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HomeMy Public PortalAbout12-17-1998 )10 BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND,INDIANA,DECEMBER 17,1998 The Board of Public Works and Safety of the City of Richmond,Indiana,met at 5 p.m.Thursday, December 17, 1998,in the Community Room in the Municipal Building. Chairperson Bob Goodwin presided with Robin Henry,Bruce Metzger and Assistant City Attorney Steve Rabe in attendance.The following business was conducted: CLAIMS FOR PAYMENT Claims for payment submitted by the City Controller's office were read by Henry who reported they totaled $457,854.69 and moved for approval,second by Metzger and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. REQUESTS A. Jan Hibner of Human Resources brought before the Board a couple of minor changes to the City's health plan,which she said were of a technical nature.She said when looking over the schedule of benefits under wellness she realized it does not specifically say those expenses are being paid at 100 percent,but it is being administered that way.She said it is simply an addition in each case.Metzger moved to approve,second by Henry and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. B. Police Chief Bill Shake asked the Board to approve the appointment of Joni Becker as probationary officer for the Richmond Police Department.He said she is a resident of Connersville and actually started in the department Monday,December 14, 1998.Henry moved to approve,second by Metzger and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. C. Chairperson Goodwin read a letter from Captain Melody Truitt of the Police Traffic Safety Division recommending approval of a residential handicapped parking space at 516 South 11d' Street.Metzger moved to approve,second by Henry and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. D. Chief Shake read a letter from Captain Truitt concerning the review done by the Traffic Safety Division of the request for a four-way traffic stop sign at South West 2nd and G Streets. Reading from the letter,he said,following the request made by Councilmember Sally Hutton which was accompanied by a neighborhood petition,a site survey was done as well as a 12- month accident review and a traffic count. He said although the traffic count did not reveal a sufficient volume of traffic to justify the four-way stop,both the accident review and site survey supported the additional signage. Citing the proximity of Richmond High School and the accident survey,which showed collisions all involved failure to yield as the primary cause,he said the recommendation was for the placement of a four-way stop based on safety factors of the collision history and school proximity.Henry moved to approve,second by Metzger and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. E. Chairperson Goodwin announced the partial closing of Sim Hodgin Parkway to install a water line on December 21 through December 23, 1998.He said the roadway would be passable each night.City Engineer Bob Wiwi said the closing is necessary to work on the utility re- location for the Main Street Bridge.Chairperson Goodwin commented that the closing comes at a time when the schools will be closed for the holidays. Board of Works Minutes Cont'd December 17, 1998 Page 2 F. Assistant Fire Chief Jerry Purcell brought before the Board a request for the approval of the use of a fire truck to deliver Santa Claus to a Christmas celebration at Westwood Apartments December 23, 1998.He said the request came from Sara Prince who has asked that Santa Claus be transported on the fire truck from Station No.5 which is located in front of the apartment complex.Henry moved to approve,second by Metzger and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. G. Chief Shake asked for the Board's approval of the agreement with the Training Bureau of the South Bend Police Department,explaining that it covers training schools and seminars,which are offered throughout the year.He said this is an ongoing program for which the department pays a one-time fee and any training received is free.Metzger moved to approve,second by Henry and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. BID OPENING A. Assistant City Attorney Steve Rabe explained that no bids had been received for the demolition of three properties and asked that the Board extend the deadline four weeks. Metzger moved to approve,second by Henry and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. AWARD BID A. City Engineer Bob Wiwi said four bids were received at the last Board of Works meeting for the temporary repair and protection work of the depot building,and upon review,he said,it was found that all four were responsive.He said he had reviewed the bids along with Tom Redlin of Michael Schuster&Associates and Lynn Johnstone of the Urban Enterprise Association,adding that the lowest bid was submitted by Broady-Campbell Inc. of Indianapolis for a not-to-exceed$43,420 and it was recommended to award that company the bid.Chairperson Goodwin read a letter written by Johnstone into the record and asked for her personal comments. She said this is very timely because the more terra cotta that can be saved,the less the