Staff recommends that the City Council approve extending the Agreement with Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter (YVAS) through January 31, 2023.

HISTORY: The Billings Animal Shelter has been operated since 2008 by agreement with Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter, Inc., a 501(c)(3) independent contractor that was selected through a Request For Proposals (RFP). The previous agreement was renewed retroactive to July 1, 2015 for a two-year period, with one two year renewal option by mutual agreement which expired June 30, 2018. The past agreement was for the City to pay YVAS $274,267 per year on a monthly basis. The rate was to be adjusted by the CPI-Urban Western Region based on 2015 annual figures. The CPI-U amount was never adjusted or invoiced by YVAS. YVAS was also responsible for the exterior lawn and snow removal in the past agreement. The past agreement is attached.
 
OPERATIONS: The City Animal Control and YVAS will continue to share the shelter at 1735 Monad Road. The City will retain ownership of the building and grounds. YVAS has added outdoor pens and other improvements that will stay with the facility should the City ever take it back. YVAS will accept all animals presented to it by City Animal Control or by residents of the City of Billings under most conditions. City Animal Control will provide the public safety functions of collecting live and dead animals, investigating animal attacks and abuse, and euthanizing animals when necessary.
 
The shelter is open to the public 6 days/week: Monday -Sunday, except Wednesday. The shelter is staffed 365/year. Hours open to the public are 12 pm -7 pm on weekdays and 12 pm - 5 pm on weekends. The shelter has law enforcement/animal control access 24/7 through the main entrance. Animals can easily be kenneled through this access point and intake will be completed by YVAS staff the following morning at 8 am. These kennels are in a temperature-controlled room and kennels are set up with water and blankets for the animals brought in overnight.
 
OVERVIEW: For the last 2 years, YVAS has taken in an average of 1,660 dogs and an average of 2,330 cats annually. In addition to dogs and cats, YVAS takes in other domestic pets such as chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, reptiles, and more. YVAS has a staff of 18 employees, including a full-time veterinarian. In addition to staff, YVAS has approximately 200 volunteers that serve the shelter each year. In 2020, volunteer service was estimated to have saved the shelter $57,000.
 
MEDICAL SERVICES: Veterinary care is provided to all adoptable animals. Veterinary care is provided to stray animals when necessary. In addition to providing medical care for animals at YVAS, the shelter is dedicated to providing low-cost spay and neuter options to the community. In 2020, YVAS altered 1,700 animals – 263 of which were publicly owned animals at the low-cost clinics.
 
REUNITING LOST ANIMALS: YVAS will board stray animals for 48-72 hours while working to reunite and locate owners, or after an authorized extended stay whichever time frame applies. If an owner cannot be located or the animals are abandoned, YVAS will claim custody and the animal will be evaluated for adoption.
 
YVAS will attempt to locate owners through the following and at times more:

• Scanning for microchips
• Searching lost and found pages on Facebook
• Listing all lost animals on the YVAS website (average of 200 website visits daily)
• Collecting lost animal reports from owners in-person, over the phone, and online

 
ENRICHMENT: Dogs boarded at YVAS have access to large play yards and are taken out twice daily for enrichment during their stay at the shelter. In addition to outside play, dogs are provided daily enrichment activities in the kennels. Dogs are provided grain-free food twice daily and will be vaccinated on intake to protect the dog from infectious diseases and maintain overall health and wellness during their stay. YVAS has just installed an outdoor cat enrichment kennel for cats that enjoy indoor and outdoor enrichment activities.
 
FOSTER PROGRAM: YVAS also has a robust and experienced foster program for animals that are too sick, injured, or too young for adoption. In 2020, close to 500 animals were sent out to foster care and then subsequently adopted at the shelter when they were ready.

OUTCOMES: YVAS strives to place any and all adoptable animals while providing humane euthanasia to the community. Since 2018, YVAS has only utilized euthanasia services for extreme aggression or severe illness – not for population management. Euthanasia has decreased at YVAS by 75% in the last two years alone.
Other 2020 animal outcomes include:

• 587 dogs were adopted to new homes
• 88% of lost dogs were reunited with their owners
• 1,262 cats were adopted to new homes
• 13% of lost cats were reunited with their owners – this is much higher than the national average of 2%. Cats are more likely to find their way home than to be reunited at a shelter in the U.S.
• 4 days is the average amount of time that a dog will stay in the shelter for any reason
• 9 days is the average amount of time that a cat will stay in the shelter for any reason

 
A 90% live-release rate for the animals entering a shelter is the commonly used benchmark for measuring lifesaving progress. Typically, the number of pets who are suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being re-homed is not more than 10% of all pets entering shelters.
 
YVAS is proud to have a 95% live-release rate. Live release rate is calculated by finding the percentage of animals that leave the shelter alive. Animals that die of natural causes or severe injuries as well as euthanasia negatively affect the live-release rate.
 
CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS:

• Payment to YVAS will be $300,000 per year paid on a monthly basis and subsequent annual fees shall be adjusted based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, West Region figures
• YVAS shall pay the City an annual rent for use of the facility of $24,000, paid on a monthly basis, inclusive of all utilities.
• City Facilities Department will maintain animal shelter outside grounds to include landscape and snow removal.
• Renewal Terms - contract may be extended by mutual consent for 4 additional 1 year periods
• City will pay Contractor the cost of additional veterinary services requested by the City for any impounded animal authorized by the City and not paid by the owner
• The City will be responsible to seek restitution in court cases for additional expenses
• Animal Control will communicate, with as much notice as possible, with YVAS on cases involving more than 10 animals, so that YVAS can coordinate proper staffing and prepare facilities

The City Council may:

1. Approve the Agreement, extending it to January 31, 2023;
2. Defer action on the Agreement to obtain more information from YVAS or City Staff; or
3. Disapprove the Agreement and provide staff with direction.

The Agreement for February 1, 2021, through January 31, 2022, is proposed to be $300,000 minus the annual rent payment from YVAS of $24,000, both paid on a monthly basis; for February 1, 2022, through January 31, 2023, annual fees shall be adjusted based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, West Region figures. The Animal Control Division staff estimates it would require approximately $330,000 to add three office staff and three shelter staff to maintain the current hours of operation and service at the shelter, plus operating and maintenance costs.