Public Safety Committee

CITY OF CHARLESTON 10 West Virginia Council Member – 10th WARD Shawn Taylor Public Safety Committee, Chair 501 Virginia St. E Finance Committee Charleston, WV 25301 Parking Committee Telephone: 304-414-6019 E-mail: shawn@shawntaylor.com TO: Public Safety Committee FROM: Shawn Taylor, Chair RE: Committee Meeting There will be a Committee meeting of Public Safety on November 17, 2025 at 6:00 PM City Hall, 501 Virginia St. E. AV Room #308 AGENDA APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES 1. 7-21-2025 PUBLIC SPEAKERS 1. To hear from public speakers on public safety related topics. Register with a representative from the Clerk's Office no earlier than 15 minutes prior to the meeting at the stated meeting location. Time limits may be set by the Committee. TO HEAR FROM PUBLIC SAFETY RELATED DEPARTMENTS 1. Charleston Police Department 2. Charleston Fire Department ST/ns *Meetings may be recorded and broadcast via internet https://charlestonwv.civicclerk Page | 1 of  MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING 6:00 P. M., JULY 21, 2025 AV ROOM, CITY HALL Shawn Taylor, Chair, called the meeting of the Charleston City Council Committee on Public Safety to order at 6:00 p.m., July 21, 2025. Present: Shawn Taylor, Chair Chuck Overstreet, Vice Chair Caitlin Cook Mary Beth Hoover Beth Kerns Bruce King Absent: Kathy Rubio Other Councilmembers Present: Frank Annie Emmett Pepper Joe Solomon 1. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES – Councilmember Kerns moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting on 10-21- 2024. Councilmember Hoover seconded the motion. There was no objection, and the minutes were approved. 1 Page | 2 of  2. To hear from public speakers on public safety related topics. None 3. Neighborhood Watch Groups – Naomi Bays – Councilmember Taylor introduced Naomi Bays, the Executive Director of the West Side Neighborhood Association. They have been working on a pilot program to streamline watch groups to be aligned with the Wards. They will work with the Planning Department and others to divide groups into each Ward. Bays added that they want to empower the community to hold their own meetings. They would want the watch groups to report to their Ward Councilmember to send out information. There would be quarterly combined meetings as well. Bays asked how she could communicate this to other Councilmembers for their involvement. Bays suggested that the pilot program should start on the West Side, and it would be important to get Councilmember involved from the start. Mayor Goodwin agreed that there are many people that show up to the current neighborhood watch meetings. There were a lot of good ideas in the presentation. 4. TO HEAR FROM PUBLIC SAFETY RELATED DEPARTMENTS - • Charleston Police Department Deputy Police Chief Webb added that the new Public Safety building is still in the design phase. They have started a take-home-car program, and it has been well received. Regatta and the bike races went well with no major issues. The Department has changed their recruitment. Changing the singing bonus has been very successful in attracting hire from other sources. The testing process has been changed so that a certified candidate no longer has to wait for a testing date. A test can be posted as needed. They are currently at 161. Councilmember Overstreet confirmed that the age requirement is 18-40. Mayor Goodwin added that CPD has also done an amazing job accompanying her on the Administration’s Charleston Walks. Deputy Police Chief Webb added that he thought it would be better for the Neighborhood Watch groups to coordinate with a hybrid officer (for example) instead of a Councilmember. • Charleston Fire Department Assistant Fire Chiefs Nicholson and Strickland stated that Regatta went well with noted improvements for next year. They have received the new ladder truck, rescue truck and Engine 5. The new boat should be arriving in October. They added that they would like better communication with the water company. There have been issues in the Oakridge area, and they have been having a hard time getting feedback from them. They are very close to having a full staff. 2 Page | 3 of Mayor Goodwin added that renovations to the fire stations are ongoing. Councilmember Cook agreed that Police and Fire did a great job during the Regatta and were very helpful. Councilmember Cook motioned to adjourn the meeting. Councilmember Kerns seconded. Meeting adjourned. 3 Page | 4 of