2003: The APS, the Humane Society of Orange County and Animal Care Equipment & Services submit proposals to the county to run the shelter. November 2003: Susan Cooke, an APS board member, is named interim director of the organization. November 2003: The commissioners decide APS will continue to run the shelter through June 30, but then it will immediately become the county manager's responsibility. December 2003: The commissioners form The Animal Shelter Operations Task Force, a citizens group charged with reviewing animal shelter operations. January 2004: APS lifts a year-old trespass order barring Cramer from the shelter. February 2004: The task force decides it does not want to consider the county contracting with a for-profit corporation or for the shelter to be a separate entity under the public works department or sheriff's department. March 2004: The task force recommends the county manage the facility by creating a new "animal services bureau." April 2004: The commissioners unanimously decide the county will run its own animal shelter starting July 1. April 2004: Joe Pulcinella, former shelter manager of the Delaware County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, starts work for APS as the new director of the Orange County Animal Shelter. July 1, 2004: Orange County assumes operation of the county animal shelter. ________________________________________________________________ Chapel Hill News June 30, 2004 County takes over animal shelter APS, which has run the county shelter for 25 years, will open an adoption center at its Nicks Road location. By Dave Hart, Staff Writer CHAPEL HILL -- In Iraq this week, power was handed over in a hastily arranged back-room ceremony. It won't include any of that cloak-and-dagger stuff, but there's a fairly significant transition going on here, too. Today marks the end of the Animal Protection Society of Orange County's management of the animal shelter off Airport Road. Starting Thursday, Orange County will take on the management and operation of the shelter. "No, we're not going to hold a secret ceremony or anything like that," said Gwen Harvey, Orange County assistant manager. "The deadline day here is really more an internal administrative formality. The transition has really been underway for the past month, at least. We're trying to make it as seamless as possible." APS, a local non-profit organization, will open a new adoption center for dogs and cats, and will continue to operate its existing programs, such as the leash-free park and dog training program, at its facility on Nicks Road. APS President Ann Petersen said the adoption center, which will have a capacity of about 75 animals, is due to open later in July. County Manager John Link recommended an animal services budget of $668,264 for fiscal year 2004-2005. The county's contract with APS in 2003-2004 totaled $489,405. The county paid an additional $118,924 in costs associated with the transition. All animals that are in the shelter as of Thursday will become the property of Orange County. The transition of the shelter from APS to the county caps two years of bitter controversy. APS became embroiled in a series of disputes during the summer of 2002, after then-executive director Laura Walters fired longtime wildlife veterinarian Bobby Schopler. That was the first domino in what became a long series of allegations and counter-allegations between APS and its critics. The dispute spilled into the courts, the national Humane Society conducted an inquiry, Walters stepped down, and eventually the county -- which contracted with APS for animal services and provided substantial funding to the organization -- stepped in to try to bring order to the situation. In April, the county commissioners decided to make the shelter a county function, administered under the guidance of the county manager's office. The commissioners set July 1 as the day the county would take over operations. For the past two weeks, APS has been taking cages, furniture and other items out of the shelter, and county staffers have been moving new things in. "I have mixed feelings," Petersen said. "We're real excited about the opportunities at our Nicks Road site, and in the long run I think it's going to work out for the best for everybody. But it's hard to give up something we've contributed to for 25 years. The hurt was hard, but in the long run I believe both Orange County and APS will be better off, and the dogs and cats will be better off. "Orange County has needed a facility like the one we're going to have for a long time. The Chapel Hill facility isn't big enough, and a lot of the problems we've had have been due to overcrowding. This will help with that. Our adoption center was always intended to augment the in-town shelter. So in that way we'll still be doing what we always intended to do." Joe Pulcinella, who took over directorship of the APS in March, was promptly hired by the county to continue running the shelter. Seven other former APS shelter staffers are staying on as county employees, as well. The remaining eight staff positions have either been filled or are close to being filled, Harvey said. "We're very fortunate that most of the animal care staff stayed on," Pulcinella said. "They're the ones most directly involved with the animals, so that will help make the transition easier for the dogs and cats. I'm still here, too, and people know me, so I think that helps as well. We want to keep things running pretty much as they are and introduce whatever changes we make on a gradual basis." Petersen and Pulcinella both said the two staffs have been cooperating to facilitate a smooth transition. Most policies, procedures, fees and hours of operation will stay the same. "I don't think most people are going to notice a great deal of difference, except that the building will say, 'Orange County Animal Shelter,'" Pulcinella said. "It's going to be a work in progress, but we want people to know we're still open for business. There's an amazing amount of detail to attend to, but we're moving ahead. We want to do this with as little disruption as possible for our clients, two-legged and four-legged." ________________________________________________________________ Chapel Hill News Letter to the Editor June 30, 2004 County ready for APS transition "The county's immediate goal is to ensure a smooth and seamless transition with little or no inconvenience to the public and absolutely no risk of injury to the animals." Those were the words of Gwen Harvey, assistant manager of Orange County as the county moves toward assuming direct management of the animal shelter on July 1. Management of the shelter will move from Animal Protection Society of Orange County, a local non-profit, to Orange County. Concerns were raised in late 2002 over the management of the animal shelter. After an evaluation by the Humane Society of the United States, much public input and a task force recommendation, the