DEPARTMENT: Animal Care Services
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Heber Lefgren
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
A 10 year lease agreement with K9s For Warriors.
SUMMARY:
Ordinance authorizing a 10 year lease agreement (with two five-year renewal options and an option to purchase) with K9s For Warriors for them to utilize approximately 3.3 acres of undeveloped land located near 4710 State Highway 151 to rescue, house, and transport approximately 200 harder-to-place dogs from ACS’s shelter.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The FY 2019 budget approved establishing a pilot partnership with K9s For Warriors, a non-profit organization established in 2013. Under this pilot program, ACS would lease property to this organization and in exchange, K9s For Warriors would rescue 200 harder to place dogs.
In early 2018 ACS received an unsolicited proposal for a collaboration with K9s For Warriors. K9s For Warriors rescues dogs from city shelters and then spends 3 to 4 months training the dogs to be service animals for military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress (PTS), traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and/or military sexual trauma (MST). Once trained, K9s For Warriors then spends 3 additional weeks with the selected military veterans to teach them how to utilize the service animals to help overcome PTS, TBI, and/or MST. K9s For Warriors is located near Jacksonville Florida and has assisted over 420 military veterans (approximately 150 to 200 annually), and placed over 850 dogs.
The services provided by K9s For Warriors are 100% free to participating military veterans and funded by local and national agencies. A few of the foundations/corporations that partners with K9s For Warriors includes: Petco Foundation, Combined Federal Campaign, Bayer, Merrick Pet Care, and the Gifford Foundation. This is in addition to the thousands of individual donations received each year. K9s For Warriors partnered with Purdue University to study the effects of their program and have identified the following benefits of their program:
• 92% of participating veterans (the average of whom is on 10-15 medications when beginning) are able to reduce or eliminate medication after graduation.
• The percentage of participants who were able to attend work or go to school increased from 20% prior to acquiring a service dog to 50% after graduation.
• 75% of participants who previously felt PTS played a major role in their ability to enjoy activities stopped expressing this concern after graduation.
K9s For Warriors is prepared to significantly grow its operations, but its growth is limited by the number of qualified rescue dogs they are able to locate, rescue, and train. By collaborating with the City of San Antonio, K9s For Warriors could grow their organization while simultaneously assist the City by rescuing an additional 200 harder-to-place dogs each year.
The City of San Antonio owns approximately 3.3 acres of unused and undeveloped property located just south of ACS’s main campus located at 4710 State Highway 151. By leasing this property to K9s For Warriors, they would, at their expense, design, build, and operate a temporary dog-housing facility that could house approximately 20 to 30 dogs at a time. This would result in the annual rescue of approximately 200 additional large harder-to-place dogs from ACS.
ISSUE:
This ordinance authorizes a new 10 year lease agreement (with two additional 5 year renewal terms) with K9s For Warriors for this property at a $1.00 per year rate. In lieu of rent, K9s For Warriors agrees to pay for the design, building, and operations of a dog housing facility upon the property in order to rescue 200 harder-to-place dogs each year from ACS. The lease agreement also allows K9s For Warriors the future option to purchase the property from the City at a fair-market value as long as the property continues to be used for animal welfare purposes.
ALTERNATIVES:
If this lease agreement is not approved, ACS would be required to find additional live-placement options for approximately 200 that historically are harder to place due to their size.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This ordinance authorizes a 10 year lease with two 5 year renewal options with K9s For Warrior and the option to buy (at the current fair-market value) during the term of the lease. Under the terms of the lease, K9s For Warrior would pay an annual lease of $1.00 which will be deposited in the General Fund. The current value of the property is estimated at $255,415 and would be fully recovered if K9s For Warrior choses to utilize the option to purchase the property as allowed in the agreement.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of this Ordinance approving a 10 year lease agreement (with two additional 5 year renewal terms and an option to buy) with K9s For Warriors for approximately 3.3 acres of unused and undeveloped property located just south of ACS’s main campus located at 4710 State Highway 151.