CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 6/18/2024
DEPARTMENT: Management Services
SUBJECT:
AWARD OF PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANT SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH
THE PET ADOPTION CENTER OF ORANGE COUNTY
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
1. Approve the Professional Consultant Services Agreement with the Pet Adoption Center of Orange County (“Agreement”).
2. Authorize the Mayor to sign and City Clerk to attest to the Agreement with the Pet Adoption Center of Orange County, substantially in the form attached.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Since 2016, the City has contracted with the Pet Adoption Center of Orange County (“PAC-OC”). The PAC-OC operates out of a commercial property on Muirlands Boulevard and can house up to 20 dogs at any given time. The goal of the arrangement with the PAC-OC is to alleviate space constraints at the former shelter sites operated by the City’s primary animal care provider, Orange County Animal Care (“OCAC”). The PAC-OC also provides a local option for Lake Forest residents to potentially relinquish their dogs, rather than traveling to the OCAC shelter. In addition,, the PAC-OC offers adoption services, pet owner counseling, volunteering opportunities for locals, and assistance with the City’s annual Pet Expo event.
Anticipating the expiration of the PAC-OC’s current agreement with the City (“Current Agreement”) on June 30, 2024, staff negotiated with PAC-OC staff to form the proposed Professional Consultant Services Agreement with the PAC- OC (“New Agreement”)(Attachment 1). Like agreements that covered previous fiscal years, the New Agreement includes a $19,000 compensation amount for the same scope of services and a one-year term ending June 30, 2025. The PAC-OC expressed an interest in negotiating a new approach to compensation for its services; staff plan to continue discussions with the PAC-OC about its requested changes into the term of the New Agreement should it be approved by the City Council.
Staff recommends the City Council approve the proposed New Agreement with the PAC-OC. The 2023-2025 Operating Budget includes sufficient funding to cover the costs of the proposed New Agreement.
BACKGROUND:
On December 6, 2016, the City and the PAC-OC entered into a professional consultant services agreement (“Pilot Agreement”) with the PAC-OC for the provision of animal care services. The Pilot Agreement included a one-year term beginning July 1, 2017, and a compensation amount of $30,000. OCAC provided the City with $15,000 to offset the compensation costs of the Pilot Agreement.
The OCAC only provided this payment for the first year of the City’s contractual relationship with the PAC-OC.
The PAC-OC was required by the Pilot Agreement to have a physical presence in Lake Forest, accept animals from the OCAC, rehabilitate animals to facilitate their adoptions, and assist the public with conducting adoptions at the facility.
Additionally, the Pilot Agreement required the PAC-OC to inform Lake Forest households about low-cost or free microchipping, vaccination, and neutering services. Upon establishing in Lake Forest in 2017, Lake Forest residents could use the PAC-OC as a free tool for crisis management and pet-related counseling.
Residents of Lake Forest have been given volunteer opportunities by the PAC- OC to assist with on-site animal care. The goal of the Pilot Agreement with PAC- OC was to divert animals from the OCAC shelter and make it easier for them to find local homes. From 2021 to 2022, each day an animal remained in the OCAC shelter cost the City approximately $56 per day.
On June 27, 2019, the City entered into a new agreement (“2019 Agreement”) with the PAC-OC in anticipation of the expiration of the Pilot Agreement. The term of the 2019 Agreement was originally set for July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020, but was extended twice via two one-year extensions. The term of the 2019 Agreement ended on June 30, 2022. The compensation amount for the 2019 Agreement was $15,000 per year made by the City in two installments of $7,500.
The 2019 Agreement was different from the Pilot Agreement in that it broadened the intake area from the OCAC shelter population to the entire OCAC service territory. The PAC-OC shelter can house up to 20 dogs at any given time. The OCAC service territory requirement allows the PAC-OC to intake dogs from any of the participating cities that contract with OCAC for animal care services to meet the population requirements in its arrangement with the City. The broadening of the intake area allowed the PAC-OC to remain virtually full throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as the demand for pet adoptions was unusually high and population for dogs subject to intake was low as a result of increased adoption rates throughout the pandemic. Since it was difficult for the PAC-OC to adopt pets from the OCAC shelter to meet population requirements, the 2019 Agreement accommodated these COVID-19-inspired dynamics by changing the PAC-OC’s population requirements. In the prior Pilot Agreement, 60% of the PAC-OC’s shelter population must have originated from an Orange County Animal Care shelter. In the 2019 Agreement, 60% of the shelter population could have originated from anywhere in the OCAC service territory.
While the 2019 Agreement eased the shelter population requirements of the PAC-OC, it increased requirements related to community services. Under the 2019 Agreement, the PAC-OC was required to provide new or increased levels of community services, such as providing low or no-cost immunizations, offering 12 free microchipping services, providing financial assistance to at least one pet owner for spay or neutering, and authoring at least four major articles per year to be included in the City’s Leaflet newsletter or social media. In addition, PAC-OC must participate in at least four community events per year and will cosponsor at least one major event annually (i.e., Pet Expo). The PAC-OC would also offer free counseling and guidance to pet owners in Lake Forest regarding relinquishment, vaccinations, spay or neutering, and other pet-related concerns.
On July 5, 2023, the City Council approved the City’s current agreement with the PAC-OC (“Current Agreement”). The term of the Current Agreement is set to expire on June 30, 2024.