Orange County commissioners decided in April to bring the administration of the shelter under the county manager's office. Transition milestones included purchasing some of the existing equipment from APS as well as the acquisition of start-up equipment such as cat cages, exam tables and a microchip scanner. Contracts have been authorized for spay/neuter surgeries for shelter-adopted animals and emergency rescue services for Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Under the guidance of Joe Pulcinella as shelter director, seven APS employees are staying on as county employees Of the eight remaining positions, three have been filled and five are in the final stages of completion. The county has been encouraged by the response and overall competitiveness of the candidate pool. "The county staff has enjoyed notable cooperation from APS staff on a myriad of details throughout this endeavor, and this collaborative spirit is expected to continue throughout the days and months ahead," said Harvey. Orange County will continue to emphasize and solicit the support and participation of community volunteers. Telephone numbers and hours of operation will remain the same. -- David Hunt, Orange County, Information Specialist Comment: Today is the day that the Orange County Animal Shelter opens under County control. This is a happy day for the animals and many people have made this day possible. The Board of Commissioner who are truly dedicated to animal welfare and who insisted on public accountability - Margaret W. Brown, Stephen H. Halkiotis, Barry Jacobs, Alice Gordon, and Moses Carey. County Manager John Link who stated from the start that if the Commissioners wanted the County to operate the shelter, the County could do it and it would be a first-rate operation. The County staff including Gwen Harvey, Elaine Holmes, Pam Jones, Donna Dean, Ken Chavis, Joe Pulcinella, and many others who handled all the details of the transition. The many individuals who came forward out of concern for animal welfare, providing information and urging the County to make changes. This is not the time to dwell on those few who unfortunately made this day necessary. ________________________________________________________________ News of Orange June 30, 2004 APS hands over reigns JAMIE L. MARTIN, Staff Writer HILLSBOROUGH - On July 1 the animal shelter in Orange County will changeover from Animal Protection Society (APS) of Orange County, a local non-profit shelter, to Orange County Animal Shelter, a county-run facility. "The County's immediate goal is to ensure a smooth and seamless transition with little or no inconvenience to the public and absolutely no risk of injury to the animals," Gwen Harvey, Assistant Manager of the shelter, said. This change in management is the result of concerns in late 2002 over the supervision of the Animal Shelter. After an evaluation by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), much public input and a task force recommendation, the Orange County Commissioners decided in April 2004 to bring the shelter under its wing. "Investigations showed the shelter needed improvement in maintaining the overall health of the animals," Shelter Director Joe Pulcinella stated. The county has now established better ventilation systems and animal isolation techniques to ensure disease prevention and control. The county has also moved towards improving the aged building in which the shelter resides. "A county-run shelter ensures more transparency...the shelter will be more open and responsive as county government is supposed to be," Harvey said. In addition to the cost of the shelter transition, the county has purchased new equipment for the shelter including some of the existing equipment from APS as well as purchasing start-up equipment such as cat cages, exam tables and a microchip scanner. "There were a lot of little items we just didn't have and we also needed large items like new computers," Pulcinella emphasized concerning the update of the shelter, which he currently described as "looking like a house on moving day." Adding to the success of the new shelter, APS and the county have worked very well together throughout the venture according to Pulcinella. Harvey added, "The County staff has enjoyed notable cooperation from APS staff on a myriad of details throughout this endeavor and this collaborative spirit is expected to continue throughout the days and months ahead." Contracts have also been authorized for spay and neuter surgeries for shelter-adopted animals and emergency rescue services for Chapel Hill and Carrboro. OLD WITH THE NEW Seven former APS employees are staying on as County employees under the guidance of Pulcinella and Harvey. "The employees stayed on because of the nurturing and competitive environment we offer here at the shelter," Harvey commented. "It will also be exciting to work under new management-a fresh start." Of the eight remaining positions available at the shelter, three have been filled and five were in the final stages of completion as of June 22. According to Harvey, the County has been encouraged by the response and overall competitiveness of the candidate pool. Above all, Harvey stressed the importance of volunteers to the success of the county-run shelter. "The government simply cannot do it all alone," she said. Pulcinella, as well as other shelter employees, are putting together a new volunteer organization called the Friends of the Orange County Animal Shelter. "A strong volunteer base will give the animals the best chance for adoption," he said. For example, volunteers will take animals to the farmer's market or the fair for adoption. They will also administer temperament testing on animals to ensure safe adoption and train animals. Pulcinella stated, "We just want to build on the volunteer base that APS has already established." "The transition has been a tremendous amount of work, but it has been very positive and productive- anything to ensure these animals are well-provided for," he said. END TO LEGAL BATTLES? The controversy between the APS and two of its critics that eventually triggered the end of a relationship between the county and APS ended last week. The Directors and former Executive Director of the APS have dismissed their slander and libel suit against Elliot Cramer and Judith Reitman on the eve of the trial scheduled to begin on Monday, June 28. Victory is not clear on either side. However, no one really won the case since most of the claims in the original lawsuit were thrown out before the trial occurred. The APS libel and slander lawsuit against Cramer and Reitman concerned the criticism the two made of APS and Laura Walters, its Executive Director. Cramer and Reitman are now putting in a motion for sanction, an order for APS to pay their attorney fees. An appeal might also be in the works for the two critics concerning their lawsuits that were originally thrown out by the judge.