Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-04-20 I01E_01 28E Agreement_Cat Shelter ServicesAGENDA ITEM: CITY OF WAUKEE, IOWA CITY COUNCIL MEETING COMMUNICATION MEETING DATE: April 20, 2026 AGENDA ITEM:Consideration of approval of a resolution approving 28E Agreement with Furry Friends Refuge for animal shelter services related specifically to cats. FORMAT:Consent Agenda SYNOPSIS INCLUDING PRO & CON: The Waukee Police Department currently maintains a 28E agreement, approved on March 17, 2025, with AHeinz57 Pet Rescue and Transport, Inc. for animal control services related only to dogs. Over the past few months, staff have worked with Furry Friends Refuge to develop a 28E agreement related to shelter services for cats only. The 28E agreement with Furry Friends would allow any cat captured within the City of Waukee to be transported, by the resident who captured the cat, to Furry Friends Refuge and allow Furry Friends Refuge to assume shelter service responsibilities of any such cat. FISCAL IMPACT INCLUDING COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS: Furry Friends Refuge has a similar fee structure for all metro communities who partner with them for shelter services. The fee structure is $85 for the first 24-hours of boarding, then $23.50 for each additional 24-hour period, with costs not to exceed $226 per cat for those with identifiable items and $155.50 for those with no identifiable items. Costs related to cats reclaimed by their owners would be the responsibility of the owners; however, the City of Waukee is responsible for costs associated with strays not reclaimed by their owners. The FY27 proposed budget includes funding in the amount of $10,000.00 to cover these costs. COMMISSION/BOARD/COMMITTEE COMMENT: STAFF REVIEW AND COMMENT: RECOMMENDATION: Approve Agreement. ATTACHMENTS: I. 28E with the Furry Friends Refuge PREPARED BY:Chad McCluskey, Police Chief REVIEWED BY:Brad Deets, City Administrator Steve Brick, City Attorney I1E1 THE CITY OF WAUKEE, IOWA RESOLUTION 2026- APPROVING CHAPTER 28E AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF WAUKEE, IOWA, AND FURRY FRIENDS REFUGE FOR ANIMAL SHELTER SERVICES, SPECFICIALLY RELATED TO CATS. IN THE NAME AND BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF WAUKEE, IOWA WHEREAS, the City of Waukee, Dallas County, State of Iowa, is a duly organized Municipal Organization; AND, WHEREAS, on March 17, 2025, the Waukee City Council approved a Chapter 28E agreement with AHeinz57 Pet Rescue and Transport, Inc. to provide animal control related services to dogs only following AHeinz57 Pet Rescue and Transports cessation of care and impoundment for cats; AND, WHEREAS, the City of Waukee desires to enter into a new Chapter 28E agreement with Furry Friends Refuge for animal shelter services related to cats only, whereby City of Waukee residents could transport lost or stray cats to Furry Friends for shelter, care, and impoundment; AND, WHEREAS, City staff recommend entering into a new Chapter 28E agreement with Furry Friends Refuge to provide shelter, care and impoundment of cats only; AND, NOW THEREFORE BE RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Waukee, Iowa on this 20th day of April, 2026, hereby approves the Chapter 28E agreement between the City of Waukee, Iowa, and Furry Friends Refuge for animal shelter services related to cats only. ____________________________ Courtney Clarke, Mayor Attest: ___________________________________ Rebecca D. Schuett, City Clerk RESULTS OF VOTE: AYE NAY ABSENT ABSTAIN Kala Anderson Chris Crone Rob Grove Lori Lyon Anna Bergman Pierce 1 CHAPTER 28E AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF WAUKEE, IOWA AND FURRY FRIENDS REFUGE FOR SHELTER SERVICES SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO CATS. This Agreement is made and entered into as of the _____ day of _____________________, 20___, by and between the City of Waukee (“the City”), located at 230 W. Hickman Road, Waukee, IA 50263, and Furry Friends Refuge (“Furry Friends”) an Iowa nonprofit corporation located at 3505 Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines, IA 50265. In accord with Iowa Code Chapter 28E and other relevant sections of the Code of Iowa, Furry Friends and the City enter into the following agreement regarding shelter services for cats in conjunction with City of Waukee Animal Control. SECTION 1 – PARTIES 1.1 Furry Friends Refuge (“Furry Friends”) is a non-profit, charitable organization and has authority to enter into this Agreement. Furry Friends is dedicated to helping care for homeless animals while providing rewarding programs for interim foster care, permanent adoption and volunteers to assist with community humanitarian efforts. 