Public Safety (Subcommittee of the City Council)

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES Wednesday, August 9, 2017 Central Fire Department 7:00 P.M. Committee Members Present: Alderman William Nash, Alderman Gerald Martin, and Alderman H. Tucker Braddock. Committee Members Absent: None. Administration and Staff Present: Captain James Veiga, Norwich Police Department; and Mark Greczkowski, Director of Operations, American Ambulance. Volunteer/Central Fire Departments and Others: Yantic Lieutenant Raymond Henry, and Ron Stolz; Taftville Chief Timothy Jencks, and Assistant Chief William Hadam; Occum Chief Robert LaChapelle; and East Great Plains Chief Keith Milton. Citizens Present: None. I. Call to Order and Quorum: Alderman Nash called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM. There was a quorum present. II. Approval of Minutes: Minutes of July 13, 2017 Alderman Braddock motioned, seconded by Alderman Martin, to approve the July 13, 2017 meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously. III. Correspondence: None. IV. Citizen Comment: None. V. Old Business: 2017 CT Firefighters Convention Update – No update at this time. VI. New Business: a) Norwich Public Utilities Update: None. Alderman Nash announced the NPU update and new hydrant app demonstration will be offered at the September meeting.  b) Fire House Status Updates: Occum: Chief Bob LaChapelle reported three new members and also three members currently completed FFI. Chief LaChapelle also reported recent training with Life Star in addition to regular monthly training. Taftville: Chief Jencks reported 51 calls last month including assisting NPD in a search of the Yantic River and numerous mutual aid calls to area departments. Chief Jencks also reported NPU and DPW have recently installed lighting at the new playground behind the fire station. NPD has stepped up patrol in the area and the fire station has taken on an unofficial role as caretaker of the playground. Chief Jencks expressed concern regarding the new floor work needing to go out to bid as soon as possible so the work can begin soon after the convention. East Great Plains: Chief Keith Milton reported having 77 calls last month. He had four members recently complete FFI, another member completed FFII, and they have added two new members. Chief Milton is also waiting for the bay floor work to go out to bid. Alderman Nash offered to follow up on the floor work bid situation for both East Great Plains and Taftville. Laurel Hill: None. Yantic: Lieutenant Raymond Henry reported 52 calls last month with 6 mutual aid calls. Fireworks standby is wrapping up with only two more shows remaining. The department is looking forward to the annual first-day ride to school with kindergarten students and also their annual steak and lobster dinner on August 26th. Norwich: None. Norwich Police Department: Captain James Veiga reported 3084 calls last month. The NPD responded to 130 accidents and made 196 arrests. Captain Veiga also reported their three new cruisers are in and awaiting pick up in Mystic. The next round of replacement cruisers will be in October or November. Emergency Operations Center: None. American Ambulance: Operations Director Mark Greczkowski reported they will be holding a bleed control and CPR training with the Norwich Fire Department for three days next month. He offered training assistance to the volunteer departments as well and asked anyone interested to please contact him. VII. Other: None. VIII. Future Agenda Items: The new hydrant app demonstration by Norwich Public Utilities will be held at the September 13th meeting. Alderman Nash announced the new apparatus bond referendum will be presented to the voters this November. He also mentioned the streets referendum and stressed the importance of both referendum passing the vote. Alderman Nash will set up a time to meet with the fire chiefs at each house to assist in planning a time for the voters to have the opportunity to view the trucks which need to be replaced and ask any questions they may have of the chiefs and other department members. He also will assist in scheduling a meeting at the senior center for those who may have questions but do not have the ability to get to their local firehouse. Alderman Nash suggested writing letters to the editor of the Norwich Bulletin to get the word out regarding the importance of the bond. Alderman Martin suggested the fire departments look into designing a door hanger style solicitation to hang throughout their respective areas. He stated all departments are at the mercy of the citizens who show up to vote. Alderman Nash also reminded everyone of the upcoming annual steak and lobster dinner at Yantic on August 26th and the next breakfast at Taftville on August 20th. Chief Jencks extended an invitation to all to attend Taftville’s annual company picnic on August 13th from 12:00-5:00pm. He apologized for the short notice but lost track of time having just returned from vacation. IX. Adjournment: Upon a motion by Alderman Nash, seconded by Alderman Braddock, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 7:17 PM. Respectfully submitted, Tia Marie Michaud Recording Secretary