cost will be at the second phase of the renovation/restoration of the depot. B. Rabe brought before the Board the lease agreement between the City and the Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County for the former state hospital property.He said it was a cooperative effort of attorneys Bob Bever,Bob O'Maley and George Sowers.Henry moved to approve,second by Chairperson Goodwin and the motion was carried with Metzger abstaining. OLD BUSINESS A. Rabe explained that this is a hearing of a grievance filed by Captain John Farmer of the Richmond Police Department on the awarding of overtime based on seniority.He said the issue involves Article 19 of the City's contract with the F.O.P.,in short,states that any part time or extra work such as patrolling high school ball games or law enforcement blitzes for which grant money is received for the overtime will be awarded based on seniority. He said a question has come about based on the interpretation of that,the question being, is the ball game season one event,or is each individual ball game one event.And,he said, with respect to the blitz,is that two-week period considered one event or is each individual date that the activity conducted,considered an event. Board of Works Minutes Cont'd December 17, 1998 Page 3 Rabe said that is important,because of the way it has been interpreted in this instance.He said the administration has interpreted it,noting that he does not believe the contract is clear at all on this,that because of the length,for instance of the ball season,ball games would be treated individually and each ball game there would be a sign-up sheet based on seniority. However,he said,the blitzes have been treated differently because they are for a short two- week period and because of the length of time they are considered one event.Rabe said if it were considered on individual days,that would lead to the most senior officer being able to take all the overtime during that blitz.He added that he feels this issue needs to be addressed during contract negotiations,but some clarity needs to be established at this point. Captain John Farmer said his main motivation in filing this grievance is to get some consistency and some clarity to the issue.He explained that in October for the Haunted Forest detail t was posted on the book and that event lasted four days with each day being handled as a separate detail.He noted that was shorter than the two-week length of the DUI detail(blitz), yet it was handled in the opposite manner.He said some guidelines are needed to avoid future confusion,adding that the issue has been handled in different ways over the years and it is time some consistency is established. In answer to a request made by Chairperson Goodwin as to why this grievance is before the Board of Works,Sgt.Barry Ritter,who is chairman of the Police Grievance Committee,said Captain Farmer filed the grievance November 22 with that committee.He said in reviewing the grievance,it was found that three of the five committee members were affected under this blitz No. 17 signup sheet.Therefore,the committee decided it could not objectively hear this grievance and decide whether or not Captain Farmer was aggrieved because of the conflict of interest issue.He said the administration had already made its ruling prior to the blitz beginning so that made this grievance jump each step in the chain of command and come before this Board. Sgt.Ritter said he agreed with Rabe that this issue would best be addressed in contract negotiations.He said if this Board renders a decision,which would be something that would be operated under for at least a year but it may conflict in other areas.He said this will be looked at in contract negotiations so it is a little clearer for the officers in signing up for the overtime details. Addressing his remarks to Captain Farmer,Metzger said he assumes that his preference is to have each day treated as a separate event.Captain Farmer said the majority of the time that is the way it has been done.He said due to the time separation and the fact that if all officers sign on one list,then when the supervisor goes to assign individuals to those time periods and days,he or she has to go through the entire schedule.This means he or she has to check each officer to see who is available to work that time due to conflicts with duty,court appearances or whatever other responsibilities the officer might have. Captain Farmer said by posting it within a specific day and time period,the officers do that for them,and sign up on the days they know they are available to work.That way,he said,the supervisor doesn't have to go down the entire list and see whether or not the officer is going to be available to work. Board of Works Cont'd December 17, 1998 Page 4 Captain Farmer said it is very cumbersome for the supervisors and results in a lot of arbitrary judgments by the supervisors and is simply necessitated by the way the signups are posted.He said if they are posted within a date and time then that indicates to the officers that the senior officer that signs in that time period is going to get it. Sgt.Ritter said the other side of that coin is,if you take blitz No. 17 for instance,the