CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM

Department:	City Attorney’s Office		Commission Meeting Date:  May 14, 2019
Staff Contact:	Maria Garcia, Assistant City Attorney
Recommendations/Options/Action Requested:
Authorize the City Manager to execute a Memorandum of Understanding with the Lawrence Humane Society regarding community cats and the related Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, and Release (TNVR) program available to the public.
Executive Summary:		The attached Memorandum of Understanding between the City and the Lawrence Humane Society (LHS) sets out the roles and responsibilities of each party related to community cats and the TNVR program. TNVR, or trap-neuter-vaccinate-release, is a citizen-driven program that seeks to address community cats that roam around the city. The goal of the program is to trap a colony of cats, spay/neuter and vaccinate them, and return them to where they were collected. It is believed that over time this will reduce the number of feral cats. TNVR is now permissible in Lawrence since the March 2019 adoption of Ordinance 9615, which excludes community cats from City Code provisions regarding running at large and the definition of ownership. These amendments permit citizens to trap cats and then release them back out once they are neutered/spayed and vaccinated. That ordinance took effect May 1. In an effort to provide education and a more seamless launch of the program in Lawrence, both City staff and LHS have agreed to the terms in the attached Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will identify the roles and responsibilities of each party. Notable provisions include: 1) LHS will be responsible for designing and periodically updating brochures, door hangers, and other educational materials for members of the public related to community cats and information on programs and resources. 2) The City will print the materials provided by LHS and help distribute them to interested parties that may benefit from the information. 3) LHS will lend traps to residents to get cat(s) that cause issues in neighborhoods into a low-cost clinic for TNVR services. The City is not responsible for any TNVR trapping, vaccinations, surgery-related, or returning expenses. 4) The City will generally send LHS details surrounding complaints or general reports of community cats that are responded to in the field. LHS will use its best efforts to resolve complaints. 5) The parties will participate in education and training opportunities that are of value to the parties. 6) The parties agree to meet periodically to review the MOU and community cat/TNVR program in Lawrence, discuss the effectiveness of each, and identify areas for improvement.
Strategic Plan Critical Success Factor		Safe, Healthy, and Welcoming Neighborhoods Collaborative Solutions
Fiscal Impact (Amount/Source):		The fiscal impact to the City is the cost of copying educational materials created by LHS. The cost is required to be reasonable and approved in advance by the City, but is nevertheless expected to be minimal.
Attachments:		Memorandum of Understanding

Reviewed By: (for CMO use only)

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