Public Safety (Subcommittee of the City Council)

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES Wednesday May 14, 2014 Council Chambers, Norwich City Hall 7:00 P.M. Committee Members Present Alderman Mark Bettencourt Alderwoman Sofee Noblick Alderman Bill Nash Administration and Staff Present Alan H. Bergren, City Manager Chief Scandariato, Norwich Fire Department Gene Arters, Director OEM Deputy Chief Tom Jencks, Taftville Fire Department Pat Daley, Norwich Police Captain./East Great Plain F.D. Chief Aaron Westervelt, Laurel Hill Fire Department Chief Frank Blanchard, Yantic Fire Department Chief Louis Fusaro, Norwich Police Department Chris Ferace, Norwich Police Department Volunteer/Central Fire Departments and Others Chris LaRose, Norwich Public Utilities Ken Leo, Yantic Fire Department Mark Greczkowski, American Ambulance Raymond Henry, Yantic Fire Department Ron Stolz, Yantic Fire Department Roger Sylvestre, Yantic Fire Department Daniel Auger, Taftville Fire Department Brandon Rafuse, Taftville Fire Department Justin Harley, Taftville Fire Department Brian Curtin, City Treasurer David Eggleston, Chairman, Police Station Committee Karen Neeley, Asst. Chair, Police Station Committee David Winkler, Police Station Committee Keith Ripley, Police Station Committee William Sweeney, TCORS, 43 Broad St, New London Gary Schnip, G Schnip Construction Dolores Thayer, Thayer Marine Rich Thayer, Thayer Marine Jeff McElravey, Tecton Architects Henry Resnikoff, RFP Inc Scott Pellman, BL Companies Pierce Connair, Realton H. Tucker Braddock, citizen Kathleen Murphy, citizen Virginia E. Valace, citizen I. Call to Order – Quorum Alderman William Nash called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. It was determined a quorum is present. Public Safety Meeting Minutes May 14, 2014 Page 2 II. Approval of Minutes - Minutes of February 12, 2014. Upon a motion of Alderwoman Sofee Noblick, seconded by Alderman Mark Bettencourt, the February 12, 2014 minutes were unanimously approved. III. Correspondence – a. ISO report – Upon a motion of Alderman Mark Bettencourt, seconded by Alderwoman Sofee Noblick, it was unanimously voted to accept the ISO Report Correspondence. b. Budget Hearing Schedule – Upon a motion of Alderwoman Sofee Noblick, seconded by Alderman Mark Bettencourt, it was unanimously voted to accept the Budget Hearing Schedule correspondence. c. Resolution adopted May 5, 2014 referring Police Station Project to P.S. for comment – Upon a motion of Alderwoman Sofee Noblick, seconded by Alderman Mark Bettencourt, it was unanimously voted to accept the Police Station Project Committee Final Report Correspondence d. Police Station Committee Invitation Letters – Upon a motion of Alderman Mark Bettencourt, seconded by Alderwoman Sofee Noblick, it was unanimously voted to accept the copies of the invitation letter to the Police Station Committee and letters to 2 others who wish to speak on this issue as correspondence. IV. Citizen Comment – Kathleen Murphy, Boswell Avenue, Norwich, spoke in favor of the need to relocate the Police Department. She thanked the Police Station Committee members for their work on this and complimented them on the job they did. She appreciated the work they did as they were all volunteers. She expressed that she was upset that it seems the agenda is not attentive to their research. That is unacceptable. Their work should be taken and used. V. Old Business – a) City Radio on Fiber Chris LaRose, NPU, states the project is complete and working well. He has not heard any complaints but has received a lot of positive feedback. VI. New Business a. ISO report discussion Chief Scandariato stated that he reviewed the report. Not much has changed in our classification. He does feel that the Chiefs and Dispatchers should get together and go over this to regroup the organization and training and dispatch. The dispatchers themselves ranked high but the system needs to be reworked. If we prioritize for policies we can modify and repair/improve for the next ISO report. Public Safety Meeting Minutes May 14, 2014 Page 3 Alderman Bill Nash asks if the Committee needs to do anything to facilitate this meeting. Chief Scandariato stated that they will be able to work together on this and do it well. This is an opportunity for overall improvement and that is something they can get together on. b. Table Top Review (April 1, 2014) Chris LaRose, NPU, stated they had a Table Top drill on April 1, 2014 that simulated an ice storm. They brought together all agencies. He reviewed the after action report and was able to hi-lite actions that need to be worked on. It was a great success. Communication and cooperation was great. There is a need for training on the ICS. We need to get together to discuss the After Action Report but it was very successful. c. Invitation to present before the Committee on Police Station (Presenters are limited to 15 minutes) • Police Station Committee Dave Eggleston, Police Station Committee Chair, explained the processes they used to review all the sites which had been considered for the expansion of or relocation of the Norwich police station and identify and consider other sites which it may find to be suitable to the purpose and to rank sites