City Council Committee Agendas

Public Safety Meeting August 1, 2018 Councilmember Hulst called the Public Safety Committee to order at 6:00 pm, and the minutes were approved by Council. Fireworks Overview: Fire Chief Brice reviewed the fire impact on the 4th of July week. This year was a quiet year, with only two bark fires. Councilmember Hulst asked the Chief about the ability for the Fire Department to help enforce the use of legal fireworks in the City. Chief Brice deferred the question to Chief Dodd, as this is a policing issue. Parks and Enrichment Director, Bill King, recapped the Fabulous 4th of July. Overall great event. The show was bigger this year, due to the increase in budget. Councilmember Mary provided great citizen feedback on the quality of the fireworks show. Chief Dodd recapped the pre-to-post 4th of July event for the Police Department. Overall total calls were down approximately 14% over last year. Additional staffing hours were also decreased in 2018 due to decreased staffing. Park Ranger Update Performance Appraisal and Job Description are complete. Still working with Kevin Rogerson on outlining the authority of the Park Ranger. The written test will be handled through Public Safety Testing.com Information session will be coming soon. The plan is for December 1st hiring date. EMS integration to Fire-Based EMS Services Chief Brice recapped the current EMS structure for Skagit County and Mount Vernon. A high level overview of the future plans for the EMS and how Mount Vernon will play a part into the new EMS system. Chief Brice and the Council discussed the value in hiring paramedics verses of EMTs. The two paramedic units provide a greater depth of resources and knowledge to the community, and increased ability to split down units when there is a great need in the region. Additional positions needed in the provide depth in addition to paramedics. Billing, Assistant Fire Chief and Quality Assurance / Training position. Council member Questions: ● Any anticipation of labor issues with the local? BC Harris assured Council that he doesn’t seen any current issues with our local union. ● Inheriting the equipment. The contract that built Central Valley also discusses how to disassemble the entity and the equipment would go to the agencies taking over the business.  ● Are we talking about BLS at all? Yes, it’s just not in the forefront of the current discussion. Good of the Order: ● Kevin Rogerson and the Mayor would like to have the Mayor and Council to draft a joint letter to the Director of Development Services to conduct a legal review of the school’s impact fees as they impact the new elementary school. ○ Mayor to contact Carl Brunner to have a joint school board - City Council meeting to address questions by the Development Committee. ○ Mayor handed out information on the method to the land development that the new school sits on. ● Adjourn at 7:40