1.2 The City of Waukee, Iowa is an Iowa municipal corporation and is a political subdivision of the State of Iowa as defined under Iowa Code § 28E.2(2), and has the authority to enter into this Agreement pursuant to Iowa Code § 331.301. SECTION 2 – PURPOSE Under this Agreement, Furry Friends will provide animal shelter, care and impoundment services related to cats for the City of Waukee, Iowa, including impoundment which the City may be required to provide pursuant to certain of its ordinances, ordinances of municipalities with which the City contracts, or state law. This Agreement is a voluntary undertaking of the Parties. It is not the intention of the Parties to create a new legal entity. No real or personal property shall be acquired, held, or disposed of pursuant to this joint or cooperative undertaking. SECTION 3 – DEFINITIONS 3.1 “Animal” shall mean nonhuman vertebrate. 3.2 “Bite Cat” shall mean an animal that has bitten a human, provided that the bite punctured the skin, without provocation. 3.3 “Cat” shall mean an animal fitting the scientific description of felis catus. 3.4 “Companion Animal” shall mean any animal owned, confined, controlled, or otherwise kept as a pet, but shall not include any livestock as defined under Iowa Code § 717.1, or any game, fur-bearing animal, fish, reptile, or amphibian as defined under Iowa Code § 481A.1. 20th April 26 2 3.5 “Euthanasia” shall have the same meaning as defined under Iowa Code § 162.2(13). 3.7 “Parties” shall mean Furry Friends Refuge and the City of Waukee, Iowa. 3.8 “Shelter Services” shall mean providing adequate nutrition, water, shelter, and medical treatment as required for animals under the care of the Furry Friends. SECTION 4 – TERMS 4.1 Cat Shelter Services Provided by Furry Friends: The Furry Friends agrees to do and perform the following: (1) Cat Shelter Services. Furry Friends shall provide shelter services to cats delivered to its shelter location from within the corporate city limits of the City of Waukee; (2) Holding Period & Automatic Transfer of Ownership. Unless the City instructs otherwise, Furry Friends shall retain cats brought to Furry Friends from within the corporate city limits of the City of Waukee for four (4) days if the animal is unlicensed or has no identifiable items such as collar, tag, or traceable microchip or seven (7) days if the animal is licensed within the City of Waukee or has identifiable items unless otherwise required by any state, county, or municipal law, ordinance, rule or regulation applicable in the geographic area in which the animal was seized (hereinafter referred to as the "holding period"). Once the holding period expires, the City of Waukee authorizes transfer of ownership of the animal to Furry Friends. This paragraph does not apply to “Bite Cats;” (3) Rabies Vaccination. Upon reclaim of a Cat, Furry Friends shall require the redeeming party to produce a current and valid rabies vaccination certificate for the Cat. If the owner fails to produce a current and valid rabies vaccination certificate for the cat, they shall either have the rabies vaccination administered before release during normal business hours, or pre-pay and schedule the vaccinations prior to the cat being released back to the owner; (4) Attempt to Identify and Notify Owner. Upon receipt of an animal delivery from within the corporate city limits of the City of Waukee, Furry Friends shall first attempt to identify the owner of the cat and notify the owner, if found, of the seizure of the cat as well as the owner’s right to redeem the animal; 3 (5) Redemption of Impounded Cat by Owner. The owner of a cat impounded at Furry Friends shall have the right to redeem that cat, subject to the following conditions: i. City-Issued Release. Furry Friends shall require the redeeming owner to present a completed City of Waukee release; ii. Boarding Fees and other costs. Furry Friends shall charge and collect any reasonable incurred boarding, veterinarian, vaccination or other fees directly from the owner that it may incur prior to releasing the cat; (6) Bite Cat Quarantine. Upon receipt of a Bite Cat, Furry Friends shall keep the Bite Cat under quarantine for ten (10) days. During that period, Furry Friends shall observe the Bite Cat for symptoms of rabies and other infectious diseases. Quarantined Bite Cats shall be released or euthanized only as directed by the City of Waukee. All costs incurred during the quarantine period will be the sole responsibility of the cat owner in