Public Safety (Subcommittee of the City Council)

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES Wednesday February 14th, 2018 Taftville Fire Department 134 Providence Street, Taftville 7:00 PM Committee Members Present: Alderman William Nash, Alderman Joseph A. DeLucia, and Alderwoman Joanne Philbrick Committee Members Absent: None Administration and Staff Present: Deputy Chief Christopher Ferace, Norwich Police Department; and Christopher LaRose Assistant General Manager, Norwich Public Utilities. Volunteer/Central Fire Departments and Others: Occum Chief Bob LaChapelle; Taftville Chief Timothy Jencks, Deputy Chief Tom Jencks, Assistant Chief William Hadam, and Brandon Rafuse; Norwich Kyle Seitz; and Yantic Ron Stoff. Citizens Present: None I. Call to Order and Quorum: Alderman Nash called the meeting to order at 7:01 PM. There was a quorum present. II. Approval of Minutes: Minutes of January 10, 2018 Alderman Nash motioned, seconded by Alderwoman Philbrick, to approve the January 10, 2018 meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously. III. Correspondence: None. Christopher LaRose of Norwich Public Utilities distributed NPU Gas & Electric Safety Training schedule. IV. Citizen Comment: None. V. Old Business: a) Apparatus/ Equipment Financing: – Alderman Nash said he had a phone conversation with Yantic Chief Blanchard (who was not in attendance) and he stated his department was on target with specs etc., just needs funding for air conditioning.  Chief Timothy Jencks said Taftville’s is in the works, they are meeting Thursday. He told Alderman DeLucia he could meet with him to bring him up to speed. VI. New Business: a) Norwich Public Utilities Update – Assistant General Manager Christopher LaRose reported that Reservoirs are 100% full and reminded departments we have another month and a half of cold weather so make sure to let NPU know when they’re using hydrants. He also let everyone know it is time to schedule gas and electric safety training and that there were handouts available with pertinent information up front. Taftville department has already scheduled a class. Safety training is available online; information to sign up is on handout. NPU has plans to set up a meeting with the Norwich Police Department to review evacuation and security procedures for the new LNG buildings as well as a meeting with the Yantic Fire Department to review the evacuation van. b) Fire House Status Updates: Taftville: Chief Jencks reported that Tower 25 truck was down for 2 weeks to have maintenance done and during that time they used the Norwich department’s spare ladder truck as they’ve done in the past. Their dive truck was also down for a few days to repair a hole in its roof, but everything else in their fleet is up and running. Taftville has completed seven human resource classes in their efforts to get ahead of the curve. They have had 80 calls in the last month which is more than their average. Mutual aid has been standard – they were in Lisbon that morning. Chief Jencks said he is working on getting their specs together so they can move forward. He has been playing phone tag with Mr. Hathaway regarding the addition and was told previously that it’s currently in the states hand however he has been waiting over a month for the review. Alderman Nash let him know he would speak to Mr. Hathway the next day. East Great Plains: None. Yantic: None. Norwich: None. Laurel Hill: None. American Ambulance: None. Occum: Chief LaChapelle reported that Occum was also in Lisbon earlier that morning with Yantic and also responded to the 395 Tractor Trailer fire with Yantic. They are doing their NPU training next week, have four members going to the Fire 2 training in March and are currently looking at 5 applications. Their grant money is almost done with about $700 left that they are figuring out how to  spend. All firehouse updates are completed and they have their 75th Anniversary Spaghetti Dinner coming up on March 3rd, begins at 5PM. Norwich Police Department: Deputy Chief Ferace reported the department currently have two enrolled in the academy with one graduating next month and the other in June. There are currently three opening as a result of promotions. He said they have three cruisers on order and the MDT fleet is complete. Last week they started installing rifle racks on vehicles. Norwich Police has 3, 813 calls last month, 90 accidents and 98 arrests. On February 7th they conducted a significant Fetanyl seizure. They have also been involved with training for active shooters in hospitals and schools especially with the influx of school shootings. Alderman Nash questioned what specific training has been conducted in schools. Deputy Chief Ferace answered that over the years Chief Daly has given training to administrators and schools that is primarily focused on shelter in place due to the obligation they have for protecting the children. Alderman DeLucia followed up asking how often the safety plans in schools updated are and Deputy Chief Ferace let him know annually at the minimum. c) Chief Daly – Radios: Deputy Chief Ferace reported that Chief Daly is not yet ready to discuss radios. He is working with the state and Motorola on workable numbers and will let everyone know once he is ready for presentation. VII. Other: Alderwoman Philbrick wished to bring to attention a comment she saw on a public website dedicated to the Norwich Volunteer Fire Departments regarding bond funds. She wished to voice her opinion that posts of this nature are unproductive and only serve to create division amongst the departments. The City Manager in the past has also requested that these posts cease. Alderwoman Philbrick wished to remind everyone that the departments are a brotherhood and all need to support one another. VIII. Adjournment: Upon a motion by Alderman Nash, seconded by Alderman DeLucia, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 7:29 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Katherine Rose