TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute an agreement, and any necessary documents, with The Fix Project, dba Fix Long Beach, a nonprofit organization, to partner with the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department, for Mobile Community Spay/Neuter Clinics, in an annual amount not to exceed $22,500, from May 1, 2020 to April 30, 2022, with annual renewal options through April 30, 2025; and
Increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department by $22,500, offset by funds reserved for spay and neutering purposes. (District 5)
DISCUSSION
The Fix Project, operating as Fix Long Beach (Fix), is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing pet overpopulation of unwanted dogs and cats (pets), that are euthanized at animal shelters, by providing free and donation-based spay/neuter services for pets owned by area residents. Beyond helping to reduce shelter populations, pets that are altered tend to live longer and may have reduced risk of cancer and other serious health problems. Additionally, altered male cats tend not to spray, and altered dogs tend not to roam away from home to find a mate. Since 2013, over 8,000 pets have been altered through Fix helping to reduce the number of unwanted pets in local animal shelters.
Since October 1, 2015, the Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) requires all dogs over six months and cats over four months to be spayed or neutered (LBMC 6.16.085). Any unaltered dog whose owner has had a valid license issued prior to October 1, 2015 is exempt from being altered if the license has been kept current since that time, with other exemptions that may apply.
To continue to offer vital and required spay/neutering of pets, the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department (PRM) is requesting to enter into an agreement (Agreement), to partner with Fix, to allow them to provide mobile spay/neuter clinics (Clinics) at Long Beach parks, with the goal to spay/neuter 50 pets ...
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