Public Safety (Subcommittee of the City Council)

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES - DRAFT Wednesday September 14, 2011 Taftville Volunteer Fire Department 7:00 P.M. Committee Members Present Alderman William Nash Alderman H Tucker Braddock Jr Committee Members Not Present Alderwoman Jackie Caron Administration and Staff Present Alan H. Bergren, City Manager Patrick Daley, Norwich Police Lieutenant / East Great Plains Fire Department Gene Arters, Director, Emergency Management Chief Frank Blanchard, Yantic Fire Department Ken Scandariato, Fire Chief Chief Tim Jencks, Taftville Vol. Fire Department Chief Aaron Westervelt, Laurel Hill Fire Dept. Ken Gauvin, Assistant Chief Engineer, Occum Fire Department Volunteer/Central Fire Departments and Others Ron Stoltz, Yantic Fire Department Rob Ladd, Yantic Fire Department Dan Auger, Taftville Fire Department Brian Hubbard, Taftville Fire Department Roland Lambert, Occum Fire Department I. Call to Order – Quorum Alderman William Nash called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm. It was determined a quorum was present. II. Approval of Minutes a. Minutes of June 8, 2011. Several name corrections were made to the minutes. Alderman H Tucker Braddock motioned to approve the minutes of June 8, 2011 as corrected. Alderman William Nash seconded the motion. All in favor the motion passed. III. Correspondence. Alderman William Nash asks if there is any correspondence to be brought to the committee. There is none. IV. Citizen Comment Alderman William Nash asks if there are any citizens who wish to make any comments before the committee. Ron Stolz informs the committee that the rail road crossing at Sunnyside and Yantic is almost done. Public Safety Meeting September 14, 2011 Page 2 V. New Business Chief Blanchard – In the past letters have been sent to District II D.O.T about the limited access highway turn around. Would it be possible to send a letter to them with the City Manager’s signature or the Public Safety Committee’s signature for installation of an OPTICON system at the Washington / Route 2 intersection (in front of Backus Hospital). Opticon’s are a system that alerts the signal light to the approach of emergency vehicles and changes the light to clear the traffic for their safe passage through the intersection. Chief Blanchard is hoping this can be incorporated into the signal modernization that will probably be scheduled in the near future. That is an old signal and will probably need to be updated soon. City Manager Alan Bergren will send out that request letter to DOT. He will update the committee at the next meeting. Chief Scandariato would like the committee to investigate whether the City can get a plumbing, alarm, and electrical contractors on retainer for the maintenance of occupied properties that seem to have been abandoned by their owner. There is an owner in default on their taxes for 22 properties and safety and surety maintenance does not appear to be being done. Chief Scandariato believes the City should have several companies on retainer to ensure the safety of occupied properties that are in this type of predicament. Thus far no contact attempts have been successful. Maintaining the fire safety equipment is mandatory in Norwich for city code compliance. It would address fire protection and public safety issues. They also need key holders to these properties for entry in cases of emergency or needed repairs. City Manager Alan Bergren states that Corporation Counsel should be involved. He will transmit this request and information to Corp Counsel and the City Council and report back at the next meeting. VI. Old Business a. Alderman William Nash lets the committee know that he has sent the letter about the limited access turn around about a year ago and that Linda Orange has received the letter. He has yet to hear back yet. b. An update from City Manager Alan Bergren on whether NPU can be utilized to expedite the Fiber Optic change-over. City Manager Alan Bergren states that Leon has all the equipment to interface and scheduling is the only constraint. They are getting back on schedule since Hurricane Irene. c. Chief Jencks lets the committee know that their boat has been replaced. Public Safety Meeting September 14, 2011 Page 3 d. Alderman Nash asks about the goals and accomplishments of the dive team. Chief Jencks states that they had a 5 year plan to have a core group. They are ahead of schedule and continuing to expand. VII. Other Business Alderman Nash asks if there is any other business to be brought before the committee. Chief lets the committee and gallery know that there is a Fore Co Annual Picnic on Sunday from 12 to 5 in Taftville. VIII. Adjournment Alderman H Tucker Braddock Motions to adjourn at 7:18 pm. Alderman William Nash seconds that motion. All in favor, the motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned. Respectfully Submitted By Christine Averna