Captain of the Traffic Safety Division decides to break that blitz into 14 working details and three of those are scheduled for today,from 1 to 3 p.m.,3 to 5 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m.,the senior officers could sign up for all three details and eliminate any other officers from qualifying for any of that grant money.He said that is where the discussion centers on what constitutes a detail.He added that he feels that is going to be up to this Board and the administration to make that decision. Metzger asked who determines the time slots and Sgt.Ritter answered that it is the Captain of the Traffic Safety Division who determines what blocks of time he or she wants to use within that blitz.He added that the state dictates the two-week time period but it is the Captain in the Traffic Division who divides up the hours.Captain Farmer said it is the Captain of the Traffic Division who administers the grant and determines the method of the detail such as a road block or individual roving patrols and how it is going to be operated. Sgt.Ritter said that even though he and Captain Farmer are coming from different directions on the issue of seniority and overtime,both are talking about the same issue of consistency and the awarding of overtime for the officers. Chairperson Goodwin asked Chief Shake if those signup sheets were posted so they would have to go through the roster for the most senior person considering just one detail for a blitz, is there a way to make it not quite so cumbersome.Chief Shake said if there are four separate dates considered one event then a senior officer could have all four. Sgt.Ritter said the idea of a signup sheet can be done exactly the same way Captain Truitt did for blitz No. 17,with the officers indicating their availability time and date and then a rotation is done through the seniority list at awarding the dates.He added that for No. 17 he did just that,and it took him about 30 minutes just to see how long it would take.He said the issue of signing up and indicating the availability is very minimal as a concern for that Captain to schedule the overtime. Captain Farmer said the wording of those documents did not make it clear to indicate the availability,but to sign up for those shifts,which the officers wanted.He said it was the wording that was misleading resulting in the filing of this grievance. Chief Shake said the blitz is state grant money and rather unique.He said most other events the department gets are signed up for by seniority and are by other organizations,which already have the dates and times set that they wish the officers to be present.He gave as examples,the ball games and the Haunted Forest. He said Captain Truitt recommended scheduling the blitz as one event,which allows as many officers the opportunity to work as possible.Captain Farmer said he believes that decision was based partially on the indication they received that they would have a grievance filed on the other side if it was handled the other way.He said it is obvious the point needs clarification.Sgt.Ritter concurred,saying that if it had been awarded the other way he would have filed a grievance. Board of Works Minutes Cont'd December 17, 1998 Page 5 Rabe reviewed again Article 19 covering seniority and read: "All part time work that is contracted or scheduled by the Richmond Police Department such as,but not limited to,high school ball games,housing project security patrols,DUI task enforcement and Rose Festival shall be awarded by department seniority." Rabe said the administration's argument is that the blitz should be considered as one event, both because of the time period,and because it is one source of grant funding.Henry asked if the issue of indicating availability then on those sheets is something that they are looking for. Chief Shake said the need is for the clarification on the language. Captain Farmer said it needs to be clarified,because if it says officers should indicate the times they wish to work,then going to the seniority applicability section,it would indicate that is what you're going to get,which is the way it has been.He said the administration's point is that the DUI details are going to be operated separately because it is considered one detail.But,he said,the ball games are the same function done on different days,meeting the same definition as the DUI detail.Then,he added,the Haunted Forest,which is one detail operated on separate days in the same time period in a shorter period of time and yet that is handled the same way the ball games are. Captain Farmer said now the DUI detail is going to be done differently and that doesn't make sense because there's a need to be consistent from start to finish.Chairperson Goodwin asked if there is a problem in handling the Haunted Forest the same as a blitz,adding that the reason for asking that is that he can see a big difference in ball games because they extend over two or three months' time,and the other things are short term.Chief Shake commented that what is happening here is that they are arguing language.He said that obviously he disagrees with Captain Farmer,adding that blitzes are unique. Sgt.Ritter said blitzes in the past have