City Council Committee Agendas

PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING SEPTEMBER 5, 2018 PRESENT  Mayor Jill Boudreau  Council Members o Richard Brocksmith o Iris Carias o Mary Hudson o Mark Hulst o Joe Lindquist o Gary Molenaar  Police Chief Jerry Dodd  Project Development Manager Peter Donovan  Fire Chief Bryan Brice  Library Director Isaac Hoffman  City Attorney Kevin Rogerson  Parks Director Bill King The Public Safety Committee Meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM by Council Member Mark Hulst. Due to computer problems, Council Member Hulst will forego approval of the last Public Safety Committee Meeting minutes. OUTREACH COORDINATOR ERIN VON FEMPE OC von Fempe discussed mental health care changes occurring at the State level and the effects they are having/will have on our homeless population and others. State abdicated all control to private care agencies. Erin shared stories of three nameless individuals with whom she has been working. o Lack of State funding and not enough staff, programs, and supervised housing for individuals with mental health issues contribute to the homeless population. POLICE CHIEF JERRY DODD Discussed Downtown Riverwalk emphasis; a concerted team effort among the downtown merchants, Friendship House, various City departments, and all divisions of MVPD, including our volunteers. o High visibility in the downtown zone has had a huge impact  There have been a lot of positive contacts, communications, and comments  Police calls have decreased o Will continue through September and then reevaluate o Crime Prevention meets with Friendship House every other week to keep updated on current issues PD budget is built over a one year process and the numbers presented truly represent what is needed for PD to run programs and protect the citizens and City of Mount Vernon o PD Strategic plan shows trends of what we are as an organization and what we’ll look like in the future and is on our website o Staffing continues to be a challenge and we’re continuing with our hiring process PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 5, 2018 PAGE 1 OF 3 Hired private security for Mount Vernon Municipal Court who will work four hours every Tuesday. Also added alarms and cameras. CITY ATTORNEY KEVIN ROGERSON o City Attorney Rogerson has worked with the Mayor, City Parks Director, and Police Department to come up with rules to adhere to to make our parks enjoyable for visitors. o Provided Mayor and Council with draft policy then discussed, explained, and answered questions regarding the proposed ordinance to adopt Parks Code o This will be address again on 09/19/18 FIRE CHIEF BRYAN BRICE Chief Brice provided an EMS update regarding various meetings, and the groups who have looked at capital and assets, scope of work, response zones, legal issues, and finances. o Assets have been decided on and divided up o Issues being worked on with 911 center and are close to finalization o Hanging chad is financial piece  Chief will work with Financial Director and Mayor on these one-time costs  Council needs to be aware we may have to put nose to grindstone come budget time o Trying to do collective hiring process so applicant pools aren’t submitting four different resumes, applications, etc.  Hope to have everyone settled in by first part of December Fire Station One Update o RFQ done and got requests for proposals from several entities o Will look at current and future needs of two other fire stations o Time line will be completed prior to date we have to file for bond MAYOR JILL BOUDREAU Library Project Update o Working toward broad goals and discussed with Skagit County o Conceptual costs – will put hard copies in electronic folders o Provided document showing final concept o Revenue scenario is same as Council has seen prior o Had conference call about making request for Governor’s budget o Would like expert project manager to come on board, assess, and evaluate o Showed quick video on alternative delivery (OAC) o Would like to get consultant to help us do this evaluation allowing us to make a good informed decision in January o County has offered to pay half of cost o Mayor will put something out tomorrow or Friday  Discussion on how to approach requests of people to approach Council. o Out of respect for City business and staff, Council Meetings need to be kept to Council/City business PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 5, 2018 PAGE 2 OF 3  o Once request is received, will get Council consensus prior to putting on agenda  Mayor to attend meeting for Women Mayors in Washington DC o Will leave 09/19/18 and return 09/02/18 o Fly back 09/20 day after conference Meeting adjourned at 8:10 PM. PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 5, 2018 PAGE 3 OF 3