Public Safety (Subcommittee of the City Council)

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES Wednesday October 10th, 2018 Central Fire Department 10 N Thames Street, Norwich 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: Mayor Peter Nystrom, Alderwoman Stacy Gould, Captain Jim Veiga, Norwich Police Department, Joey Hundley, Director of Operations, American Ambulance and Chris LaRose, Operations Manager, Norwich Public Utilities. Volunteer/Central Fire Departments and Others: Taftville Chief Timothy Jencks and Assistant Chief William Hadam; Norwich Battalion Chief Gregory Despathy, Captain Marc Benjamin, Lieutenant Jake Manke, Mike Dzavit and Scott Merchant; East Great Plain Chief Keith Milton; Occum Chief Bob LaChapelle, Chief Engineer Carroll Spaulding, Les Shall and Nancy Shall; Laurel Hill Captain Pete Clark and Michael Carlos; and Yantic: Chief Frank Blanchard and Frank Cilley. Citizens Present: Brian Kobylarz of 16 Hobart Avenue. 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 Wednesday September 12, 2018 Alderman Nash motioned, seconded by Alderman DeLucia, to approve the Wednesday September 12, 2018 meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously. III. Correspondence: None. IV. Citizen Comment: a) Brian Kobylarz of 16 Hobart Avenue wished to report on the sex offender topic from previous meetings; he is aware that the state is now in the process of revamping its sex offender databases due to inconsistencies in their own accounting methods as the incorrect data could lead to disadvantages in economic development and overall state agency data. Mr. Kobylarz also wanted to mention that at the previous meeting the Norwich Police Department reported it would be putting more men out to track and monitor the sex offender issue which is also  an improvement. V. Old Business: a) Apparatus/ Equipment Financing: – City Manager John Salomone was not in attendance but Chief Frank Blanchard wished to repot the truck bond is still in the bid process and he has a meeting with the City Manager and Mr. Hathaway on October 16th at 11AM and extended the invitation to Public Safety Committee Council Members to join them as he feels the bid process has taken far too long and is going in the wrong direction. Chief Blanchard has serious concerns with the product that is going to come out of the bid as currently there is nothing set up for communications within the specifications and that isn’t something that can be optioned out. Alderman Nash responded that he believe Mr. Salomone stated that the trucks were already out to bid and Chief Blanchard clarified that while they’re being advertised with the addendum the bids don’t actually open until November 5th. Chief Timothy Jencks agreed with Chief Blanchard regarding the length of time this process has taken and how convoluted it has become. Chief Jencks said he had similar issues as Yantic with things being added into the specifications that were never requested and items being optioned out that will cost the city more money to add the items back onto the trucks than it would be to purchase them from the start. Chief Keith Milton added that he too was under the same impression as the other Chiefs that from when they had met with the committee, City Manager and Mr. Hathaway the missing items would be added back into the addendum but that is not what occurred when it was published. Safety Officer Ed Martin of Laurel Hill Fire Department addressed the Committee stating the City needs to take this experience as a learning lesson as the current method for purchasing this trucks he feels has been a great failure and has cost tax payers thousands of dollars. Mr. Martin said at the current rate the departments will likely not see a new truck until 2020 and these apparatuses should have been purchased a decade ago. Alderwoman Philbrick responded that she agreed the process has gone on far too long as the initial bond was given a vote of confidence by voters and it has been greatly mishandled since then. Alderwoman Philbrick called on someone in the city to be held accountable and to get organized. She also requested that Alderman Nash contact City Manager John Salomone the following morning as this meeting greatly needed his attendance. Chief Blanchard wished to clarify that the specifications the departments turned in were ready to publish with options built in but now the vendors themselves are confused as to where the bid stands and they tend to raise prices when that happens. Alderman Nash responded that Mr. Salomone did advise him he would not be in attendance to the  meeting due to illness but that Mr. Nash himself takes full responsibility for the current situation as Chairman of the Committee. Alderman Nash said he stands by the decision to purchase the trucks in bulk but also believes things should have gotten ordered as adjustments could have been made once the bid comes in. Alderman Nash said he would get in contact with Mr. Salomone to get answers and would put forth a resolutions if need be. He greatly apologized for the cost the tax payers have endured because of this process. VI. New Business: a) Norwich Public Utilities Update – Operation Manager Chris LaRose reported that the Fairview tank would be online the following day