based on their suitability to meet the needs and mission of the police department in order of preference and to report the same to the Norwich City Council. He explained that the concept requires technical advice. The space needs square footage may need to be altered slightly but that their numbers were arrived at with conscious thought and evaluation. They created a tool that took the functions of the Police Department into consideration. An Architect will take their needs and make spaces for them. Certain functions must be arranged properly which give a building footprint. As to site size, the police has employees, visitors, and lowest reasonable cost is to build using a flat parking lot. We believe we saved money that way but that requires a larger property size. We made a point of avoiding flood plains and flood ways which took many sites out of the running. We are at your service. We welcome the opportunity to continue assisting with this project. Alderman Mark Bettencourt thanked the committee and acknowledged it was better committee work he has seen. He doesn’t fully agree and would have preferred they rated smaller sites anyway. That is the only criticism he has. He agrees they have given a very good tool to work with and expressed his appreciation for their work and effort. Alderman William Nash also thanked the committee for their work. Public Safety Meeting Minutes May 14, 2014 Page 4 • Thayer Marine Gary Schnip of G Schnip Construction had a handout for North Thames and Forest Streets and explained that some facts have changed. Gary Schnip discussed the handout. He explained some of the positive reasons for using this site and that the flood plain issue can be worked around. He then handed the floor over to Bill Sweeney. Bill Sweeney discussed his resume and commended the volunteers on the Police Station Committee. He explained that flood plains require smart developers and engineers and sound flood plain planning. He felt that the criteria of size as well as flood plains could be overcome with good engineering. It shouldn’t be a bar, just an obstacle. You can elevate above the flood plain so that it runs underneath. We can come up with a creative way to develop this type of property. For these reasons they should take that tool and re-evaluate. It deserves a second look. Alderman Mark Bettencourt asked if access would be affected by flooding. Gary Schnip answered that all access points are out of the flood plain. The flood plain is at elevation 15 and the parking would be at 17. This project would be funded with public and private funding. • Resnikoff Henry Resnikoff discussed several other jobs his company has performed. He handed the floor over to Jeffery McElravy Tekton Architects and Scott Mitchell. They discussed the former YMCA. They discussed how it is a small site but a good engineer and architect can encompass everything the Police Department wants and needs. The site can be flexible enough to accommodate a 20,000 square foot footprint. Jeff McElravy gave his resume and added that the new Police Department needs to be part of the community. Scott Kowen spoke about his resume and that they would be doing site design and engineering. They would do all but site studies. The site is achievable and how they have brought value to communities. They explained that the project would be totally privately financed. It is privately owned and the City would pay a long term lease with the option to purchase in the future. It is centrally located and it would be turn-key. They are still unsure about the firing range though. They feel that it would stabilize downtown and bring more people to the Downtown. Chelsea Groton Bank currently owns and controls the property. Alderman Mark Bettencourt asked if the footprint included the City owned space in front. Public Safety Meeting Minutes May 14, 2014 Page 5 It was explained that it was not necessary. It was offered to them for $1. Alderman Mark Bettencourt added that he will want to read the information that was handed out and will have questions. Alderman William Nash asked about the property being in the flood zone. They replied that it is partway in the flood zone. They can design around it. That was a consideration. Alderman Mark Bettencourt asked how deep the pilings would have to be. They replied that it would depend on exactly what they put there. VII. Other – a. Chief Scandariato brings up the Communications structure. 3 years ago NPU put a temporary A/C but both sites need professional engineering and cooling systems. These structures are necessary for public safety. He believes NPU can evaluate and come up with a solution. The generators are becoming problematic. He also believes all controls and maintenance should be handed over to NPU. They are the ones that do the work and repairs so it would make sense that they be the ones that are in charge of maintaining them. Alderman Mark Bettencourt asked where the alarms ring. Chief Scandariato replied that if the alarms are functioning they go off at the peace office. They then contact the fire department who then calls NPU. We need to renovate and make it more efficient. It will probably be around $3000. Alderman Mark Bettencourt asked if there are high temp alarms. Chief