been awarded both ways and there are three different versions of how they can be worked in the past four years. Robe said the Chief and the administration need some guidance from this Board in that consistency,and,from this point forward,blitzes,because of their nature and because they are grant funded,will be treated differently as one event and anything else will be treated as separate events. Captain Farmer said the only problem he has with that is,if we're going to use one clause out of the contract to define seniority then the definition has to be the same.He said this is applying the Chapter 19 definition of seniority and the awarding of overtime to three separate issues and it is all about the awarding of overtime,then the definition can't change,it has to be consistent. Henry said she feels the way the contract is written,it allows some flexibility as long as there is some consistency in the system that is created.Sgt.Ritter said it would be easier to define what a detail is.He said they know what seniority is and what it means Captain Farmer said Chapter 19 specifically identifies ball games and DUI enforcement,but the only one it doesn't mention is the Haunted Forest.So,he added,it identifies two of those issues in the same category that we're trying to apply different definitions to and how we operate on them. Board of Works Minutes Cont'd December 17, 1998 Page 6 Sgt.Ritter said it also mentions the housing project security where almost 30 officers sign up for and he said he believes that is a federal grant,adding that each night is handled as a separate detail.He said the officers sign up this month for a rotating schedule for a chance to work security in the housing developments here in the City.He said that is even a different issue handled in a different way.Captain Farmer said that was in the original contract to set up,the housing detail on rotation. Henry said she was inclined to rule on this particular event situation,with the direction that in the contract negotiations in 1999,language concerning detail or whatever be addressed as to clarification. She said she thinks the Board cannot address that at this time because it is a contract issue and that ruling would have to come about in contract negotiations. Metzger said he is struggling with defining a detail.Henry said that is a contract issue. Metzger said with the ball game,each game is considered an event,and asked how that works. Sgt.Ritter said each game is handled as an individual event and the officer works that game.He said different officers are working because each game is handled individually. Henry said she feels this Board could deal with the blitz,but anything else needs to go to contract negotiations. Rabe said under Article 4 of the contract entitled Management Responsibilities,it reads: "The Fraternal Order of Police recognizes the authority of the City to establish reasonable rules subject to the grievance procedure."He said that is why this meeting is being held,so maybe the analysis should be whether or not the administration's interpretation of a detail as it relates to a blitz is reasonable.He said some direction is needed regarding the blitzes. Metzger said he feels the difficulty is the language and it looks like it is up to the discretion of whoever sets up the detail.Captain Farmer said that could be engineered to eliminate individuals.Metzger said that no matter how this Board rules on this,it can be engineered. Captain Farmer said maybe the only decision this Board can make tonight is whether or not he was aggrieved on that particular issue,of not receiving the one day for which he signed up. Rabe then said,if the Board finds that Captain Truitt's interpretation of the blitz as one event was reasonable then it finds that Captain Farmer was not aggrieved. Sgt.Ritter said that in the same issue,the administration can direct Captain Truitt or whomever that the signup sheet is one sheet and any officer wanting to work can sign up,then the Captain determines how many blocks of time is going to be utilized,then assigns the officers. He said there is always a way around the issue,depending on how the Captain decides he or she wants to work the detail.He said she could have everyone sign up that signed up here,and say she is going to do it in 14 blocks,and 10 officers signed up,so 10 officers are going to work so the top four senior officers are going to get a second detail or work session.He said it would be the exact same thing that she did in the individual time slots this time,but the sheet would appear differently. After a brief discussion about the amount of days the Board is allowed before making a decision,it was decided to waive the 30 day time period and set the January 7 meeting as the next time when this issue will be addressed.Chairperson Goodwin announced this hearing would be recessed and picked up again on that date,adding that it probably would be the first thing on the agenda. (1°C1 Board of Works Minutes Cont'd December 17, 1998 Page 7 ADJOURNMENT There being no further business,on a motion duly made,seconded and passed,and carried on a unanimous voice vote,the meeting was adjourned. Robert Goodwin,Chairperson ATTEST: Norma Schroeder,Clerk