putting the system at 100% functionality for the winter season. Mr. Ellison added the reservoirs are also at 100% due to recent rain and they are continuing flushing low pressure systems through the month of October with a goal to finish before Thanksgiving. He reported the current LED streetlight project is 85% complete and should be finished in the next two weeks. b) Emergency Management: Lieutenant Jake Manke reported there was flooding in Yantic during large rainstorm but Yantic Fire Department, Public Works, Public Utilities and the Police all worked together to make cleanup as success and DEMAS is conducting an independent damage assessment as the region has sustained significant damage due to the flooding. He added that the Yantic Fire Department will also be participating in the study to see if they can receive any reimbursement funds as they sustained damage as well. Lieutenant Manke stated that the last meeting before the Host Community Reception Center Exercise is coming up this week with the rehearsal set for Monday October 15th from 1PM to 4PM and the receptions slated for November 3rd and November 17th. c) American Ambulance: None. d) Norwich Police Department: Captain Jim Veiga stated they responded to 3,100 calls in the last month with 140 arrests and 150 accidents. Captain Veiga reported the 7 new police vehicles are on order which account for about 1/3 of the department’s fleet. Captain Veiga added that Chief Ferace has retired so they plan to start posting job openings in mid-December and they are still working on the radio system updates with the referendum coming up in November. e) Fire House Status Updates: Taftville: Chief Timothy Jencks reported the Fire Department had a busy month with 68 calls including mutual aid to Baltic and Lisbon, all DOT inspections have been completed for the 11 apparatuses and they have members enrolled in the EMR class. Chief Jencks said they have been working with Mr. Walker from NPU on pricing to replace the furnace in the station as that is an item that will be coming up for replacement and while the station’s addition is down to the punch list items. The Chief said he met with City Manager John Salomone regarding the parking lot repaving and the possibility of taking over the Taftville tennis court for additional parking but instead of paving to consider road milling so they are planning to meet with engineers as well. Chief Jencks reported they had a few unexpected purchases such as replacement tires for Tower 25 and $8,000 on replacement combustible gas meters as although they were only 8 years old they have been unable to find parts or support for the product. East Great Plain: Chief Keith Milton reported EGP had 90 calls in the last month, they are holding routine Tuesday night trainings and they also have members in the EMR class. Chief Milton added they are making headway with the fire escape replacement and are currently waiting to hear back from NPU. Occum: Chief Bob LaChapelle reported that they have two members in the EMR class and one in the instructor class. Chief LaChapelle said there is a wild fire training at the station for the upcoming weekend and they are planning a truck and traffic training as well. Yantic: Chief Frank Blanchard stated their membership is still at 58; the generator of their apparatus Engine 32 burnt up in the September floods and is currently out for maintenance quote while Engine 33 responded to Salem mutual aid and returned with a major battery failure. Chief Blanchard said the apparatus was out of service for two days at fleet maintenance. He stated they responded to 58 calls in the last month, four being back-to-back and seven mutual aid. Chief Blanchard reported the station’s Fire Marshall Abatement project is out to bid, four bidders attended and the pre-bids are due in the next week. Chief Blanchard stated Yantic has capital money available for parking lot replacement and they are working with Public Works on getting the project out to bid in the next few weeks. He reported that the station did receive significant damage from the September floods with about 9 inches of water in the basement and said they are still in service but their boiler and various furnishes were damaged. Chief Blanchard said they are working with their insurance company but the water leakage is an issue that needs to be addressed in the future. Chief Blanchard reported they had a few unexpected purchases including sub-pump and iPad replacements and he is beginning the budget process with the finance department regarding capital items they’ve been listing at each meeting. Alderman DeLucia asked if there is anything that can be done to better protect the fire house from the Yantic River. Chief Blanchard responded that through the years there’s been several good ideas regarding the issue including an effort from SCOGGs who assessed the property then received a retention system design from people in Hartford and put in for a grant where Yantic was ranked the number two priority, however it never received funding. Laurel Hill: Captain Pete Clark reported Laurel assisted in CERT during Yantic floods and they have two members enrolled in Fire 2 classes.  