DISCUSSION:
This report provides the New Agreement for the City Council’s consideration, which is the result of negotiations between staff and the PAC-OC (Attachment 1).
The proposed New Agreement includes a one-year term commencing July 1, 2024, and a $19,000 compensation amount. This compensation amount is the same amount the PAC-OC received for services during the previous fiscal year.
The New Agreement would require that 50% of the PAC-OC’s shelter space and resources be dedicated to animals that originate from Lake Forest or the OCAC service area. The proposed New Agreement also includes a clause requiring the PAC-OC to intake at least four dogs annually directly from Lake Forest residents.
Table 1 below provides an overview of the New Agreement's scope of work.
Table 1: Summary of PAC-OC New Agreement Scope of Work
Service Description
Operate Local
Public
Location
Operate the adoption center locally (currently situated in Lake Forest at 24331 Muirlands Boulevard, Suites E & F, Lake Forest, CA 92630). The building must be accessible to the public Monday through Friday during regular business hours with after-hours appointment options available.
Service Description
Provide
Shelter
Services
Provide animal shelter services in accordance with California Civil Code Section 1834 and the “Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters,” published by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians and implement practices consistent with said Guidelines.
Space and
Origination
Requirements
Funds will only go towards dogs that originate from Lake Forest residents.
Reporting
Requirements
Provide monthly reports that include shelter population data, records of low or no-cost vaccinations, neutering, or
microchipping provided, and other data that demonstrates compliance with the New Agreement. Provide monthly reports that describe the shelter population demographics (i.e., city or origin), community engagement activity, and free services provided to Lake Forest residents.
Public
Engagement
Provide at least four (4) major articles per year to be included in the City’s Leaflet newsletter or social media. Participate in at least four (4) community events per year. Contractor will cosponsor at least one major event annually (i.e., Pet Expo).
Shelter
Intervention &
Counseling
Services
Provide free counseling and guidance to pet owners in Lake Forest regarding relinquishment, vaccinations,
spay/neutering, and other guidance. Counseling should
emphasize strategies that decrease the reliance on OCAC shelter services. Provide financial assistance to at least one (1) pet owner for spay/neuter service.
Microchipping Provide at least twelve microchipping placements per year as requested by Lake Forest residents.
The New Agreement would require the PAC-OC to provide monthly performance reports, as was required during previous contract years. Data related to intake, adoptions, and other animal outcomes must be reported, as well as details about the facility's general animal population, the free and low-cost services that are rendered (including microchipping and spay/neutering), event activities, and community engagement initiatives. Before approving invoices received from the PAC-OC, staff review performance reports that are submitted with each invoice package. The PAC-OC's shelter population performance from January 1, 2024, to March 31, 2024, is summarized in Table 2 below. See Attachment 2 for a comprehensive list of performance reporting for this period.
Table 2: Q3 2024 Performance Metrics
Performance Measure (January – March 2024) Result
Percentage of Dogs Sheltered during January 2024
(OCAC and Lake Forest)
87%
Percentage of Dogs Sheltered during February 2024
(OCAC and Lake Forest)
72%
Percentage of Dogs Sheltered during March 2024
(OCAC and Lake Forest)
67%
Total Dogs Adopted (OCAC and Lake Forest) 4
Pet Adoption Education Events 8
Free Microchipping to Lake Forest Residents 1
Free or Low Cost Spay & Neuter, Vaccinations, or end
of life care
32 Ending Center Population (for March 2023) 18
The PAC-OC expressed an interest in negotiating a new approach to compensation for its services, and staff plan to continue discussions with the PAC-OC about their requested changes into the term of the New Agreement should it be approved by the City Councl. If further negotiations are successful, staff will return to the City Council with a new contract document to effectuate the changes that result from said negotiations.
The City Council may approve a service agreement without conducting a formal procurement in accordance with the Purchasing and Contracting Guidelines ("Purchasing Guidelines") if it determines that doing so would be in the City's best interest. When following procurement procedures is not in the best interest of the City, an agreement for services without solicitation may be approved by the City Council, according to Municipal Code Section 3.12. The PAC-OC is a distinctive Lake Forest organization that is physically established to keep dogs in a way that complies with State law and the necessary sanitary standards. The City conduced a Request for Proposal (“RFP”) solicitation in 2016 to support a local animal care organization. The PAC-OC was the only entity that responded to that procurement.
Staff recommends the City Council approve the proposed New Agreement with the PAC-OC. The New Agreement was drafted by the Finance Department and approved as to form by the City Attorney’s Office. The 2023-2025 Operating Budget includes sufficient funding to cover the costs of the proposed New Agreement with the PAC-OC. The New Agreement must be approved by the City Council because it is a “sole source” and more than $10,000.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The proposed New Agreement with the PAC-OC, the New Agreement includes a one-year term with a compensation amount of $19,000. The 2023-2025 Operating Budget includes sufficient funding to cover the costs of the proposed New Agreement.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Professional Consultant Services Agreement with Pet Adoption Center
2. PAC-OC Sample Reporting Data (January 2024 to March 2024) Initiated By: Sean McGovern, Deputy City Manager
Submitted By: Sean McGovern, Deputy City Manager
Approved By: Debra Rose, City Manager