Public Safety (Subcommittee of the City Council)

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES Wednesday, June 14, 2017 Yantic Volunteer Fire Department 7:00 P.M. Committee Members Present: Alderman William Nash, and Alderman H. Tucker Braddock Committee Members Absent: Alderman Gerald Martin Administration and Staff Present: Chris LaRose, Norwich Public Utilities; and Captain Jim Veiga, Norwich Police Department. Volunteer/Central Fire Departments and Others: Yantic Chief Frank Blanchard, Craig Maerkel, Ryan Mocek, Ray O’Connell, and Ron Stolz; Norwich Chief Kenneth Scandariato, and Captain Michael Dziavit; Taftville Chief Timothy Jencks, Assistant Chief William Hadam, and Hope Jencks; Occum Chief Robert LaChapelle; Laurel Hill Chief Aaron Westervelt; and East Great Plains Chief Keith Milton. Citizens Present: Greg Schlough. I. Call to Order and Quorum: Alderman Nash called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM. There was a quorum present. II. Approval of Minutes: Minutes of May 10, 2017 Alderman Nash motioned, seconded by Alderman Braddock, to approve the May 10, 2017 meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously. III. Correspondence: None. IV. Citizen Comment: Citizen Gregory Schlough expressed concern regarding a catch basin located in the driveway area of the Taftville firehouse which poses a trip and fall hazard. He would like to see a repair made prior to the upcoming convention due to the volume of people who will be walking in that area. Chief Jencks said this repair has been made several times over the last 40 years and he will have his safety officer bring it up at the safety committee meeting tomorrow night, June 15. V. Old Business: No radio update at this time. VI. New Business: a) Norwich Public Utilities Update: Chris LaRose reported the demolition  of the tank at Mohegan Park has begun and he anticipates the new concrete tank will be installed by December 2017. The city-wide annual hydrant flush will take place over the next two weeks and will be completed the 1st week of August. Resident notification has been posted in the newspaper. b) Fire House Status Updates: East Great Plains: Chief Keith Milton reported having 76 calls last month. He has four members currently enrolled in FFI, one member in FFII, one member in FFIII, and has added two new members to their overall total. Station painting and the bay floor work will be raking place over the next few months. Chief Milton also reported all trucks and equipment to be status quo and the indoor/outdoor LED lighting replacement has been completed. Occum: Chief Bob LaChapelle reported the new extrication equipment training has been completed. Work to the outside of their building is nearly complete. They will be holding several fundraisers in the near future to fund their upcoming anniversary celebration next year. Chief LaChapelle also reported having three members currently enrolled in FFI. Norwich: Chief Scandariato mentioned the newest recruit having just graduated from the fire academy and he is very happy with the new member’s performance. Internal policy is currently being re-worked to improve receiving calls, processing information, dispatch, etc. Chief Scandariato said they called for assistance at the end of their first bottle during the recent fire on West Thames Street instead of at the end of their second and the modified plan worked out very well. Chief Scandariato reported he has been working with zero money in the budget since January. He would like to revisit capital funding management as he believes there was a missed opportunity to get a new truck. Emergency Operations Center: Chief Scandariato reported the local volunteer departments, public works, and NPU are continuing to work hard to get the garage building up to snuff. The garage will be very active this coming year with the state and also the Millstone trailer. Taftville: Chief Jencks reported more than 50 calls last month including several motor vehicle accidents with occurred within a four or five day time frame. Their tower was out of service for almost one week to repair items which failed during testing. Chief Jencks also mentioned the recreation department has installed very nice lighting at the basketball court next door but the timer needs to be reset as the lights are not coming on right now. Laurel Hill: Chief Westervelt reported having a good month with training and the two members they have attending instructor training in RI will be finishing up in the next two weeks. They will be holding an emergency pediatric care training class on June 24, 2017 and all departments are invited to attend. The cost is $175.00 per person and he needs a head count as soon as possible to be sure they have enough books on hand. Chief Westervelt also reports apparatus to be status quo.  Yantic: Chief Frank Blanchard reported having added a couple new members recently for a total of 60. They had 72 calls last month, regular monthly training continues, and all apparatus are currently on the road, having only needed routine maintenance recently. Chief Blanchard is looking to replace their 40 year old truck as it has become more of a liability than an asset to the department and city. The station is in great shape and the fire marshal is still working on the abatement project. He expects the design will be complete in the next sixty days then the project will go out to bid. Fireworks standby will be starting up again for Dodd Stadium this coming Monday along with Laurel Hill, Bozrah, and Lisbon. Norwich Police Department: Captain Jim Veiga reported one new officer will be hired after July 1st to replace Officer McKinney who is recently retired. He also reported they will be promoting another supervisor and a detective spot will also be filled internally. Captain Veiga mentioned their fleet has been down a fair amount due to numerous crashed. Also, 8-9 vehicles now have more than 100,000 miles on them and are out of warranty. Alderman Braddock asked Captain Veiga to report on Norwich’s current drug situation. Captain Veiga said there is an average of 2-4 heroin overdoses a week. They often see the same people over and over and there is no indication the drug problem in Norwich will let up anytime soon. Alderman Nash questioned why the police department has not been certified to administer Norcam. Captain Veiga will look into why this hadn’t been done yet and will see if there are plans to become certified in the future then will report back to the committee. American Ambulance: None VII. Other: Greg Schlough reports things are moving along with the upcoming convention. He requests the department chiefs ask any members not participating in the convention parade please make themselves available to assist with street closings, especially on the north side. American Ambulance will have a unit present. Greg also mentioned he will be responding to emails and telephone calls within 24-48 hours as he is currently dealing with a family situation. Alderman Nash announced he will be requesting a $3,000,000.00 bond be appropriated to purchase four trucks and other fire equipment at the next city council meeting. He will be asking the public to vote for this and requests the chiefs and other members also come out in support. A minimum of 18% of voters are needed to pass. Alderman Nash mentioned the attempt to save money to purchase new trucks and other equipment, such as the Scott air packs, has not worked in the past. He stated if this request does not pass, he will resign his position at the end of his term in the fall as he feels he has been unable to secure items necessary for department operations. Discussion ensued among Alderman Nash, Chief Scandariato, Chief Jencks, and Chief Blanchard. Several meetings have been held with the City Manager regarding identifying which trucks need to be replaced and in what order of importance. The chiefs expressed concern that the specific trucks listed on the bond to be replaced are not the trucks at the top of the list created with the City Manager. Alderman Nash will contact the City Manager’s office tomorrow then will determine with the chiefs how to proceed with the bond. VIII. Future Agenda Items: None. IX. Adjournment: Upon a motion by Alderman Nash, seconded by Alderman Braddock, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 7:46 PM. Respectfully submitted, Tia Marie Michaud Recording Secretary