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An Open Letter to City Manager Maestas from the AWC

The Las Vegas Optic article dated 7-15-2022 reported the following: 

When the contract for animal services expired at the end of June, AWC gutted the building, including the back door to the facility. Maestas told the Optic the city did not have an inventory list of what belonged to them before AWC took over operations, so they didn’t have a way of preventing them from taking nearly everything inside.

I, as board chair of the Animal Welfare Coalition, am personally and professionally disappointed that you charged the AWC with having “gutted” the building, also implying we made away with city property. That is simply not supported by the facts. 

• The AWC has the signed and dated city-generated inventory from August, 2013, when we took over management of the shelter. You can view it on the AWC website: https://www.animalwelfarenewmexico.org/our-report-card.html

• The AWC has records for every piece of equipment and hundreds of thousands of dollars of supplies the AWC has purchased over the years with donated funds and grants. We own that property outright and so legally removed most but not of our property from the shelter when we left. Those records continue to be available upon request along with video of our final walkthrough documenting conditions on June 30, 2022.

• Regarding maintenance, the contract with the city stated: “The City will provide building and grounds repair and maintenance…”  There are several years worth of city-generated safety inspections that included lists of corrections that needed to be completed by the city, most of which were never addressed. The city’s safety coordinator reported no knowledge of these inspections. The AWC has now provided him with copies.

• Even before the AWC took over operation of the shelter, we secured a $10,000 donation to re-roof the building and oversaw the work. The roof of course is still there.

`• The AWC used grant funds to purchase and install a three-bay stainless steel sink assembly for proper sanitation protocols in the medication room. The sink is still there.

• The “missing” door was part of a new laundry room that the AWC constructed with our own volunteer labor and donated materials. Prior to the work of enclosing and converting this area, it was open to the air--no door at all. At the end of June the AWC removed the door and door frame in order to remove the $12,000 commercial washer and dryer purchased with AWC donor and grant money. The door and door frame BTU receipt is available upon request. 

• Despite not being part of the contract, the AWC placed every animal under our care for adoption locally, with other shelters for adoption, or with various animal rescues, leaving the shelter empty of animals in need when the contract ended. 

Currently the AWC is particularly concerned with what will now happen to dogs and cats at the shelter. Without effective animal control or the enforcement of animal ordinances, the shelter will quickly fill up with kittens, puppies, strays, and injured animals. What will happen to those dogs and cats? From the RPF it appears that the city retains the right to either euthanize perfectly healthy or treatable animals for space or, without a budget for veterinary care, allow them to languish inhumanely and suffer.

• Historically 90% of the animals received at the shelter had no ID (no tags, no microchip), meaning there was no way to get them back to their guardians unless there was a lost pet report. Additionally, many of the animals received were injured (hit by car, ill, or had other injuries). The AWC spent nearly 3/4 of a million dollars during our tenure solely on veterinary care for those animals (records available upon request).

Note: The 3/4 of a million dollars does not include all the money spent on spays and neuters since that program was reimbursed by donors who sponsored several free spay/neuter programs. 

Over the years, the AWC unsuccessfully worked to create a mutually beneficial partnership with the city and county to address the pressing overpopulation of unwanted animals and to make the city and county safer for both animals and citizens. Whereas the AWC is deeply grateful for the help over the years from many city employees, sadly it is clear that this city administration continues to have no commitment to effective animal control or real enforcement of animal ordinances.

Going forward, know that the AWC will always work as an advocate for the welfare of animals in the city and county and for the public safety issues related to pets. We will be paying close attention to what the city and county do next. With the goal of helping animals lead healthy lives, the AWC plans to continue operation of a free spay/neuter program for citizen-owned animals, our feral cat spay/neuter activities, pet health fairs, and our free pet food pantry for those needing help feeding their pets.

Addendum to the citizens of Las Vegas and San Miguel County—

The AWC chose not to submit a proposal to the city for continuation of running the shelter because the city’s Request for Proposals (RFP) was written to prevent any responsible animal welfare organization from applying.

Two examples of this are:

• The RFP demanded under penalty of perjury that the outside entity agree to the city’s “euthanasia and cremation directives” which meant that the city, not the shelter operator, would determine which animals would be killed and when.

“The operating costs for the shelter shall be the sole responsibility of the offeror” including paying rent for the city-owned building, which was in dire need of maintenance that the city had not provided for years. 

• The AWC plans to continue to operate a free spay/neuter program, as well as pet health fairs when possible, and our free pet food pantry for those who need help feeding their pets.

Rest assured that the AWC will continue to advocate for the welfare of animals in the city and county and for the public safety issues involving pets. We will be watching. And we need you to watch, too, as it is the citizens’ right and responsibility to complain to government when that government is doing something we the voters disapprove of—including making unfounded accusations about non-profits to divert blame from themselves. 

Please check out the AWC’s website https://www.animalwelfarenewmexico.org/our-report-card.html, for more information on:

• The city-generated inventory dated and signed by AWC on 8-29-2013

• Monthly reports required by the city/AWC contract showing donations, grants, major expenses, and other information about AWC activities 

• Yearly IRS Form 990 returns showing our board of directors, donations, grants, and other financial information

Finally, THANK YOU, citizens of Las Vegas and San Miguel County for your support over the years and for your continued support! Together we will make our community a healthier and more humane place to live. 

Animal Welfare Coalition of Northeastern New Mexico

In defense of Samaritan House

I am writing in defense of the outstanding work done over the decades by Samaritan House in our community.

Our community, along with almost every other community in America, has a problem with the chronically homeless. Remember that these folks are displaced and often troubled individuals, who come from all walks of life, and could be members of our own family. The statistics show that this population is growing in numbers, and getting younger and more violent. Many have serious and untreated mental illness.

Samaritan House offers many services to this population, but cannot, in all fairness, tackle the violent, indecent, or seriously mentally ill. Samaritan House is NOT responsible for policing the neighborhood, picking up community trash, maintaining peace and safety in the community, or policing public vagrancy. That responsibility falls solidly on the shoulders of the police, along with the city maintenance department.

In all honesty, Lincoln Park has been deteriorating over the last two decades, and the presence of Samaritan House is not the primary reason this has happened. The number of family and athletic events has decreased concomitantly with the increase in animal waste, trash, needles, broken and unsafe equipment, and inadequate policing and maintenance of this city public park..

A coalition for the homeless here in Las Vegas is a great idea, and I support it 100%. However, this must come with the committed effort of the city, to improve lighting, safety, upkeep and policing of our community and city parks.

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