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CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK was no one else that owns that property. It's still in the name of the deceased person and Code is telling us they can't do anything about it until they send out X number of letters to the deceased person. Pam Weslowski, 1102 South 32nd Street, stated, Good evening, Council Members. Some of you will know me from being up here through several years and talking about animal welfare in the City. But I'm a resident of South Bend. I live in the 1100 block of South 32nd Street and River Park. And I'm also serving as your Vice President of the Animal Welfare Commission currently. I'm here basically not to get into the rest of the code stuff,but I really wanted to urge that the wage increase for the Animal Shelter Manager is increased. I do want to ask that you go ahead and increase the salary for South Bend Animal Resource Center Manager. I know the job that Jenn has been doing but I think that no matter whether it is Jenn in the job or any other shelter manager,this position has got to be higher so we can bring in better people. I would not want anyone less than Jenn, especially with her commitment to fill that job. What I know is that managing an animal shelter isn't a nine(9)to five(5)job.This is a twenty-four(24)hour a day job. She's on call whether it's in the job description that the City gives out or not. She went on, It is just a constant demand. So not only do you have that, but it's a very emotional job. Because you're seeing cruelty cases and you're seeing neglect cases, and there are times when you have to euthanize animals. And there is the all-time underfunding and understaffed positions that the City has for their shelter. This staff, including Jenn, they are two (2) dogs away from an emergency every single day. So that it's not the kind of job that you can just kind of go home and shake off. It is a job that they have done studies that have shown that animal shelter employees and vets oftentimes get burned out very much because of the very human toll that it takes on them. I know that under Jenn's management, and her crew and the staff that they have right now, she has done what no other manager has been able to accomplish in the history that I've known of it. In at. least the last twenty(20) or twenty-five(25) years. We are coming closer to no kill right now than we've ever come before and it's all because these people are hustling every single day. And you know,like I said,it's going to start out with having a good manager. I think that that good manager needs compensation for that. Overall, I hope that this Council will support anything that helps the South Bend Animal Resource Center and that staff, and the facility. I think we just need to start realizing that as a City, it's a very important service, that you know,has a lot to do with our public health and welfare as well. Please, and please. Thank you. Councilmember Jake Teshka left the meeting at 6:31 p.m. Becky Kaiser, 913 Diamond Avenue, stated, First(1st), I'd just like to reiterate what Pam just said about South Bend Animal Care and Control. I don't think the public understands sometimes the hours that are put in. Not only that, but how many of the staff in emergency situations will take home a pet that has been left at the shelter that may be ill or too young to survive on its own. And they spend twenty-four seven (24/7) taking care of the pets. Absolutely, they deserve any support we can give them. Code Enforcement, I think, is one (1) of the most undervalued and underappreciated departments the City has. People don't understand that our public safety doesn't just rely on the Police. It relies on a division that makes sure that we are all living in healthy and safe housing. Grass going uncut, vermin, trash, and things of that nature. Mostly, I'm here about Drewry's. I have been going to Drewry's meetings for eight(8) years. When a Drewry's site went on the tax sale, I can tell you who bought it, and they paid about $13,000 for the property. For those of you who don't know the history, they thought when they paid that $13,000 that the City EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.2359221 f 574.235.9173 TfD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 18