Public Safety Committee (Building & Codes, Fire, Police)

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES March 22,2027 - 4:00 p.m. YiaZoomMeets CALL TO ORDER: A meeting of the City of Clarksville Public Safety Committee was called to order by Chairperson Richard Garrett on Monday, March 22, 2027, at 4:00 pm. This meeting was conducted via Zoom Meets. In an effort 1o facilitate the continued response to the Coronavirus disease this meeting was conducted via electronically. ATTENDANCE: The foliowing members responded to roll call and were con:rected to t1r" olssting. It was noted there was a quor.tm. Councilperson Richard Ganett, Chairperson; Councilperson Karen Reynolds; Councilperson Vondell Richmond; Councilperson DaJuan Little Due to some technicai issues, Councilperson Ashlee Evans joined the meeting after ro11 call was initially taken. others Participating: Building & codes Director David smith, Fire & Rescue chief Freddie Montgomery, chief of Police David crockarell, Deputy chief fuck stalder, Judge charles Smith, Cassie Wheeler, R. Stevens, Angela Downey, Deidre Ward, Nicole Morris ADOPTION OF MINUTES: The committee unanimously approved minutes ftom January 20,2021 meeting after a motion was made by Councilperson fuchmond and seconded by Councilperson Little. $qry"req\ r\tq Iaoa-' BUILDING & CODES DEPARTMENT: David Smith introduced Deidre Ward, who is taking Paula McWhirter's position at Building and Codes, and then gave an overview of the deparhnent. Commercial permits are tracking. Multi- family permits were really, really good in January so the zero revenue in February is not a concem, due to such a good start to the calendar year. Single-family development: January was a record month, and February was also tremendous. Building and Codes is doing their best to keep up but occasionally run a day behind trying to get caught up due to high volume. Revenues generated indicate a solid fiscal year that is better than the last two fiscal years, making Building and Codes a solid revenue producer for City ofClarksville. Mr. Smith brought up two potential pieces of legislation coming to the Committee in the future. The first is animal control is wanting to limit the number of animals on residential properties to combat large rescue operations currently operating in residential communities. This would not affect commercial operations such as kennels or those appropriately zoned, but those that are keeping thirly to forty dogs in a single-family residential neighborhood which greatly impacts the other residents who live there. The second was brought to Mr. Smith's attention by Commissioner Lewis, who is interested in approaching the Public Safety Committee about camping ffailers and RVs and the legislation for parking them in residential areas. This completed Mr. Smith's report. Councilperson Garrett asked about commercial vehicles parked on public streets ovemight, and if that is a violation of City ordinances. Mr. Smith deferred to Chief of Police Cockarell, since it takes place on tJre street and falls under his purview. Councilperson Garrett said he would readdress the question to Chief Cockarell after his report on Police. Councilperson fuchmond asked for clarification on the legislation former Councilperson Tim Chandler helped pass in cleaning up areas in New Providence and the specific areas that it covered. Mr'. Smith responded that there was a grace period once the legislation was passed to allow affected parties to be able to come into compliance. Once cited, they will now have upwards of90 days to come into compliance, so it is a slow process to come to fruition in every capacity. Based on current paperwork, look to see a change within 60 days. Building and Codes is working on how to implement and inform the community. Mr. Smith mentioned a cleanup event to get the community involved and informed on ordinances and what Building and Codes does, and suggested councilmembers reach out to Dennis Newberg about getting invoived. Councilperson Richmond thanked Mr. Smith for the update. POLICE DEPARTMENT: chief crockarell gave an overview of the deparhnent. District Three Precinct is lagging behind due to cold weather and Covid affecting materials. New prediction is to be in end of June instead ofJune 1st, but there is a possibility ofbeing delayed until August. Rough-in electric and plumbing is being completed. Some dry wall is already put up, but they are hoping to complete that soon. Recently swore in six new offtcers who begin the academy on Sunday, March 28th. Seven new officers will be graduating from the academy on Thursday, March 25fi. In the middle ofbudget prep. This completed Chief Cockarell's briefreport.  