Column: Mayor Genis sees promise in Costa Mesa’s animal services future

On Dec. 18, I broke the news that Costa Mesa city officials had received a letter from Dr. Samir Botros, owner of the Orange County Humane Society Shelter (OCHS) in Huntington Beach. Botros wrote that he wouldn’t be renewing his contract with the city for animal control services when it expires Jan. 21.

This came as good news to many — including me — who felt the city shouldn’t continue this contract considering the allegations against the organization for mismanagement and mistreatment of animals.

I’ve followed the OCHS controversy closely. Readers have also weighed in heavily, saying Costa Mesa should follow the path Newport Beach took in 2015, when the city pulled away from OCHS and founded its own shelter.

In my last column of 2017, Costa Mesa Councilman John Stephens asked the community to contact him and city staff with ideas for an interim animal rescue solution.

So as the holiday haze started to lift this week, my first order of business was to check in with Stephens and Costa Mesa Mayor Sandy Genis to follow up about what has happened since they received Botros’ letter.

Stephens tells me the response has been great from residents, rescue organizations, animal hospitals and neighboring shelters.

Genis says over the holidays she was busy visiting shelters, talking with veterinarians and rescue organizations.

When we spoke on Wednesday, Genis told me she has a line on a gentleman who has a kennel on Riverside Drive in Santa Ana Heights, where Newport’s shelter is. He is interested in selling the property.

Though she doesn’t know what price he’ll be asking just yet, Genis says the facility looks promising and has a good capacity to house both cats and dogs.

Genis also spoke with a friend from an animal rescue organization who has put the word out within that community that Costa Mesa is looking for help. Genis is feeling very positive about the feedback she has received so far.

In researching animal control solutions, Genis also spoke with a shelter consultant to get an understanding about the amounts cities are spending these days.

On the low end it’s approximately $8 per capita of population. On the high end it’s about $32.

According to Genis, Costa Mesa has been spending closer to the low end and will need to spend more for higher quality animal control.

She’s estimating an average of $15 per capita, which could be more than $1 million and require the city to reexamine its budget.

No doubt there’s a passion in Costa Mesa for animals, and the answer most likely will lie in a public-private partnership.

We saw a glimpse of that last year when Stephens raised $50,000 in just a few short weeks for his Fourth of July animal-friendly fireworks project.

If this same effort went into securing Costa Mesa’s shelter, I have no doubt it would be successful. There are many pet lovers in the city.

Stephens has estimated 70% to 75% of Costa Mesa households have pets. Though the city doesn’t have an actual number confirming that, Genis says the average nationwide is 40%. If you figure a good many of those have more than one animal, that’s a healthy number of pets.

Moving forward, the city has more than two dozen applicants for its new animal control committee, which will be tasked with solving the shelter issue

Genis is thrilled by the community response and says appointments to the committee are scheduled to happen during the next council meeting. The panel is expected to play a vital role in the development of a long-term solution.

Genis tells me her goal is to have as many animals adopted as possible. That’s feasible if the city works closely with community groups and rescue organizations.

“The more people you have looking at something, the more the issue will be noticed,” Genis says.

As she researched other shelters locally, Genis discovered they did a good job getting the word out about their adoptable animals using websites, special events and social media like Nextdoor.com. They’ve done a better job on that front than OCHS.

The due diligence of Genis and Stephens on this issue is commendable.

BARBARA VENEZIA lives in Newport Beach. She can be reached at bvontv1@gmail.com.