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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2015-05-28 minutes 1 Public Safety Committee Meeting Call to Order The May 28, 2015, Public Safety Committee meeting convened at 7:30 a.m. by Councilman Mihalevich. Attendance Present: Committee Members: Councilman Rick Mihalevich, Councilman Jim Branch, Councilman Carlos Graham, and Councilman Ken Hussey. Guests: Mayor Carrie Tergin, Councilman Bob Scrivner, City Administrator Steve Crowell, City Counselor Drew Hilpert, Fire Chief Matt Schofield, Police Chief Roger Schroeder, Finance/IT Director Bill Betts, Cole County Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Farr, and Police Captain Eric Wilde. Approval of Minutes Councilman Branch made a motion to approve the minutes of the March 31, 2015, and April 20, 2015, committee meetings. Councilman Graham seconded the motion. Minutes were approved. Discussion of Agenda Items OLD BUSINESS None. NEW BUSINESS Emergency Management Cole County Emergency Management Coordinator Farr advised the Committee of a Hazard Identification Risk Assessment (HIRA) report that has been completed and will be submitted to Homeland Security. The 13 counties which comprise Region F have been meeting since March to complete the Risk Assessment, which directly ties into Federal funding. The 13 Region F counties will divide $249,000 in federal funds this year. Mr. Farr will act as the Safety Chairman at this year’s 4th of July event in downtown Jefferson City. Cole County’s mobile command unit will be housed off-site and will monitor the downtown/Capitol area. The mobile command unit will respond to communications on the event grounds. This will relieve the 911 Communications Center of the responsibility of calls in the event area. The mobile command center will also handle communications for the Cole County Sheriff’s Office during the Jaycee’s Cole County Fair in August. Legislative Recap of Bills Impacting Public Safety City Counselor Hilpert advised most bills pertaining to public safety were not passed by the legislature, but he expects them to return next year for discussion. Senate Bill 5 pertaining to municipal courts, did pass. This bill dictates that not more than 20% of a city’s revenue can be 2 collected from traffic citations, and traffic fines are limited to not more than $300.00. Mr. Hilpert stated this limitation will not have much impact for the City. This bill also prohibits the issuing of warrants for failure to appear. Mr. Hilpert does not know yet how this will affect the court. The bill that would have allowed the Fire Pension Fund to be included in LAGERS was also not passed this year. Chief Schroeder stated there were many bills pertaining to police issues, few of which passed. He expects body cameras to be addressed again next year, but stated that privacy is a major issue to be addressed. Chief Schroeder expressed disappointment that the 911 bill died on the Senate floor. This bill would have generated funding through phone companies for 911 centers with a PSAP (public safety answering point), which the Police Department has. This bill has been before the legislature for several years and will probably come before them again next year. Another bill that did not pass would have prohibited a police officer from shooting or using deadly force on a fleeting felon. Chief Schroeder stated the police department follows Supreme Court case law, so passage of that law would not have affected the department. However, Missouri state statute is not in line with the Supreme Court ruling. (Garner v. Tennessee) Both Mr. Hilpert and Chief Schroeder noted that SB5 was brought about due to problems with the courts in St. Louis County and exclude other counties within Missouri. Review of Ride Share Ordinances Mr. Hilpert advised the issue of ride share companies is to either limit transportation companies or encourage more competition and a free market system. Presently, competition is limited by the requirements of a Certificate of Need and a 24-hour service. In allowing ride share companies to operate, Mr. Hilpert stated there are three areas of concern: safety, public perception and fees. He is satisfied the City could perform background checks on drivers, vehicles would be inspected, and individual drivers could be identified. The quality of the vehicle is important to the public perception of the company, but uniformity of the vehicles may not be a public concern. An advantage of a company such as Uber is they often charge less fees. Councilman Scrivner expressed concern about the City setting fares for private business operating in an open market. Chief Schroeder stated his primary concern is safety. He noted that Uber is currently under scrutiny, and there may be a push back on a national level. Councilman Mihalevich advised he would review Chapter 34 of the City Code which addresses Certificate of Need and fares. He tasked Mr. Hilpert with outlining an ordinance for committee review. Fire Station Facilities Chief Schofield stated upgrades to existing facilities and infrastructure is an ongoing issue. A Fire Improvement Plan was presented to the City Council in 2007. In 2011 Peckham and Wright completed a “Facility Study of Existing Fire Stations”. These plans identified current deficiencies and future needs for the Fire Department. Chief Schofield provided the Committee with a current list of needs/issues. Councilman Mihalevich referenced the previous fire tax initiative which the public did not approve, and acknowledged that the needs are mounting. Chief Schofield stated adding two new fire stations, in addition to the new Fire Station 3, is part