chiefcockarell addressed councilperson Garrett's question, stating that he thought three axels or more is a violation ofthe ordinance unless they are toading or unloading. He mentioned that this was recalled fiom memory and could look up and send the code to Councilperson Garrett if needed. chiefcockarell was happy to answer any additional questions on the matter and also referenced that he would be hringing up a small resolution after chief Montgomery,s fire report. councilperson Garrett replied that an email was sent regarding a picture of a two-axel tow vehicle. This vehicle had been parked in the grass and has been moved to the street. It is a safety concem due to blocking visibility on the comer lot at Harison way to Harding. This has caused a concem among neighbors. Councilperson Garrett suggested they discuss the specifics further outside of the meeting. ChiefCockarell mentioned there are city ordinances in regards to parking distance from mailboxes, driveways, etc. If it is a traffic hazard in relation to the intersection, other ordinances may be enforced. He will send a commander out tomorrow to check on it. councilperson Little mentioned that officer Lax is coming to Clarksvilte police Department from the Sheriffs office and was one of their finest. chiefcockarell stated they ari lucky to have him join the department. The sheriff s office loss is cpD's gain. ln about nine to ten months he will be out on the roads solo serving our Clarksville community. FIRE & RESCUE DEPARTMENT: chief Montgomery gave an overview of the department. This month's report may be a little confusing due to a software platform change. This upgraded software will be produce a different report in the future. clarksville Fire Rescue did, l,og7 calls;70%o rescue rlpe calls, the rest are broken down in detail in the reports provided. He then discussed support divisions. The -ouing i, May or June. Maintenance building is in the process of being built now; looking at construction delays have occurred due to getting supplies. we have nineteen in the academy that started March lst, and the academy will last for 8 weeks. Maintenance Division did 100 work orders and over 25 service calls to fire equipment. Fire prevention had a slow month in February due to snow but completed 3 1 inspections, two fire investigations, and five smoke alarm installs. Training Division taught eight classes, 3,1It hours with 935 srudents attending those. chief Montgomery asked ifanyone had any questions. Councilperson Richmond gave a shout out to clarksville Fire Rescue and the program they provided for Leadership Clarksvilie for their Government and Media day. Clarksville-was well represented by chief Batten and chief Montgomery and the impacts they have made. Councilperson Richmond would love for the Committee to pour support into both Folice and Fire. Clarksvilie Fire Rescue does not have a revenue generating resource for the City. There are often large asks for the pricey equipment needed, such as $ 1.5 million dollar requests-for a new engine. These are big investrnents for equipment which hopefully are not often used, but are needed in order to have the resources readily available. For example, the recent fires at Blackhorse and captain D's. Amazing job managing tiese fires and keeping everyone safe. councilperson Richmond was very grateful for the demonstations and getting to see the equipment used,;hich l\ias very eye opening. He suggested presenting something similar to the program presented to Leadership Clarksville for the Council specifically. He then asked when the nex"t open enrollment for applying to Clarksville Fire Rescue would begin. ChiefMontgomery stated that the current plan is to open up applications in April and have it open for thirty to forty-five days. This gives time to set up testing. Councilperson Richmond asked if the Council will be officially notified once it has opened up. Chief Montgomery assured that he would let them know. Councilperson Richmond thanked him and mentioned the increase in social media promotion surrounding the last round of applications. He referenced one of the applicants who came from Chicago, IL to come test and live out her dream ofbeing a firefighter in Clarksville. Councilperson Garrett asked for confirmation of the tallest ladder. Chief Montgomery stated that the tallest ladder is 105 feet and includes a bucket. There are a few that are 57 feet and 75 feet. Councilperson Garrett asked if the 105 foot ladder would only go up to five stories. Chief Montgomery said it varies. The 105 foot ladder could potentially reach up to seven to eight stories but it depends on if there is substantial concrete to set up close to the building and creale a 45 degree climbing angle. It can reachjust over five stories. Couacilperson Garett mentioned ttrat he had heard the height ofthe ladder on the fire truck dictates the height ofthe buildings in Clarksville. He asked ifthere are plans to get another ladder truck that is a bit taller in case Clarksviile begins to build up more. Chief Montgomery said that is a misconception in regards to the ladder height. Even Nashville's tallest ladder truck is probably about the same as Clarksville Fire Rescue's. The tactics change for