Public Safety (Subcommittee of the City Council)

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES Wednesday, September 13, 2017 Laurel Hill Volunteer Fire Department 7:00 P.M. Committee Members Present: Alderman Gerald Martin, and Alderman H. Tucker Braddock. Committee Members Absent: Alderman William Nash. Administration and Staff Present: Captain James Veiga, Norwich Police Department; Chris LaRose and Rob Harris, Norwich Public Utilities; and Mark Greczkowski, Director of Operations, American Ambulance. Volunteer/Central Fire Departments and Others: Yantic member Ron Stolz; Norwich Chief Kenneth Scandariato, and Captain Mike Dziavit; Occum Chief Robert LaChapelle; Laurel Hill Assistant Chief Corry Aanerud, Michael Carlos,and Ed March; and East Great Plains Chief Keith Milton, Captain Jay Coleman, and John Coleman. Citizens Present: Brian Kobylarz, 16 Hobart Avenue. I. Call to Order and Quorum: Alderman Martin called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. There was a quorum present. II. Approval of Minutes: Minutes of August 9, 2017 Alderman Martin motioned, seconded by Alderman Braddock, to approve the August 9, 2017 meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously. Chief Scandariato commented that the meeting minutes of July 13, 2017 should be amended to reflect adding the replacement boat bond to future agenda items. Alderman Martin acknowledged this request. III. Correspondence: Alderman Martin reported a telephone call with Taftville Chief Timothy Jencks who is very busy preparing for the convention this coming weekend. IV. Citizen Comment: Brian Kobylarz, 16 Hobart Avenue, reports parking violation concerns in his neighborhood most notably at Oak Street and Hobart Avenue. Vehicles are being parked too close to the intersection, within the 25ft zone, and cause a corner navigation hazard for fire trucks. Captain Jim Veiga mentioned he is familiar with the problem at this intersection as well as several others and will handle this issue. Mr. Kobylarz also requested a contact list of all the town fire departments and their chiefs as he would like to put together an unbiased informational video regarding the proposed apparatus replacement bond for citizens to view. Captain Dziavit has volunteered to compile a more detailed contact list than is currently available to city employees. He would like all volunteer members to be listed on a directory as well to ease finding the correct information when citizens inquire. Captain Dziavit will contact each department and coordinate with Teena LaRue to complete this project. V. Old Business: VI. New Business: a) Norwich Public Utilities Update: Chris LaRose reported NPU has completed the annual water hydrant flush. All identified hydrant issues will be repaired as quickly as possible by NPU and additional contractors. Alderman Braddock asked about the digester which Chris said is coming along. Chris also reported on the progress of the new tank at Mohegan Park. Rob Harris then gave a demonstration of the new hydrant app and answered questions posed by those present. b) Fire House Status Updates: Occum: None. Taftville: None. East Great Plains: Chief Keith Milton reported having 96 calls last month. Upgrades continue with the painter coming at the end of the month then floors and exhaust system will be next. Laurel Hill: None. Yantic: None. Norwich: Chief Scandariato reported having identified a little more than $1,000,000.00 in spending needs that have been put off for two years or more including fourteen AED’s, SCBA upgrade, fourteen replacement portable radios, replacing Squad A, and replacing the marine unit. If the marine unit is not received in the current proposed bond Chief Scandariato will add the cost to next year’s capital. Chief Scandariato also discussed his recommendation to follow the national lead by moving away from the evacuation tone for withdrawal and/or abandonment instead. Evacuation should be saved for use by the police department. Chief Scandariato asked anyone with concerns or alternative ideas to please contact him. He is trying to be proactive in this regard. Norwich Police Department: Captain James Veiga reported a very busy month with 4044 calls, of which 144 were accidents, and 111 arrests. The three newest cruisers are now on the road. Emergency Operations Center: Chief Scandariato reported the garage roof is currently being replaced.  American Ambulance: Operations Director Mark Greczkowski reported having completed training with Occum and Taftville departments. Any other departments interested in scheduling training should contact Mark directly. c) 2018 Meeting Schedule: Alderman Martin motioned to approve the 2018 Meeting Schedule, keeping the same meeting day and rotation as in 2017. The motion was seconded by Alderman Braddock and passed unanimously. VII. Other: Alderman Martin mentioned his time with this committee is soon coming to a close and he will be reaching out to all the chiefs next week to determine how the survey subcommittee will move forward. On a personal note, he thanked everyone for their assistance and support over the last two years and said he is very appreciative of the contributing efforts of all. Alderman Braddock said it has been a pleasure serving on this committee and he stressed the importance of continuing to communicate needs to unify the system. He thanked everyone for their exceptional work. VIII. Future Agenda Items: Apparatus/Equipment Financing. IX. Adjournment: Upon a motion by Alderman Martin, seconded by Alderman Braddock, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 7:32 PM. Respectfully submitted, Tia Marie Michaud Recording Secretary