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Board of County Commissioners <br />Meeting Minutes - Final March 10, 2020 <br />Discussion continued among members of the Board and County Administrator <br />Jason Brown. Vice Chairman Flescher requested additional clarification, as he <br />noted that TNVR was not specifically stated in the document provided, and he <br />wanted to be advised of the Humane Society's intent during the six-month <br />period covered by the MOU. County Administrator Jason Brown also felt <br />additional clarification was necessary. Chairman Adams voiced her opinion <br />that the action before the Board was for Chief Stone to either continue <br />discussions with the Humane Society to ultimately return with a final draft <br />MOU for Board approval at a later date, or to begin the process of opening an <br />animal services facility run by the County. Although she agreed that there <br />needed to be a more effective way to reduce roaming cats in certain areas of the <br />County, the Chairman spoke in favor of Chief Stone negotiating a MOU with <br />the Humane Society. Commissioner Zorc acknowledged health concerns and <br />wildlife issues, but felt it would be best to put all options on the table and try to <br />come up with a plan to reduce the number of feral cats. Vice Chairman <br />Flescher and Commissioner O'Bryan made it clear that they did not support <br />TNVR, and advocated for wording in the MOU to state that the Humane <br />Society would not undertake in TNVR activities during the MOU's six-month <br />period. <br />Kate Meghi, Executive Director, Humane Society of Vero Beach, discussed that <br />TNVR and many other issues were of critical importance in negotiating future <br />agreements with the County. She spoke of her desire for Ms. Quigley and <br />Chief Stone to work together to negotiate a MOU that would be agreeable to the <br />Board. <br />Commissioner O'Bryan warned of the limited amount of time until the current <br />contract would expire and inquired as to whether the County needed to <br />implement an alternate plan to open their own facility based on the TNVR <br />concern. In pointing out his concern that less -fortunate neighborhoods have <br />been overcrowded by free -roaming cats, he used a PowerPoint slide to provide <br />the location of the residences of members of the Humane Society Board in <br />comparison to the location of documented feral cat sightings. <br />Administrator Brown asked for clear direction on what the parameters of the <br />six-month agreement would be, adding his opinion that it was unlikely that staff <br />could reach a long-term agreement with the Humane Society without <br />significant changes to the Code of Indian River County. <br />Commissioner Solari made a motion to direct Chief Stone to: 1) negotiate with <br />the Humane Society and return to the April 7, 2020 meeting with a MOU that <br />would not allow for the practice of TNVR; and 2) begin the process of opening <br />an animal services facility to be run by the County. Vice Chairman Flescher <br />seconded the motion, then withdrew his second shortly thereafter, stating that <br />the recent change in the Humane Society's philosophy made it inevitable that <br />they would no longer be able to work together. The motion made by <br />Commissioner Solari died for lack of a second. <br />Indian River County Florida Page 12 <br />