Delving into October ASAC Non-Meeting

Three members of the Animal Shelter Advisory Committee sat in San Angelo's City Hall last Thursday.  Citizens took time intending to participate in local government.  Staff, including the City Attorney, informed those in attendance the meeting could not be held due to lack of quorum.

The public did not know Sgt. Chris Carpenter resigned as of the August ASAC meeting.  The City's website shows a vacancy for SMD 4 even though Council approved someone for that slot in July 2022.

Morgan Chegwidden said she'd texted the absent persons (the ASAC Chair and Vice Chair) and learned they would not be able to attend.  Those texts are below.

The text to the Chair was sent at noon and the one to the Vice Chair was sent at 12:02.  The text to Victor Schulze DVM was sent at 11:40 am.  He indicated he was on his way.

Both officers seemed unaware of the meeting.  Those responses warrant deeper examination.

The ASAC bylaws state:

Agendas will be prepared by the ASAC City Liaison and reviewed by the chair prior to posting.

Had the chair reviewed the agenda prior to the posting would that person be unaware of the meeting? 

Meetings shall be conducted by the chairperson, and if absent by the Vice-Chairperson.

The very two people specified as "conducting the meeting" seemed out of the loop, didn't get the message, didn't read it or something else.

City ordinances state for the ASAC:

The committee shall meet from time to time at the call of the chairperson, provided that the committee shall meet not less than three times per calendar year. 

That clearly requires the chair be in the loop about the meeting date, place and time.

The bylaws also state:

A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of the ASAC. 

Common sense might say:  With two vacancies on the seven person committee, there are five active members.  Three were in attendance last Thursday.  That constitutes a majority.

The ASAC bylaws do not address unfilled positions.  The City addresses the issue in ordinance:

In the event of quorum concerns, should a board member's replacement not be appointed upon the expiration of any term of a board member, then that board member shall holdover on the board until a qualified replacement board member has been appointed.

Under this ordinance Sgt. Chris Carpenter would have remained on the board until his replacement had been appointed.  Morgan wrote to Sgt. Carpenter on 10-16-23:

You can disregard, still actively trying to fill your vacancy so still included you in the email.

City leaders have a history of picking and choosing ordinances to follow and those to ignore.  In the Animal Services arena some have gone so far as to fabricate.

Citizens expected an "open ASAC meeting" last week.  That did not happen for a number of reasons and some are uninspiring.

Update:  Morgan told Fox West Texas the two board members were missing due to "a lot of demands on people’s time and we couldn’t even call the meeting to order." 

Update 10-25-23:  For the planned January 2024 ASAC meeting Morgan wrote in an e-mail:

"Trying to confirm quorum for ASAC’s 1/19 meeting." 

That meeting did not happen as the agenda was not posted for the public.  Morgan informed the committee as to why:

"I apologize but I had a family emergency Friday and failed to publish this month’s agenda. We’ll instead meet 2/16/23."

I wrote about the failure to post and suggested the shelter motto be "No Voice, No Service."  That still applies. 

If there is no make-up ASAC meeting before 2024, here is the proposed schedule:

Also, there are two board slots to fill.  City Councilperson Lucy Gonzales is working to identify someone to fill a slot vacated 1-31-23.  Sgt. Chris Carpenter's slot opened 8-17-23.  It's not clear the slot Carpenter filled and who is responsible for nominating his replacement.

Update 11-2-23:  There are no ASAC board member candidates on City Council's agenda for 11-7-23.

Update 11-3-23:  It's been two weeks and there is no scheduled ASAC meeting on the city's website.

Update 11-4-23:  San Angelo city ordinances state " the committee shall meet not less than three times per calendar year."  Meeting #1 occurred on 4-20-23 and #2 on 8-17-23.  Meeting #3 is yet to occur. 

Update 12-5-23:  There is no ASAC meeting scheduled for December on the city's website. 

Update 12-14-23:  It appears the city will violate its three ASAC meetings requirement for 2023.  City Council's upcoming meeting had the following information on City committees:

Animal Shelter Advisory Committee: 1 veterinarian; 1 municipal or county official; 1 whose duties include the daily operation of an “animal shelter” as defined in section 823.001 of the Health and Safety Code; 1 officer or employee of an animal welfare organization; and 3 positions filled by City residents.

There are no nominees to fill the two empty ASAC positions. 

Update 1-22-24: Sgt. Carpenter's resignation was effective after the 8-17-23 ASAC meeting according to city records.  That means only three people in attendance would be a majority, i.e constitute a quorum.  That's the number of ASAC members on 10-19-23, however city staff indicated a quorum was lacking and did not hold the meeting.