Public Safety (Subcommittee of the City Council)

Public Safety Committee Meeting Central Fire Station October 14, 2009 Minutes Committee Members Present Alderman Mark Bettencourt Alderman William Nash Alderman Jonathan Jacaruso Administration and Staff Present Alan H. Bergren, City Manager Timothy Menard, Police Captain Gene Arters, Emergency Management Director Ken Scandariato, Fire Chief Volunteer/Central Fire Departments and Others Chief Patrick Daley, East Great Plains Fire Department Chief Tim Jencks, Taftville Vol. Fire Department Assistant Chief Tom Jencks, Taftville Vol. Fire Department Roland Lambert, Occum Fire Department Chief Frank Blanchard, Yantic Fire Department Ron Stolz, Yantic Fire Department Daniel Auger, Taftville Fire Department Ray O’Connell, Yantic Fire Department Sylvia Laudette, 23 Burton Avenue, Norwich Michael T Pierce, 19 Burton Avenue, Norwich Linda A Maury, 20 Burton Avenue, Norwich Kathleen Murphy I. Call to Order – Quorum Alderman Mark Bettencourt called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. It was determined a quorum is present. II. Approval of Minutes Alderman William Nash motions to approve the September 9, 2009 Public Safety Meeting Minutes. Motion was seconded by Alderman Mark Bettencourt. All in favor, the motion passed unanimously. III. Correspondence Alderman William Nash motions to accept into the minutes the 6 pages of email correspondence from Sylvia Laudette. There are 2 photographs of Burton Avenue attached to the email correspondence. The motion is seconded by Alderman Jon Jacaruso. All in favor the motion passes unanimously. Public Safety Committee Meeting October 14, 2009 Page 2 IV. Citizen Comment a. Sylvia Laudette addresses the committee regarding traffic on Burton Avenue. There are three people on that street. There is an abundance of traffic. Her lawn is used as a “run- off” by people who take the turn too fast to stay on the road. Linda Maury says that people walking or on power scooters are at risk on Burton Avenue. There are also drug deals that go on there because the road is just long enough for them to drive in, make an exchange, and drive out without being caught. V. Old Business a. Route 97 condos Taftville (Safety & Security) (update) The condos are boarded up better and there have been no more problems. The Bank is actively caring for the property. b. Ordinance limiting certain sex offender residences (further discussion) Corporate counsel is helping to perhaps formulate a proposal. Enforcement issues will happen either way. The Committee is sympathetic and is continuing to try to find options. c. Lower Blissville Road, large vehicle traffic issues Chief Jencks cant recall the road being posted. Due to the road angle, can it be restricted to no right turn? Alderman Mark Bettencourt – trying to limit truck traffic. He will look into this and get back to us. d. Radio Issues – Status Update Alderman Mark Bettencourt asks the status of repairs and testing. Chief Scandariato says that as of last communiqué the techs have come in. The equipment was running right in the rain. It turns out that the 3350 frequency is interfering with the pager system. The phone lines are interfering too. All lo band equipment was checked and it is all operating within parameters. Even though all the equipment is operating correctly there are still problems and interferences making communications difficult. He states that going with fiber optics would make this problem go mostly away. Chief Blanchard concurs with Chief Scandariato. He believes that we need to get off the leased AT&T phone lines. Alan Bergren is going to contact finance and find out how much is paid for the AT&T phone lines. Chief Blanchard believes it is $30,000 per site to change everything. Chief Scandariato believes it would still lead to savings in the long run. Alderman Mark Bettencourt will look into the long term savings versus costs. Public Safety Committee Meeting October 14, 2009 Page 3  Alderman William Nash asks if there are any Homeland Security Grants available. Chief Scandariato says no. City Manager Alan Bergren will check the lease costs and payback rates. Chief Blanchard states that they’ve already cut back a lot. When they go fiber optic they should keep some of the leased lines as backup until they are sure the new system is fully functioning. Alderman Mark Bettencourt asks the City