any case where an owner can be identified. Costs for quarantine of cats without owners will be paid by the City. (7) Emergency Veterinarian Services. The City shall not be responsible for paying or reimbursement of any costs associated with necessary emergency medical or veterinary services provided to or performed on any animal, including cats; 4.2 Cat Impoundment Service Fee. In consideration of the cat services provided by Furry Friends, the City shall pay Furry Friends impoundment fees as listed below for any cat which is not claimed by an owner. Cats claimed by their owners will have fees assessed directly to the owner and no fees will be invoiced to the city. (1) First Day Boarding Fee. $85 for the first 24-hours (2) Subsequent 24-hour Periods. $23.50 per 24-hour period (3) Total Costs Not to Exceed. $226 per Cat for licensed cats or those with presence of identifiable items such as collar, tag, license or microchips; (4) Total Costs Not to Exceed. $155.50 per cat for those which do not have the presence of identifiable items such as collar, tag, license, or microchips. Furry Friends will provide quarterly invoices to the City of Waukee for all cats impounded and unclaimed under this agreement and such invoice shall include the date of the impound, Waukee call for service number, the address from which the cat was captured, and any contact information for the person delivering the animal to Furry Friends. 4.3 Records Access. Furry Friends shall keep intake information of strays from the City of Waukee. Furry Friends shall make such intake information available to the City of Waukee upon request. However, the City of Waukee shall not release any information about Furry Friends, its donors, adopters, or any information the City of Waukee may be privy to as a result of the Agreement, to any person or persons, or other entities without the prior written consent of the Furry Friends, with the exception of records that are public records under Iowa Code Chapter 22, which may include this Agreement. 4 4.4 Trap, Neuter and Release (TNR) Program. Furry Friends will also serve as a site for TNR efforts for City of Waukee residents. Any costs associated with TNR efforts, including trapping, transportation, surgery, recovery and return shall be billed by Furry Friends directly to the Waukee resident performing the efforts. No costs associated with any TNR efforts will be the responsibility of the City of Waukee, nor will the City of Waukee have any other responsibility related to any TNR efforts aside of notifying residents of participating organizations that can be used for TNR efforts. 4.5 Licenses and Compliance. Furry Friends shall apply for, and maintain, all necessary and/or applicable licenses, certifications and inspections relevant to current health, fire, safety, and professional standards. Furry Friends must immediately correct any deficiencies or violations or take immediate action to seek variances. Furry Friends shall comply with all other applicable state, federal and local laws, ordinances, rules and regulations. Further Furry Friends shall not deny, restrict access to, or provide inferior services to any person, or deny or restrict employment opportunities, including promotional opportunities, to any applicant or current employee, on the basis of sex, age, race, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identify, or physical or mental disability. 4.6 Insurance. Furry Friends shall acquire and retain suitable and sufficient insurance throughout the term of this Agreement, and fidelity bonding, so as to protect it, its entire staff including contract employees, its clients, the City of Waukee and the general public against any loss, injury, damage, or other liability arising from any wrongful or negligent act or omission in connection with responsibilities assumed by the Furry Friends under the terms of this Agreement. Furry Friends shall possess the following minimum insurance coverage during the term of this Agreement: Commercial General Liability - $1,000,000.00 per occurrence and $2,000,000.00 general aggregate; Medical Expenses (any one person) - $5,000.00; Workers' Compensation - Statutory, as required by the State of Iowa; Employer's Liability - $500,000.00 bodily injury per accident, $500,000.00 by disease, policy limit, and $500,000.00 by disease, each employee; Excess / Umbrella Liability - $1,000,000.00 per occurrence and annual aggregate limit. The City of Waukee shall be named as "Additional Insured" on the Commercial General Liability and Excess / Umbrella Liability insurance policies, using the following language: "City of