of the long range planning. This would include building a new Station 6 on land donated by St. Mary’s 3 Hospital. Chief Schofield noted that there is a time limit for the City to accept the donated property agreement. The current ISO rating is a 3, which the Fire Department is working hard to maintain. Assistant Fire Chief Selection Chief Schofield advised due to Assistant Fire Chief Lonnie Brandt’s retirement, a panel was assembled to hire his replacement. From the 21 applicants, 8 were given initial interviews. Final interviews will be held with four applicants on Friday, May 29th. All four finalists are currently Captains with the fire department. Chief Schofield stated the promotional process was opened to external applicants, however after extensive evaluation of all applications only eight of the internal candidates were invited to proceed in the process. Chief Schroeder and City Counselor Hilpert were included on the interview board. OTHER BUSINESS Fire Department Update/Pending Legislation Chief Schofield stated he was disappointed the LAGERS legislation did not pass, but the Pension Board is actively working and will present the issue again next year. The legislature did release $200,000 for fire training this year, and $300,000 for training next year to be utilized statewide. The Jefferson City Fire Department works very closely with many training entities to secure local delivery of state funded programs. The 83rd annual Summer Fire School will be held next week. Lincoln University and the Jefferson City Fire Department will host training on their campus and at the Hyde Park training facility. The school has been held in Jefferson City for many years, and although Columbia would like to host the school, Chief Schofield is working hard to retain it in Jefferson City. He encouraged Committee members to observe the training. Police Department Update/Pending Legislation Chief Schroeder advised Dr. Jessica Thiele has been hired as the Animal Shelter Veterinarian and will begin employment on June 4th. Dr. Thiele was employed for the past three years by Dr. Groner. Three candidates were interviewed for the position. Since January, the Shelter has utilized area veterinarians on a part-time basis. Chief Schroeder is in the process of hiring four police officers and one communications operator. He will interview seven police officer candidates and four communications operator candidates next week. Progress is being made with the in-car cameras. Chief Schroeder stated the IT Department was key to the installation of the program. Finance/IT Director Betts advised the cameras should be operational by the end of June. Chief Schroeder stated Public Works Operations Director Britt Smith is in charge of the of the police department’s new HVAC system project. Captain Wilde advised 90% of the solution/demolition planning has been completed. He plans to have a cost figure within the next month, with the start of the project anticipated in September. 4 Chief Schroeder presented the Committee with information provided by the IT Department and Jeff Strubberg concerning the upgrade to the 911 phone system. This is a three prong plan involving upgrades to the phone, radio and recording systems. Money for the phone upgrade was earmarked from Sales Tax F. Director Betts advised he would be presenting the same information to the Finance Committee in two weeks. Chief Schroeder gave an overview of the cost and vendor recommendation. A committee, consisting of Director Betts and IT Staff, Captain Wilde and three communications supervisors have been involved in this process. Captain Wilde is engaged in ongoing discussions with AOS, the preferred vendor, to lower the cost. Captain Wilde stated this is a robust product that will be a great addition to the community. The IT Department has been the driving force behind the technology research and negotiations. Chief Schroeder advised $400,000 from Sales Tax F was originally set aside for the 911 phone upgrade. After negotiations, the department should be able to upgrade the phone system and upgrade radios for that amount. Director Betts noted ISO was the second lowest bidder for the project. The low bidder did not meet the basic specifications for the project. In response to Mayor Tergin’s inquiry regarding a “Reverse 911” system, Captain Wilde stated software from Everbridge is being reviewed. This is a system in which citizens can subscribe and can be used county-wide for public safety, as well as notifications from other City departments. The annual cost would be approximately $25,000. A suggestion was made to request Cole County to pay for a portion of the 911 phone upgrade. Councilman Scrivner stated the public safety tax approved several years ago should benefit all of Cole County, and he would encourage requesting Cole County to share in the cost of the phone upgrade. The ambulance tax is also a possible funding source. Councilman Mihalevich asked Finance/IT Director Betts to provide him with the amount Cole County pays the City for 911 services. Councilman Mihalevich, who recently graduated from the 2015 Citizen Police Academy, stated it was an excellent program. He appreciated the time and effort put into the program by police personnel. Councilman Mihalevich also commended Chief Schroeder and Chief Schofield for presenting awards to police and fire personnel in front of the City Council on May 18th. He stated it was a good way to start the meeting and offered his congratulations to the award recipients. Adjourn Councilman Mihalevich adjourned the meeting at 9:00 a.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 25th in the Police Department training room.