Public Safety Committee

Public Safety Committee Meeting Agenda Tuesday, September 16, 2025 at 2:00 PM Council Chambers Page 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. ROLL CALL 3. ADOPTION OF AGENDA 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. Public Safety Committee - 15 Jul 2025 - Minutes 2-3 5. NEW BUSINESS a. Therapy / Facility dog 4 Facility Dog b. Cats at Large 5 Cats at Large c. Lexipol Field Training Module 6 Lexipol - FTO d. Lexipol Policy Updates 7 Policy Updates 6. COMMUNICATION AND MISCELLANEOUS 7. ADJOURNMENT  Public Safety Committee Meeting Minutes 2:00 PM - Tuesday, July 15, 2025 Council Chambers The Public Safety Committee of the City of New Richmond was called to order on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, at 2:00 PM, in the Council Chambers, with the following members present: PRESENT: Ron Volkert, Thomas Weinmeyer, Bill O'Connell, Greg Gartner ABSENT: Shawn Demulling OTHERS Craig Yehlik, Sarah Reese, Bailey Mitchell PRESENT: CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL ADOPTION OF AGENDA Greg Gartner made a motion to adopt the agenda as presented. Bill O'Connell seconded the motion. Carried unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Bill O'Connell made a motion to approve the minutes from the May 20, 2025 meeting. Greg Gartner seconded the motion. Carried unanimously. NEW BUSINESS WELLNESS POLICY Sergeant Jarred McLain presented the first reading of Policy 1025 – Officer Wellness. As the department’s current Peer Support Coordinator, he provided committee members with a draft of the policy. McLain highlighted several key components, including the combination of peer support, physical wellness, and emotional wellness — all contributing to a holistic approach to officer well- being. No action was required at this time. The policy will be brought back to the committee for action at a future meeting. PLAY VEHICLES ORDINANCE School Resource Officer Anderson presented a PowerPoint to the committee outlining the city’s current play vehicle ordinance, which is 31 years old. He provided examples of play vehicles, shared relevant state statutes, and discussed trends other communities are seeing in relation to play vehicles Public Safety Committee Meeting July 15, 2025 and their ordinances. He emphasized the distinction between what is and isn’t considered a “play vehicle” under both the City of New Richmond’s ordinance and state law, noting that many communities are shifting their focus toward how the vehicle is used rather than what type of vehicle it is. Bill O'Connell made a motion to revise the current play vehicle ordinance and bring it back to the committee. If changes are recommended by the Public Safety Committee, the updated ordinance will be presented to the full council for consideration. Greg Gartner seconded the motion. Carried unanimously. THERAPY / FACILITY DOG Chief Craig Yehlik provided an update on the department’s progress regarding a therapy/facility dog. He and Deputy Chief Koehler are still exploring options and details before bringing a proposal back to the committee. No action was required at this time. COMMUNICATION AND MISCELLANEOUS Chief Yehlik reported that Funfest appeared to be a success. He presented the committee with department statistics comparing the Fourth of July weekend to Funfest weekend, including arrests, OWIs, and calls for service. He also shared that K9 Officer Behnke and K9 Koda successfully completed the USPCA Region 18 K9 Trials. Koda was named the 2025 Rookie Dog and earned 1st place for Top Regional Team, alongside Officer Behnke and three K9 handlers and their K9s from the Saint Paul Police Department. The committee also discussed handicap parking during Funfest, and received updates regarding the progress of the new library. ADJOURNMENT Bill O'Connell made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 3:12 pm. Greg Gartner seconded the motion. Carried unanimously. Public Safety Committee Meeting July 15, 2025  156 East First Street New Richmond, WI 54017 Ph 715-246-4268 Fax 715-246-7129 www.newrichmondwi.gov MEMORANDUM TO: Public Safety Committee FROM: Veronica Koehler, Deputy Chief DATE: 09/17/2025 SUBJECT: Therapy/facility dog Background Deputy Chief Koehler and Sergeants Lubow and McLain visited the Crystal Minnesota Police Department to meet with members of their staff, their facility dog Moe, and the trainer from Project Delta. During the visit, they gathered information regarding associated costs, necessary equipment, and obtained a copy of the department’s contract for reference. Staff recommendation Looking for recommendation to present this at the Council Meeting on September 22nd.  156 East First Street New Richmond, WI 54017 Ph 715-246-4268 Fax 715-246-7129 www.newrichmondwi.gov MEMORANDUM TO: Public Safety Committee FROM: Craig Yehlik, Chief of Police DATE: September 16, 2025 SUBJECT: Cats at large Background The New Richmond Police Department has been taking more complaints of cats at large type complaints. Currently the city does not have any ordinance against this type of behavior. Other agencies such as Hudson and River Falls have cat ordinances. This comes up from time to time and I wanted to put this in front of the Public Safety Committee to see if there was any inclination to update our ordinance to discourage allowing cats to run at large within the city. Staff recommendation Have discussion and provide guidance either way. Options could be to leave it as is, recommend changes to the ordinance, research further what other municipalities are doing.  156 East First Street New Richmond, WI 54017 Ph 715-246-4268 Fax 715-246-7129 www.newrichmondwi.gov MEMORANDUM TO: Public Safety Committee FROM: Craig Yehlik, Chief of Police DATE: September 16, 2025 SUBJECT: Lexipol Field training module Background The New Richmond Police Department has been a leader in field training our officers for many years. We have an extensive 15-week program in which our officers ride with officers and observe, transition to officer in command but have a field training officer with them providing assistance, monitoring etc. and then the officer moves into shadow phase where the FTO is in plain clothes and only intervenes under extreme circumstances. The Officer in training transitions through each shift and may have three or more different Field training officers. We currently track everything on paper and must have in person meeting with FTO’s to stay appraised on how the trainee is doing, if there are issues to be mindful of and what experiences and/or training the trainee participates in. Our current policy provider now offers a module that tracks, documents and makes sure all necessary policy and training required are met and makes an efficient use of training documentation and a portal for the FTO’s to use to see exactly how the officer is progressing and can address red flag areas or holes in the training. This would be an add to our current costs with Lexipol but would be a time saver, better documentation and a potential liability reduction for failure to train if an officer were not to make probation or be terminated. Staff recommendation Explore costs associated with implementing this program with Lexipol and attempt to absorb the costs in the 2025/2026 budget. We would anticipate using this program with our officer that is coming out of the recruit academy later this fall.  156 East First Street New Richmond, WI 54017 Ph 715-246-4268 Fax 715-246-7129 www.newrichmondwi.gov MEMORANDUM TO: Public Safety Committee FROM: Craig Yehlik, Chief of Police DATE: September 16, 2025 SUBJECT: Policy updates Background Chief Yehlik will present Lexipol Policy updates as we have done at previous public safety meetings. Staff recommendation Review recommended policy updates.