fighting a fire at a height tailer than your ladder and when progressing to higher levels in the building. The ladders can only be made so tall, and the tallest available would only be about twenty-five feet more than the current ladder truck. The tactics and the manpower are a greater indicator of ability than rhe height ofthe tadder. Councilperson Reynolds wanted to tag on to what Councilperson Richmond said and would like to schedule a tour for either all ofCouncil or even one-on-one. Chief Montgomery mentioned that before the Coronavirus he planned to do a Council Academy - a day where all of the Council members can come and get an overview of the department. He would also be happy to schedule one-on-one if the Public Safety Committee would prefer. Councilperson Evans would like to second Councilperson Relaolds that she would like to participate in a tour and the Council Academy. Councilperson Garrett also likes the sound of it, and Courcilperson Richmond would like to come again. chief Montgomery said he would organize that through the public Safety Committee and have Chairperson Garrett invite the rest ofCouncil. Councilperson Garrett agreed. CITY COLTNCIL ACTION REQUIRED: chief cockarell brought Resolution 62-2020-21to the comminee. This resolution will be an Memorandum of understanding between Clarksvilie Police Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation that would create a specialized taskforce. The focus of the taskforce would be human trafficking, which includes both sex trafficking and labor trafficking in our region. It is a reimbursement MOU, which means the department will be reimbursed up to $10,000 for overtime hours. Cunently, CPD has MOUs and taskforces with the DEA and the ATF. with approval, one officer would be assigned to this taskforce until demand would be determined. Deal with issues State is needing assistance on in clarksville and Montgomery County, and a resource to some ofthe smaller counties and agencies that do not have the number ofresources available. ChiefCockarell believes this is a worthy effort based on statutes CpD is trying to enforce. A motion for approval ofResolution 62-2020-21was made by Councilperson Rel,nolds and seconded by Councilperson Richmond. Councilperson Reynolds asked if it would be only one person to begin with, is there a volunteer in mind for this taskforce. ChiefCockarell said there is one investigator that is interested. Once the MOU is in place, they could add additional officers or investigators as needed. Councilperson Reynolds asked if the County would be doing an MOU with TBI as well. Chief Cockarell is unsure if the Sheriffs department was approached with the same opportunity. The majority of these investigations fall within City limits, and there is a great partnership established between these two agencies. Councilperson Reynolds said that answered her questions for some additional background. Councilperson Garett confirmed no other questions, and then the motion was unanimously passed on the first reading. OTHER: Councilperson Reynolds mentioned how she recently leamed that the County uses inmates to pick up the trash on the roads. She wanted to know if that falls under Building and Codes, since she has noticed more trash around our City. Councilperson Little said that based on his experience with the Sheriffs Offrce, the County used to have the inmates from the workhouse do that. Currently, there are not enough inmates in prison that are work ready to be a part ofthe trash pickup. David Smith then addressed that the litter cleanup crew from the workhouse are grant funded and must spend the predominant amount of time on the main thoroughfares and can only use a small percentage of their time on smalier side streets. The Street department does have crews to pick up trash and roadkill, as well as TDOT, but it is largely complaint based. The Street department has two to thlee crews that drive through the City looking for trash on the regular. Councilperson Re1.no1ds asked if they need to consider funding the Street department more in this next budget. Councilperson Garrett has recently spoken to the Street deparlment, and there is a iarger need for personnel to mitigate and address dminage issues rather than litter control. It is more a matter of directing a complaint to the Street department when an issue occurs. Councilperson Reynolds thanked Councilperson Garrett for this additional information. ADJOUR.I.IMENT: A motion to adjoum was made by Councilperson Reynolds, secooded by Councilperson fuchmond, and approved by all at 4:35 pm. Submitted by: Nicole Morris Clarksville Fire Rescue  PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE APRIL 21,2021 MINUTES The regular monthly meeting of the City of Clarksville Public Safety Committee was originally scheduled for Wednesday, April 2 I st, 202 I . However, that mceting was cancelled due to no deparhnent items being submitted for consideration by the comrnittee