Scandariato replied that no, they have A/C controls that are fan generated (like an attic fan). There is no air conditioning. NPU stated it would be around $3000. We need to work on this before the hot weather hits. We’ve had a battery blow up in the past and we can’t afford to have that happen again. Alderman William Nash asks if NPU can do the study at no cost? Chief Scandariato believes they can. Alderman Mark Bettencourt motions to ask City Manager Alan Bergren to look into allocating funds to deal with this issue. The motion was seconded by Alderwoman Sofee Noblick and passed unanimously. City Manager Alan Bergren stated he would have a reply before the next meeting. Public Safety Meeting Minutes May 14, 2014 Page 6 b. Alderman Mark Bettencourt wanted to discuss the Police Station issue. He wants to look at the criteria and apply it to new sites and circumstances. He also mentions that more information is needed on the YMCA site. Alderwoman Sofee Noblick adds that the next step is financing and costs. Alderman Mark Bettencourt believes the Thayer information was in the $19 million range. Alderman William Nash adds that they do need to know these things better. Alderman Mark Bettencourt adds that they also need to get the Council involved. The committee didn’t evaluate the financing in firm numbers. The flat parking lot did cut costs down. Then there’s the fact that private builders can do work with les rigid criteria than a City or Municipality. Alderman William Nash mentions that the Police Station Committee had a site. Do we invite them into this? City Manager Alan Bergren replied that if they look at the proposals it requires executive session. Alderman William Nash asked if they (the Public Safety Committee) can charge the original Police Department Committee to re-evaluate with them. City Manager Alan Bergren replied that the City Council can. Alderman William Nash motioned to have the Public Safety Committee recommend to the City Council that they have the Police Station Committee do the evaluation. Alderman Mark Bettencourt seconded and the motion passed unanimously. VIII. Adjournment Upon a motion by Alderwoman Sofee Noblick, seconded by Alderman William Nash, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 8:02 pm Respectfully submitted by Christine Averna THIS IS TO CERTIFY that the following is a true and attested copy of a resolution adopted by the Council of the City of Norwich at a meeting held on May 5, 2014, and that the same has not been amended or rescinded: WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Norwich, at its meeting held on April 7, 2014, received the final report of the Police Station Committee; and WHEREAS, said report contains the Committee’s evaluation of multiple properties located within the City of Norwich as potential sites for a police station; and WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Norwich wishes to conduct a thorough review of the report and to include staff of the city in the evaluation; and WHEREAS, since receipt of the report one or more additional proposed sites have been brought to the attention of the Council of the City of Norwich; and WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Norwich finds that the Public Safety Committee of the Council of the City of Norwich, with appropriate assistance, should make the first review and evaluation of the report of the Police Station Committee for the Council of the City of Norwich NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH, that the Public Safety Committee of the Council of the City of Norwich be assigned to review and evaluate the report of the Police Station Committee and such other proposals or issues relative to the same deemed to be appropriate by the Public Safety Committee, such review to include, as the Public Safety Committee may deem necessary and appropriate; 1) An invitation to the Chair of the Police Station Committee to address the Public Safety Committee with respect to the report; 2) To request that City Manager Bergren provide such assistance to the Public Safety Committee in evaluating the report and any proposals made therein, or to be made, by making available to the Public Safety Committee, the police chief, the comptroller, the planning director, and/or any other city employees or professionals needed to assist the Public Safety Committee in its evaluation and review; 3) That the Public Safety Committee consider, in addition to the sites described and evaluated in the report, any sites or locations deemed appropriate as  submitted by members of the public for consideration by the Public Safety Committee; 4) That the Public Safety Committee consider, an addition to site locations, possible methods of financing the construction of a new police station to include bonding, non-appropriation leasing, other forms of leasing, and other financing or lease options; and 5) That the Public Safety Committee conduct its review and evaluation in such manner as it may determine but report in writing its findings and opinions to the Council of the City of Norwich on or before the first meeting of the Council to be held in October, 2014. Dated at Norwich, Connecticut this 6th day of May 2014. ATTEST: Betsy M. Barrett City Clerk