REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: ALMA G. TORRES, Interim Director Animal Center Department SUBJECT ..Title Approve the First Amendment to the service agreement with Animal Balance, a California Public Benefit Nonprofit Corporation, in the amount of $160,000 for a total contract amount of $342,200 for spay and neuter surgical services at the Fresno Animal Center and extend the term of the service agreement to October 31, 2024. ..Body RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that Council approve and authorize the City Manager or designee to enter into the attached First Amendment to the Agreement between the City of Fresno (City) and Animal Balance, a California Public Benefit Nonprofit Corporation, for the spay and neuter services agreement. This would allow for additional cat and dog sterilization surgeries at the Fresno Animal Center. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On December 14, 2023, Council approved the services agreement with Animal Balance to provide cat and dog sterilization surgeries at the Fresno Animal Center, this agreement is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2024, through approval of these actions Council will allow for the service agreement to increase by $160,000, to $342,200, and extend the expiration date to October 31, 2024. BACKGROUND Due to the Veterinary Staffing shortage being experienced in the United States, the Fresno Animal Center entered into a services agreement with Animal Balance, a California Public Benefit Nonprofit Corporation, to provide sterilization surgeries for cats and dogs in the City of Fresno. Animal Balance provides out of area veterinarians and veterinary staff and performs 200 spays and neuters over the course of three days at the Fresno Animal Center monthly. Initially, Animal Balance was only focused on the backlog of animals that were adopted by the Fresno Animal Center and were pending legally required sterilization to finalize the adoption process, however, most recently Animal Balance has been focusing on public owned animals and supporting the backlog of low cost spay neuter services for income qualified city residents. Council approved a services agreement for $182,200 on December 14, 2023. Council's approval of this First Amendment to the service agreement will increase the total value from $182,200 to $342,200 and extend the term to October 31, 2024. This extension and increase will allow Animal Balance and the Fresno Animal Center to provide four more clinics to serve an additional 800 pets. Since December 17, 2023, Animal Balance has sterilized over 1,000 pets making a significant difference in the animal overpopulation of the city. These additional clinics are scheduled for June 14-16, 28-30; Aug 23-25; and September 27-29, 2024. ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS By the definition provided in the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378 this item does not qualify as a "project" and is therefore exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act requirements. LOCAL PREFERENCE Local preference is not implicated because this item does not involve public contracting or bidding with the City of Fresno. FISCAL IMPACT Sufficient appropriations exist in the Animal Center Department's FY2024 Amended Budget to fund this increase. Attachments: First Amendment to Service Agreement Service Agreement