Public Safety (Subcommittee of the City Council)

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES Wednesday January 8, 2014 Occum Fire Department 7:00 P.M. Committee Members Present Alderman Mark Bettencourt Alderwoman Sofee Noblick Committee Members Not Present Alderman Bill Nash Administration and Staff Present Alan H. Bergren, City Manager Chief Scandariato, Norwich Fire Department Chief Tim Jencks, Taftville Fire Department Chief Frank Blanchard, Yantic Fire Department Pat Daley, Norwich Police Captain./East Great Plain F.D. Chief Aaron Westervelt, Laurel Hill Fire Department Asst. Chief Tom Ladd, Taftville Fire Department Lieutenant Darrell Dunnum, Occum Fire Department Sergeant Peter B. Camp, Norwich Police Department Volunteer/Central Fire Departments and Others Chris LaRose, Norwich Public Utilities Ken Leo, Yantic Fire Department Joe Hebert, Norwich Fire Department Jerry Strange, Laurel Hill Fire Department Elizabeth Neigel, Occum Fire Department Karen Mankowski, Occum Fire Department Scott Stanley, Occum Fire Department Bob Lachapelle, Occum Fire Department Carroll J. Spaulding, Occum Fire Department I. Call to Order – Quorum Alderman Mark Bettencourt called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. It was determined a quorum is present. II. Approval of Minutes - Minutes of December 11, 2013. Upon a motion of Alderwoman Sofee Noblick, seconded by Alderman Mark Bettencourt, the December 11, 2013 minutes were unanimously approved. III. Correspondence – None IV. Citizen Comment – None V. Old Business – It is unanimously decided to move Item c on the agenda to New Business. a) Downtown Camera Project – Chris LaRose states the project is complete and working well. They also work well at night. They are low light cameras. The next step is hooking into PD. Public Safety Meeting Minutes January 8, 2014 Page 2 Alderwoman Sofee Noblick states the Community Policing Officers are very happy. Pat Daley states the quality is excellent. They are using them already and are very pleased. b) City Radio on Fiber Project – Chris LaRose states there are 2 network connections at Backus left to do. They should be completed on January 14th or 15th. Chief Blanchard asks about the audio to all stations. Chris LaRose replies they are working on that as well as toning from the EOC. c) Updated report on the Tone-Encoded to be installed at the EOC – Chris LaRose states it is in the works. d) Updated report on the narrow banding project – Chief Blanchard asks where we are budget wise. Alderman Mark Bettencourt asked City Manager Alan H. Bergren to send an updated email. e) Completion of the siren and traffic light controllers – City Manager Alan H. Bergren states he asked for an update. He has not yet received a reply. He will share the answer when he gets it. Pat Daley states there is a dead spot that needs another receiver. The Campbell Building at Uncas on the Thames is very tall. It’s higher than the Casino. City Manager Alan H. Bergren asks for the long term cost assessment. Pat Daley replies he is working on that. He needs to get pricing for a generator and it would need to be connected to the fiber network. City Manager Alan H. Bergren asks if the State might have fiber. Chris LaRose replies he will have Jeremiah look into it. Alderman Mark Bettencourt adds that they may need another switch at PD. VI. New Business a) Potential Ice Storm EOC Drill – Chris LaRose states that NPU plans to do a drill. Like the one they did 2 years ago. He would like to do this ice storm drill since it adds needed heat and shelter needs. They plan to do it late March or early April. Please send dates that absolutely don’t work so they can pick a good date. City Manager Alan H. Bergren states he will contact Barry at Public Works too. Chris LaRose adds that it would be best to hold it in between the two holidays. Public Safety Meeting Minutes January 8, 2014 Page 3 VII. Other – a. Alderwoman Sofee Noblick brings up the 9 Fountain Street house. The first responders have first crack at it. The RFP should be out soon. It is an incentive to first responders to move to Norwich. b. City Manager Alan H. Bergren states that Occum has requested money for some equipment. Bob LaChapelle states the Mayor will address it later. Their overhead door had a problem and the ceilings. The total was about $3,300. City Manager Alan H. Bergren asks them to send over the quotes. c. Chief Scandariato asks about his MuniCode change request. City Manager Alan H. Bergren states it has been sent over to Corp. Counsel Michael Driscoll. Alderman Mark Bettencourt states he will check with Michael Driscoll on this. d. Chris LaRose of NPU states they will be sending out letters inviting everyone to the Gas/Electrical safety training. They will work with their regular training schedules. e. Chris LaRose of NPU states the NE Gas Association is conducting a survey of residents, first responders, and public officials to see how effective our training is. There is a federal requirement to show that the training to all is effective. The results would be out in March or April. f. Pat Daley informed everyone that the Cliff Street neighborhood is having a Community meeting on February 5, 2014 at 6 pm at Otis Library. They hope to get a dialogue going. VIII. Adjournment Upon a motion by Alderwoman Sofee Noblick, seconded by Alderman Mark Bettencourt, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 7:23 pm Respectfully submitted by Christine Averna