Waukee, Iowa, its Elected Officials, Employees, Agents, and Assigns." Furry Friends shall annually send an updated Certificate of Insurance to the City for verification. The Certificate of Insurance shall identify the following: The insurance company firm name and address; Furry Friends’s business name and address; insurance policy(s) number(s); policy period; type of policy and coverage; limits of coverage; description of operations covered; certificate holder. “Additional Insured”; and cancellation clause. Furry Friends shall not cancel or lessen coverage limits on any insurance policies in existence without first providing thirty (30) calendar days advanced written notice to the City of Waukee. The Parties expressly agree and state that purchase of this insurance policy by Furry Friends does not provide coverage for the City of Waukee for torts specified in Iowa Code § 670.4, and the City of Waukee does not waive any of the defenses of governmental immunity available to the City of Waukee under Iowa Code § 670.4 as it now exists and as it may be amended from time to time. The Parties further expressly agree and state that the City of Waukee may, at 5 any time, assert any of the governmental immunity defenses available to it without affecting the coverage afforded under this policy. Any insurance policies listing the City of Waukee as an "Additional Insured'' must contain an endorsement with the above language related to any defenses of governmental immunity. 4.7 Indemnification. The Parties shall indemnify and hold each other harmless against actions, liabilities, loss, damages and expenses resulting from injury or death of any person or loss of or damage to any tangible real or personal property to the extent that such injury, death, loss or damage relates to or arises from: (1) Any violation of this Agreement by either party; (2) Any negligent acts or omissions of the parties, their officers, employees, agents, board members, contractors or any other person in connection with this Agreement; (3) The Parties performance of their respective duties under this Agreement; (4) Any failure by the parties to comply with all local, state and federal laws and regulations; and/or (5) Any damage to property, real, personal, or other, by animals, including property of the staff, contractor, and/or third parties, which is not attributable to negligence on the part of either party. 4.8 Duration and Termination. This Agreement shall be effective ____________________, 20____ through ______________________, 20____. The parties may agree to extend the term of this Agreement at any time in writing. Further either party may choose to terminate this Agreement for any reason and at any time by either party upon at least one hundred and eighty (180) days prior written notice. Such notice, or any other notice required or permitted to be given hereunder, shall be addressed as follows: If to Furry Friends Executive Director 3505 Mills Civic Parkway West Des Moines, IA 50265 If to the City: City Clerk 230 W. Hickman Road Waukee, IA 50263 Or to such other address as either party shall have notified the other party of, in writing. Notice shall be deemed given when deposited with the U.S. Postal Services, registered or certified, addressed as specified. April 20 26 April 20 29 6 4.9 Independent Contractor. Furry Friends is an independent contractor and in no event or circumstance are any employees of Furry Friends to be considered employees or agents of the City of Waukee, nor receive any benefits from the City of Waukee. Employees hired and volunteers acquired by Furry Friends to perform any and all of Furry Friends’s obligations related to this Agreement shall be paid or compensated by Furry Friends in accordance with the laws of the State of Iowa. Furry Friends shall also provide workers’ compensation and other statutory benefits to comply with applicable state and federal laws. 4.10 This Agreement shall be administered on behalf of the City by the Waukee Chief of Police or designee. The Agreement shall be administered on behalf of Furry Friends, and services provided for hereunder shall be controlled and supervised by, the Executive Director of Furry Friends. Upon approval by each party to this Agreement, this Agreement shall be electronically filed by the City with the Secretary of State, pursuant to Iowa Code § 28E.8. IN WITNESS THEREOF, this Agreement has been executed to be effective as set forth above. CITY OF WAUKEE, IOWA FURRY FRIENDS REFUGE By: _______________________________ By: __________________________________ Courtney Clarke, Mayor Britt Gagne, Executive Director