Grand Forks seeking vet care provider after Circle of Friends cut veterinarian
Feb. 3—GRAND FORKS — Grand Forks city staffers are soliciting local veterinarians to see if any can offer after-hours vet care for impounded animals after Circle of Friends terminated its vet on Tuesday.
City Administrator Todd Feland said Thursday that staff are reaching out to local clinics in advance of Monday's City Council meeting, and are aiming to provide the council with a list of providers potentially able to respond to after-hours calls and their rates.
"We just want to have something lined up in an as-needed manner," Feland said.
Until recently, injured animals impounded by the city were treated on-site at impound services contractor Circle of Friends, which had an on-call veterinarian in Dr. Taylor Biermaier.
But Circle of Friends' board of directors
voted to terminate Biermaier's position
on Tuesday in a broad slate of spending cuts as the nonprofit works to stabilize its finances and pay off its debts.
Chief Operating Officer Rachael Murphy said Thursday the move essentially eliminated Circle of Friends' capacity to provide medical care to animals, except for a handful of commercially-available vaccinations.
"If an officer picks up an injured pet and brings it here, I can't do anything about it," Murphy said.
Circle of Friends has moved to aggressively cut costs since it first
revealed it was in financial jeopardy to the Herald
on Jan. 5.
In the subsequent weeks, it
terminated its executive director, closed its Adoption Center at 910 S. Washington St.
, and earlier this week announced plans to lay off two-thirds of its employees.
Through the cuts, the nonprofit hopes it can stabilize its finances to the point where it can continue its contract as the city pound, currently Circle of Friends' largest and most stable source of revenue.
The current city contract, however, does not reimburse Circle of Friends for medical care costs, while a proposed 2024 contract authorizes the shelter to spend up to $250 per animal on medical care, with further care requiring authorization from the chief of police.
Biermaier said at a Jan. 24 board of directors' meeting the spending limit essentially rendered her position moot, since emergency care costs can easily exceed that ceiling.
Former Executive Director and CEO Lauralee Tupa had criticized the lack of specific language in the current city-nonprofit contract on the scope of care Circle of Friends was expected to provide for impounded animals.
A handout the nonprofit submitted at a Jan. 22 meeting of the city Committee of the Whole included a list of 33 questions directed toward the city on how the nonprofit should operate, including how it should treat injured, diseased and unvaccinated animals brought by city police.
The city did not respond to the list of questions, Feland said.
"These situations, they happen, and everything that an animal needs — besides food, water, and attention — needs to come from a vet," Murphy said.
Feland said the city is moving as quickly as possible to compile information about vet clinics with available after-hours services, so the city can draw up and the council can approve a contract to fill the veterinary care gap.
"We already have a gap. We're trying to close that gap as quickly and wisely as possible," he said.
Murphy said Circle of Friends also is reaching out to area veterinarians to see if the nonprofit can establish an agreement of its own now that Biermaier is gone.
Documents provided to the Herald by Circle of Friends show Biermaier held an annual salary of $144,300 as of January.
The Herald
reported in September
that four local vet clinics — Kindness Animal Hospital, Petcetera Animal Clinic, Grand Valley Animal Hospital and Peterson Veterinary Clinic — provide weekly after-hours emergency care on a rotating schedule, but no clinic is available during the late hours of Sunday night or early Monday morning.
North Dakota has only one 24/7 emergency clinic, Red River Animal Emergency Hospital in Fargo.
On Monday, City Council members are expected to vote on an amended version of an impound services contract
first discussed Jan. 22 by the Committee of the Whole
that would pay Circle of Friends on a month-to-month basis, instead of in two separate payments.
It would also allow Circle of Friends to keep any revenues collected from pet licensing fees on the city's behalf. According to city documents, Grand Forks collected $8,529 in cat and dog licensing fees in 2023.
Feland said city staff will recommend City Council keep Circle of Friends as the city's impound services provider through the end of 2024.
Multiple council members and Mayor Brandon Bochenski have expressed interest in putting out a request for proposal for another contractor. Feland said he didn't expect such a proposal to be seriously considered until 2025 budget discussions begin in March.
"I think the council is going to be receptive to Circle of Friends based on all the tough and heavy lifting they've had to do over the last week and a half," Feland said. "I think the city wants to show grace to them and show we can continue to partner and move forward through the tough times."