Captain Clark also added they have a boot drive coming up on November 10th from 10AM – 2PM to benefit St. Vincent De Paul Soup Kitchen. Norwich: Battalion Chief Gregory Despathy reported that the various Battalion Chiefs have been acting as rotating chiefs, Scott Belleville has been promoted to lieutenant, recruit Davis is enrolled in the fire academy and they are working with Human Resources to fill the remaining fire academy class vacancies. Chief Despathy stated Norwich responded to 195 incidents in the past month, 69 fire-related and 126 EMS with many of them overlapping and also assisted in mutual aid efforts with an average response time of 2 minutes 53 seconds. Chief Despathy said they are expecting the Marine 1 unit received from the Port Authority Grant to FEMA in early December as it was pushed back by the vendor. Norwich is planning joint and in-house training once it arrives. Chief Despathy stated they have been replacing the AEDs in the apparatuses and have no critical needs at this time but Fleet Maintenance has let them know their oldest Fire Marshall vehicle will need replacing in the future as it has rust and structural issues that cannot be repaired. VI. Other: a) Recommendation for Occum Fire Department: Alderman Nash made a motion to present their recommendation to Occum Fire Department seconded by Alderwoman Philbrick. Alderman DeLucia asked Occum Chief LaChapelle what exactly the fire house was requesting the city to purchase. Chief LaChapelle responded the items they are looking for are struts, extra turnout gear and improved lighting in the station bay. Chief LaChapelle said the struts relate to stabilizing vehicles when they are called on site so they can respond immediately instead of waiting for backup assistance, the lighting in the bay is not adequate to get the truck in and out and there isn’t enough turnout gear available for members to go on back-to-back calls. Alderman Nash asked the Chief why these items were not included in the budget and Chief LaChapelle responded his department was attempting to cut back on spending however after the recent cuts they are at the point where they’ve taken too much of a hit. Alderwoman Philbrick responded that as the departments know that within the budget there is funding put aside for capital projects and while she is aware that fund has depleted over the years and recognizes that the Occum Fire Department typically does not put in requests there is a budget process for a reason so these things should be included from the start. Alderwoman Philbrick added that she has heard Alderman Nash state at each meeting that if there are critical needs the Committee needs to hear about to budget time and she does not recall Chief LaChapelle bringing up any of these issues in the past. Chief LaChapelle added that the items are being requested now because he heard from Mayor Peter Nystrom and Josh in Finance that the City would be able to assist Occum and reminded that Occum Fire Department is one of the lowest funded stations each year. Alderwoman Philbrick stated  while that was kind of Mayor Nystrom and Josh issues arise when we deviate from the established process. Officer Ed Martin of Laurel Hill Fire Department added that when the Committee seeing the departments’ budgets there are already drastically reduced from the original requests being made and with the new Cancer awareness regarding washing firefighter gear they are now being told to fully wash gear after smoke exposure which takes about 24 hours so the Committee will likely see more requests for additional turnout gear. Alderman Nash asked for a show of hands of how many departments would need this gear in the future and all departments did. Alderman DeLucia stated the reason that Alderman Nash repeatedly asks to hear critical needs in advance is so when the budget comes there are less cuts and citizens are able to hear these issues before they hit the City Council. Alderman DeLucia assured the Committee’s apprehension has nothing to do specifically with the Occum Fire Department or its expenditures. Mayor Peter Nystrom wished to explain that Chief LaChapelle came to himself and Josh simply to discuss his needs and did not specifically ask them to put forth a resolution however they, and the council members he also spoke with, felt it was a critical need to have the turnout gear as well as the struts which are essentially to helping trapped citizens out of a vehicle quickly without waiting for backup. Mayor Nystrom stated Chief LaChapelle is constantly bringing in young recruits and those members deserve the proper gear to keep them safe. Alderman Nash put forth a motion to give a positive recommendation to the City Council regarding Occum Fire Department. Alderman DeLucia seconded, the motion passed unanimously. b) Personal Protection Equipment: Alderman DeLucia stated he has gotten more than a few calls and emails that firehouse members are in the hot zones at active fires are not in PPE gear and wanted to confirm that the departments are in agreement that anyone in a hot zone must be in PPE gear per operational guidelines. Chiefs agreed unanimously. VII. Future Agenda Items: a) IMC Bridge Update VIII. Adjournment: Upon a motion by Alderman Nash, seconded by Alderman DeLucia, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 8:11 pm Respectfully Submitted, Katherine Rose