Public Safety (Subcommittee of the City Council)

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES Wednesday March 13th, 2019 Central Fire Department 10 North Thames Street, Norwich, CT 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: John Salomone, City Manager, City of Norwich; Chief Patrick Daly and Captain Jim Veiga, Norwich Police Department; Chris LaRose, Operations Manager, Mary Lou Rychling, and Mark Decker Norwich Public Utilities. Volunteer/Central Fire Departments and Others: Taftville Chief Timothy Jencks; Norwich Chief Tracy Montoya; East Great Plain None; Occum Chief Carroll Spaulding; Laurel Hill None; and Yantic None. Citizens Present: None. I. Call to Order and Quorum: Alderman Nash called the meeting to order at 7:46 PM. There was a quorum present. II. Approval of Minutes: Minutes of Wednesday February 13, 2019. Alderman Nash motioned, seconded by Alderman DeLucia, to approve the Wednesday February 13, 2019 meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously. III. Correspondence: None. IV. Citizen Comment: None. V. Old Business: a) Apparatus/ Equipment Financing: – City Manager John Salomone stated the purchase orders have gone out and everything has been ordered but the City has not gotten a delivery date yet. Alderman Nash asked Mr. Salomone to find out the status of the truck builds and get back to him. VI. New Business: a) Norwich Public Utilities Update – Water Integrity Manager Mark Decker stated ponds are currently full and NPU is conducting two ongoing main extension projects. Mr. Becker stated the emergency interconnect going to Sprague has gone out to bid with bidding closing April 4th for a quick turnaround for spring construction. Mark Becker stated the second project is a main coming out of Stony Brook in Montville in relation to the Optimus Senior Living Project which should be going to bid at the end of the month to also plan for spring construction. b) Emergency Management: Chief Tracy Montoya reported Emergency Management received positive feedback from the state on their annual review of the Emergency Operation Plan that had been submitted a few weeks prior. Chief Montoya stated they are continuing to develop standard guidelines at EOC and they recently started an audit due to a spike in utilities at North Main Street during the cold weather. Chief Montoya reported Emergency Operations applied for two grants that they are awaiting awards and have filed all needed paperwork with FEMA regarding the Presidential disaster flooding last fall. Chief Tracy Montoya stated budget items include the mason dump replacement and a secondary EOC establishment in town. c) American Ambulance: None. d) Norwich Police Department: Captain Jim Veiga reported NPD had a mild month for service and are currently looking to fill the position of an officer who resigned March 4th. Captain Veiga stated the MDT system discussed last month has been functional for the past week and it is believe programming issues in the server from updated may have caused the problems. Captain Veiga discussed details of the February 20th officer-involved shooting and reported a new handler had been selected for the narcotics canine. Alderwoman Philbrick discussed various parking concerns with Captain Veiga and Chief Patrick Daly including the intersection at the Johnson Home on the Norwichtown Greene and snow removal on city streets. Alderwoman Philbrick asked why the padlock for the MRAP vehicle was changed so that now only a single person has the key. Chief Daly responded that it was to increase security and eliminate persons accessing the vehicle without their knowledge. e) Firehouse Status Updates: Taftville: Chief Timothy Jencks reported Taftville had a busy month with 84 calls and currently have eight members finishing EMR class, three members in Firefighter 2, and received two new junior members in the past month. Chief Jencks reported the Apparatus 95 Pierce was out of commission for three days with mechanical issues, the Rescue was out for wiring issue and the new Rescue is being built as they have signed off on engineer drawings. Chief Jencks stated within the week they should be  reviewing engineer specifications on the new Pierce and the ice machine in the firehouse finally died. Chief Timothy Jencks said they had numerous capital needs in the budget that he has been discussing with the City Manager and so far obtained bids for heating and the addition to the firehouse in the rear. Chief Jencks stated they also put in to obtain one of the baseball fields near the firehouse for additional parking but it was cut from the capital budget. East Great Plain: None. Occum: Chief Carroll Spaulding reported since last month’s meeting Occum has started a recruitment drive and had 20 calls in the last month including fire alarm activations and mutual aid. Chief Spaulding stated he is trying work with the leftover funds from the previous Chief but after covering the outstanding bills he is not sure where they will stand. Chief Spaulding reported they have one member in Fire 1, two in Fire 2 and currently have 17 interior members. Chief Spaulding also stated they may be looking to replace Engine 31 in the future as it is a 1991 with 66,000 miles and Occum as a Chicken BBQ coming up on April 6th. Yantic: None. Laurel Hill: None. Norwich: Chief Tracy Montoya reported 164 calls for the past month and the new boat is scheduled to be delivered on March 21st. Chief Montoya stated current issues include seatbelts on Engine 2 and Squad A and station needs include the replacement of Engine 2 and future full repairs on the station garage doors. Chief Montoya stated Squad A was pulled from the capital budget but it should be a priority based on how often it is used and how often it is down for repair. VI. Other: a) IMC Bridge Update: City Manager John Salomone stated there was nothing new to report. b) NPU IT Personnel Lent to City: City Manager John Salomone stated he was currently in the process of discussions with the general manager at NPU regarding this issue. c) Norwich Police Department Body Cameras: Alderman Nash made a motion to suspend the rules to add NPD Body Cameras to the agenda. Seconded by Alderwoman Philbrick. The motion passed unanimously. Chief Patrick Daly stated that due to technology issues cruiser cameras had been removed in the early 2000s and recently the Department has requested new cruiser and body cameras. Chief Daly stated under Governor Lamont an existing program where the state covers half the cost of the body cameras will end soon. Chief Daly stated he has spoken to vendors and received quote for 25 cruiser cameras and 88 body cameras  for $300,000. Chief Daly stated the state would cover half of that amount; NPD has a second no-match grant for $34,000 and $16,000 from forfeiture funds so the city would be left with a $100,000 cost that must be invoiced for delivery by June 30th. Chief Daly discussed the benefits of acquiring this package now and that from his discussions with City Manager John Salomone he believed there was leftover money from the fire apparatus bond that was originally marked for police communications that he thought could be used for this purpose. Alderman DeLucia discussed with City Manager John Salomone the repercussions of spending the $100,000 on additional equipment opposed to using the funds to offset the city’s borrowing. Alderwoman Philbrick stated she felt it was a simple decision based on the quality and quantity for the cost. Alderman Nash asked City Manager John Salomone to get with corporate council and determine how to proceed further and if this issue can be introduced at the next Council meeting under a suspension of rules for them to give their favorable recommendation. VII. Future Agenda Items: a) IMC Bridge b) NPU IT Person Lent to City VIII. Adjournment: Upon a motion by Alderman Nash, seconded by Alderwoman Philbrick, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 8:34 pm Respectfully Submitted, Katherine Rose