Public Safety (Subcommittee of the City Council)

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES Wednesday, January 13, 2016 Occum Volunteer Fire Department 7:00 P.M. Committee Members Present: Alderman William Nash, Alderman H. Tucker Braddock, Alderman Gerald Martin Administration and Staff Present: Chief Frank Blanchard, Yantic Fire Department; Chief Tim Jencks, Taftville Fire Department; Chief Pat Daley, East Great Plains Fire Department/Norwich Police Department; Chief Scandariato, Norwich Fire Department; Chief Bob LaChapelle, Occum Fire Department Volunteer/Central Fire Departments and Others: Chris LaRose, Norwich Public Utilities; Ron Stotz, Yantic Fire Department; Hope Jencks, Taftville Fire Department; Glenn Arremony, American Ambulance; Adam Herz, Yantic Fire Department; Ed Martin, Laurel Hill Fire Department; Chris Colonair, Yantic Fire Department; Ken Leo, Yantic Fire Department; Sean Bennett, Yantic Fire Department; Kyle Seitz, Norwich Fire Department; Jessica Strout, Occum Fire Department; Scott Eggers, Occum Fire Department; Joanne Philbrick, Alderwoman/Citizen I. Call to Order – Quorum Alderman Nash called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. There was a quorum present. II. Approval of Minutes - Minutes of December 9, 2015 Alderman Nash motioned, seconded by Alderman Braddock, to approve the December 9, 2015 minutes. The minutes were unanimously approved. III. Correspondence – None. IV. Citizen Comment – Joanne Philbrick stated that as a council member she would like to know where they are supposed to get their information to make decisions on public safety. (i.e., inventory of air packs) She added that public safety is imperative and that the more information that is out to the public the better. She thanked the first responders for their service and noted that she supports them. V. Old Business a) Air Pack Replacement Program – Standardize Systems Representatives from Shipman’s and Scott Safety held a demonstration and informational session regarding the air packs. The Scott representative, Brandon, discussed the current 1997 air packs and the two editions (2007 and 2013) that have been released since then. It was noted that the 1997 air packs cannot be updated, but the 2013 air packs can be. He also detailed the additions that have been made to the 2013 air packs. There was a questions and answers session held after the demonstration. Alderman Tucker requested a report from Shipman’s on the last time the city purchased air packs, the quantity purchased and also how many cylinders were purchased. The Shipman’s representative, Brian, stated that he would look into this and get back in touch with him. The quote was discussed and it was stated that the quoted pricing is over a year old and that the pricing quote expires on February 1st, but that he (Brandon) could ask the company to extend the  pricing through the end of February (anything later will have a 5% increase added to the quote). Alderman Braddock motioned, seconded by Alderman Martin, to forward a favorable recommendation to the City Council to purchase air packs. The motion was unanimously approved. b) IPad Solution Update This item was tabled until the next meeting. VI. New Business a) NPU Update Mr. LaRose reported that NPU will be sending letter out to the emergency responders regarding annual electric and gas safety training. Any training comments please send to Chris. It was requested to add a solar panel safety component to this annual training. b) Fire House Status Updates Chief Bob LaChapelle, Occum Fire Department: Discussed membership. Chief Blanchard, Yantic Fire Department: Membership update; Budget; Training update; House Fire; Steak Night (1st Thursday of month). Chief Tim Jencks, Taftville Fire Department: Membership update; Response update; Budget; Mutual Aid; iPad training; In-house training; Internet issues being worked on now, not remedied; IT issues are being investigate; HVAC system ordered; Community events. Laurel Hill Fire Department: Membership and training update. Chief Scandariato, Norwich Fire Department: Applied for a grant; Discussed drop box format for iPads; Phone wiring on-going; Recent recruit working out nicely; Membership; Budget. American Ambulance: Reported on the work being performed at the facility. Chief Pat Daley, East Great Plains Fire Department: Reported that there were not any major crimes to report; Working on blight issues; Community meetings; Budget. VII. Other Alderman Nash noted that the City Manager contacted him about the fire truck requests in the budget and he informed the group that he added fire house updates to the agenda to avoid big ticket items being requested in the budget without hearing about it first in this forum. He noted that the only truck he knew of was for Laurel Hill. The group discussed this issue, past issues and the budget process. Alderman Nash will be contacting John Raymond for the past mechanical study of all department inventories and also will speak with the new City Manager about protocol. It was noted that a matrix be created for all departments that will list inventory and current issues. Also, prioritize who needs the next truck (based on usage) so that a prioritized list can be created for future years.  Alderman Nash noted that there is a traffic light issue at Town and Elm Street. This is a State light, but will be looked into. Alderman Nash inquired about having police officers go to the Middle School during their lunch periods. This was discussed and it was noted that officers do attend schools. Pat Daley will look into this and email Alderman Nash with an update. Chief Scandariato asked about a building in his district and wanted to know if it was deemed structurally safe. It was noted that it was deemed structurally safe by the city. The chief added that this building is a do not enter for his department. VIII. Future Agenda Items  IPad Solution Update (Mr. Bilda asked the Mayor to put on the Council agenda as informational item in January.) IX. Adjournment Upon a motion by Alderman Braddock, seconded by Alderman Martin, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 8:16 pm. Respectfully submitted by Jennifer Kayser, Recording Secretary