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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2023-08-31 minutes 1 Public Safety Committee Meeting Call to Order The August 31, 2023, Public Safety Committee meeting was convened at 7:30 a.m. by Councilman Spicer. Attendance Present: Committee Members: Councilman Scott Spencer, Councilman Jack Deeken, Councilman Mark Schwartz, Councilman Aaron Mealy (virtual) Guests: Fire Chief Matt Schofield, Chief of Police Eric Wilde, Cole County Sheriff John Wheeler, Emergency Medical Services Chief Eric Hoy, City Attorney Ryan Moehlman, Fire Division Chief of Preventions Jason Turner, Missouri State Representative Dave Griffith Approval of Minutes Councilman Spencer motioned to approve the minutes from the June 27th meeting. Councilman Deeken seconded the motion. Minutes approved. Discussion of Agenda Items OLD BUSINESS Nothing to Report. NEW BUSINESS Police Department Parking Lot Additions Chief Wilde advised he has worked with Matt Morasch in proposing different parking lot ideas for the area where the church was demolished. The Police Department Training Room is a highly requested training area by many different agencies and events. The proposal to add parking spaces next to the existing parking lot located next to the training room will give parking access to those who are attending classes or events at the department. The existing parking lot is overcrowded and used by city employees. This proposal will create 15 paved parking spots deemed as Police Department visitor parking. In response to Councilman Spencer’s question regarding future campus expansion, Chief Wi lde stated the parking lot would not affect future building projects. City Attorney Ryan Moehlman added the project has been talked about in the past and would be a good investment for the future of the Police Department. Chief Schofield also added he and Chief Wilde have discussed other uses for the area, and a parking lot was the best fit project. Chief Wilde stated the project will cost about $50,500 from the Capital Improvement Sales Tax fund. 2 In response to Councilman Deeken’s question regarding accessibility to the court, Chief Wilde stated the parking lot would only be accessible to Police Department visitors and employees due to the amount of traffic the department received for the classroom. The court currently has metered parking, and whether or not the meters will be removed is unknown. Councilman Spencer made a motion to approve the support of taking the project to the City Council. Councilman Deeken seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Councilman Mealy – Yes Councilman Spencer – Yes Councilman Schwartz – Yes Councilman Deeken – Yes Motion to approve passed by a vote of 4 yeses. 911 Communications Update Chief Schofield stated the agency directors began discussing the integration of communications and 911 centers about five years prior. Initially, the Fire Department collaborated with the Police Department to join communications which created the current communications section in the Police Department in the early 1980s. Capital Region then transitioned their ambulance service to Cole County, which added more workload to EMS and their dispatch. Chief Wilde advised the steps to integrate have already been implemented and are in process. The departments need to look to the future to build a stronger communications system. The technology has improved significantly, allowing the current communications section to upgrade to a better CAD system. Chief Wilde stated in the last three years, on average there are 120,000-130,000 calls for service each year, 14-15 calls every hour. These calls result in creating an incident for each call. The Police Department is responsible for about 60% of those calls and Cole County Sheriff for 32% of calls. Cole County EMS has also seen an increase in calls. 67% of incidents occur within the city and 33% within the county. Chief Wilde added he uses this benchmark data to set goals such as phone call answering times. Currently, the goal to answer the phone is 10 seconds 98% of the time. He also looks at the performance of each dispatcher based on the time it takes to answer calls and assess them monthly. A majority of the dispatchers reach an answering time of under 10 seconds 96% of the time. It is important to note not all calls received are emer gency calls. Some calls are administration or informational calls. Chief Wilde advised there has also been discussion about building a combined 911 center. Currently, the communications section consists of 4 consoles, 2 training consoles, and a supervisor cubicle. This area is very small and compact with all the equipment. If equipment were to be upgraded, the area would need to be expanded. Councilman Spencer suggested Chief Wilde give council members a tour of the area, to which Chief Wilde agreed. The ideal shift assignment is 1 Jefferson City Police Operator, 1 Jefferson City Fire Operator, 1 Cole County Sheriff Operator, and 1 call taker per shift. Since the department is short-staffed, the 3 section has adjusted to 12-hour shifts to compensate for busy hours. During some hours of the day, there are only three operators. Chief Wilde stated the mission of the integration of communication systems is to provide the most effective, efficient, and prompt public safety communications to best serve the citizen s and communities of central Missouri. The goal is to improve public safety communications to save lives in the communities of Central Missouri. He stated to achieve this goal, the department must do many things including ensuring adequate leaves of staffing, providing universal training to all operators, securing adequate funding, identifying appropriate facilities and locations, and exploring long-term opportunities. There is also a backup center located at Fire Station 3 and a mobile EOC that is utilized in emergency situations. In response to Councilman Spencer’s questions regarding standards for the 911 center, Chief Wilde advised most standards fall under the APCO guidelines. His goal is to become a fully accredited 911 center under such standards. Chief Wilde gave a brief update on what he calls, “Lines of Effort” which is a timeline chart of past, current, and future projects to be completed in order to complete the integration of communication systems. In response to Councilman Schwartz’s question regarding the total price for the whole project, Chief Wilde stated he cannot give an accurate price on the total project. Many things need to happen in order to get the total numbers, including a staffing and facility analysis. These studies will give insight into future staffing scenarios. As of right now, the department does not have room for expansion for increased staffing, so a facility analysis is needed as well. Chief Schofield added it is important to give the committee accurate cost numbers. These studies will aid in suggesting recommendations and will give the committee resources to help make the decision if a 911 center is applicable or not. Councilman Schwartz inquired if the State has given any input into the 911 center. The Capital utilizes its own police force but relies on the city for fire or EMS emergencies. Councilman Schwartz suggests the State should reimburse the City for those resources being used, and suggests the City ask the State to invest in potentially a new facility. Chief Schofield thanks the County and City for the leaps and bounds they have made to help move the project along. Chief Hoy added he is proud of what the department directors have done thus far. He stated it doesn’t look like much progress has been made, but the changes that have been made have saved lives which is very significant. They have built a reliable system, are confident they are delivering adequate services, and should be proud of everyone involved. Sheriff Wheeler also added each department is moving forward for the citizens. The Sheriff’s Department has discontinued its New World system in the past but has recently repurchased the system again because of its reliability. Each department is working towards all new systems together, and it is a continuing project that will always be improved for the interests of the citizens. Councilman Spencer thanked each department for working together for the interest of the citizens. The needs have been ongoing for years. There needs to be a way to get ahead of the system because the city will soon be outdated again. 