Alachua County Commission asks for Animal Welfare Advisory Committee meeting and change in animal shelter leadership

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the March 10 Alachua County Commission meeting, the board asked the County Manager to hold an Animal Welfare Advisory Committee meeting as soon as possible and consider changing the interim leadership at the shelter.

General public comment

Although Animal Resources was not on the agenda, County Manager Michele Lieberman told Commissioners that she would provide an update during Manager Comment “if necessary.”

However, after 12 people spoke about the reported issues at the shelter during General Public Comment, Chair Ken Cornell invited Lieberman to go ahead and give her update.

Outside firm will conduct an independent investigation

Lieberman confirmed the information she had sent out by email on Friday (included in the article linked above) and said the County has retained an independent firm to conduct a formal investigation into the allegations, managed by the County Attorney’s Office.

County Attorney Sylvia Torres reviewed the history of the issue: the County received an email from a former employee of the shelter on March 2, and that triggered the County’s Whistleblower Ordinance. Torres and Lieberman met the next day and agreed that an investigation should take place, and they decided that it should be an external investigation “to ensure that… [the information comes from] a credible, disinterested source.” Torres said that under the ordinance, the investigation must be completed within 90 days of the whistleblower’s disclosure, unless extenuating circumstances exist, and that would be May 31, which is a Sunday. So she expects to receive the report on June 1, and the report will be a public record.

Lieberman said that the scope of the investigation will include the “four corners” of the former staff member’s complaint. She said the County conducted a national search for a new Shelter Veterinarian, and the selected candidate has accepted the County’s offer and is set to start work on May 4. She added that she and a representative from the search firm will be interviewing the three finalists for the Shelter Director position on March 11. 

Lieberman said the County has received the signed lease from the University of Florida Board of Trustees, and the previously-selected architectural firm is ready to start work on the design, “now that we have a site to design around.” The contract with the construction firm will come before the County Commission “in the very near future.”

Lieberman also made a statement “for the public and for the board. You’re aware about the independent review regarding the concerns that have been raised. So, because that process is underway, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to discuss the specific allegations or the details about those allegations at this time. I want that review to proceed fairly and objectively and in accordance with the policies and procedures… What I can say is that our shelter does not operate in a vacuum. It is a public facility. Members of the community visit regularly, staff from other departments interact with the facility, we have licensed veterinarians that are on site multiple times a week, so there are many, many points of interaction as part of normal daily operations… There is always room for improvement, and we take concerns seriously.”

After an interruption from the audience, Lieberman continued, “At the same time, it’s important to recognize that the shelter has made significant improvements over the years and continues to evolve as we work better to serve animals in our community. I am responsible for the operation of Alachua County and our more than 1,000 employees. I want to be clear that I have confidence in the operations of the shelter and in the staff who work there. They are hard-working public servants, doing difficult work every day, with dedication and compassion, and that work matters. To the volunteers who dedicate their time, I want to say thank you, because without our volunteers, we couldn’t do as much as we do for the animals that are in our care. To the staff, I want to say publicly that I recognize the challenges of the work that you do and appreciate the commitment that you bring to it every day… My door has always been open to employees; they know that. I have always made myself available for members of the community, and it will remain that way. Myself, and our administration, and I know the board as well, we will continue to support our staff while ensuring that any concerns are reviewed through the appropriate process. So I want to say thank you for indulging me and letting me speak to that, because I think it’s important that our staff know that we are here supporting them.”

Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler began by saying she had been involved with the shelter before she was first elected to the board, eight years ago. She said that first thing in the morning, the “cages look kind of rough,” and even after they’re cleaned, “five minutes later, there’s pee and poop again, so I’m just saying,… the pictures that they’ve been showing us,… I would like to know the time of day [they were taken].” She also said, “If you’ve got time to take pictures, then you can get in there and help clean those cages, too.”

Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler: “To say that this board has not been involved out there — it’s saying to me that I don’t matter, as your Commissioner, and that the work that I’m doing out there is not important… This is kind of my lane.”

She said it was wrong for people to say that nobody from the board has been involved at the shelter: “It means you’re not paying attention. This board has also allocated monies to help with whatever we need to do out there, going forward, until we get the new shelter… To say that this board has not been involved out there — it’s saying to me that I don’t matter, as your Commissioner, and that the work that I’m doing out there is not important… This is kind of my lane.”

Commissioner Anna Prizzia: “I hope, with the new shelter coming, that we’ll be able to attract better talent and that this new Director will have… the vision to be able to move something really meaningful forward.”

Commissioner Anna Prizzia said, “We do care. We care really deeply, and we’ve been working on this for a really long time… And we have told our [County] Manager again and again, whatever is needed, whatever money is needed for renovations in the meantime, whatever money is needed for staff, support, for volunteers, we’re all in.” She said the investigation would not solve all the problems because the shelter is old and was not built to be a no-kill shelter. She also said it’s “been very difficult to find good leadership. It’s a hard job… I hope, with the new shelter coming, that we’ll be able to attract better talent and that this new Director will have… the vision to be able to move something really meaningful forward.”

