Residents press Clear Lake over animal-shelter conditions; city says shelter population has fallen

Several Clear Lake residents pressed the City Council on Jan. 18 over conditions at a local animal facility and a warehouse where they said dogs remained crowded, while city officials said shelter population has declined substantially.

At the start of public comment, Christina Sinclair said residents had previously given North Bay Animal Services six months to clear a warehouse and asked, “what, if anything, has been done?” She told the council she believed dogs were still "packed in that warehouse." Elaine Samet and other speakers defended local volunteer-run programs and criticized outside rescue groups for what they called “vilifying” local efforts. Rita, who identified herself as running a secondhand store that raises money for animal care, said her group adopted out 47 dogs in December and paid for microchips and vaccinations.

Volunteer Jim Hackett, who said he works with local rescuers, urged inspectors to compare shelter conditions at times when staff have had a chance to clean, saying early-morning visits can produce misleading impressions. Recreation and shelter volunteers also urged cooperation between local groups and North Bay Animal Services.

During Zoom comment, a speaker who identified himself as Sandeep Albeck made graphic allegations about animal mistreatment and then introduced explicitly racist, extremist language; the council cut him off. Another Zoom speaker, Mitzi Bapei, began with trafficking-prevention remarks but went on to make an unsubstantiated, explicitly antisemitic allegation; council did not take action on either statement.

City Manager Flora responded after public comment, saying the city had not set a strict six-month deadline to clear the warehouse and that staff had hoped to remove animals sooner. Flora said shelter population is down “over 40%” from the peak and that the situation in the warehouse is ‘‘much different’’ and improved from six months earlier. He said the city would continue to push to move animals and provide updates.

No formal council action on the shelter was taken during the meeting; public comment was advisory. Council members asked staff to provide comparative intake and utilization statistics on request.

Next steps: staff said they will follow up with comparative numbers and continue work with North Bay Animal Services; there was no motion or vote on policy changes at this meeting.