4 Chief Hoy stated he has been communicating with commissioners about finding other means of funding for the project. Sheriff Wheeler stated the committee should look at the number of state representatives that commute to Jefferson City during the work day. The population almost doubles, which doubles the need to assist the community. Chief Wilde concluded by stating the committee needs to consider what level of funding is appropriate after the staffing and facility analysis. The committee will vote for approval when the analyses are complete. FEMA FY22 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Chief Turner advised the AFG for Firefighters Assistance grant was awarded last week for a total of $97,000 with a 10% match from the city. The department will use these funds for new rescue supplies. Chief Blomberg has been assigned to work on the project. The project will be on the consent agenda at the Tuesday City Council meeting. OTHER BUSINESS Fire Department Update Chief Turner stated there were 49 applicants for the firefighter position, 20 of whom have signed up for testing. Chief Blomberg is currently working on conducting the tests. The hiring roster will then be established. Chief Turner advised the department is currently working on special events such as the air show on September 14-15-16th. The department will be assisting with fire safety during the show to ensure compliance with FAA rules. Chief Turner stated the department is still searching for an ARFF vehicle. The department asked the state for $1 million to replace the 33-year-old vehicle they currently own, but only received half of the funds they asked for. A scaled-down, new vehicle is between 550,000-600,000 this would be a bare-boned vehicle, but the department would make it work. The department has also looked into used vehicles, but everything they have seen is out of date, broken, or has the same problems as the current vehicle. The department has discussed carrying the funds over and waiting for additional funding. The alternative to the ARFF vehicle is a scaled-down version, which is not ideal, but the department needs a new vehicle. This will be a line item for additional funding and a 10% match ($50,000) by the City. Chief Schofield advised State Representative Griffith has been with the department supporting the project for three years. He thanked State Representative Griffith for his efforts in the project and getting approved by the state legislature. State Representative Griffith encouraged the committee to visit the vehicle at the airport. He stated it currently takes 15 minutes to get the vehicle out of the garage. If an emergency happened at the airport, there would be 15 precious minutes lost just trying to move the vehicle. He stated the State Government has a responsibility to protect those assets. The vehicle that was $800,000 three years ago is now $1 million. As the prices increase, the community needs to decide whether or not to purchase a new vehicle. Chief Schofield stated the purchase of the vehicle would be a part of the 25/75% Capital Improvement Sales Tax, and the city would match 10%. Councilman Spencer stated funds are tight, but he is relying on the Fire Department to find a good course of action. 10% is significant 5 in the budget, but the department needs the vehicle. He looks forward to hearing about it more in the upcoming budget meeting. Chief Turner stated the department is at full staff with one employee in recruit class and one employee has been deployed to help with the Hurricane destruction in Florida. Chief Turner advised Tunnel to Towers 5k will be held on September 16th. Chief Turner stated the department is currently undergoing annual pump and ladder testing. Police Department Updates Chief Wilde congratulated the Fire Department on their victory at the Guns and Hoses hockey game. It was a great game with a great turnout from the community. Chief Wilde advised he has been the Chief for about one year now. He is happy to say there are many ongoing projects such as the Body Worn Camera project that are nearing completion. He will host a media event next week to announce the project is complete and going well. The elevator project is also complete. Chief Wilde stated the department was able to automate a lot of systems within the last year. All reports were done on paper in the past, but the department has purchased a program that will automate most reports, making it easier to attain numbers and run numerical reports. This system will go live next week. Chief Wilde advised these don’t sound like a lot of projects, but they take a lot of time to get them up and going. The department received funds last year for a locker room renovation, and the department will initiate that project soon. Chief Wilde thanked the committee for the funding and all the hard work they have put in through the budget season. Emergency Management Update Chief Hoy advised the department was 80 calls ahead from the month of July. He also stated COVID-19 is a topic of discussion lately. The department has not seen a large increase in COVID-19 cases at this point in time. The department is equipped, trained, and ready for a upraise in numbers. Chief Hoy stated Capital Region has started utilizing a “diversion status”. When the hospital is overwhelmed with patients, they utilize this status and do not accept ambulance patients unless it is a life-threatening case. EMS is monitoring the use of this status. Chief Hoy also stated area residents rely heavily on hospitals for primary care, leading to overcrowding. Chief Hoy advised the department will take delivery of 2 new ambulances in November, these are the 4th and 5th new ambulances added since last year, a $1.5 million total investment. The department is very happy with the performance of the new apparatus. Chief Hoy stated there is currently 1 new staff member. The department wants to add a flex position to compensate for the overtime shifts. 6 In response to Councilman Mealy’s question regarding NARCAN trends, Chief Hoy stated there was a large influx of opioid overdoses at the beginning of the year where NARCAN was used. There has been a decline in cases since then. Other Updates Adjourn Councilman Mealy motioned to adjourn the meeting, Councilman Deeken seconded the motion. Meeting was adjourned at 8:31 a.m.