Traffic Safety Committee Special Meeting

CITY OF LOS BANOS TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES February 23, 2017 ACTION MINUTES – These minutes are prepared to depict action taken for agenda items presented to the Traffic Safety Committee. CALL TO ORDER: Police Chief Brizzee called the Traffic Safety Committee Meeting to order at the hour of 2:01 p.m. ROLL CALL – MEMBERS OF THE TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMITTEE PRESENT: Tim Marrison, Fire Chief (Fire Department); Mark Fachin, Public Works Director/City Engineer (Public Works Department); Gary Brizzee, Police Chief (Police Department); Stacy Elms, Community & Economic Development Director (Community & Economic Development Department); Absent: Palmer McCoy (Planning Commission Representative). STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Assistant City Clerk/Human Resources Technician Sousa. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Motion by Fachin, seconded by Elms to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all committee members present; Absent: McCoy. PUBLIC FORUM: MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC MAY ADDRESS THE COMMITTEE ON ANY ITEM OF PUBLIC INTEREST THAT IS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE CITY; INCLUDES AGENDA AND NON-AGENDA ITEMS. NO ACTION WILL BE TAKEN ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS. SPEAKERS ARE LIMITED TO A FIVE (5) MINUTE PRESENTATION. No one came forward to speak and the public forum was closed. CONSIDERATION OF A SPEED CUSHION POLICY FOR THE CITY OF LOS BANOS AND RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF THE POLICY. Police Chief Brizzee presented some highlights in the proposed policy and discussed the procedures for requesting speed cushions on a street, stated the policy would not be in effect until the City Council officially adopts it and the committee would simply be recommending the policy for adoption. SALVADOR Riso, Los Banos, expressed concerns of vehicles racing on his street, stated that lately he’s witnessed Police Officers citing speeding vehicles in the area and that is great although at night the speeding is a real problem, wants to know what the City will do if the City Council does not approve this policy; COLLEEN CRAWFORD, Los Banos, stated she does not believe the date/time stamp process of approval with regards to when a petition is received is fair because if it weren’t for her bringing this issue up years ago and following through this wouldn’t have gone as far as it has. Police Chief Brizzee thanked the Traffic Safety Committee for their hard work on this policy. Public Works Director/City Engineer Fachin stated the City must allow all neighbors on each block the chance to approve the installation of speed cushions that will affect their street and that is the reason for requiring the petition, the speed surveys are important and there is a technical reason for the recommended percentages stated in the policy, the recommendation will be reviewed by the Traffic Safety Committee once the Public Works Department has gone through the proper procedures and found the request meets all of the requirements; Community & Economic Development Director Elms pointed out that page 8 of the policy states the Planning Director will transmit the notice of decision for an appeal and that it should be changed to the Traffic Safety Committee Secretary; Fire Chief Marrison spoke about the reasons for speed cushions versus speed bumps with one of them being that speed bumps can damage a safety vehicle, does not believe new subdivisions should be designed around speed cushions as there are other ways to calm traffic, how his thinking is different than the previous Fire Chief who did not want any speed bumps or cushions in neighborhoods, only asks that citizens follow the process and go through the proper requirements of the policy, asks that everyone be patient, he supports this process and the committee has put in a lot of time to do this right, there was much research conducted throughout the process. COLLEEN CRAWFORD, Los Banos, thanked everyone, if she seems upset or mad it’s just frustration, can’t tell the committee enough how much she appreciates them, hopes this becomes a reality and that it works; SALVADOR RISO, Los Banos, stated he would write a check right now for “double the fine” signs to be installed on his street, appreciates the committee’s work on this policy. Chief Brizzee stated that the City cannot double fines locally and spoke about how the City is limited by law on what it can charge for fines; MARRIAN SPADA, Los Banos, inquired as to how the speed cushions are applied to the road and if there is a certain weather season that is best to install the cushions. Public Works Director/City Engineer Fachin stated the temperature needs to be at least 60 degrees and as soon as the speed cushion is installed all of the signs must be up, the longest process will be having an outside company take a look at the area being requested for the installation of the speed cushion, being this is a first for our City we will need to take a look at how it goes. Spada stated she has lived in several different locations and this is the nicest run City she has ever been in. Motion by Elms, seconded by Marrison to approve a recommendation to the policy and change the recommendation on page 8 to change the Planning Director to the Traffic Safety Committee Secretary. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all committee members present; Absent: McCoy. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS. None. ADJOURNMENT. The meeting was adjourned at the hour of 2:55 p.m. APPROVED: / s / Gary Brizzee _______ ATTEST: Gary Brizzee, Chairman / s / Jana R. Sousa ______ Jana R. Sousa, Assistant City Clerk