Manager to work with the Chiefs and Finance department and get back to the committee. VI. New Business a. Burton Avenue, cut-off traffic issues. A discussion regarding safety issues on Burton Avenue. Alderman Mark Bettencourt took some photographs of traffic on and around Burton Avenue. He noted that when the light at the intersection of Smith and Hamilton Avenues turns red, traffic jumps onto Burton Avenue to cut across and avoid the light. There has been a traffic panel completed and those findings are submitted to the committee and are entered into the minutes. Captain Menard notes that this is 300’ of road being used as a cut-through. Some options are sidewalks, guardrails, boulders. The problem is that it is tough to make it a one way when there are many streets in town that have similar issues. Jones Court had over 1200 cars daily and now that it’s closed it is down to 200 cars daily. There are 30 houses on Jones Ct and that accounts for almost all the traffic now. Alderman Jon Jacaruso agrees that it is tough to make these requests when several roads in town are similar. Who has the authority? Chief Fusaro? Chief Fusaro believes it is probably Planning and Public Works. Alderman William Nash reminds the committee that it has been done for roads like Sylvia Lane and Jones Court, so perhaps the precedent has already been set. Alderman Jon Jacaruso asks about costs. Alderman Mark Bettencourt asks about problems with vehicle access – for example fire trucks and snow plows. Mr. Pierce states he understands money is tight. It won’t cost much for a fence. Alderman Mark Bettencourt asks what the turning radius of an engine is. Public Safety Committee Meeting October 14, 2009 Page 4 Chief Fusaro reminds the committee that every road can be a hazard. A discussion about safety for walking or parking on Burton Avenue ensued. Alderman Jon Jacaruso asks the residents present have heard of the City Sidewalk Program. Perhaps sidewalks would help. Alderman William Nash agrees. Perhaps that would narrow the street and deter drivers. Chief Fusaro believes boulders would be helpful. Alderman William Nash asks if No Left Turn towards Hamilton is a possibility. Chief Fusaro says that a No Left Turn option can be used just to eliminate traffic. Mr. Pierce asks if speed bumps are an option. Alderman Jon Jacaruso says they can be done but they are too costly – they create many law suits. He asks if there are any other issues besides turning. Maybe painting lines would act as a psychological barrier. How much would it cost? Perhaps it is a starting point. Alderman Mark Bettencourt wants to approach Public Works about costs for lines, boulders, and other options. Alderman Jon Jacaruso will pass this all on to the Chief. Alderman Mark Bettencourt will get an options list from Public Works. His biggest concern is Emergency Vehicles and plows. He asks the Captain to look into the minimum requirements of space for those vehicles. Alderman Mark Bettencourt motions to recommend to the Chief and City Manager to get costs of closing the road. Alderman William Nash seconds the motion. All in favor the motion passes unanimously. VII. Other. Alderman Jon Jacaruso lets the group know that this may be his last meeting. He thanks all and respects what they all do to protect the public. Alderman Mark Bettencourt expects to be at next meeting but takes a moment to express what a privilege it has been to chair this committee. He thanks all the career and volunteer workers – police, fire, and ambulance. They are some of the most dedicated people in public service and expresses his appreciation to each end every one of them. He is proud to have had an association with them all. Alderman William Nash thanks everyone for listening to the committee and for doing what they do to protect the public. Good job everyone. Alderman Jon Jacaruso takes this moment to mention a Hospice and TVCCA benefit being held on November 19th from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Mohegan Sun. The cost is $25. All proceeds to be split 50/50. It’s a night to thank Ben Lathrop for his years of service to the City of Norwich. Tickets can be purchased at the Chamber of Commerce at 112 Main Street in Downtown Norwich. VIII. Adjournment Alderman William Nash motions to adjourn at 7:53 p.m. Alderman Mark Bettencourt seconds the motion and it passes unanimously. Meeting adjourned.