Standing Committee Meeting

MEETING OF STANDING COMMITTEES City Hall, 220 Clay Street January 3, 2023 The meeting of Standing Committees met at City Hall at 6:21 p.m. on January 3, 2023, with the following Committee persons in attendance: Councilmembers Susan deBuhr, Kelly Dunn, Simon Harding, Daryl Kruse, Dustin Ganfield, and Dave Sires; absent: Gil Schultz. Staff members from all City Departments and members of the community attended in person. Finance & Business Operations Committee: Chair Dunn called the meeting to order and introduced the only item on the Finance & Business Operations Committee Agenda, Annual Report of Library and introduced the Library Director, Kelly Stern. Director Stern gave an update on the FY22 Annual Report which included the following highlights: 131,460 physical items and 13,587 downloadable items checked out in FY22; patron visits have increased since last year. Director Stern stated the library is also working on building relationships to serve local needs and interests; diversity & inclusion; discovery, education & learning; connectedness of collection, learning, and programs (gardening programs, worm farm, decomposition of pumpkins, and a mobile kitchen). Director Stern stated upcoming items at the library will include a new brand, new and expanded partnerships; continued accessibility enhancements; greater diversity in programs and food education and cooking demos with the Charlie Cart. No questions from Councilmembers. Public Safety Committee: Chair Ganfield called the meeting to order and introduced the only item on the Public Safety Committee Agenda, RETF items implemented by Public Safety and introduced Director of Public Safety, Craig Berte. Director Berte stated the Racial Equity Task Force had given recommendations in the Fall of 2021 that included education, housing and policing. Director Berte introduced Police Chief Mark Howard; Chief Howard gave an outline of items that are now practices/upcoming implementation and how they integrate with the Public Safety’s 5-year strategic plan. Items in the outline included: Crisis Intervention Team; de-escalation scenario training; changes in the formal complaint process; establishing partnerships in the community; ability of officers to take patrol cars home; recruiting at colleges/athletic departments and out of state/Cedar Valley recruitment; continuing to work with HRC; new recruiting video and brochure; investing in our officers’ wellness and advancements within the department for retention; educational assistance and competitive pay. Chief Howard discussed traffic stops and arrests from 2020-2022 and the Police division’s diversity currently. Councilmembers discussed National Night Out, diversity, adding a social worker to staffing, and yard signs. Meeting adjourned at 6:57 p.m. Minutes by Kim Kerr, Administrative Supervisor