Prizzia: “In my opinion, I do not think that Gina Peebles should be managing the shelter while this investigation is going on. She’s a part of the investigation, and I just don’t feel like it’s appropriate for her to be managing the shelter while we’re waiting on that to come forward.”

Prizzia said she was “confused about why we’re not having an AWAC (Animal Welfare Advisory Committee) meeting. I do feel like the reason we called an animal welfare committee… was for specifically these kinds of purposes… In my opinion, I do not think that Gina Peebles should be managing the shelter while this investigation is going on. She’s a part of the investigation, and I just don’t feel like it’s appropriate for her to be managing the shelter while we’re waiting on that to come forward… I have absolute and utmost trust in the external counsel we’ve hired to do [the investigation], and I think we’ll get a really good result. But in the meantime, I do feel like we’re stuck in a very difficult situation, having the existing leadership continue to operate the shelter, and I do not think that’s a good idea.”

Public record about rescue organization will be made available

Commissioner Mary Alford said she hoped the investigators would also talk to the volunteers. She asked about complaints from the public that the County is claiming a public records exemption to avoid releasing the name of the organization that has received 10 dogs from the Alachua County shelter. 

Torres said her staff has reviewed the statute that protects the identity of people who adopt animals, and she does not believe it applies to the transfer of animals to another rescue organization. She said, “I expect the document to be released with a bit of redaction of personal identifying information.” 

Alford also favored working on a policy to prevent retribution against volunteers, and she agreed with Prizzia about having an AWAC meeting and changing the leadership at the shelter during the investigation. 

Commissioner Charles Chestnut said Alachua County needs to “hire the right people to make sure they are a great fit for Alachua County… and protect the volunteers… We do care, but it’s just difficult times right now, let’s put it that way, and hopefully they’ll be addressed, so we can move forward in the future, and always, please, feel free to come talk to us. Our doors are always open.”

Chair Ken Cornell: “I want the County Manager to hear me, that I want someone with experience in adoption and care, not experience in euthanasia and kill shelters.”

Cornell said, “I want you to know that I appreciate your comments and your input. Your input is what’s going to drive effective change… I want the County Manager to hear me, that I want someone with experience in adoption and care, not experience in euthanasia and kill shelters… Ms. Peebles didn’t ask for this job. She was asked to do this job. She is our Chief of Staff,… and this is not what she was hired for… A change is probably a good thing, and I think she’ll probably welcome it.” He said the motion should “direct our staff to give them the ability to bring in temporary resources.”

Motion

Prizzia made a five-part motion:

• Have an Animal Welfare Advisory Committee meeting as soon as possible to provide input on operating procedures;
• Develop a whistleblower policy for volunteers and explore involving AWAC in that process;
• Provide any resources or temporary help necessary to support the Animal Resources staff while waiting for new staff to come on board;
• Allow the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee to weigh in on the design of the shelter once the architect completes it;
• Ask the County Manager to look at alternatives for interim management of the shelter.

Alford seconded the motion. 

Wheeler said, “I just want to make sure that the discussions that happen at [AWAC] don’t end up on public media.” Cornell said it’s a Sunshine board, so those are public meetings. 

Lieberman said the County already has a complaint form; although it’s not specifically for animal shelter complaints, a complaint about the shelter would go to AWAC. 

During public comment on the motion, all of the speakers supported the motion and emphasized the need for protection against retribution for volunteers and the need for a change in leadership at the shelter.

After public comment, Torres said the County’s Whistleblower Ordinance says, “Any employee or other person who discloses information on their own initiative in a manner prescribed in the section we were talking about is protected from retaliation based on such disclosure.” Prizzia said she was “okay” with the current wording, but she would like to add “including volunteer” after “other person.”

Torres said she did not need a motion to advertise the ordinance because “it’s two words.”

County Manager is responsible for hiring and firing shelter staff

Prizzia said to the audience, “I do want you to know that if you face any retaliation, we would like to know that immediately.” She added that the board could not direct the County Manager to change leadership at the shelter because “our only two employees are sitting at the end of this dais. Everybody else are their employees, and they have the hiring responsibilities and the management authority to do those things. We don’t direct those hirings, and we don’t direct those firings.”

Alford said, “Everyone should be treated with respect and with thanks for what they’re doing, whether you’re getting paid or not. So please let us know if that continues to happen.”

Prizzia: “I feel as deeply and as importantly for those animals as I do for the people that we have incarcerated at our jail, and I wish that in both instances, we didn’t have to have animals or people locked in cages, but that’s where we’re at right now, and we have the care and custody of those individuals, whether they’re animals or people, and it’s our responsibility.”

Prizzia agreed,  “I feel as deeply and as importantly for those animals as I do for the people that we have incarcerated at our jail, and I wish that in both instances, we didn’t have to have animals or people locked in cages, but that’s where we’re at right now, and we have the care and custody of those individuals, whether they’re animals or people, and it’s our responsibility, and so we feel that, but I know that our employees feel it even more deeply and have a responsibility to care for them and try really hard every day and show up every day to do really, really hard jobs under really difficult circumstances.”

The motion passed unanimously.