City Council - Public Safety Committee

Public Safety Committee Meeting Meeting Minutes: May 18, 2020 Councilor Gomez called the meeting to order at 6:02. Zoom - Online Members Present: Chair Homar Gomez, Councilor Lindsey Rothschild and Councilor Salem Derby. Also in Attendance: Chief Alberti, Councilor Peake From ACLU: Javiar Luengo-Garrido, Emiliano Falcon-Morano, Bill Newman Approval of Minutes: No minutes to approve Public Speak Time: New Business: Continuing Business: ● Ban on Facial Recognition Surveillance Technology Ordinance Councilor Gomez stated that some changes were made to the ban and was sent out to the committee in advance of this meeting. He also sent to Chief Alberti for review and the Chief has no issues with the language. Councilor Derby and Councilor Rothschild both stated that they appreciated the clarification in the language and reference to the Easthampton ordinances. Chief Alberti re-iterated that he thought it was great that the revised language refers back to the Easthampton General Ordinances. Councilor Peake stated that he was glad the Councilor Derby sought clarification so that they could clean up the language in the ban. Javiar Luengo-Garrido expressed his appreciation to the Public Safety Committee, Councilor Peake and Gomez and Chief Alberti and hopes that this will help lead to a statewide ban. Councilor Gomez thanked the ACLU, Chief Alberti and to Councilor Derby and  Rothschild and Councilor Peake. Councilor Gomez is going to ask President Conniff if the City Solicitor should review the ban before moving to full council. A motion was made by Councilor Derby and seconded by Councilor Rothschild; it was unanimously voted to move the Ban on Facial Recognition Technology to the full Council. Councilor Gomez stated that public hearing is still TBD and will depend on the budget meetings. The public hearing will either be June 17th or July 1st. ● Pedestrian safety review/Resident speeding concerns Councilor Rothschild said that we should return to this issue. The recommendation was to create a committee to address pedestrian safety. Councilor Rothschild also stated that as regards to the detoured commercial traffic on Clark Street - Sergeant Scribbner has been very responsive to resident concerns. Councilor Derby stated that since the stay-at-home orders have started, a lot more people are walking and cars are becoming more lax with less cars on the road. Chief Alberti stated that he had an officer stop several commercial vehicles and educate the drivers about the speeding. With a new traffic grant, the EPD is going to focus on safety on Clark Street and Clapp and Fort Hill. Councilor Gomez is going to talk to President Conniff about setting up a pedestrian safety committee when they meet. ● Request to re-examine Main/South St. intersection Councilor Gomez would like to remove this agenda item without prejudice as the Council has sent a letter to the MASSDOT expressing concerns and recommendations. A motion was made by Councilor Rothschild and seconded by Councilor Derby; it was unanimously voted to remove the Request to re-examine Main/South St.  Intersection without prejudice from the agenda. ● Request to review on-street parking in the Traffic Rules & Orders Councilor Gomez stated that the parking signs around Easthampton are very inconsistent. A motion was made by Councilor Derby and seconded by Councilor Rothschild; it was unanimously voted that this meeting adjourn. Next regular meeting: June 2nd at 6pm. Respectfully Submitted, Councilor Lindsey Rothschild Clerk to the Public Safety Committee